Terrestrial Gods.
SATURN.
_Ques._ Who was Saturn?
_Ans._ He was the son of Coelum and Terra. He was married to Ops, or
Rhea, and was the father of Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. As we have
already learned, Saturn devoured the rest of his male children.
_Ques._ How is he represented?
_Ans._ Saturn is represented as an old man armed with a scythe, which
signifies that time mows down everything in its course; and he holds
in his hands an infant which he is about to devour, because time
destroys all that it brings forth.
_Ques._ How did Saturn lose his kingdom?
_Ans._ He was deposed by Jupiter, and was obliged to take refuge in
Italy, where he taught the people the arts of civilized life. Janus,
king of Italy, made Saturn partner of his kingdom, and that part of
the country was called Latium, from a Latin word which meant to hide;
it was sometimes also called Saturnia. Saturn's government was so
wise and beneficial that his reign was called the Golden Age. The
poets tell us that all men then lived on a perfect equality, property
was held in common, and the earth brought forth its fruits without
labor.
_Ques._ What sacrifices were offered to Saturn?
_Ans._ He was worshipped with human sacrifices, which seems strange
when we consider that he was so mild a king. The planet Saturn was
supposed by the ancients to exercise a malignant influence.
_Ques._ What were the Saturnalia?
_Ans._ They were solemnities instituted by Tullus Hostilius, king of
Rome. In early times the festival lasted one day, but after Julius
Cæsar, it was prolonged to three, four, or five days.
_Ques._ How were these days observed?
_Ans._ They were a season of general rejoicing; the Senate did not
sit, schools gave holidays, and friends sent presents to one another.
It was unlawful to proclaim war or execute criminals during this
festival. Servants might, at this time, say what they pleased to their
masters, who could not take offence; also, in memory of the freedom
and equality enjoyed in Saturn's reign, they sat at table while their
masters served, and reproved the latter freely if they were guilty of
any awkwardness. Lastly, servants and common people were allowed to
wear purple cloaks, a distinction reserved at other times to the
patricians. The Saturnalia is probably represented in some degree by
the modern Carnival. Saturn is thought by some persons to have been
the same as Noah.
JANUS.
_Ques._ Who was Janus?
_Ans._ He was an ancient Italian deity, of whose origin very
contradictory accounts are given. He was supposed to have reigned in
Italy in the time of Saturn, and to have associated that god with him
in the kingdom. He was generally represented with two faces, and was
called hence, Janus Bifrons. He had many temples in Rome. The gates of
the chief temple, that of Janus Quiri´nus, were always open in time of
war, and closed when the Romans were at peace. It is a remarkable
circumstance that the gates of Janus were closed but three times in
seven hundred years. They were shut for the first time in the reign of
Numa; again, after the first Punic war; and Augustus closed the temple
the third time when he had given peace to the world. This occurred
just before the coming of our Lord. The first month of the year is
named from Janus.