Dis Pater, or Dispater, was a Roman and Celtic god of the underworld, later subsumed by Pluto or Jupiter. Originally a chthonic god of riches, fertile agricultural land, and underground mineral wealth, he was later commonly equated with the Roman deities Pluto and Orcus, becoming an underworld deity. Pluto, lord of the underworld. ... Jupiter et Thétis - by Jean Ingres, 1811. ... In mythology chthonic (from Greek χθονιος-pertaining to the earth; earthy) designates, or pertains to, gods or spirits of the underworld, especially in Greek mythology. ... Orcus has several meanings: In mythology, Orcus is a god of the underworld, or a demon. ... // In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. ...

Dis Pater was commonly shortened to simply Dis. This name has since become an alternate name for the underworld or a part of the underworld, such as the Dis of The Divine Comedy. Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelinos fresco. ...

Etymology

Dis Pater was originally a god of wealth, much like the Greek god Pluto (from Greek Πλούτων, Ploutōn, meaning "wealthy"), who was later equated with Dis Pater. Dis is contracted from the Latin dives ("rich"), and pater is Latin for "father", the literal meaning of Dis Pater being "Wealthy Father" or "Father of Riches". He was the patron of everyone Pluto, lord of the underworld. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Julius Caesar writes in Commentarii de Bello Gallico that the Gauls considered Dis Pater to be an ancestor of theirs. This may in part be due to confusion between Dis Pater and the Proto-Indo-European deity Dyeus, who was addressed as Dyeu Phter ("Sky Father"). This name is also the likely origin of the name of many Indo-European gods, including Zeus and Jupiter, though its relationship with Dis Pater may be in part coincidental. Gāius Jūlius Caesar (IPA: ;[1]), July 12 or July 13, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... Commentarii de Bello Gallico (literally Commentaries on the Gallic Wars in Latin) is an account written by Julius Caesar about his nine years of war in Gaul. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC For Gaul after the Roman conquest, see Roman Gaul Gaul (Latin Gallia) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the... Ancient anthropomorphic Ukrainian stone stela (Kernosovka stela), possibly depicting a late Proto-Indo-European god, most likely Dyeus, the thunderer. ... *Dyēus is the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving In Greek mythology, Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Ζεύς Zeús, genitive... Jupiter et Thétis - by Jean Ingres, 1811. ...

Mythology

Like Pluto, Dis Pater eventually became associated with death and the underworld because the mined wealth of the earth—gems and precious metals—was considered in the domain of the Greco-Roman underworld. As a result, Dis Pater was over time conflated with the Roman gods Pluto, originally an epithet of the Greek god Hades, and Orcus, a Roman underworld deity. An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ... Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ... Orcus has several meanings: In mythology, Orcus is a god of the underworld, or a demon. ...

In being conflated with Pluto, Dis Pater took on some of the Greek mythological attributes of Pluto/Hades, being one of the three sons of Saturn (Greek: Cronus) and Ops (Greek: Rhea), along with Jupiter and Neptune. He ruled the underworld and the dead beside his wife, Proserpina (Greek: Persephone).^[1] In literature, Dis Pater was commonly used as a symbolic and poetic way of referring to death itself. The Oricoli bust of Zeus, King of the Gods, in the collection of the Vatican Museum. ... Saturn devouring his son (Francisco de Goya, c. ... Cronus (Ancient Greek Κρόνος, Krónos —of obscure etymology, perhaps related to horned, suggesting a possible connection with the ancient Indian demon Kroni or the Levantine deity El; or to the word χρόνος, Chronos, meaning time), also called Cronos or Kronos, was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of... A Sabine goddess, Ops (plenty) was a fertility deity and earth-goddess in Roman mythology. ... Rhea (or Ria meaning she who flows) was the Titaness daughter of Uranus and of Gaia. ... Neptune reigns in the city centre, Bristol, formerly the largest port in England outside London. ... Rape of Proserpina, by Luca Giordano Proserpina is an ancient goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. ... Persephone, the Maiden: the late Archaic Kore of Antenor from the Acropolis, Athens In Greek mythology, Persephone (Greek Περσεφόνη, Persephónē) was the queen of the Underworld, the Kore or young maiden, and the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ...

Worship

When Dis Pater was in the underworld, only oaths and curses could reach him, and people invoked him by striking the earth with their hands. Black sheep were sacrificed to him, and those who performed the sacrifice averted their faces. Dis Pater, like his Greek equivalent, Hades, had little or no real cult following, and so there are few statues of him. An oath (from Old Saxon eoth) is either a promise or a statement of fact calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually a god, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. ... Look up Curse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In 249 BC and 207 BC, the Roman Senate ordained special festivals to appease Dis Pater and Proserpina. Every hundred years, a festival was celebrated in his name. According to legend, a round marble altar, Ara Ditis Patris et Proserpinae (Latin: "Altar of Dis Pater and Proserpina"), was miraculously discovered by the servants of a Sabine called Valesius, the ancestor of the first consul. The servants were digging in the Tarentum on the edge of the Campus Martius to lay foundations following instructions given to Valesius's children in dreams, when they found the altar 20 ft. (6.09 m) underground. Valesius reburied the altar after three days of games. Sacrifices were offered to this altar during the Ludi Saeculares or Ludi Tarentini. It may have been uncovered for each occasion of the games, to be reburied afterwards, a clearly chthonic tradition of worship. It was rediscovered in 1886–87 beneath the Corso Vittorio Emanuele in Rome.^[2][3] Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC - 240s BC - 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC Years: 254 BC 253 BC 252 BC 251 BC 250 BC - 249 BC - 248 BC 247 BC... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC - 200s BC - 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC Years: 212 BC 211 BC 210 BC 209 BC 208 BC - 207 BC - 206 BC 205 BC... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire, which ended in the 6th century AD. The word Senatus is derived from the Latin word senex, meaning old man or elder. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ... Consul (abbrev. ... Tarento (タレント) is a Japanese rendering of the Portuguese word talento (talent in English) and is used as a catch-all term for major media personalities who regularly appear on television, radio and other forms of entertainment. ... The Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 km² (600 acres) in extent. ... Secular games (Lodi Sæculares, originally Terentini). ... In mythology chthonic (from Greek χθονιος-pertaining to the earth; earthy) designates, or pertains to, gods or spirits of the underworld, especially in Greek mythology. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 8th century BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ...

In addition to being considered the ancestor of the Gauls, Dis Pater was sometimes identified with the Sabine god Soranus. In southern Germany and the Balkans, Dis Pater had a Celtic goddess, Aericura, as a consort. Dis Pater was rarely associated with foreign deities in the shortened form of his name, Dis.^[4] The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ... Soranus was a Sabine god later adopted by the Roman Empire. ... Balkan peninsula with northwest border Isonzo-Krka-Sava The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. ... Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... In Celtic mythology, Aericura (Aeracura, Heracura) was an underworld goddess; she was originally an earth goddess, associated with Silvanus, the Rhine Valley and the cornucopia. ...

Popular culture

• In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Dispater is the name of ruler of the city Dis on the plane of Baator (the Nine Hells).
• In Maciek Kur's book Stowarzyszenie umarłych dusz czyli traumo-pocieszne przygody Znicza Deathsoul Dis Celtic version makes some appearances in chapter's 3 and 9. He have a Grim Reaper like look, except he have horns and hammer. Although his dangerous look, he was shown do have a very tenders sight and he likes to cock. He was shown to be god friends with Set and Hades (as they all three the dark lord’s in their mythologies)

For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ... A roleplaying game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create stories. ... In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Dispater is an Arch-Devil of Hell (Baator in later editions of the game), and the Lord of the Iron City of Dis. ... In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Baator, also known as the Nine Hells of Baator or the Nine Hells, is a lawful evil-aligned plane of existence. ... Death, personified is an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. ... In mathematics, a set can be thought of as any collection of distinct things considered as a whole. ... Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Hades
• Pluto (mythology)
• Orcus (mythology)
• Proserpina

Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ... Pluto, lord of the underworld. ... In Roman mythology, Orcus was a god of the underworld, punisher of broken oaths, more equivalent to Pluto than to the Greek Hades, and later identified with Dis Pater. ... Rape of Proserpina, by Luca Giordano Proserpina is an ancient goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. ...

References

Notes