Ceres
Ceres
was the Italic goddess of agriculture whose worship was overlaid by
Demeter,
the Greek goddess of
grain, when in 496 BCE the Sibylline books advised the introduction of her
worship, along with that of the other gods in the Eleusinian triad, Iacchus and Kore, in
order to end the drought. The
Temple of the
triad Ceres, Liber and Libera was dedicated at the Cerealia (the cult
festival, April 12-19) in 490 BCE on the Aventine and placed in the care of the
plebeian aediles. Another festival was established to Ceres after the 2nd Punic
War; it took place in August to celebrate the 1st fruits of the harvest. After
191 BCE a fast in honor of Ceres was instituted and fell annually on October
4th, by command of the Sibylline books. The importance of the goddess' favor to
the well-being of Rome is indicated by the statues depicting imperial women in
the guise of Ceres (e.g.,
Livia and
Julia
Domna).
Here Umbricius names two goddesses who are associated with the
land, perhaps the town's chief deities, as notable in Aquinum. The adjective
Helvina may refer to a family in Aquinum who, through building or
statuary, established a local connection with Ceres. A fragmentary marble
inscription (CIL. 10.5382), now lost, was found in Arpinum that named a
Iuvenalis, a military tribune of the 1st cohort of Dalmatians and a
duumvir and flamen of Vespasian's cult -- either the satirist
himself or a relative -- as the donor of an altar to Ceres.