| Quirinus | |
|---|---|
God of the Roman state | |
| Member of theArchaic Triad | |
 | |
| Other names | Curinus, Corinus, Querinus, Queirinus |
| Major cult center | Quirinal Hill |
| Abode | Quirinal Hill |
| Symbols | beard, religious and military clothing |
| Gender | male |
| Festivals | Quirinalia |
| Consort | Hersilia-Hora |
InRoman mythology andreligion,Quirinus (/kwɪˈraɪnəs/kwi-RY-nəs,[2]Latin:[kᶣɪˈriːnʊs]) is an early god of theRoman state. InAugustan Rome,Quirinus was also anepithet ofJanus, asJanus Quirinus.[3]
The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman sources asCurinus,Corinus,Querinus,Queirinus andQVIRINO, also as fragmentedIOVI. CYRIN[O].[4] The name is also attested as a surname toHercules asHercules Quirinus.[5]
The nameQuirīnus probably stems from Latinquirīs, the name of Roman citizens in their peacetime function. Since bothquirīs andQuirīnus are connected with Sabellic immigrants into Rome in ancient legends, it may be a loanword.[6] The meaning "wielder of the spear" (Sabinequiris, 'spear', cf.Janus Quirinus), or a derivation from the Sabine town ofCures, have been proposed byOvid in hisFasti 2.477-480.[7][better source needed]
Some scholars have interpreted the name as a contraction of*Co-Virīnus (originally the protector of the community, cf.cūria <*co-viria), descending from an earlier *Co-Wironos, itself from theProto-Indo-European noun*wihₓrós ("man").[8][9] LinguistMichiel de Vaan argues that this etymology "is not credible phonetically and not very compelling semantically."[6]
In earlier Romanart, Quirinus was portrayed as a bearded man with religious and military clothing. However, he was almost never depicted in laterRoman art.[why?] His mainfestival was theQuirinalia, held on February 17.[10]
The priest of Quirinus, theFlamen Quirinalis, was one of the three patricianflamines maiores ("majorflamens") who had precedence over thePontifex Maximus.[11]
Quirinus most likely was originally aSabine war god. The Sabines had a settlement near the eventual site ofRome, and erected an altar to Quirinus on theCollis Quirinalis,Quirinal Hill, one of theSeven hills of Rome. When the Romans settled in the area, the cult of Quirinus became part of their early belief system. This occurred before the later influences from classical Greek culture.[citation needed]
By the end of the 1st century BCE, Quirinus would be considered to be thedeified legendary first king,Romulus.[12][13]
In hisLife of Romulus,Plutarch wrote that, shortly after Rome's founder had disappeared under what some considered suspicious circumstances, a Roman noble namedProculus Julius reported thatRomulus had come to him while he was travelling. He claimed thatRomulus had instructed him to tell his countrymen that he, Romulus, was Quirinus.[14]
Historian Angelo Brelich argued that Quirinus andRomulus were originally the same divine entity which was split into a founder hero and a god when Roman religion became demythicised. To support this, he points to the association of both Romulus and Quirinus with the grainspelt, through theFornacalia orStultorum Feriae, according to Ovid'sFasti.[10]
The last day of the festival is called theQuirinalia and corresponds with the traditional day of Romulus' death. On that day, the Romans would toast spelt as an offering to the goddessFornax. In one version of the legend of Romulus' death cited by Plutarch, he was killed and cut into pieces by thenobles and each of them took a part of his body home and buried it on their land.[citation needed]
Brelich claimed this pattern – a festival involving a staple crop, a god, and a tale of a slain founding hero whose body parts are buried in the soil – is a recognizedmytheme that arises when such a split takes place in a culture's mythology (seeDema deity archetype). The possible presence of theFlamen Quirinalis at the festival ofAcca Larentia would corroborate this thesis, given the fact that Romulus is a stepson of hers, and one of the original twelve arval brethren (Fratres Arvales).[15]
The association of Quirinus and Romulus is further supported by a connection with Vofionos, the third god in the triad of the Grabovian gods ofIguvium. Vofionos would be the equivalent ofLiber orTeutates, inLatium and among theCelts respectively.[16]
His early importance led to Quirinus' inclusion in theArchaic Triad (the firstCapitoline Triad), along withMars (then an agriculture god) andJupiter.[17]
Over time, however, Quirinus became less significant, and he was absent from the later, more widely known triad (he and Mars had been replaced byJuno andMinerva).Varro mentions theCapitolium Vetus, an earlier cult site on the Quirinal, devoted to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva,[18][a] among whomMartial makes a distinction between the "old Jupiter" and the "new".[20]
Eventually, Romans began to favor personal and mystical cults over the official state belief system. These included those ofBacchus,Cybele, andIsis, leaving only Quirinus' flamen to worship him.[citation needed]
Even centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, theQuirinal hill in Rome, originally named from the deifiedRomulus, was still associated with power. in 1583Gregory XIII chose the site for his summer palace, this palace would come to be known as theQuirinal Palace. After theCapture of Rome, it was chosen as the seat of theKingdom by theHouse of Savoy and later after theAbolition of the Monarchy it became the residence of thePresidents of the Italian Republic.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Quirinus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Quirinalis, socio imperii Romani Curibus ascito Quirino
Martial remarks on a position on theEsquiline Hill from which one might seehinc novum Iovem, inde veterem, "here the new Jupiter, there the old."
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