The ancient paramilitary regulated Rome was not too bothered to come up with interesting gods and biographies for their gods. Only having captured Greece and transporting the statues of the Greek gods to themselves, they at the same time captured their wonderful stories. Catholics who conducted services in Latin read Latin texts and introduced the whole world to the Roman gods during the Renaissance . Therefore, we know not Phoebe, but Apollo, not Artemis, but Diana, for example. A similar story happened with Ceres, the Italian goddess of fertility, who later received a beautiful biography of the Greek Demeter. The marble statues of Ceres, created from Greek copies of Demeter, have survived to our days. Here is an example - a statue of the goddess of fertility Ceres.
Ancient italian beliefs
The cult of the earth was important for many peoples of antiquity. The Italian people who lived on the Iberian Peninsula were no exception . Ceres - the goddess of the land and fertility of Rome - one of the oldest deities. And initially she was associated in the minds of the Italian peoples with the even more ancient goddess of the land of Tellus. At the beginning, Ceres had one task - the protection of grain crops.
This was devoted to the time from the moment of sowing, then the germination of plants and their ripening. The ancients believed in the animation of all nature as a whole (both the tree and the stone were alive, they had a soul in them), and, of course, Ceres, the goddess Tellus were revived by them, filled with their life. Ceres was believed to have taught people how to cultivate fields, and besides, it was the goddess of the birth of life. Flowers and fruits are her animated gifts, her obligatory paraphernalia. Therefore, she was portrayed severe, beautiful, majestic, with a crown of thorns on her head, a torch in one hand and a basket filled with grain and fruit. Her functions also included protecting motherhood and matrimony and the crop from robbers. She also protected the rural community, but she could send madness to people.
Holidays in honor of the ancient goddesses
For the first time, goddesses appeared, as is supposed in Italy, on the Sicilian, most fertile land (Tellus). Ceres, the goddess, received her fruits, mostly grain. On the most important days, for example, the day of the first plowing and sowing, and this was a holiday that depended on weather conditions and therefore could move around and have conditional terms, Ceres, the goddess Tellus received bloody sacrifices. Most often pigs were slaughtered for them, but it also happened that they were calf cows. The holidays were called cerealies and began approximately (different sources give slightly different dates) April 11-12. They were called Ludi Cerealis and were very spectacular (foxes, for example, were hunted). The farmers dressed in white robes, laid wreaths on their heads and held feasts and celebrations for eight days. By April 19, they were completed in honor of Ceres, Liber (Greek Dionysus) and Liber (Cora). For this, Aventin Hill was built in the temple between 493 and 495 BC. e. Ceres, the goddess of plebeians, had twelve different additional names:
- Mistress
- Chloe.
- The one that gives gifts to the earth.
- The one that gives apples.
- Ruthless.
- Warm and others.
They contacted various aspects of field work.
Temples
Firstly, there was a temple in Rome, on the Aventian hill. There was a statue of a deity. Now the statue of the fertility goddess Ceres in Rome is in the Roman National Museum. More precisely, this is not a statue, but a Roman marble copy from the bust of Demeter, 4th century BC. e.
The next temple was in Paestum.
There is a sanctuary in Lavinio. There they found a copper tablet with a text that says how to cook the insides of animals, so that later they can be brought to the goddess.
The merger of Ceres and Demeter
From ancient Roman sources it is known that in 496 BC. e. there was a big crop failure. On this occasion, Greek masters built a temple in Rome dedicated to the triad consisting of Demeter, Dionysus and Cora. The new gods merged, as already mentioned, with the old and received Roman names.
The main role was played by Ceres, the goddess of fertility. Holidays began to be held according to Greek patterns. These were the Mysteries, in which only married women took part. Girls and men were not allowed into the mystery orgies. They consisted of the wedding of Pluto and Proserpine.
Thus, the ancient Italian cults merged with the Greek and became inextricable in the minds of the plebeian farmers who most revered this particular goddess who gave life.