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Salus

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Roman goddess of safety and well-being

For other uses, seeSalus (disambiguation).

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3rd-century statue of Salus in theGetty Villa

Salus (Latin:salus, "safety", "salvation", "welfare")^[1] was theRoman goddess of safety and well-being (welfare, health and prosperity) of both the individual and the state. She is sometimesequated with the Greek goddessHygieia, though their functions differ considerably.

Salus is one of the oldest Roman goddesses: she has also been referred to asSalus Semonia,^[2] a fact that might hint at her belonging to the category of theSemones (gods such asSemoSancus Dius Fidius). The two gods had temples in Rome on theCollis Salutaris andMucialis respectively,^[3] two adjacent hilltops of theQuirinal located in theregioAlta Semita. The temple of Salus, asSalus Publica Populi Romani, was voted in 304 BC, during theSamnite Wars, by dictatorGaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus,^[4] dedicated on 5 August 302, and adorned with frescos at the order ofGaius Fabius Pictor.^[5]

The high antiquity and importance of the cult of Salus is testified by the little-known ceremony of theAugurium Salutis, held every year on August 5 for the preservation of the Roman state.^[6] Her cult was spread over all Italy.^[7] Literary sources record relationships withFortuna^[8] andSpes.^[9] She started to be increasingly associated with Valetudo, the Goddess of Personal Health and the romanized name ofHygieia.

Later, Salus also became a protector of personal health. Around 180 BCE, sacrificial rites in honor ofApollo, Aesculapius, and Salus took place (Livius XL, 37). There was a statue to Salus in the temple ofConcordia. She is first known to be associated with the snake of Aesculapius from a coin of 55 BC minted by M. Acilius.^[10]Her festival was celebrated on March 30.

Salus and Sancus

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Salus, seated and holding apatera (libation bowl), on anaureus issued underNero

The two deities were related in several ways. Their shrines (aedes) were very close to each other on the Quirinal (see above).^[11] Some scholars also claim some inscriptions to Sancus have been found on theCollis Salutaris.^[12] Moreover, Salus is the first in the series of deities mentioned by Macrobius as related in their sacrality:Salus,Semonia,Seia,Segetia,Tutilina,^[13] who required the observance of adies feriatus of the person who happened to utter their name. These deities were connected to the ancient agrarian cults of the valley of theCircus Maximus that remain mysterious.^[14]

German scholarsGeorg Wissowa, Eduard Norden andKurt Latte write of a deity namedSalus Semonia,^[15] who is attested to only in one inscription of year 1 A.D., mentioning aSalus Semonia in its last line (seventeen). Scholars agree that this line is a later addition of uncertain date.^[16] In other inscriptions, Salus is never connected to Semonia.^[17]

Representation

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A marble statuette of Salus made during the Roman Imperial Period (c. 69–192 A.D.)

Salus was often shown seated with her legs crossed (a common position forSecuritas), leaning her elbow on the arm of her throne. Often, her right hand holds out apatera (shallow dish used in religious ceremonies) to feed a snake which is coiled round analtar. The snake is reared up and dips its head to the patera.

Sometimes her hand is open and empty, making a gesture. Sometimes the snake directs its gaze along with hers. Sometimes there is no altar; the snake is coiled around the arm of her throne instead.

Occasionally, Salus has a tall staff in her left hand with a snake twined around it; sometimes her right hand raises a smaller female figure. Later, Salus is shown standing, feeding her snake. This became the most common pose: she is standing and grasping the wriggling snake firmly under her arm, directing it to the food she holds out on a dish in her other hand. Rarely, Salus is holding a steering oar in her left hand indicating her role in guiding the emperor through a healthy life. This really belongs toFortuna.

Three statues fromCologne,Woodchester, andMainz, along with the Mainz Jupiter Column, depict a goddess standing on a bull's head. The identification of this goddess was debated for a long time. During construction work in the port area of Mainz in 2020, one of these statues was discovered. It was the first and only one to bear an inscription on its base that names the goddess depicted as Salus. The bull's head was likely a sacrificial animal symbolizing prosperity.

Bibliography

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W. Köhler inEnciclopedia dell' Arte Antica Roma Istituto Treccani 1965 (online) s.v.
The Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania (IRT), eds. J.M. Reynolds and Ward Perkins, Rome & London 1952, nos 918–919.
René Rebuffat: "Les Centurions du Gholaia",Africa Romana II (1984), pp 233– 238.
René Rebuffat: "Le poème de Q.Avidius Quintianus à la Déesse Salus", Karthago XXI, 1986–7, pp 95– 105.
Omran (Ragab Salaam):The Limes Numidiae et Tripolitanus Under the Emperor Septimius Severus AD193-211, Unpublished PhD dissertation, Vienna University- Austria 2003, pp 76–79.
Adams (J.N.) and Iasucthan (M. Porcius): "The Poets of Bu Njem: Language, Culture and the Centurionate",The Journal of Roman Studies (JRS), Vol. 89 (1999), pp. 109–134.

References

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^M. De VaanEtymological Dictionary of Latin Leyden 2010 s.v.;The Oxford Classical Dictionary 4th ed. London & New York 2012 s.v.
^Köhler 1965, citing CIL VI 30975.
^VarroDe Lingua latina V 53.
^Köhler 1965, citingLivyAb Urbe Condita IX 43.
^Köhler 1965, citing Valerius Maximum VIII 14, 6.
^Köhler 1965, citing TacitAnnales XII 23.
^Köhler 1965 citing inscriptions from Orte (salutes pocolom DiehlAlt lat. Inschrit. 3, 192) and Pompei (salutei sacrum Dessau 3822).
^Köhler 1965, who cites PlautusAsin. 712.
^Köhler 1965, who cites PlautusMerc. 867.
^Köhler 1965.
^VarroLingua Latina V 53.
^Jesse B. Carter inEncyclopedia of Religion and Ethics vol. 13 s.v.Salus.
^MacrobiusSaturnalia I 16,8
^G. DumezilARR Paris 1974, I. Chirassi Colombo inANRW 1981 p.405; TertullianDe Spectculis VIII 3.
^G. WissowaRoschers Lexicon s.v. Sancus,Religion und Kultus der Roemer Munich 1912 p. 139 ff.; E. NordenAus der altrömischen Priesterbüchern Lund 1939 p. 205 ff.; K. LatteRom. Religionsgeschichte Munich 1960 p. 49-51.
^Salus Semonia posuit populi Victoria; cf. R. E. A.Palmer: "Studies of the Northern Campus Martius in Ancient Rome"Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 1990 80.2. p. 19 and n.21 citing M. A. Cavallaro "Un liberto 'prega' per Augusto e per legentes: CIL VI 30975 (con inediti di Th. Mommsen)" inHelikon 15-16 (1975-1976) pp 146-186.
^Ara Salutus from a slab of an altar from Praeneste;Salutes pocolom on a pitcher from Horta;Salus Ma[gn]a on acippus from Bagnacavallo;Salus on acippus from the sacred grove of Pisaurum;Salus Publica fromFerentinum;salutei sacrum from Pompei.