| Silvanus | |
|---|---|
Tutelary god of woods and uncultivated lands, protector of field boundaries and cattle, protector against wolves | |
 Bronze statue of Silvanus, said to be fromNocera in southern Italy. | |
| Abode | The forest |
| Symbols | Pan flute,cypress |
| Gender | male |
| Equivalents | |
| Etruscan | Selvans? |
| Greek | Silenus |
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Silvanus (/sɪlˈveɪnəs/;[1] meaning "of the woods" inLatin) was aRomantutelary deity of woods and uncultivated lands. As protector of the forest (sylvestris deus), he especially presided over plantations and delighted in trees growing wild.[2][3][4][5] He is also described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, protecting in particular the boundaries of fields.[6] The similarly namedEtruscan deitySelvans may be a borrowing of Silvanus,[7] or not even related in origin.[8]
Silvanus is described as the divinity protecting the flocks of cattle, warding off wolves, and promoting their fertility.[2][9][10][11] Dolabella, a rural engineer of whom only a few pages are known, states that Silvanus was the first to set up stones to mark the limits of fields, and that every estate had threeSilvani:[12]
HenceSilvani were often referred to in the plural.
The nameSilvānus (Classical Latin:[s̠ɪɫ̪ˈwaː.nʊs̠]) is a derivation fromLatinsilva ('forest, wood'). It iscognate with the Latin wordssilvester ('wild, not cultivated'),silvicola ('inhabiting woodlands') orsilvaticus ('of woodlands or scrub'). The etymology ofsilva is unclear.[13]
Like other gods of woods and flocks, Silvanus is described as fond of music; thesyrinx was sacred to him,[2] and he is mentioned along with the Pans and Nymphs.[3][14] Later speculators even identified Silvanus withPan,Faunus,Inuus andAegipan.[15] He must have been associated with the ItalianMars, forCato refers to him consistently asMars Silvanus.[10] These references to Silvanus as an aspect of Mars combined with his association with forests and glades, give context to the worship of Silvanus as the giver of the art (techne) of forest warfare. In particular the initiation rituals of theevocati appear to have referenced Silvanus as a protective god of raiding for women and cattle, perhaps preserving elements of earlier Etruscan worship.[16]
In the provinces outside of Italy, Silvanus was identified with numerous native gods:[17]
Xavier Delamarre suggests the epithetCallirius may be related to Breton theonymRiocalat(is) (attested in Cumberland Quarries), and both mean "(God) With Wild Horses".[20]
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The sacrifices offered to Silvanus consisted of grapes, ears of grain, milk, meat, wine and pigs.[2][6][21][22][23] InCato'sDe Agricultura an offering toMars Silvanus is described, to ensure the health ofcattle; it is stated there that his connection with agriculture referred to only the labour performed by men, and that females were excluded from his worship.[10][22] (CompareBona Dea for a Roman deity from whose worship men were excluded.)Virgil relates that in the very earliest times theTyrrhenianPelasgians had dedicated a grove and a festival to Silvanus,[9] a symbol for the wilderness of the god.[24]
In works of Latin poetry and art, Silvanus always appears as an old man, but as cheerful and in love withPomona.[6][25][26][27] Virgil represents him as carrying the trunk of acypress (Greek:δενδροφόρος),[14] about which the following myth is told. Silvanus – orApollo according to other versions[28][29] – was in love withCyparissus, and once by accident killed a pet hind belonging to Cyparissus. The latter died of grief, and was metamorphosed into a cypress.[30][31][32]
InEdmund Spenser's epic poemThe Faerie Queene (1590–96), Silvanus appears in Canto VI of Book I. His 'wyld woodgods' (Stanza 9) save the lost and frightened Lady Una from being molested bySans loy and take her to him. They treat her as a Queen because of her great beauty. Spenser writes in Stanza 14:
TheEtruscan godSelvans appears to be a close cognate to Silvanus: Even to the point of being associated with boundary stones under the nameSelvansl Tularias, and (protection from) wolves asSelvansCalusta. It is unclear whether the Roman god was adopted by the Etruscans, or the Etruscan god inherited by the Romans.
There may also be some relation to theGaulish deityCernunnos, but the only current evidence for that Gaulish deity being known anywhere close to Etruria arerock drawings near Valcamonica in Lombardy.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Silvanus (1)".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.| Deities (Dii Consentes) |  | |
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