Vinalia
Encyclopedia
The Vinalia were Roman festivals
of the annual vintage
, in honour of Jupiter and Venus
. The first was held on August 19, and the second on May 1. The Vinalia of August 19, in which gardens were dedicated to Venus
and vegetable-growers— perhaps as a corporate guild— kept holiday, were called Vinalia Rustica, and were instituted on occasion of the war of the Latins
against Mezentius
; in the course of which war the people vowed a libation to Jupiter of all the wine in the succeeding vintage. On the same day, however, fell the dedication of the Temple of Venus Obsequens, founded by Q. Fabius Gurges in 295 BCE, the oldest dateable temple to Venus.
.
, the region in central Italy in which Rome is located. This festival is similar to that of the Vinalia urbana because it was originally sacred to Jupiter and later was conducted at the temples of Venus in her honor. On this occasion, the priest of Jupiter, Flamen Dialis
, offered lambs to Jupiter on the altar while he broke grapes from a vine with his own hands. Due to the intense drinking and loss of control as a result, upper-class Roman women were supervised during this festival and sometimes given lower alcoholic content beverages.
.
Roman festivals
In ancient Roman religion, holidays were celebrated to worship and celebrate a certain god or divine event, and consisted of religious observances and festival traditions, usually with a large feast, and often featuring games . The most important festivals were the Saturnalia, the Consualia, the...
of the annual vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
, in honour of Jupiter and Venus
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
. The first was held on August 19, and the second on May 1. The Vinalia of August 19, in which gardens were dedicated to Venus
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
and vegetable-growers— perhaps as a corporate guild— kept holiday, were called Vinalia Rustica, and were instituted on occasion of the war of the Latins
Latins
"Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"...
against Mezentius
Mezentius
In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman audience he was a contemptor divum, a "despiser of the...
; in the course of which war the people vowed a libation to Jupiter of all the wine in the succeeding vintage. On the same day, however, fell the dedication of the Temple of Venus Obsequens, founded by Q. Fabius Gurges in 295 BCE, the oldest dateable temple to Venus.
Vinalia
The "city" Vinalia urbana (or priora), and the "other" Vinalia rustica (or altera) were separate feast days: the Vinalia urbana were celebrated on April 23rd while the Vinalia rustica were celebrated on August 19th. Both celebrations featured a ritual dedicated to the harvest and for the good nature of crops. For the Romans, the Vinalia celebrations were one of the three most important Roman traditional holidays. Jupiter himself was worshipped on the Ides of every month, and at the two Vinalia as well. Although the Vinalia celebrations were originally aimed to worship Jupiter, in the later Roman Empire the festival incorporated Venus, as the goddess of the garden and wine. Ovid makes a reference to the goddess of the garden and wine (Venus) and the Vinalia urbana.Vinalia Urbana
The Vinalia urbana were celebrated in the honor of previous year’s wine harvest, thereby providing a ready-made opportunity for feasting and drinking. In the early days of the festival, Romans offered a libation to Jupiter, this act was referred to as a calpar. However, in time Venus naturally came to be associated with the Vinalia. The April 23rd ritual included pouring out wine at a temple of Venus. This wine was directed towards Jupiter.
Vinalia Rustica
The Vinalia rustica were celebrated on August 19th by all the inhabitants of LatiumLatium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
, the region in central Italy in which Rome is located. This festival is similar to that of the Vinalia urbana because it was originally sacred to Jupiter and later was conducted at the temples of Venus in her honor. On this occasion, the priest of Jupiter, Flamen Dialis
Flamen Dialis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. There were 15 flamines, of which three were flamines maiores, serving the three gods of the Archaic Triad...
, offered lambs to Jupiter on the altar while he broke grapes from a vine with his own hands. Due to the intense drinking and loss of control as a result, upper-class Roman women were supervised during this festival and sometimes given lower alcoholic content beverages.
Documentation
A well-documented account of the origins and rise of the celebration of the festival is given by FestusSextus Pompeius Festus
Sextus Pompeius Festus was a Roman grammarian, who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo in Gaul.He made an epitome in 20 volumes of the encyclopedic treatise in many volumes De verborum significatu, of Verrius Flaccus, a celebrated grammarian who flourished in the...
.