TERMINALIA. — Festival of the god Terminus in Roman religion. *Terminus* means, in Latin, a boundary and, more specifically, the stone that marks the boundary. In private worship, the *Terminalia* were celebrated at the stone that marked the boundary between two estates: on an altar, fruits, wine, a lamb, and a sow were sacrificed; the stone was garlanded on both sides (by the respective owners) and anointed with the blood of the victim. But the *Terminalia* were also a public festival, fixed in the archaic calendar on February 23.
A public rite took place, perhaps alluding to the boundaries of Rome, at the sixth mile of the Via Laurentina. Here too a sheep was sacrificed. This seems to contradict explicit testimonies according to which the cult of Terminus was bloodless. Perhaps, however, the more ancient cult, which had its center in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, must be distinguished from the rites mentioned above. At the time of the temple’s construction, all the other deities had yielded their place to Jupiter, except Terminus and Juventas, who were incorporated into the temple (both divine names also appear as epithets of Jupiter!). Above the cult site of Terminus, the roof of the temple was open. That the significance of Terminus was not limited to the boundary stone is evident not only from this Capitoline cult but also from the fact that the *Terminalia* are the last festival of the Roman year and thus mark its end.