Altar of Consus explained

The Altar of Consus (Latin: Ara Consi) was an ancient Roman altar dedicated to the gods Consus and Mars, as well as the lares, which were ancient Roman household guardians. It was located beneath the Circus Maximus.^{[1] [2]} The altar may have also served as the first turning post of the Circus Maximus.^{[3] [4] [5]} It is possible the subterranean location of this altar is connected to the Roman practice of storing wheat underground^[6] and specifically paralleled by the ancient mundus of Ceres supposedly instituted by Romulus at the founding of the city.^[7] This is in turn associated with the modern interpretation of Consus as an agrarian deity. Dionysus of Halicarnassus wrote that some ancient Romans believed the altar was located underground because they thought that the god Consus corresponded to Poseidon, who was also a god of earthquakes. He also claims that other Romans believed that the altar was dedicated to an unamenable god who presided over hidden councils.^[8] This explanation is associated with the ancient connections between Consus and secrecy and hidden councils.^[9] Tacitus mentions the altar as a landmark of his conjectural reconstruction of the pomerium,^[10] the sacred border of the city of Rome proper, as originally established by Romulus's Latin: [[sulcus primigenius]].^{[11] [12]}

The site was covered for most of the year, although it was uncovered during religious occasions for sacrifices and rituals.^{[13] [14]} Roman author Tertullian stated that public priests made sacrifices at the altar on 7 July during the Caprotinia. He also wrote that the Flamen Quirinalis and a group of virgins, potentially the Vestal Virgins, made sacrifices at the altar on 21 August.^{[15] [16] [17]} This was in celebration of the Consualia, a Roman holiday which honored Consus. As part of this holiday,^[18] games commemorating the Rape of the Sabine Women were held at this altar.^{[19] [20] [21]}

Tertullian wrote that it bore an inscription which read:^{[22] [23]}

This translates to:

This inscription may not be authentically archaic. Many modern scholars are critical of the potential etymological link between Latin: Consus and Latin: consilium, the Latin word for counsel.^{[24] [25]} The German classical philologist Georg Wissowa argued that in a genuine ancient inscription from this time period the names of the gods would be expected to be in the dative case, not in the nominative, which is the case used in the inscription. Theodor Mommsen, a German classical scholar, believed that Tertullian may have incorrectly transcribed the Latin words coitu or cubiclo when he utilized the word coillo. Alternatively, it may have been a transcription of the Greek word for the Lacus Curtius.^[26] Coillo could possibly be a synonym of Compito. The Latin word compito means crossroads, and the Lares were frequently worshipped at these crossroads. Similarly, consilio has been theorized to be a misreading of consivio, meaning "gathering of the harvest." This theory has been criticized for being unsupported by Tertullian, who appears to have directly derived the word consilio from his source.^[27]

Notes and References

1. Book: Daly . Kathleen N. . Greek & Roman Mythology A-Z . Rengel . Marian . 2004-01-01 . Infobase Publishing . 978-1-4381-1992-2 . 32 . en.
2. Saunders . Catharine . 1913 . The Site of Dramatic Performances at Rome in the Times of Plautus and Terence . live . Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association . 44 . 87–97 . 10.2307/282545 . 282545 . 0065-9711 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231123184459/https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/282545.pdf . November 23, 2023.
3. Book: Mahoney, Anne . Roman Sports and Spectacles: A Sourcebook . 2001-01-01 . Hackett Publishing . 978-1-58510-606-6 . 7–8 . en.
4. Book: Christesen . Paul . A Cultural History of Sport in Antiquity . Stocking . Charles H. . 2022-08-31 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-350-28295-7 . 58 . en.
5. Holden . Antonia . 2008-01-01 . The Abduction of the Sabine Women in Context: The Iconography on Late Antique Contorniate Medallions . American Journal of Archaeology . en . 112 . 1 . 121–142 . 10.3764/aja.112.1.121 . 162253485 . 0002-9114.
6. Book: Georg Wissowa . Religion und Kultus der Römer . 1912 . 2nd . 201–204 . de.
7. Fowler . W. Warde . 1912 . Mundus Patet. 24th August, 5th October, 8th November . The Journal of Roman Studies . en . 2 . 25–33 . 10.2307/295939 . 295939 . 163222877 . 1753-528X.
8. Miano . Daniele . 2015 . The Goddess Ops in Archaic Rome . live . Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies . 58 . 1 . 98–127 . 10.1111/j.2041-5370.2015.12005.x . 0076-0730 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220410080132/https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/114534/1/ops%20revised.pdf . April 10, 2022.
9. Book: . In Vergilii Aeneidem commentarii . 8.636 . Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid . Consus autem deus est consiliorum..
10. [Tacitus]
11. Orlin . Eric M. . 2002 . Foreign Cults in Republican Rome: Rethinking the Pomerial Rule . Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome . 47 . 10 . 10.2307/4238789 . 4238789 . 0065-6801 . JSTOR.
12. Book: Flower, Harriet I. . The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden: Religion at the Roman Street Corner . 2017-09-26 . Princeton University Press . 978-1-4008-8801-6 . 112–114 . en.
13. Book: Platner, Samuel Ball . A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome . 2015-05-21 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-108-08324-9 . 140 . en.
14. [Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dionysus]
15. Book: DiLuzio, Meghan J. . A Place at the Altar: Priestesses in Republican Rome . 2020-04-28 . Princeton University Press . 978-0-691-20232-7 . 60–62 . en.
16. Michels . Agnes K. . 1990 . ROMAN FESTIVALS: July - September . The Classical Outlook . 67 . 4 . 115 . 43936677 . 0009-8361 . JSTOR.
17. Michels . Agnes K. . 1990 . ROMAN FESTIVALS: October—December . The Classical Outlook . 68 . 1 . 11–12 . 43919166 . 0009-8361 . JSTOR.
18. Book: Middleton, John Henry . The Remains of Ancient Rome . 1892 . A. and C. Black . 41 . en.
19. Book: Ovid . Fastorum libri sex . 2015-03-05 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-108-08248-8 . 3 . La . Frazer . James . The Fasti of Ovid: Commentary on Books 3 and 4.
20. Book: Hölscher, Tonio . Visual Power in Ancient Greece and Rome: Between Art and Social Reality . 2018-06-22 . University of California Press . 978-0-520-96788-5 . 127 . en.
21. Book: Varro, Marcus . De Lingua Latina . 1938 . London : W. Heinemann . La . Kent . Roland Grubb . On the Latin language . 38021516 . 848014271 . 6373636M.
22. Book: Tertullian . De spectaculis. . 1931 . London Heinemann . 246 . La . Glover . Terrot . On the Spectacles . 1040001141 . 23278382M . Rendall . Gerald.
23. Book: Liddel . Peter Philip . Inscriptions and Their Uses in Greek and Latin Literature . Low . Polly . 2013-09-26 . OUP Oxford . 978-0-19-966574-7 . 181 . en.
24. Noonan . J. D. . 1990 . Livy 1.9.6: The Rape at the Consualia . The Classical World . 83 . 6 . 496 . 10.2307/4350674 . 4350674 . 0009-8418 . JSTOR. subscription .
25. Johnson . Van L. . 1967 . Agonia, Indigetes, and the Breeding of Sheep and Goats . Latomus . 26 . 2 . 335 . 41525221 . 0023-8856 . JSTOR.
26. Dušanić . Slobodan . Petković . Žarko . 2002 . The Flamen Quirinalis at the Consualia and the Horseman of the Lacus Curtius . Aevum . 76 . 1 . 64 . 20861291 . 0001-9593 . JSTOR.
27. Book: Tertullian . Disciplinary, Moral, and Ascetical Works . 2010 . CUA Press . 978-0-8132-1140-4 . 61 . en.