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Cardea or Carda was the ancient Roman goddess of the hinge (Latin ''cardo, cardinis''), Roman doors being hung on pivot hinges. The Augustan poet
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
conflates her with another archaic goddess named Carna, whose
festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
was celebrated on the first day of June and for whom he gives the alternative name Cranê or Cranea, a
nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...
. Ovid's conflation of the goddesses is likely to have been his poetic invention, but it has also been conjectured that ''Carna'' was a contracted form of ''Cardina'', and at minimum Ovid was observing that their traditions were congruent.


Cardea and doorways

In the Christian polemic of the
Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...
, Cardea is associated with two otherwise unknown deities who preside over doorways: Forculus, from ''fores'', "door", plural in form because double doors were common on public buildings and elite homes ('' domūs''); and Limentinus, from ''limen, liminis'', "threshold" (compare English " liminal"). St. Augustine mocks the apparent triviality of these "little gods" in one of his "attacks against the multitude of gods", noting that while one doorkeeper is adequate for a human household, the Roman gods require three: "evidently Forculus can't watch the hinge and the threshold at the same time." Modern scholarship has pointed out that this particular set of divinities belongs to rituals of marking out sacred space and fixing boundaries, religious developments hypothesized to have occurred during the transition from
pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anim ...
to an
agrarian society An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agricultur ...
. Among Roman deities of this type, Terminus was the most significant. Stefan Weinstock conjectured that these three doorway deities had a place in
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
as the ''Ianitores terrestres'', "doorkeepers of the earth", guarding the passage to the earthly sphere. In the schema presented by
Martianus Capella Martianus Minneus Felix Capella () was a jurist, polymath and Latin literature, Latin prose writer of late antiquity, one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early medieval education. He was a native ...
, the ''Ianitores terrestres'' are placed in region 16 among deities of the lowest ranks, while
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianu ...
, the divine doorkeeper ''par excellence'', is placed in region 1. This arrangement may represent the ''ianuae coeli'', the two doors of the heavens identified with the
solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...
s.
Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...
says that there are two ''ianuae coeli'', one rising (that is, in the East) and one setting (the West): "The sun advances from the one gate, by the other he recedes." Isidore's definition is followed immediately by an explanation of the ''cardines'' (plural of ''cardo''), the north-south pivots of the axis on which the sphere of the world rotates. These are analogous to the top-and-bottom pivot hinges of a Roman door. In addition to the meaning of "door hinge", the ''cardo'' was also a fundamental concept in Roman
surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...
and city planning. The ''cardo'' was the main north-south street of a town, the surveying of which was attended by
augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...
al procedures that aligned terrestrial and celestial space. The ''cardo'' was also a principle in the layout of the
Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...
's marching camp, the gates of which were aligned with the cardinal ( a word derived from Latin ''cardo/cardinis'') points to the extent that the terrain permitted.


Carna and the Bean-Kalends

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
(5th century) says that the name ''Carna'' was derived from ''caro, carnis'', "flesh, meat, food" (compare English " carnal" and "
carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they ar ...
"), and that she was the guardian of the heart and the vital parts of the human body. The power to avert vampiric '' striges'', which Ovid attributes to the conflated Cardea-Carna, probably belonged to Carna, while the charms fixed on doorposts are rightly Cardea's. Carna's feast day was marked as '' nefastus'' on the
calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
; that is, it was a public holiday when no assembly or court could convene. Mashed beans and lard – a dish perhaps to be compared to refried beans or hoppinjohn – were offered to her as '' res divinae'', and thus the day was known as the ''Kalendae fabariae'', the Bean-Kalends, since at this time the bean harvest matured. Beans had many magico-religious properties in ancient Greece and Rome in addition to their importance as a food crop.
William Warde Fowler William Warde Fowler (16 May 1847 – 15 June 1921) was an English historian and ornithologist, and tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was best known for his works on ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of vary ...
took Carna to be an archaic goddess whose cult had not been revivified by religious innovation or reform and thus had lapsed into obscurity by the end of the
Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. Auguste Bouché-Leclercq considered Carna a goddess of health. Her elusive nature is indicated by the wildly divergent scholarly conjectures she has prompted: "she was considered a
chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...
divinity by Wissowa, a lunar goddess by Pettazzoni, a bean-goddess by
Latte Latte () or caffè latte (), also known as , or , is a List of coffee drinks, coffee drink of Italian cuisine, Italian origin made with espresso and steamed milk, traditionally served in a glass. Variants include the chocolate-flavored ''caf ...
, and a patroness of digestion by Dumézil".


In Ovid's ''Fasti''


The rape of Cranaë

In the ''
Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simi ...
'' of Ovid, the nymph Cranaë is raped by Janus, a god otherwise portrayed by the poet as avuncular and wise. As a poetic work of art, the ''Fasti'' is a unique fabrication blending authentic folklore, antiquarian knowledge, and fictional elaboration. It has been interpreted as Ovid's challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy of Augustus's religious reforms, which were often innovations of Imperial propaganda under the cloak of archaic revivalism. Ovid begins by noting that the first day of the month is dedicated to Carna. He then identifies her as the goddess of the hinge, who is elsewhere known as Cardea, a name Ovid does not use: "By means of her divine presence (''
numen Numen (plural numina) is a Latin term for "divinity", "divine presence", or "divine will". The Latin authors defined it as follows:For a more extensive account, refer to Cicero writes of a "divine mind" (), a god "whose numen everything obeys", ...
'') she opens things that have been closed, and closes things that have been opened." The source of her powers (''vires'') have become obscured by time (''aevum''), but he promises that his poem (''
carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'') will clarify the matter (6.101–104). The setting is the sacred grove ('' lucus'') of the otherwise unknown god Alernus (who was considered Cardea's father), for whom, Ovid claims, the state priests still carry out '' sacra'', sacred rites. The nymph named at that time Cranaë was born there. She was a huntress, often mistaken for the "sister of Phoebus", that is, Diana, except that she used hunting javelins and nets rather than a bow and arrow. When her many would-be lovers attempted to seduce her, she demurred claiming lack of privacy, and played the same trick on each one: "lead the way to a secluded cave, and I'll follow." As the gullible youth went ahead, Cranaë held back until she was camouflaged among the bushes (6.105–118). Janus too was seized by desire for the nymph. She responded to his sweet-talk (''verbis mollibus'') by attempting the same ruse; however, as Ovid points out in a characteristic moment of comedy and cruelty colliding, the two faces of Janus allow him to see what goes on behind, and Cranaë was unable to elude him. She was powerless (''nil agis'', "you can do nothing", the poet repeats twice); the god "occupies her with his embrace", and after overpowering her to achieve his goal, treats the encounter as contractual: "In exchange for our intercourse (''pro concubitu''), the right ('' ius'') of the hinge will be yours; take that as payment for the virginity you deposited" (6.119–128). As a pledge, he gives her the whitethorn, or hawthorn, which has the power to repel injurious influences from the entrances to houses (6.129–130). This is the "hinge" or turning point of the unnamed Cardea's transformation from a maiden nymph of the wild to a goddess who polices the threshold or boundaries ('' limina'') of domesticity. The tale of Cranaë's rape, though stocked by Roman rather than Greek figures, would be not out of place in Ovid's ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...
'': the heroine doesn't change into a tree, but her transformation resides in the token of the whitethorn tree.


Carna and the ''striges''

The ''
aition An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place a ...
'' of the whitethorn explains why, Ovid says, a branch or twig of it is used to repel ''tristes ... noxas'', "baleful harms", from doorways (''fores''). This is necessary, he says, because there are greedy winged creatures ready to fly in and suck the blood from sleeping infants so young they still take only breast milk. Ovid describes these creatures (6.131–142) as having a large head, prominent eyes, and beaks suited for snatching and carrying off; their wings are white, and their talons are like hooks. They are given the name '' striges'', singular ''strix'', the word for an owl as a bird of evil
omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient history, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages ...
and supposedly derived from the verb ''strideo, stridere'', "shriek". At the same time, Ovid says that they are the winged creatures who tormented the marooned
Phineus In Greek mythology, Phineus (; ), was a king of Salmydessus in Thrace and seer, who appears in accounts of the Argonauts' voyage. Some accounts make him a king in PaphlagoniaScholia on Apollonius of Rhodes, 2.178, 237; Scholia ''ad eund'' 2.1 ...
by stealing the food off his table – that is, the
Harpies In Greek and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; ) is a half-human and half-bird mythical creature, often believed to be a personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems. Descriptions Harpies were generally depicted ...
. They are a "disconcerting composite" that recalls images on certain
curse tablet A curse tablet (; ) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. Its name originated from the Greek and Latin words for "pierce" and "bind". The tablets were used to ask the gods, place spirits, or the deceased to perfo ...
s, one of which shows a "heart-feasting Hecate" that matches Ovid's description.For the drawing, see John G. Gager, ''Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World'' (Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 18
online
(also on the cover).
The poet himself emphasizes that it's hard to tell what they really are, whether they were born as birds, or whether they had been transformed by an incantation (''
carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'', the word Ovid has just used to describe his own account). He then glosses ''carmen'' as "a crone's
Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained in the time of Claudius). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. They originally spoke a l ...
an chant" ''()''.


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * {{Roman religion Roman goddesses Liminal goddesses Health goddesses Dii Familiaris