Liberalia

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OVID FASTI III, March 17
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'''Liberalia'''
  
There’s a popular festival of Bacchus, on the third day
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The festival of the Liberalia marked the passage of young male Romans into manhood. Priests and aged priestesses,
 +
adorned with garlands of ivy, carried through the city wine, honey,
 +
cakes, and sweet-meats, together with an altar with a handle (''ansata
 +
ara''), in the middle of which there was a small fire-pan (''foculus''), in
 +
which from time to time sacrifices were burnt.  On this day Roman youths who had attained their sixteenth year
 +
received the ''toga virilis''. The boys removed the phallic bullae
 +
charms - which had protected them in youth - from around their necks
 +
and offered them to the household gods. Their fathers took them to the
 +
Forum in Rome and presented them as adults and citizens. This was in
 +
the days when male rites of passage were encouraged.
  
 +
An ''infans'' was incapable of doing any legal act. An impubes, who had
 +
passed the limits of infantia, could do any legal act with the
 +
auctoritas of his tutor; without such auctoritas he could only do
 +
those acts which were for his benefit. With the attainment of
 +
pubertas, a person obtained the full power of his property, and the
 +
tutela ceased: he could also dispose of his property by will; and he
 +
could contract marriage.
 +
 +
 +
 +
"There’s a popular festival of Bacchus, on the third day
 
After the Ides: Bacchus, favour the poet who sings your feast.
 
After the Ides: Bacchus, favour the poet who sings your feast.
 
 
I’ll not speak about Semele: you’d have been born defenceless,
 
I’ll not speak about Semele: you’d have been born defenceless,
 
 
If it hadn’t been that Jupiter brought her his lightning too.
 
If it hadn’t been that Jupiter brought her his lightning too.
 
 
Nor will I tell how the mother’s labour was fulfilled
 
Nor will I tell how the mother’s labour was fulfilled
 
 
In a father’s body, so you might duly be born their son.
 
In a father’s body, so you might duly be born their son.
 
 
It would take long to tell of the conquered Sithonians,
 
It would take long to tell of the conquered Sithonians,
 
 
And the Scythians, and the races of incense-bearing India.
 
And the Scythians, and the races of incense-bearing India.
 
 
I’ll be silent about you too, Pentheus, sad prey to your own mother,
 
I’ll be silent about you too, Pentheus, sad prey to your own mother,
 
 
And you Lycurgus, who killed your own son in madness.
 
And you Lycurgus, who killed your own son in madness.
 
 
Lo, I’d like to speak of the monstrous Tyrrhenians, who
 
Lo, I’d like to speak of the monstrous Tyrrhenians, who
 
 
Suddenly became dolphins, but that’s not the task of this verse.
 
Suddenly became dolphins, but that’s not the task of this verse.
 
 
The task of this verse is to set out the reasons,  
 
The task of this verse is to set out the reasons,  
 
 
Why a vine-planter sells his cakes to the crowd.
 
Why a vine-planter sells his cakes to the crowd.
 
 
Liber, before your birth the altars were without offerings,
 
Liber, before your birth the altars were without offerings,
 
 
And grass appeared on the stone-cold hearths.
 
And grass appeared on the stone-cold hearths.
 
 
They tell how you set aside the first fruits for Jupiter,
 
They tell how you set aside the first fruits for Jupiter,
 
 
After subduing the Ganges region, and the whole of the East.
 
After subduing the Ganges region, and the whole of the East.
 
 
You were the first to offer up cinnamon and incense
 
You were the first to offer up cinnamon and incense
 
 
From conquered lands, and the roast entrails of triumphal oxen.
 
From conquered lands, and the roast entrails of triumphal oxen.
 
 
Libations derive their name from their originator,
 
Libations derive their name from their originator,
 
 
And cake (liba) since a part is offered on the sacred hearth.
 
And cake (liba) since a part is offered on the sacred hearth.
 
 
Honey-cakes are baked for the god, because he delights in sweet
 
Honey-cakes are baked for the god, because he delights in sweet
 
 
Substances, and they say that Bacchus discovered honey.
 
Substances, and they say that Bacchus discovered honey.
 
 
He was travelling from sandy Hebrus, accompanied
 
He was travelling from sandy Hebrus, accompanied
 
 
By Satyrs, (my tale contains a not-unpleasant jest)
 
By Satyrs, (my tale contains a not-unpleasant jest)
 
 
And he’d come to Mount Rhodope, and flowering Pangaeus:
 
And he’d come to Mount Rhodope, and flowering Pangaeus:
 
 
With the cymbals clashing in his companions’ hands.  
 
With the cymbals clashing in his companions’ hands.  
 
 
Behold unknown winged things gather to the jangling,
 
Behold unknown winged things gather to the jangling,
 
 
Bees, that follow after the echoing bronze.
 
Bees, that follow after the echoing bronze.
 
 
Liber gathered the swarm and shut it in a hollow tree,
 
Liber gathered the swarm and shut it in a hollow tree,
 
 
And was rewarded with the prize of discovering honey.
 
And was rewarded with the prize of discovering honey.
 
 
Once the Satyrs, and old bald-headed Silenus, had tasted it,
 
Once the Satyrs, and old bald-headed Silenus, had tasted it,
 
 
They searched for the yellow combs in every tree.
 
They searched for the yellow combs in every tree.
 
 
The old fellow heard a swarm humming in a hollow elm,
 
The old fellow heard a swarm humming in a hollow elm,
 
 
Saw the honeycombs, but pretended otherwise:
 
Saw the honeycombs, but pretended otherwise:
 
 
And sitting lazily on his hollow-backed ass,
 
And sitting lazily on his hollow-backed ass,
 
 
He rode it up to the elm where the trunk was hollow.
 
He rode it up to the elm where the trunk was hollow.
 
 
He stood and leant on the stump of a branch,
 
He stood and leant on the stump of a branch,
 
 
And greedily reached for the honey hidden inside.
 
And greedily reached for the honey hidden inside.
 
 
But thousands of hornets gathered, thrusting their stings
 
But thousands of hornets gathered, thrusting their stings
 
 
Into his bald head, leaving their mark on his snub-nosed face.
 
Into his bald head, leaving their mark on his snub-nosed face.
 
 
He fell headlong, and received a kick from the ass,
 
He fell headlong, and received a kick from the ass,
 
 
As he shouted to his friends and called for help.
 
As he shouted to his friends and called for help.
 
 
The Satyrs ran up, and laughed at their father’s face,
 
The Satyrs ran up, and laughed at their father’s face,
 
 
While he limped about on his damaged knee.
 
While he limped about on his damaged knee.
 
 
Bacchus himself laughed and showed him the use of mud:
 
Bacchus himself laughed and showed him the use of mud:
 
 
Silenus took his advice, and smeared his face with clay.
 
Silenus took his advice, and smeared his face with clay.
 
 
Father Liber loves honey: its right to offer its discoverer
 
Father Liber loves honey: its right to offer its discoverer
 
 
Glittering honey diffused through oven-warm cakes.
 
Glittering honey diffused through oven-warm cakes.
 
 
The reason why a woman presides isn’t obscure:
 
The reason why a woman presides isn’t obscure:
 
 
Bacchus stirs crowds of women with his thyrsus.
 
Bacchus stirs crowds of women with his thyrsus.
 
 
Why an old woman, you ask? That age drinks more,
 
Why an old woman, you ask? That age drinks more,
 
 
And loves the gifts of the teeming vine.
 
And loves the gifts of the teeming vine.
 
 
Why is she wreathed with ivy? Ivy’s dearest to Bacchus:
 
Why is she wreathed with ivy? Ivy’s dearest to Bacchus:
 
 
And why that’s so doesn’t take long to tell.
 
And why that’s so doesn’t take long to tell.
 
 
They say that when Juno his stepmother was searching
 
They say that when Juno his stepmother was searching
 
 
For the boy, the nymphs of Nysa hid the cradle in ivy leaves.
 
For the boy, the nymphs of Nysa hid the cradle in ivy leaves.
 
 
It remains for me to reveal why the toga virilis, the gown  
 
It remains for me to reveal why the toga virilis, the gown  
 
 
Of manhood, is given to boys on your day, Bacchus:
 
Of manhood, is given to boys on your day, Bacchus:
 
 
Whether it’s because you seem to be ever boy or youth,
 
Whether it’s because you seem to be ever boy or youth,
 
 
And your age is somewhere between the two:
 
And your age is somewhere between the two:
 
 
Or because you’re a father, fathers commend their sons,
 
Or because you’re a father, fathers commend their sons,
 
 
Their pledges of love, to your care and divinity:
 
Their pledges of love, to your care and divinity:
 
 
Or because you’re Liber, the gown of liberty
 
Or because you’re Liber, the gown of liberty
 
 
And a more liberated life are adopted, for you:  
 
And a more liberated life are adopted, for you:  
 
 
Or is it because, in the days when the ancients tilled the fields
 
Or is it because, in the days when the ancients tilled the fields
 
 
More vigorously, and Senators worked their fathers’ land,
 
More vigorously, and Senators worked their fathers’ land,
 
 
And ‘rods and axes’ took Consuls from the curving plough,
 
And ‘rods and axes’ took Consuls from the curving plough,
 
 
And it wasn’t a crime to have work-worn hands,
 
And it wasn’t a crime to have work-worn hands,
 
 
The farmers came to the City for the games,
 
The farmers came to the City for the games,
 
 
(Though that was an honour paid to the gods, and not  
 
(Though that was an honour paid to the gods, and not  
 
 
Their inclination: and the grape’s discoverer held his games
 
Their inclination: and the grape’s discoverer held his games
 
 
This day, while now he shares that of torch-bearing Ceres):
 
This day, while now he shares that of torch-bearing Ceres):
 
 
And the day seemed not unfitting for granting the toga,
 
And the day seemed not unfitting for granting the toga,
 
 
So that a crowd could celebrate the fresh novice?
 
So that a crowd could celebrate the fresh novice?
 
 
Father turn your mild head here, and gentle horns,
 
Father turn your mild head here, and gentle horns,
 
 
And spread the sails of my art to a favourable breeze.
 
And spread the sails of my art to a favourable breeze.
 
 
If I remember rightly, on this, and the preceding day,
 
If I remember rightly, on this, and the preceding day,
 
 
Crowds go to the Argei (their own page will tell who they are).
 
Crowds go to the Argei (their own page will tell who they are).
 
 
The Kite star turns downwards near  
 
The Kite star turns downwards near  
 
 
The Lycaonian Bear: on this night it’s first visible.
 
The Lycaonian Bear: on this night it’s first visible.
 
 
If you wish to know who raised that falcon to heaven,
 
If you wish to know who raised that falcon to heaven,
 
 
It was when Saturn had been dethroned by Jupiter:
 
It was when Saturn had been dethroned by Jupiter:
 
 
Angered, he stirred the mighty Titans to battle,
 
Angered, he stirred the mighty Titans to battle,
 
 
And sought whatever help the Fates could grant him.
 
And sought whatever help the Fates could grant him.
 
 
There was a bull, a marvellous monster, born of Mother
 
There was a bull, a marvellous monster, born of Mother
 
 
Earth, the hind part of which was of serpent-form:
 
Earth, the hind part of which was of serpent-form:
 
 
Warned by the three Fates, grim Styx had imprisoned him
 
Warned by the three Fates, grim Styx had imprisoned him
 
 
In dark woods, surrounded by triple walls.
 
In dark woods, surrounded by triple walls.
 
 
There was a prophecy that whoever burnt the entrails
 
There was a prophecy that whoever burnt the entrails
 
 
Of the bull, in the flames, would defeat the eternal gods.
 
Of the bull, in the flames, would defeat the eternal gods.
 
 
Briareus sacrificed it with an adamantine axe,
 
Briareus sacrificed it with an adamantine axe,
 
 
And was about to set the innards on the flames:
 
And was about to set the innards on the flames:
 
 
But Jupiter ordered the birds to snatch them: and the Kite  
 
But Jupiter ordered the birds to snatch them: and the Kite  
 
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Brought them, and his service set him among the stars." - Ovid, Fasti III
Brought them, and his service set him among the stars.
+
  
  
 
[[Category:Roman religion]]
 
[[Category:Roman religion]]

Revision as of 20:28, 26 August 2009

Liberalia

The festival of the Liberalia marked the passage of young male Romans into manhood. Priests and aged priestesses, adorned with garlands of ivy, carried through the city wine, honey, cakes, and sweet-meats, together with an altar with a handle (ansata ara), in the middle of which there was a small fire-pan (foculus), in which from time to time sacrifices were burnt. On this day Roman youths who had attained their sixteenth year received the toga virilis. The boys removed the phallic bullae charms - which had protected them in youth - from around their necks and offered them to the household gods. Their fathers took them to the Forum in Rome and presented them as adults and citizens. This was in the days when male rites of passage were encouraged.

An infans was incapable of doing any legal act. An impubes, who had passed the limits of infantia, could do any legal act with the auctoritas of his tutor; without such auctoritas he could only do those acts which were for his benefit. With the attainment of pubertas, a person obtained the full power of his property, and the tutela ceased: he could also dispose of his property by will; and he could contract marriage.


"There’s a popular festival of Bacchus, on the third day After the Ides: Bacchus, favour the poet who sings your feast. I’ll not speak about Semele: you’d have been born defenceless, If it hadn’t been that Jupiter brought her his lightning too. Nor will I tell how the mother’s labour was fulfilled In a father’s body, so you might duly be born their son. It would take long to tell of the conquered Sithonians, And the Scythians, and the races of incense-bearing India. I’ll be silent about you too, Pentheus, sad prey to your own mother, And you Lycurgus, who killed your own son in madness. Lo, I’d like to speak of the monstrous Tyrrhenians, who Suddenly became dolphins, but that’s not the task of this verse. The task of this verse is to set out the reasons, Why a vine-planter sells his cakes to the crowd. Liber, before your birth the altars were without offerings, And grass appeared on the stone-cold hearths. They tell how you set aside the first fruits for Jupiter, After subduing the Ganges region, and the whole of the East. You were the first to offer up cinnamon and incense From conquered lands, and the roast entrails of triumphal oxen. Libations derive their name from their originator, And cake (liba) since a part is offered on the sacred hearth. Honey-cakes are baked for the god, because he delights in sweet Substances, and they say that Bacchus discovered honey. He was travelling from sandy Hebrus, accompanied By Satyrs, (my tale contains a not-unpleasant jest) And he’d come to Mount Rhodope, and flowering Pangaeus: With the cymbals clashing in his companions’ hands. Behold unknown winged things gather to the jangling, Bees, that follow after the echoing bronze. Liber gathered the swarm and shut it in a hollow tree, And was rewarded with the prize of discovering honey. Once the Satyrs, and old bald-headed Silenus, had tasted it, They searched for the yellow combs in every tree. The old fellow heard a swarm humming in a hollow elm, Saw the honeycombs, but pretended otherwise: And sitting lazily on his hollow-backed ass, He rode it up to the elm where the trunk was hollow. He stood and leant on the stump of a branch, And greedily reached for the honey hidden inside. But thousands of hornets gathered, thrusting their stings Into his bald head, leaving their mark on his snub-nosed face. He fell headlong, and received a kick from the ass, As he shouted to his friends and called for help. The Satyrs ran up, and laughed at their father’s face, While he limped about on his damaged knee. Bacchus himself laughed and showed him the use of mud: Silenus took his advice, and smeared his face with clay. Father Liber loves honey: its right to offer its discoverer Glittering honey diffused through oven-warm cakes. The reason why a woman presides isn’t obscure: Bacchus stirs crowds of women with his thyrsus. Why an old woman, you ask? That age drinks more, And loves the gifts of the teeming vine. Why is she wreathed with ivy? Ivy’s dearest to Bacchus: And why that’s so doesn’t take long to tell. They say that when Juno his stepmother was searching For the boy, the nymphs of Nysa hid the cradle in ivy leaves. It remains for me to reveal why the toga virilis, the gown Of manhood, is given to boys on your day, Bacchus: Whether it’s because you seem to be ever boy or youth, And your age is somewhere between the two: Or because you’re a father, fathers commend their sons, Their pledges of love, to your care and divinity: Or because you’re Liber, the gown of liberty And a more liberated life are adopted, for you: Or is it because, in the days when the ancients tilled the fields More vigorously, and Senators worked their fathers’ land, And ‘rods and axes’ took Consuls from the curving plough, And it wasn’t a crime to have work-worn hands, The farmers came to the City for the games, (Though that was an honour paid to the gods, and not Their inclination: and the grape’s discoverer held his games This day, while now he shares that of torch-bearing Ceres): And the day seemed not unfitting for granting the toga, So that a crowd could celebrate the fresh novice? Father turn your mild head here, and gentle horns, And spread the sails of my art to a favourable breeze. If I remember rightly, on this, and the preceding day, Crowds go to the Argei (their own page will tell who they are). The Kite star turns downwards near The Lycaonian Bear: on this night it’s first visible. If you wish to know who raised that falcon to heaven, It was when Saturn had been dethroned by Jupiter: Angered, he stirred the mighty Titans to battle, And sought whatever help the Fates could grant him. There was a bull, a marvellous monster, born of Mother Earth, the hind part of which was of serpent-form: Warned by the three Fates, grim Styx had imprisoned him In dark woods, surrounded by triple walls. There was a prophecy that whoever burnt the entrails Of the bull, in the flames, would defeat the eternal gods. Briareus sacrificed it with an adamantine axe, And was about to set the innards on the flames: But Jupiter ordered the birds to snatch them: and the Kite Brought them, and his service set him among the stars." - Ovid, Fasti III

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