Opiconsivia
|
|
On August 25, the Opiconsivia (or Opeconsiva or Opalia) Roman festival was held in honor of Ops. Opiconsivia was also a surname of Ops herself. And this name was also given to the day in December, the 19th., in which the Opalias were celebrated, also in her honor. The Latin word consivia (or consiva) derives from conserere ("to sow"). Hence, the word Opiconsivia may be interpreted as meaning "the sowing of crops", since Ops ultimately means "crops" in the sense of "riches, goods". This word is also related to Consus, the male counterpart of Ops as "the seeder".
Both Ops and Consus were deemed chthonian (infernal) deities which made the vegetation grow. Since her abode was inside the earth, Ops was invoked by her worshippers while sitting, with their hands touching the ground, according to Macrobius (Saturnalia, I:10). Consus seems to be an alias of Saturn in the chthonian aspect, since he is also held to be the husband of Ops. Ops, the Earth Mother, was also considered the Great Mother of the Gods. As such, Ops is an alias of Rhea, Cybele, Demeter, and so on, impersonating the earth as the giver of riches.
The festival of Consus, the Consualia, was celebrated twice a year: once on Aug. 21st., after the harvest, and once in Dec. 15th., after the sowing of crops was finished. The Consualia was instituted by Romulus, and commemorated the rape (and insemination) of the Sabine women by the Romans. The festival was superintended by the Flamines of Quirinus (Mars), helped by the Vestals. A chariot race was performed in the Circus Maximus, under the direction of the pontifices. Horses and mules, their heads crowned with chaplets made of flowers, also partook in the celebration. Consus was eventually identified with Neptunus Equester, the alias and counterpart of Poseidon Hippios. And Poseidon (Neptune) was of course the founder of Atlantis, where, according to Plato, horses (hippos, equus) originated. Hence the connection with the animal.