Vejovis

Representation and worship

C·LICINIUS·L·F / MACER ref.: Licinia 16; sear5 #274; Cr354/1; Syd 732

Though he was associated with volcanic eruptions, his original role and function is obscured to us. He is occasionally identified with Apollo and young Jupiter.

Aulus Gellius, in the Noctes Atticae, written around 177 CE, speculated that Vejovis was an ill-omened counterpart of Jupiter; compare Summanus. Aulus Gellius observes that the particle ve- that prefixes the name of the god also appears in Latin words such as vesanus, "insane," and thus interprets the name Vejovis as the anti-Jove.

Temple

He had a temple between the two peaks of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, where his statue carried a bundle of arrows and stood next to a statue of a she-goat.

Sacrifices

In spring, multiple goats were sacrificed to him to avert plagues. Gellius informs us that Vejovis received the sacrifice of a female goat, sacrificed ritu humano (lit. "by human rite"); this obscure phrase could possibly mean "after the manner of a human sacrifice" or "in the manner of a burial." These offerings were less about the animal sacrificed and more about the soul sacrificed.

Festivals

Vejovis had three festivals in the Roman Calendar: on 1 January, 7 March, and 21 May.

References

References

1. [https://books.google.com/books?id=a5c1AAAAIAAJ&q=vediovis Roman Medicine By John Scarborough]
2. The New Encyclopædia Britannica: in 30 volumes By Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago University of, Encyclopædia Britannica Staff, Encyclopædia Britannica(ed.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=1BMrAAAAMAAJ&q=vediovis]
3. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1u4LAAAAIAAJ&q=vediovis Classical Quarterly By Classical Association (Great Britain)]
4. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-zlwiI7A734C&dq=vediovis&pg=PA106 The Cambridge History of Classical Literature By E. J. Kenney]
5. [http://www.novaroma.org/calendar/januarius.html#Vediovis Nova Roma: Calendar of Holidays and Festivals]
6. Leofranc Holford-Strevens, "Towards a Chronology of Aulus Gellius", Latomus, 36 (1977), pp. 93–109
7. [[Aulus Gellius]], ''Noctes Atticae'', [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/gellius/gellius5.shtml#12]
8. Adkins and Adkins, ''Dictionary of Roman Religion'' (Facts On File, 1996) {{ISBN. 0-8160-3005-7
9. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CPG_4CpoWfUC&dq=vediovis&pg=PA207 The Nature of the Gods By Marcus Tullius Cicero]