QUIRINO. - 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 centre of his cult. Since this hill was the seat of a community (Sabine?) prior to the foundation of Rome, it is probable that Q. (whose name seems to derive from a form such as co-virium and is, in any event, inseparable from Quirites) was the representative god of that community: consequently, after the unification of Rome he could be identified with the eponym of the city, the deified Romulus. In his service are the Salii agonenses of the Quirinal, as the Salii palatini are in that of Mars; Q. too has sacred weapons like Mars. On the other hand, the evidence emphasizes, besides his analogy with Mars, a different, peaceful character. 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 Conso. Little can be conjectured concerning the divinities mentioned in close connection with Q.: Hora Quirini, Virites Quirini.