The Pagan Origins of Christmas? Saturnalia: Pre-Christian Holidays in Ancient Rome

   

IO SATVRNALIA!

That’s the traditional phrase the ancient Romans shouted during the Saturnalia celebrations of December 17 ～ 23 [i].

Apart from exchanging gifts, eating, drinking and singing, the participants engaged in playing games with dice or knucklebones, either for money or for nuts [ii].

Pileus

The typical headwear associated with these holidays was the pileus [iii], a conical felt cap. The pileus can also be commonly seen on depictions of certain mythological figures e.g. Ulixes (ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ 【Odysseus】) and the Dioscuri (ΔΙΟΣΚΟΥΡΟΙ【Dioskouroi】).

 

The Dioscuri are often called “saviours” [iv] [v], so it is no surprise that their typical headgear is seen as a symbol of liberation. A slave would also wear a pileus when he was manumitted by his master [vi].  The Saturnalia period was seen as a time of liberty, so slaves were allowed to do and say more than usual.

By the way, the pileus worn by the Dioscuri and freedmen was most likely considered to be different from the Phrygian pileus [vii]. The Phrygian type has a pointed tip that extends forward and it was associated Orientals, especially with the Trojans [viii]. In Greek and Roman art, this Phrygian cap was used to emphasise the eastern origin of certain mythological figures like Attis and Mythras for example.
 

Modern Saturnalia altar: Left: sigillaria (figurines) of gladiarors and bust of Bacchus (/Dionysos/Liber Pater). Right: sigillaria of a dog, a horse and a rooster. Middle: copy of fresco from Pompeii depicting Saturnus, dice, knucklebones, a wine cup and candles (all items shown were associated with the Saturnalia celebrations).

Name and mythological origin

The Saturnalia were named after Saturnus. This is the God that was immortalised in the English “Saturday” and Dutch “Zaterdag [ix]. According to legend, Saturnus was banned from mount Olympus after He was defeated and dethroned by His son Iuppiter as a revenge for eating His other children and attempting to eat Iuppiter Himself [x].

According to some accounts, He then fled to Italy by ship, where He taught the people how to work the field and became King alongside Ianus [xi]. His reign was believed to be a Golden Age of peace and freedom. When, one day, He suddenly disappeared, Ianus commissioned a statue in His likeness that was to be worshipped from then on. He also organised the Saturnalia in His honour, to remind people of the equality everyone had enjoyed under His reign. [xii].

Modern writers tend to emphasise the element of “role reversal” when talking about the Saturnalia, often to draw a parallel with a similar customs of the middle ages or later. While there are a few examples in Roman literature that can be interpreted as instances of the slave becoming the master, it’s actually the element of social equality that takes the foreground in most Roman reports. The fact that slaves were allowed to wear the cap of a freedman is easily explained as a symbol of them becoming equal to their masters, but it is hard to explain how this would symbolise a reversal of the roles [xiii]. Equality also makes more sense than role reversal in light of the temporary return to the social order of the reign of Saturnus.

The cult statue of the temple of Saturnus in Rome had its feet tied together with wool throughout the year, but on the day of His festival, the wool was removed as a symbol of the temporary restoration of His power [xiv].

Depictions of Saturnus are not very common, but the ones that do exist are quite similar. He is typically shown as a bearded man with His head covered. Interestingly, sacrifices to Him were made in the Greek manner, meaning that the priest himself would not cover his head during the ritual [xv].

In His hand, Saturnus carries a sickle, as the symbol His agricultural function.

It also reminds us of the myth where He castrates His father Caelus (Greek: ΟΥΡΑΝΟΣ 【Ouranos】) to punish Him [xvi].

According to another Saturnalia legend, early inhabitants of Latium sacrificed human heads to Dis Pater and men to Saturnus because they had been told to do so by an oracle.

When the Demigod Hercules witnessed this barbaric custom on His journey through Italy, He reinterpreted the Greek words of the oracle so that the cruel sacrifices could be replaced with benign ones: Henceforth, Dis Pater would get masks and Saturnus would get candles. [xvii]

Several Roman authors [xviii] mention candles as gift for the Saturnalia and masks also seem to have played a role. 

Saturnalia vs. Christmas

In conclusion, I would like to talk about the link between the Saturnalia and Christmas.

There certainly are many similarities between the two, like the decorating of the house with greenery, the symbolism of candles, the exchanging of gifts, the tradition of singing songs and perhaps even the bearded winter visitors Saturnus and Santa Claus respectively, but we should be careful not to exaggerate the continuity of these customs.

Many people seem to want to insist that the modern Christmas celebrations are nothing more than a Christianised version of the Saturnalia or alternatively the Germanic Yule tide celebrations. But we should be aware of the fact that for most of these customs, there is a period of hundreds of years -more than 1000 in some cases- without any evidence of continuity between certain ancient traditions and their modern equivalents.

It seems therefore more likely that most similarities are either due to a basic human urge, e.g. the urge to celebrate during the coldest period of the year (as similar traditions exist in countries that are nowhere near Europe like China and Japan) or due to fairly recent (Renaissance～ ) revivalist efforts.

It would be unfair to our ancestors of the past 1500 years to claim that they were somehow less creative than our ancestors from antiquity. One does not need an education in any kind of paganism to get inspired by the changes we witness in nature around us as seasons pass by. I argue that that is just human instinct. As far as the author is concerned, it seems perfectly possible for traditions that may appear somewhat pagan to have originated in a society that was predominantly Christian.


Sources
[i] Martial. Epigrams: book XI 2.5.
[ii] Lucian. Saturnalia: vol. IV. / Martial. Epigrams: book IV, 3.
[iii] Martial. Epigrams: book XI, 6.
[iv] Cornell, Tim (2012) The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c.1000–264 BC). Routledge: p293.] 
[v] Bonnefoy, Yves (1992) Greek and Egyptian Mythologies. University of Chicago Press: p164.
[vi] James W. Ermatinger (2015) The World of Ancient Rome: A Daily Life Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO: p113.

[vii] Pileus described as “Phrygian”: Apuleius, The Golden Ass 11. 8 "pileo textili crocotisque Phrygiis".
[viii] Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh & Sarah Stewart (2010) The Age of the Parthians. I.B.Tauris: p63.
[ix] M. Philippa e.a. (2003-2009) Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands: “zaterdag”.
[x] Vergil, Aeneid 8.320–325.
[xi] Ovidius. Fasti: January I.
[xii] Macrobius, Saturnalia book 1, 7.23–7.26.
[xiii] Beard, Mary (2014) Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up. University of California Press: p64.

[xiv] Macrobius, Saturnalia book I.8.5.
[xv] Macrobius, Saturnalia book I.8.2.
[xvi] Cicero, De Natura Deorum 2. 24.
[xvii] Macrobius, Saturnalia book I.7.28-31.
[xviii] Martial. Epigrams: book XIV, 40.

How to Design Your Own Roman Votive Altar + How to Read Latin Inscriptions on Roman Altars in Museums

Do you want to be able to read the Latin inscriptions on Roman altars in museums? Or perhaps you want to design your own votive altar to you favourite deity?
In the short overview below, I will tell you what you need to know to get started!

 

Fig. ❶ Emperor Tiberius making a libation (offering of wine) at an altar with an inscription (or Germanicus making an offering to the Genius of Tiberius?), with the Goddess Victoria holding a wreath above his head, Roman relief found at Nijmegen, early 1st century CE. Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen (Netherlands).

What is a Roman Votive Altar?

Roman votive altars were usually dedicated to a Deity by a supplicant as the conclusion of a "religious contract". In the first stage of this agreement, the supplicant would ask a particular Deity for help or protection for the duration of a certain venture (e.g. a journey to a distant place or a battle against a fierce enemy).

In return, the supplicant vowed to dedicate an altar to this Deity. If the requested help or protection was received, the supplicant would fulfil his part of the deal and commission an altar with an inscription which typically contained the following information:

Ⅰ　  Name of God(s) Ⅱ　 Name (and position) of the supplicant Ⅲ　Formulaic phrase

Ⅰ　Name of the God(s)　 

The names of the Gods are put in the Dative case.

Sometimes “the God” or “The Goddess” is added and some Deities are often described as “the venerable” (augusto/augustae), “the sacred” (sancto / sanctae), “the invincible” (INVICTO) or “the best and greatest”.

 Here are some examples of invocations used at the beginning of votive altars (in the dative case):

APOLLINI or DEO APOLLINI	To Apollo
D I M or DEO INVICTO MITRAE or DEO INVICTO MITHRAE	To the Invincible God Mithras
D M   or DIS MANIBVS	To the Di Manes (standard beginning of funerary stele)
DEO MARTI	To the God Mars
DEO MERCVRIO	To the God Mercurius (Mercury)
DEO SILVANO	To the God Silvanus
DEO SOLI INVICTO	To the Invincible Sol
DIANAE or DEAE DIANAE   or DEAE DEANAE or DIANAE REGINA	To Diana or To the Goddess Diana “ or To Diana, the queen
DIANAE APOLLINI	To Diana and Apollo (twins)
DITI PATRI	To Dis Pater
FORTVNAE or DEAE FORTVNAE	To Fortunae or To the Goddess Fortuna
GENIO LOCI	To the Genius Loci (guardian spirit of a location)
HERCVLI or DEO HERCVLI or DEO INVICTO HERCVLI or HERCULI VICTOR	To Hercules or To the God Hercules or To the Invincible God Hercules or To Hercules, the victor
I O M (short for IOVI OPTIMO MAXIMO)	To Iuppiter (Jupiter), the best and greatest
LARIBVS	To the Lares
LIBERO PATRI	To Liber Pater (=Bacchus/Dionysus)
LIBERO PATRI ET LIBERAE	To Liber Pater and Libera
MATRIBVS or DEABVS MATRIBVS	To the Matres (=mothers) or To the Goddesses the Matres
MINERVAE or DEAE MINERVAE or DEAE MENERVAE or DEAE SANCTAE MINERVAE	To Minerva or To the Goddess Minerva or To the Sacred Goddess Minerva

(If you cannot find the Deity you are looking for, check out this database: https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/) 

Ⅱ　Name of the Supplicant

The name of the supplicant is simply in the Nominative case. Note that the name is often abbreviated drastically to save space or keep the costs of the commissioned altar down. For example the name Publius Aulius could be abbreviated as P・AVL・.

Sometimes, the place of origin, military rank, profession or even father’s name were also included. Was it to make sure the Gods knew who exactly dedicated the altar? Or perhaps these supplicants wanted to show of their power and wealth to the other temple visitors?

Ⅲ　Formulaic Phrase

 The most common ending would be VSLM which stands for "Votum Solvit Libens Merito". In English, this means “has fulfilled his vow willingly and deservedly”.

The shorter alternatives SL, LM and VSL are also sometimes used.

Examples

The altar on Fig. ❷ is dedicated to Lady Fortune and has a very simple inscription.

Fig. ❷ Altar with the inscription "FORTVNAE DACCIVS SABINVS VOTVM SOLVIT LIBENS MERITO", Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln (Germany).

 

Altars dedicated to Iuppiter Optimus Maximus are probably the most common of all. They can be recognised by the abbreviation IOM (Fig. ❸).

Fig. ❸ Altar with the inscription "I(OVI) O(PTIMO) M(AXIMO) M(ARCVS) SABINIVS CANDIDVS V(OTVM) S(OLVIT) L(IBENS) M(ERITO)", Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen (Netherlands).

Fig. ❹ and ❺ show an altar to Hercules I commissioned myself. It was made by an artist from the United Kingdom called Simon Jameson. You can order your own altar with personalised inscription over at his website.

Simon Jameson based the shape of this votive altar on an original that was found along Hadrian’s wall and can currently be seen at Chesters Roman Fort Museum. The orignal seems to have an inscription saying it was dedicated to the Goddess Minerva.

I chose to have the letters painted red, as there have been instances where traces of red pigmentation were found on votive altars, but the red paint you can see on most altars in museums is actually restored to increase legibility [i]. Details apart from the lettering may have been painted as well.

Fig. ❹　Altar to Hercules with votive altar by Simon Jameson from 1066 Creations.

 

Fig. ❺　Altar to Hercules with votive altar by Simon Jameson from 1066 Creations.　The shallow depression at the top is used for burning offerings like incense, as can be seen on Roman reliefs.

References:

[i] Adkins, Lesley and Roy A. Adkins (2014) Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Infobase Publishing: p259.