Vejovis or Vejove (Latin: Vēiovis or Vēdiovis; rare Vēive or Vēdius) was a Roman god of Etruscan origins (Etruscan: 𐌔𐌉𐌕𐌄𐌅, romanized: Vetis, or 𐌔𐌉𐌅𐌉𐌄𐌅, Veivis).
Representation and worship
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| O: Diademed bust of Vejovis hurling thunderbolt | R: Minerva with javelin and shield riding quadriga |
| Silver denarius struck in Rome 84 BC
ref.: Licinia 16; sear5 #274; Cr354/1; Syd 732 | |
Vejovis was portrayed as a young man, holding a bunch of arrows (or lightning bolts), or a pilum, in his hand, and accompanied by a goat. Romans believed that Vejovis was one of the first gods to be born. He was a god of healing, and became associated with the Greek Asclepius. He was mostly worshipped in Rome and Bovillae in Latium. On the Capitoline Hill and on the Tiber Island, temples were erected in his honour.
Though he was associated with volcanic eruptions, his original role and function is obscured to us. He is occasionally identified with Apollo and young Jupiter.
Aulus Gellius, in the Noctes Atticae, written around 177 CE, speculated that Vejovis was an ill-omened counterpart of Jupiter; compare Summanus. Aulus Gellius observes that the particle ve- that prefixes the name of the god also appears in Latin words such as vesanus, "insane," and thus interprets the name Vejovis as the anti-Jove.
Temple
He had a temple between the two peaks of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, where his statue carried a bundle of arrows and stood next to a statue of a she-goat.
Sacrifices
In spring, multiple goats were sacrificed to him to avert plagues. Gellius informs us that Vejovis received the sacrifice of a female goat, sacrificed ritu humano; this obscure phrase could either mean "after the manner of a human sacrifice" or "in the manner of a burial." These offerings were less about the animal sacrificed and more about the soul sacrificed.
Festivals
Vejovis had three festivals in the Roman Calendar: on 1 January, 7 March, and 21 May.
References
- Roman Medicine By John Scarborough
- The New Encyclopædia Britannica: in 30 volumes By Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago University of, Encyclopædia Britannica Staff, Encyclopædia Britannica(ed.)
- Classical Quarterly By Classical Association (Great Britain)
- The Cambridge History of Classical Literature By E. J. Kenney
- Nova Roma: Calendar of Holidays and Festivals
- Leofranc Holford-Strevens, "Towards a Chronology of Aulus Gellius", Latomus, 36 (1977), pp. 93–109
- Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae,
- Adkins and Adkins, Dictionary of Roman Religion (Facts On File, 1996) ISBN 0-8160-3005-7
- The Nature of the Gods By Marcus Tullius Cicero
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