| Faunus | |
|---|---|
God of the forest, plains, and fields | |
| Member of theDi indigetes | |
 Statue of Faunus atSchloss Nordkirchen | |
| Other names | Inuus |
| Major cult center | a shrine on theInsula Tiberina |
| Gender | male |
| Festivals | Faunalia (13 February and 5 December) |
| Parents | Picus andCanens |
| Consort | Flora,Marica,Fauna |
| Offspring | Latinus |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek | Pan |
Inancient Roman religion andmyth,Faunus[ˈfau̯nʊs] was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile, he was calledInuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek godPan, after which Romans depicted him as ahorned god.
Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as thedi indigetes. According to the epic poetVirgil, he was a legendary king of the Latins. His shade was consulted as a goddess of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles[1] in thesacred grove ofTibur, around the wellAlbunea, and on theAventine Hill inancient Rome itself.[2][full citation needed]
Marcus Terentius Varro asserted that the oracular responses were given inSaturnian verse.[3] Faunus revealed the future in dreams and voices that werecommunicated to those who came to sleep in his precincts, lying on the fleeces of sacrificed lambs.Fowler (1899) suggested thatFaunus is identical withFavonius,[4][better source needed] one of the Romanwind gods (compare theAnemoi).
The nameFaunus is generally thought to stem fromProto-Italic *fawe or*fawono (variant *fawōn(jo)), thus beingcognate withUmbrianfons,foner ('merciful'). It may ultimately derive fromProto-Indo-European (PIE)*bʰh₂u-n ('favourable'), which also reflectsOld Irishbúan ('good, favourable, firm') andMiddle Welshbun ('maiden, sweetheart').[5][6](p 102)
Another theory contends that Faunus is the Latin outcome of PIE *dhau-no- ('the strangler', thus denoting the 'wolf'), a proposition suggested by the fact that the twoLuperci ("wolf-men", from Latinlupus, 'wolf') are commonly treated as temporary priests of the god Faunus.[7][8] If so, his name would be cognate with the Greekθαῦνον (a less common synonym ofθηρίον, 'wild animal').[9]
Faunus may be ofIndo-European origin and related to the Vedic godRudra.[6] It is believed that he was worshipped by traditional Roman farmers before becoming a nature deity.[10]
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In fable Faunus appears as an old king ofLatium, grandson ofSaturnus, son ofPicus, and father ofLatinus by the nymphMarica (who was also sometimes Faunus' mother). After his death he is raised to the position of a tutelary deity of the land, for his many services to agriculture and cattle-breeding.
A goddess of like attributes, calledFauna andFatua, was associated in his worship. She was regarded as his sister and wife.[2] The female deityBona Dea was often equated with Fauna.
As Pan was accompanied by thePaniskoi, or little Pans, so the existence of manyFauni was assumed besides the chief Faunus.[2]Fauns are place-spirits (genii) of untamed woodland. Educated, Hellenizing Romans connected their fauns with the Greeksatyrs, who were wild and orgiastic drunken followers ofDionysus, with a distinct origin.
Faunus was naturally conflated with theGreek god Pan, who was a pastoral god of shepherds who was said to reside inArcadia. With the increasing influence of Greek mythology on Roman mythology in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, the Romans identified their own deities with Greek ones in what was calledinterpretatio Romana.However, the two deities were also considered separate by many; for instance, the epic poetVirgil, in hisAeneid, independently mentioned both Faunus and Pan.
Pan had always beendepicted with horns whereas the original Roman Faunus was not. An indication of the cultural conflation of the two can be seen in many Roman depictions of Faunus that also began to display Faunus with horns.
InJustin's epitome, Faunus is identified withLupercus ("he who wards off the wolf"), otherwise a priest of Faunus.Livy named Inuus as the god originally worshiped at theLupercalia, 15 February, when his priests (Luperci) wore goat-skins and hit passers-by with goatskin whips.
Two festivals, calledFaunalia, were celebrated in his honour—one on 13 February, in the temple of Faunus on theisland in the Tiber, the other on 5 December, when the peasants brought him rustic offerings and amused themselves with dancing.[2]
Aeuhemeristic account made Faunus aLatin king, son ofPicus andCanens. He was then revered as the godFatuus after his death, worshipped in a sacred forest outside what is nowTivoli, but had been known since Etruscan times as Tibur, the seat of theTiburtine Sibyl. Hisnuminous presence was recognized by wolf skins, with wreaths and goblets.
InNonnos'Dionysiaca, Faunus/Phaunos accompanied Dionysus when the god campaigned in India.[11]
Faunus was worshipped across theRoman Empire for many centuries. An example of this was a set of thirty-two 4th century spoons found nearThetford in England in 1979. They had been engraved with the name "Faunus", and each had a different epithet after the god's name. The spoons also bore Christian symbols, and it has been suggested that these were initially Christian but later taken and devoted to Faunus by pagans. The 4th century was a time of large scaleChristianisation, and the discovery provides evidence that even during the decline oftraditional Roman religion, the god Faunus was still worshipped.[12][13]
InGaul, Faunus was identified with the CelticDusios.[14][15]
Dusios nominant quos romani Faunos ficarios vocant.
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