Histria antiqua, Vol. 21 No. 21, 2012.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
The Sea Voyage of Magna Mater to Rome
Aleksandra NIKOLOSKA
; Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, 1000 Skopje , Macedonia
Sažetak
The official introduction of Magna Deorum Mater Idaeai, into the Roman pantheon in 204 B.C. followed a certain
tradition of acceptance of other foreign deities. According to the prophesies of the Sibylline books, the powers of these
new gods could have influenced the unfavorable events which Rome suffered from.1 Nonetheless, the sea voyage of
Magna Mater and her welcoming to Rome were truly legendary ones, leaving a certain mark in the Roman history and art,
and a significant change in the roman culture. Showers of stones falling from the sky brought more fear, after a series of losses
against the Carthaginians. The great Phrygian goddess came to Rome as a saviour, to bring an end to the great struggle in the
Punic wars2, on a ship symbolically called Navis Salvia, made out of pine wood and painted in fiery colours, as fabled by Ovid
(4.273-74). Navis Salvia arrived at the port of Ostia on the fourth of April 204 B.C. where Cybele was greeted as a roman
national goddess, accompanied by a fitting ceremony. The sacred stone, the idol of the Goddess was temporarily placed in the
temple of Victoria on the Palatine. This symbolic act must have led the people of Rome to believe even more in the victory of
Scipio in Africa. Two years after the arrival of the Goddess, at the battle of Zamma, the second Punic War was brought to
an end.
Ključne riječi
Magna Mater; Punic Wars; Navis Salvia; Scipioni; Claudii; terracotta antefixa
Hrčak ID:
102446
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.8.2012.
Posjeta: 3.295 *