NETTUNO and NEPTUNALIA - Jupiter between N. and Pluto. Stucco relief from the Via Appia (2nd century AD) - Vatican, Museo Gregoriano etrusco.
NEPTUNE AND NEPTUNALIA. - Neptunus, an ancient Roman divinity, already appears with his festival, the Neptunalia (23 July), in the oldest Roman Calendar.
The literary testimonies identify him with the Greek Poseidon, conceived, in the classical manner, as god of the sea: such a character is, however, implausible in a god of that ancient Rome which had no access to the sea. Since all the documentation is under the influence of that identification and the name of Neptune has so far not been explained etymologically, it is difficult to reconstruct the original figure of the god. The facts of the cult that might serve as support are few and disparate: 1) the Neptunalia follow at a close interval upon the Lucraria; 2) they have a popular character; the participants build themselves huts of branches (umbrae); 3) the sacrificial victim is the bull; 4) to Neptune belongs a goddess by the name of Salacia; 5) in the first collective lectisternium (399 B.C.), Neptune is flanked by Mercury. The temple of Neptune stood near the Circus Flaminius. Another festival of his, and of Salacia and Venilia, was on the 1st of December.
Bibliography3 worksW. Werde Fowler, Roman festivals, London 1899, p. 185 ff.; G. Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Römer, 2nd ed., Munich 1912, p. 225 ff.; St.
BIBL.: W. Werde Fowler, Roman festivals, London 1899, p. 185 ff.; G. Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Römer, 2nd ed., Munich 1912, p. 225 ff.; St. Weinstock, in Pauly-Wissowa, XVI (1935), col. 2514 ff.
Brelich, Angelo. “Nettuno e Neptunalia.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, coll. 1788–1789. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952. https://azioneromana.com/article/nettuno-e-neptunalia.
MLA
Brelich, Angelo. “Nettuno e Neptunalia.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952, coll. 1788–1789. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/nettuno-e-neptunalia.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec8_nettuno_e_neptunalia,
author = {Brelich, Angelo},
title = {Nettuno e Neptunalia},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VIII},
pages = {1788--1789},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1952},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/nettuno-e-neptunalia}
}
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