Saturn- Roman GodDeity"God of Agriculture"

The Cosmic Drama

Saturn was son of Caelus and Terra, leader of the Titans. He overthrew his father and ruled the cosmos with his consort Ops. But a prophecy warned that his own child would overthrow him, so he devoured each at birth.

When Jupiter was born, Ops hid him on Crete and gave Saturn a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Saturn swallowed the stone. Jupiter grew to strength in secret, the Curetes clashing their weapons to drown his cries. When he was ready, he forced Saturn to disgorge every child, each emerging fully grown. Together they overthrew the Titans. Saturn was cast from heaven.

Saturn in Italy

In Roman tradition, Saturn did not vanish. He fled to Italy, where Janus welcomed him and shared his throne. Together they ruled Latium, whose name Virgil derived from latere, "to hide," because Saturn concealed himself there from Jupiter's pursuit. The scattered people of Italy's hills learned to live in settled communities.

Saturn's reign was the Golden Age. No war, no slavery. The earth bore crops without plowing. Saturn taught the Italians to farm and to live under law. His name was connected to sowing (from satus, "sown"), and his sickle was an agricultural tool before it became a symbol of time.

The Saturnalia

The Saturnalia, Rome's greatest festival, began on December 17 and stretched for days. Slaves dined with masters or were served by them. The toga was replaced by dining clothes. A mock king, the Saturnalicius princeps, was elected by lot to preside, issuing absurd commands that everyone obeyed. Gambling was allowed. Courts closed. No punishments were executed. The cry "Io Saturnalia!" rang through the streets.

Romans exchanged gifts: candles (cerei) and small clay figurines (sigillaria) sold at temporary stalls throughout the city. For a few days, Rome tasted the Golden Age again, when rank did not exist. Then it ended.

The Temple and the Statue

Saturn's temple in the Roman Forum, first dedicated around 497 BCE, housed the state treasury (aerarium). The surviving columns date to a restoration after a fire in 360 CE.

Inside, Saturn's statue was bound with woolen bonds throughout the year. Only during the Saturnalia were the bonds removed. Macrobius records the debate over why: perhaps to restrain the dangerous power of a child-devourer, released for the festival's brief return to the Golden Age. Perhaps to preserve the sowing-god until planting season. The Romans themselves were not certain.