Saturn ( ) was a god in ancient Roman religion, and a character in Roman mythology. He was described as a god of time, generation, dissolution, abundance, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn's mythological reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace. After the Roman conquest of Greece, he was conflated with the Greek Titan Cronus. Saturn's consort was his sister Ops, with whom he fathered Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Vesta.
Saturn was especially celebrated during the festival of Saturnalia each December, perhaps the most famous of the Roman festivals, a time of feasting, role reversals, free speech, gift-giving and revelry. The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum housed the state treasury and archives (aerarium) of the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. The planet Saturn and the day of the week Saturday are both named after and were associated with him.
Mythology
The Roman land preserved the remembrance of a very remote time during which Saturn and Janus reigned on the site of the city before its foundation: the Capitol was called . The Romans identified Saturn with the Greek Cronus, whose myths were adapted for Latin literature and Roman art. In particular, Cronus's role in the genealogy of the Greek gods was transferred to Saturn. As early as Andronicus Jupiter was called the son of Saturn.
Saturn had two mistresses who represented different aspects of the god. The name of his wife, Ops, the Roman equivalent of Greek Rhea, means "wealth, abundance, resources." The association with Ops is considered a later development, however, as this goddess was originally paired with Consus. Earlier was Saturn's association with Lua ("destruction, dissolution, loosening"), a goddess who received the bloodied weapons of enemies destroyed in war.
Under Saturn's rule, humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labour in the "Golden Age" described by Hesiod and Ovid. He became known as the god of time.
Etymology and epithets
According to Varro, Saturn's name was derived from satus, meaning "sowing". Even though this etymology is problematic from the viewpoint of modern linguistics (for, while historically-motivated vowel length alternations do occur in Latin roots, the long ā in Sāturnus in particular remains unexplained with this etymology, and also because of the epigraphically attested form Saeturnus), nevertheless it does reflect an original feature of the god. Perhaps a more probable etymology connects the name with the Etruscan god Satre and placenames such as Satria, an ancient town of Latium, and Saturae palus, a marsh also in Latium. This root may be related to Latin phytonym satureia. (Like satus, however, satureia, Saturae palus, and probably also Satria, as indeed the apparently closely related Satricum, all also have a short a in the first syllable vs. the long ā of Sāturnus.)
Another epithet, variably Sterculius, Stercutus, and Sterces, referred to his agricultural functions; this derives from stercus, "dung" or "manure", referring to re‑emergence from death to life. Farming was important to Roman identity, and Saturn was a part of archaic Roman religion and ethnic identity. His name appears in the ancient hymn of the Salian priests, and his temple was the oldest known in the records of the pontiffs.
Quintus Lucilius Balbus gives a separate etymology in Cicero's De Natura Deorum. In this interpretation, the agricultural aspect of Saturn would be secondary to his primary relation with time and seasons. Since 'Time consumes all things', Balbus asserts that the name Saturn comes from the Latin word satis; Saturn being an anthropomorphic representation of Time, which is filled, or satiated, by all things or all generations. Since farming is so closely linked to seasons and therefore an understanding of the cyclical passage of time, it follows that agriculture would then be associated with the deity Saturn.
Temple
The temple of Saturn was located at the base of the Capitoline Hill, according to a tradition recorded by Varro formerly known as Saturnius Mons, and a row of columns from the last rebuilding of the temple still stands. The temple was consecrated in 497 BC but the area Saturni was built by king Tullus Hostilius as confirmed by archaeological studies conducted by E. Gjerstad. It housed the state treasury (aerarium) throughout Roman history.
