received the honours of a god in Rome as Theseus did in Athens.
Priests. The central object not only of Roman but Italian worship in general, in that epoch when the Italian stock still dwelt by itself in the peninsula, was the god Maurs or Mars, the killing god,[1] pre-eminently regarded as the divine champion of the burgesses, hurling the spear, protecting the flock, and throwing the foe. Each community of course had its own Mars, and deemed him to be the strongest and holiest of all; and accordingly every "ver sacrum" setting out to found a new community marched under the protection of its own Mars. To Mars was dedicated the first month not only in the Roman calendar, which in no other instance refers to the gods, but also probably in all the other Latin and Sabellian calendars: among the Roman proper names, which in like manner contain no allusion to any other god, Marcus, Mamercus, and Mamurius appear in prevailing use from primitive times; with Mars and his sacred woodpecker was connected the oldest Italian prophecy; the wolf, the animal sacred to Mars, was the sign of the Roman burgesses, and such sacred national legends as the Roman imagination was able to produce referred exclusively to the god Mars and to his duplicate Quirinus. To his worship, accordingly, the most ancient priesthoods in the community bore reference, especially the priest of the god of the community, nominated for life, the "kindler of Mars" (flamen Partialis) as he was designated from presenting burnt-offerings, and the twelve "dancers" (Salii), a band of young men who in March performed the war-dance in honour of Mars and accompanied it by song. We have already explained (P. 87) how the amalgamation of the Hill-community with that of the Palatine gave rise to the duplication of the Roman Mars, and thereby to the introduction of a second priest of Mars—the flamen Quirinalis—and a second guild of dancers—the Salii Collini.
To these were added other public worships, some of which probably had an origin far earlier than 'that of Rome, and the celebration of which was committed to particular colleges in name of the people. Such a college was that of twelve "Field Brethren" (Fratres Arvales) who invoked
- ↑ From Maurs, which is the oldest form handed down by tradition, there developed by different treatment of the u Mars, Mavors, Mors; the transition to ŏ (like Paula, Pola, &c.) appears also in the double form Mar-Mor (comp. Ma-mŭrius) alongside of Mar-Mar and Ma-Mers.
