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Inclassical Latin, the epithetIndiges, singular in form, is applied toSol (Sol Indiges) and toJupiter ofLavinium, later identified withAeneas. One theory holds that it means the "speaker within", and stems from before the recognition of divine persons. Another, which theOxford Classical Dictionary holds more likely, is that it means "invoked" in the sense of "pointing at", as in the related wordindigitamenta.
InAugustan literature, thedi indigites are often associated withdi patrii and appear in lists of local divinities (that is, divinities particular to a place).[1][2][3]Servius noted thatPraeneste had its ownindigetes.[4]: 7.678
Evidence pertaining todi indigites is rarely found outside Rome andLavinium, but a fragmentaryinscription fromAletrium (modernAlatri, north ofFrosinone) records offerings todi Indicites includingFucinus, a local lake-god;Summanus, a god of nocturnal lightning; Fiscellus, otherwise unknown, but perhaps a local mountain god; and theTempestates, weather deities. This inscription has been interpreted as a list of local or nature deities to whomtranshumant shepherds should make propitiary offers.[5][6]
InGeorg Wissowa's terminology, thedi indigetes orindigites wereRoman deities that were not adopted from other religions, as distinguished from thedi novensides. Wissowa thus regarded theindigetes as "indigenous gods", and thenovensides as "newcomer gods". Ancient use, however, does not treat the two terms as a dichotomy, nor maintain a clear-cut distinction betweenindigetes andnovensides.[7] Wissowa's interpretation is no longer widely accepted and the meaning remains uncertain.
Wissowa listed 33 di indigetes, including two collectives in the plural, theLares of the estate and theLemures of the dead.[8] Any list ofindigetes, however, is conjectural; Raimo Anttila points out that "we do not know the list of thedi indigetes."[9]
Carl Koch compiled a list ofLatin authors andinscriptions using the phrasedi indigetes orIndiges:[10]: 80–83
C. Koch, A. Grenier, H. J. Rose,Hendrik Wagenvoort, E. Vetter, K. Latte, G. Radke, R. Schilling, and more recently, R. Anttila have made contributions to the enquiry into the meaning of the wordIndiges and on the original nature of thedi indigetes.
Carl Koch's analysis[10] is particularly complete, and centers mainly on the question ofSol Indiges: Koch has argued thatSol Indiges is the god to which theAgonium of December 11 is devoted.[a] Koch remarks too that the festival of December 11 is in correspondence with theMatralia of June 11, dedicated to Mater Matuta, considered the goddess of dawn and, in the ritual, the aunt of the sun, who is the son of the night. Koch was the first to advance the hypothesis of theSol Indiges as the forefather (Stammvater) of the Roman nation.[b]
Albert Grenier contributed a paper[13] in which he expands on the results obtained by Koch and pays more attention to the original nature of thedi Indigetes. He acknowledges similar conclusions have been reached byHendrik Wagenvoort.[14]
As Koch did, Grenier[13] cites the formula of the oath of loyalty toM. Livius Drusus in 91 BCE by a Latin chief, preserved byDiodorus Siculus,[15] in which are mentioned, after Iuppiter Capitolinus, Vesta, and Mars Pater,Helios genarchees, andeuergetin zooin te kai phytoon Geen (‘the mother Earth which benefits animals and plants’). Grenier thinks thatSol Indiges and theGood Mother Earth (whom he interprets to be theMater Matuta of theMatralia)[c] would be thedi Indigetes of thedevotio ofDecius Mus.
He goes on to analyse the other testimonies related to the cult of thedi indigetes found inDionysius of Halicarnassus.[17]
The first is the inscription on the monument on theNumicus, which was thought to be dedicated toAeneas Iuppiter Indiges, which reads: "Of the Father God chthonios who rules the flow of the Numicius." Grenier[13] remarks that the inscription does not mention Aeneas, and is in fact just a small sanctuary of the god of the river. In this same region, Pliny (see prev. section) mentions aSol Indiges, and Dionysius describes a monument called theSanctuary of the Sun in his time, made up by two altars on an East–West line by a marsh: It was believed to have been erected by Aeneas as a token of thanksgiving for the miracle of the spring.[17]: I 55 On this evidence, Grenier concludes thatSol Indiges is connected to Lavinium and to the cult of thePenates publici of Rome. This fact is supported byVarro:Lavinium ibi dii penates nostri.[18]: V 144 This identification is further supported by the tradition that the new consuls, upon entering office, sacrificed on thissanctuary of the Sun to Iuppiter Indiges and by the fact that the formulae of the oaths never mention thedi indigetes along withIuppiter.[d]
Grenier concludes from such evidence that thePenates were included within theindigetes.[e] The RomanPenates publici were represented as two young men or boys, similar to theDioscures, and identified as gods brought by Aeneas from Troy,[17]: I 64–65 as the true identity of the Indigetes was secret to avoid exauguration.[21][f]
Grenier considers the identification with Aeneas and Romulus a later development, and thinks the originalindigetes were naturalistic gods: forces like the sun, the earth, and the waters, which make the wheat and the children grow. Finally, he concludes that they should have been theturba deorum of theindigitamenta, which expressed the animistic nature of the most ancient Roman religion.[g]
Kurt Latte[23] has supported Carl Koch's thesis that the most ancient Roman religious concepts were based on the natural forces of the sun, moon and waters. He cites and quotes the invocations to the goddess of the Moon at the beginning of every month by thepontifex minor, who repeated for five or seven times the invocation: "Dies te quinque calo Iuno Covella" or when the Nonae were on the seventh day: "Septem dies te calo Iuno Covella".[18]: VI 27 The invocation to the god of theTiber during the summer drought: "Adesto Tiberine, cum tuis undis". Latte supposes that these invocations were justified by a faith in the magic power of words.Pater Indiges is attested bySolinus (II 15) as referred to Aeneas after his disappearance on the Numicius; Dionysius[17] also makes reference to the Numicius. Latte thinks that it must be the same cult and the question is whether in Augustan times, the originalPater Indiges was transformed intoIuppiter Indiges. Whereas Dionysius's text may imply the latter interpretation to be the right one, Latte thinks the material is insufficient to decide.
The other occurrence ofindiges in the singular is that ofSol Indiges, of which two festivals are known as well as the location of his cult on the Quirinal (from the Fasti)[24] one of which is the "[ag]ON IND[igeti]".[25] Latte argues that the date of this latter festival does not correspond with the yearly course of the sun, but could perhaps be the day on which sowing should be completed, citing Columella,[26] thus the sacrifice should refer to the power of the sun on vegetation.
Latte concludes that, by putting all the above elements together, it could be argued thatindiges might be traced to a representation in which man requests the god to ensure the safety of his sowing. AsNumicus has its parallel withTiber, soSol has its own parallel in the goddess of the Moon. The naive faith in the influence of celestial bodies has countless parallels, even in Athens.[27]
Latte goes on to say that besides these two, there are only instances in the plural which were already not understood by Varro's times.[28][29][4]: VII 678; XII 794 The poets of the Augustan era were without any clear idea of its original meaning, having only a vague idea thatindiges was an archaism that had a strong ancient Roman flavor when calling on the gods.
Latte refutes Wissowa's assertion that it was a central concept in Roman theology, also on the grounds of its irrelevance in the Roman calendar, which reflects the most ancient known historical religious document. The inscription from Sora, dating to 4 BCE, could be the issue of Augustan restoration and not proof of an originalIuppiter indiges. Another inscription from Ardea mentionsnovem deivo[30][31] and the context clearly does not allow the interpretation ofnewly imported, disproving Wissowa's assumption.
Latte has also inquired into the etymology of the wordindiges. He recalls the attempt by Krestchmer[32] to explain it withdigitus (finger) which is problematic. In Rome, one did not use fingers when invoking the gods, and in the common original exit of the ancient singular.[33] The most ancient connection withag-ye,aio by Corssen is based onindigitare (frequentative asagitare foragere). However, more recent discussions have called this interpretation into question, as such formations are usually found only for monosyllabic verbal themes showing a vocalic shift with a preverbal, such ascomes,superstes,trames, whichaio excludes; moreover they have an active meaning in Latin. In addition, the hypothesis of a retrograde formation fromindigitare has both linguistic and semantic difficulties: the construction withagere, meaning "rendering oneself present," implies an impossible formation from a consonantic shift and the semantics of this translation is highly unlikely for ancient times.
Another relevant remark by Latte concerns the belief in the efficacy of the divine appellates, which are sometimes the same for different gods likeHeries Iunonis andHeres Martea.[34][35] TheIguvine Tablets mention aahtu iuvio and aahtu marti, interpreted asActui Iovio andActui Martio, to which sacrifices are offered.[36] Latte remarks that here, the offer is made to the abstract concept of the virtue or power of the god, and not to the god himself. Other gods had special entities representing their power as in Rome, includingSalacia Neptuni andLua Saturni.
Latte finally refuses the interpretationindigetes divi for Greekdaimones found in the translation by Macrobius[37] of HesiodOpera 121, considering it influenced by late time speculations. The connection of the Gentilician cult of the sun of theAurelii with that ofSol Indiges is impossible to prove.
Most recently, glottologist Raimo Anttila has made renewed attempts into the inquiry of the original meaning of the wordindiges in his book on protoindoeuropean root *ag.[38]
Anttila thinks that all the etymological and formal impasses mentioned by Latte could be overcome, if one interprets the basis of the wordindiges to be the verbago in the sense of to impel, to drive, to drive from within (*endo agentes), instead of the verbaio (I say). The action of the gods would be that of driving man just as man drives cattle e.g. also in sacrifice (agonium, etymology already cited by Ovid in hisFasti I 319 ff).
Anttila bases his analysis on the results of Latte, Radke,[39]: 25–35 Schilling,[40] and Ancellotti and Cerri.[41] He agrees with Schilling's view that the concept underwent changes and its original meaning should be kept different from its later history. Anttila starts considering the coincidence ofIndiges with anAgonium on December 11 and its concurrence with the festival ofMater Matuta on June 11. He thinks there is sufficient evidence to say that it has to do with a solar cult centered on Lavinium, connecting the sun with water and earth.Sol Indiges isPater Indiges,divus pater, i.e.Iuppiter Indiges, the highest divine power, the one which makes nature produce food. This impelling action seems close toAja Ekapad andSavitr as variant terms for the sun in connection with other natural phenomena.[h]
A similar tint is inIndra asSamaja gathering booty, the warrior aspect of economy. It is noteworthy that AGON IND repeat the same root *ag. The Italic evidence for sacrificial and divine power under *ag is plentiful. Umbrian divinities of action,ahtu, dative singular (from *ag-t-eu) are part of the sacrificial actions of Iuppiter and Mars, whereas with Cerfe, the growth action (genitive singular of *ker-s-o-) is assigned to the other gods, e.g. Cerfus Martius 'the principle of vegetative growth in the sphere of Mars'[41]: 188, 192 [42] the equivalent ofAresAphneios in Arcadia. The god of creationBrahman is calledajana, i.e. driver, instigator. It is a general human religious concept that men drive animals and god drives men. SinceIndiges as driver-in makes sense, from this would also stem the meaning ofindigitare,indigitamenta. Carrying out a ritual action results in driving, hereagere andagonalis.
On the basis of this big picture, Anttila attempts to draw a more precise conclusion and overcome the remaining formal difficulties. He argues that holding to the old interpretation ofindiges as 'the caller (forth)' and interpreting the uncertain Umbrian consonant-stem dative pluralacetus 'to the callers forth' as Ancellotti and Cerri[41] do is doubtful and the etymology would be better represented by an *ag- drive than by an *ag-ye say, as the supposed root *kei/*ki is a moving root too and not a calling root.[i] Radke[39] has also proposed the possibility of *en-dhigh-et- grade 0 as infigulus (from IE stem DHEIG) as a nomen agentis meaning 'forming, shaping, generating from within', close to impelling.
To support his analysis, Anttila cites a medical termindigo/indigere meaning to drive bodily fluids, which is not attested in ancient texts. A hard tumor (scirosis)'fit ex glutinoso et spisso humore quod confluendo ita membris indigitur ut insitus locis ubi considerit unum esse videatur':[43] the tumor is formed by humours that run together to a certain location by pushing the limbs from the inside so that it looks like one thing with the limb where they set. So tumors are pushed in as tubers and plants. Although the lexicographic evidence is flimsy, Anttila thinks it is important, owing to the close relation between medicine and religion.Indiges, indigere would hint to something coming out and bringing forth an end result (pushing into a state). To drive in results in something coming out. The richness of nature deities or their epithets (ahtu) brings about the beneficial result of life / food. The coordinator would beIuppiter Indiges, the Impeller corresponding toZeus Ageetoor at Sparta.
Finally, Anttila considers the worst formal difficulty left, that of the suffix -et- and its vowel not rising in indigetes, as remarked by Radke.[39]: 151 Similar formations are merges/mergitis (sheaf), ales/alitis (winged), mansues/mansuetis (tame), seges/segetis (cornfield, harvest, produce), two of which pertain to the growing and reaping domain; Anttila thinks that in archaic religious language, peculiar forms are often preserved.Indigitare evoking gods would be to drive them in for our needs andSol Indiges would be the force that drives all of nature, particularly food. Radke,[39] and Ancellotti and Cerri,[41] interpret the -t- form as a kind of active participle or agent noun and this would be the only possibility. Latte too gives as a background forindiges the general appeal to natural forces in Roman religion, e.g. the summoning of the Moon goddess and other instances.
In 1958, an inscription was uncovered in Lavinium dating to the 3rd century BCE, readingLare Aineia. In 1971, a temple built over a princelycenotaph in the Oriental style of the 7th century BCE[clarification needed] was also discovered, probably on the site of aheroon described byDionysius Halicarnassus.[17]: I, 64, 5 [44][j] This would support an ancient assimilation of Aeneas toIndiges Pater.
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