The day was supposed to be a holiday from all forms of work. A public banquet followed ( convivium publicum). This procedure is usually explained by Saturn’s assimilation with his Greek counterpart Cronus, since the Romans often adopted and reinterpreted Greek stories, iconography, and even religious practices for their own deities, but the uncovering of the priest’s head may also be one of the Saturnalian reversals, the opposite of what was normal.įollowing the sacrifice the Roman Senate arranged a lectisternium, a ritual of Greek origin that typically involved placing a deity’s image on a sumptuous couch, as if he were present and actively participating in the festivities. The sacrifice was officiated by a priest, whose head was uncovered in Roman rite, priests sacrificed capite velato, with head covered by a special fold of the toga. The official rituals were carried out according to “Greek rite” ( ritus graecus).
The statue of Saturn at his main temple normally had its feet bound in wool, which was removed for the holiday as an act of liberation. But there are also underlying themes that are quite different. Obviously there is a degree of borrowing and syncretism, as is only natural because both are midwinter celebrations. But it is a common mistake to think of Christmas as no more than Saturnalia redux. The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the third and fourth centuries, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, some of its customs have influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year. The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the Dies Natalis of Sol Invictus, the “Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun,” on December 25. In one of the interpretations in Macrobius’s work, Saturnalia is a festival of light leading to the winter solstice, with the abundant presence of candles symbolizing the quest for knowledge and truth. Saturnalia was the dramatic setting of the multivolume work of that name by Macrobius, a Latin writer from late antiquity who is the major source for information about the holiday. Modern understanding of the festival is pieced together from several accounts dealing with various aspects. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age.Īlthough probably the best-known Roman holiday, Saturnalia as a whole is not described from beginning to end in any single ancient source. The poet Catullus called it “the best of days.” In Roman official religion, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labor, in a state of innocence. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves. [Note on the invented names (used in the vocative in the song of course):įruticius is based on the word frutex a bush - it’s also used to mean “blockhead” in Roman comedies, but I can’t help that!.Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn, held on the 17 th of December of the Julian calendar, originally, and later expanded with festivities through to the 23 rd of December. Io Saturnalia! Hodie igitur dominus noster non es. The words (and translation - both by me) are as follows:
Io saturnalia translation free#
The "pileum" (also written "pilleum") is the little cap that slave wore during Saturnalia to show they were free men and women on that day - they would point to their cap and say "libertus sum" (I am a free person) and "omnes aequales sumus" (we are all equal). The Latin words make references to relatively modern times but the spirit of Saturnalia is timeless, after all. Song for Saturnalia - a raucous and fun romp - in whole tones (since there is scant evidence of the types of scales used in those days - whole tones just seem to work in this context). The sound sample is a sung performance by the composer with an electronic preview of the instruments. A vivid and at times raucous celebration of Saturnalia, in Latin, for an ensemble of voices and instruments (including various percussion, woodwind and brass instruments).
0 kommentar(er)
