In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus.^[1] Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton; literally meaning imposed) is a descriptive word or phrase. ... Roman bust of Janus, Vatican In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. ...

History

Quirinus was originally most likely a Sabine god. The Sabines had a settlement near the eventual site of Rome, and erected an altar to Quirinus on the Collis Quirinalis, the Quirinal Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome. When the Romans settled there, they absorbed the cult of Quirinus into their early belief system— previous to direct Greek influence— and he was said to be the deified Romulus. He soon became an important god of the Roman state, being included in the earliest precursor of the Capitoline Triad, along with Mars (then an agriculture god) and Jupiter.^[2] Varro notes the Capitolium Vetus an earlier cult sited on the Quirinal, devoted to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva,^[3] among whom Martial makes a distinction between the "old Jupiter" and the "new".^[4] The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna The tribe of the Sabines (Latin Sabini - singular Sabinus) was an Italic tribe of ancient Italy. ... The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin Roma) is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. ... An etching of the Hill, crowned by the mass of the Palazzo del Quirinale, from a series I Sette Colli di Roma antica e moderna published in 1827 by Luigi Rossini (1790 - 1857): his view, from the roof of the palazzo near the Trevi Fountain that now houes the Accademia... The Seven Hills of Rome east of the Tiber form the heart of Rome. ... Romulus may refer to any of these articles: Romulus is a mythical founder of Rome, brother of Remus. ... The Capitoline Triad was comprised of three deities of Roman mythology who were worshipped most famously in an elaborate temple on Romes Capitoline Hill. ... Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and either Jupiter or a magical flower. ... Jupiter et Thétis - by Jean Ingres, 1811. ... Marcus Terentius Varro ([[116 BC]–27 BC), also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman scholar and writer, who the Romans came to call the most learned of all the Romans. ... Marcus Valerius Martialis, known in English as Martial, was a Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. ...

In later times, however, as Romans began to drift away from the state belief system in favor of more personal and mystical cults (such as those of Bacchus, Cybele, and Isis), Quirinus became far less important, losing his place in the later, more widely known Capitoline Triad (Juno and Minerva took his and Mars' place). In the end, he was worshiped almost exclusively by his flamen, the Flamen Quirinalis, who remained, however, one of the patrician flamines maiores, the "greater flamens" who preceded the Pontifex Maximus in precedence.^[5] Dionysus with a leopard, satyr and grapes on a vine, in the Palazzo Altemps (Rome, Italy) Dionysus (Latin) or Dionysos (Greek) (from Ancient Greek: or ; both Greek and Roman mythology and associated with the Italic Liber), the Thracian god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but... Cybele with her attributes. ... This article discusses the ancient goddess. ... IVNO REGINA (Queen Juno) on a coin celebrating Julia Soaemias. ... Head of Minerva by Elihu Vedder, 1896 A head of Minerva found in the ruins of the Roman baths in Bath Minerva was a Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom. ... The Flamen Quirinalis oversees the cult of Quirinus, a god related to the peaceful aspect of Mars, who presides over organized Roman social life. ... Alternate meanings: see Pontifex (disambiguation) In Ancient Rome, the Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the collegium of the Pontifices, the most august position in Roman religion, open only to a patrician, until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. ...

Depiction

In earlier Roman art, he was portrayed as a bearded man with religious and military clothing. However, he was almost never depicted in later Roman belief systems. He was also often associated with the myrtle. The Bath, a painting by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926). ... Species The Myrtle (Myrtus) is a genus of one or two species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae, native to southern Europe and north Africa. ...

Festivals

His festival was the Quirinalia, held on February 17. A festival is an event, usually staged by a local community, which centers on some unique aspect of that community. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Trivia

Even centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire the Quirinale hill in Rome, originally named from the deified Romulus was still associated with power, hence it was chosen as the seat of the royal house after the taking of Rome by the Savoia and later it became the residence of the Presidents of the Italian Republic. An etching of the Hill, crowned by the mass of the Palazzo del Quirinale, from a series I Sette Colli di Roma antica e moderna published in 1827 by Luigi Rossini (1790 - 1857): his view, from the roof of the palazzo near the Trevi Fountain that now houes the Accademia... Romulus may refer to any of these articles: Romulus is a mythical founder of Rome, brother of Remus. ... The House of Savoy was a dynasty of nobles who traditionally had their domain in Savoy, a region between Piedmont, Italy, France and French-speaking Switzerland. ...

Notes