ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the Roman people, people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as high ...

, the god Consus was the protector of grains. He was represented by a grain seed. His

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

''( ara)'' was located at the first ''meta'' of the Circus Maximus. It was either underground, or according to other sources, covered with earth, which was swept off during the two Consualia, his festivals on August 21, December 15, and on July 7 when the pontiffs held a sacrifice there. He was thus a chthonic god. The '' Flamen Quirinalis'' and the Vestals officiated at his rites.

Etymology

The

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the name ''Consus'' is uncertain. It may be of Etruscan or

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

origin. In the

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

of antiquity, the name was related to the Latin verb ''conserere'', "to sow," as was the title of the goddess Ops as ''Consivia'' or ''Consiva''. The late Republican theologian

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

said that the Consualia were named for Consus. G. Dumézil and G. Capdeville consider verb ''condere'', "to store", to be the best etymology: ''Consus'' would be an archaic verbal noun denoting the action of storing grain. Capdeville states that ''Consus'' cannot be related to ''conserere'' and adjective ''consivius'', and advances the hypothesis that ''condere'' might have to be taken in the meaning of "to found" or "establish". Ancient sources, Festus included, were very fond of the similar sound of ''Consus'' and ''consilium'', and allegorically interpreted his name as relating to "council" or "assembly" (''consilium''). Moreover,

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

reports that on one of the ''metae'' of the circus maximus an inscription read: "''Consus consilio, Mars duello, Lares coillo po entes'". which may be archaic considering ''co llo'' and external factors. This is close to "hide" too cf. ''abdere, (abs)condere''. This derivation is certain, but on the other hand, as de Vaan writes on the etymology of ''consilium'', it is very uncertain whence comes the head word, ''consulere-solere'', although very probably not from ''con-sideo''.

Function and associations

The festivals of Ops ( Opiconsivia or Opalia) followed Consus' closely, being held every August 25 and December 19, at the time of reaping and the seeding of crops. Consus became a god associated with secret conferences. The grammarian Servius says that Consus is the god of councils. This fact stems from the role played by Consus in the abduction of the Sabine women, which took place on the occasion of the ''Consualia aestiva'' and was considered to have been advised by the god himself. This power of hidden counselling held by Consus seems to be related to the concept expressed by Dionysius and Plutarch that he is the "holder" of the Earth, an idea that makes of him a parallel to

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

. So although it is certain that ''condere'' and ''consulere'' are from two different roots, it looks the character of Consus as hidden master of the Earth was at the basis of the identification with

, as well as the strict affinity of the two gods with the horse. According to G. Capdeville, it was a customary event that games were held at the foundation of a new settlement. These were connected with rituals that included athletic games such as footraces and marriage games along with invitations to settle in the new town: He mentions the instances of Caeculus at Praeneste and other settlements in Crete ( Dreros, Hierapytna, Praisos, Lyttos,

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

). These events all had a religious meaning. In Crete, as well as in Rome, it looks like the god involved was Vulcan (), i.e. the Cretan ''megas Kouros'', later interpreted as

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. In Rome the relationship of Vulcan with Consus is apparent in the dates of their festivals and the fact that the ''flamen volcanalis'' officiated at the Calends of May the sacrifice to

Bona Dea Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a List of Roman deities, goddess in Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility among married Women in ancient Rome, Roman women, healing, and the protection of t ...

. Consus is perhaps to be identified with "Equestrian Neptune" ('' Neptunus Equestris''). Mule or horse races were the main event of the festival. During the festival horses and mules were garlanded with flowers, and given a rest from work. This fact is ascribed by Capdeville to the fact that Poseidon was the successor of the unknown god of the Arcadian Hippocrateia mentioned by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who himself was perhaps the successor of a horse god. A close connection of Consus with the two Pales and of both with the horse looks apparent.

References

{{Authority control Agricultural gods Roman gods Horse deities