Talk:Ops

• Which date for the Opalia, December 9 (Wikipedia), or December 19?

By Pip Wilson, Wilson's Almanac http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com

William Smith http://www.ku.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Opalia.html says December 19:

“OPA´LIA, a Roman festival in honour of Opis, which was celebrated on the 14th day before the Calends of January (Dec. 19th), being the third day of the Saturnalia, which was also originally celebrated on the same day, when only one day was devoted to the latter festival. It was believed that Opis was the wife of Saturnus, and for this reason the festivals were celebrated at the same time (Macrob. Sat. i.10 ; Varr. de Ling. Lat. vi.22, ed. Müller; Festus, s.v. Opalia). The worshippers of Opis paid their vows sitting, and touched the earth on purpose, of which she was the goddess (Macrob. l.c.).”

as does Roman Religion and Mythology http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/314_Opalia.html:

“Ops was an ancient god of the Sabines, from where she passed to the Romans. She was associated with Saturn, and often identified with the Greek goddess Rhea. The goddess Juno was sometimes associated with Ops as Juno Opigena. As Ops Consiva, Ops the Sower, she protected the sowing of crops. She was also called Ops Opifera, the bringer of help. Ops had an ancient sanctuary in the Regia in the Forum Romanum, and there was a Temple of Ops on the Capitoline Hill. She was celebrated at the Opalia on December 19, and at the Opiconsivia on August 25.”

As does Biblioteca Arcana http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/SF/WinSol.html#consopalia “Consualia and Opalia (Rom., Dec. 15 & 19; ancient: XVIII & XIV Kal. Jan.) These festivals are essentially the same as the summer Consualia and Opiconsivia (Aug. 21 & 25, q.v.). We see here a pattern: a festival for Consus (God of the Storage-bin) followed in four days by a festival for Ops (Goddess of Plenty). Between these, there was, in the summer on Aug. 23, another festival for Ops (the wife of Saturn) corresponding to the Saturnalia on Dec. 17. [SFR 177-81, 205]”

and also Roman Calendar http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/aegsa/rome/dec16.htm#dec19:

“This day is sacred to Ops (Cybele or Rhea), the mother goddess. She was the wife of Cronus and the mother of Zeus. her priests were called the Corybantes.”

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tag explanation

This article contains good info and is written with more sophistication and understanding than many other articles on Roman deities. But here are some things that struck me:

• The introduction is too short and scant.
• More secondary sources are needed; these are abundant for this goddess.
• Inline citations are needed.
• The article needs to be divided into sections; for instance, her mythological genealogy in one, and her real-world cult worship in another. The Saturnalia is not mentioned; her festival was a significant date. She is of far greater importance in religion than in myth (of which there is very little other than her familial connections); she has little if any narrative (which is what myth is), and is known primarily because she was an active part of cult and ritual.
• If she was of Sabine origin (she appears on Varro's list of Sabine deities with altars in Rome), I wonder whether it's correct to call her a personification in the same sense as Pietas and similar abstractions.

Thanks. Cynwolfe (talk) 14:09, 26 February 2010 (UTC)