Quirinius

QUIRINIUS. - An ancient and important Roman divinity: his particular priest, the flamen Quirinalis, is the third of the flamines maiores after that of Jupiter and that of Mars, gods with whom Q. in a certain sense forms a triad.

The Quirinal hill takes its name from the god and constitutes the center of his cult. Since this hill was the seat of a community (Sabine?) prior to the founding of Rome, it is probable that Q. (whose name seems to derive from a form such as co-virium and is, in any case, inseparable from Quirites), was the representative god of that community: therefore, after the unification of Rome he could come to be identified with the eponym of the city, the deified Romulus. In his service stand the Salii agonenses of the Quirinal, as the Salii palatini stand in that of Mars; Q. too has sacred arms like Mars. On the other hand, the testimonies emphasize, besides his analogy with Mars, also a different, peaceful character of his. His festival, the Quirinalia, falls on 17 February. The activity of his flamen is known in connection with the cults of Acca Larentia, Robigo and Consus. Little can be conjectured about the divinities mentioned in close connection with Q.: Hora Quirini, Virites Quirini.

Angelo Brelich