stanley specth - the goddess ceres in the ara pacis augustae

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The Goddess Ceres in the Ara Pacis Augustae and the Carthage ReliefAuthor(s): Barbette Stanley SpaethSource: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 98, No. 1 (Jan., 1994), pp. 65-100Published by: Archaeological Institute of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/506222.

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The Goddess Ceres in the Ara PacisAugustaeand the CarthageReliefBARBETTESTANLEYSPAETH

AbstractThis article offers a new interpretation or the reliefpanel located at the southeast corner of the Ara PacisAugustaeand for a related relief from Carthagebasedupon a detailedreexaminationof their iconography.Forthe Ara Pacisrelief, the typeand attributesof the centralfigure point to her identificationas Ceres,with possiblepolysemantic eference to thisdivinity's ulticconnectionswith Tellus and Venus. The two side figures in the AraPacisrelief are identifiedas a Nereid (seanymph)and aNaiad (freshwaternymph). These divinitieswere associ-ated in myth,cult, and art with Ceres.The identificationof Ceresand the nymphsin this panel is shown to havesignificant mplicationsor the interpretation f the sculp-tural decoration of the Ara Pacis as a whole, its placeinthe largerprogramof theCampusMartius, ndAugustanpoliticalpropaganda n general.In the similarrelieffromCarthage,Demeter/Ceres,Persephone,and Poseidonareidentifiedin a scene that reflects the celebrationof theThesmophoriaat the spring Kyanenear Syracuse.TheSyracusan ultof Demeterand Persephonewasimported

to Carthage n the fourth century and revivedwith thefoundationof the Romancolonyat Carthagen themiddleof the first centuryB.C. It is proposedthat the colonistserecteda copyof the Ceresreliefof the AraPacis,chang-ing it to reflectthe localcult of the Cereres.*INTRODUCTION

The restored relief panel located at the southeastcorner of the Ara Pacis Augustae has occasionedmuch controversy (fig. 1).1 This panel has been rec-ognized as one of the most significant reliefs of thisimportant monument.2 In the center of the relief isportrayed a veiled female figure, crowned with awreath of wheat and poppies. She is dressed in a long,thin dress, which is slipping off her right shoulder,and wears a heavier robe pulled up over her head asa veil. Her hair is piled on her head, except for twostrands that flow down onto her shoulders. She sitsupon a rocky throne and holds in her lap two children

* The originsof thisarticle ie in a researchpaperI wrotefor a graduateseminardirected by John Polliniat JohnsHopkinsUniversity.In 1985, I presented an earlyversionof my theory regarding the Ara Pacis relief at the 87thAnnual Meetingof the AIA (see AJA 90 [1986] 210, ab-stract).In the summerof 1990, I receiveda grant fromtheCommitteeon Researchof Tulane Universityto conductresearch on Demeter at the AmericanSchool of ClassicalStudiesat Athens,and for the followingyear(1990-1991) Iwasawarded he OscarBroneerFellowshipbythe LutherI.Replogle Foundationto work on Ceres at the AmericanAcademy in Rome. During this period, I completed theresearch for thisarticle.I presented my findings n talksatthe AmericanAcademyand the CanadianAcademicCenterin Romein 1991and the ClassicalAssociationof the MiddleWestand South in 1992. In 1993, I receiveda grant fromthe GraduateSchool,Tulane University, o cover the costsof obtainingphotographs or thisarticle. I wishto thankthefollowing persons for their invaluableassistancewith myresearchand the writingof thisarticle:Jane Carter,DiskinClay, Diane Conlin, Karl Galinsky,Dennis Kehoe, DianaKleiner,Greg Leftwich,John Pedley,John Pollini,MichaelPutnam,DavidSoren,the staffs of the AmericanSchool ofClassicalStudies at Athens and the AmericanAcademyinRome,and the editorsand reviewersof AJA.The followingabbreviations re used:Berczelly L. Berczelly,"Iliaand the DivineTwins:A Reconsideration of Two ReliefPanelsfromthe AraPacisAugustae,"ActaAArtHist 5 (1985) 89-149.de Grummond N. de Grummond,"PaxAugusta and

the Horaeon the Ara PacisAugustae,"AJA94 (1990)663-77.Galinsky 1969 K. Galinsky, Aeneas, Sicily, and Rome(Princeton1969).Galinsky1992 K. Galinsky,"Venus,Polysemy,and theAra PacisAugustae,"AJA96 (1992)457-75.La Rocca E. La Roccaet al., AraPacis Augustae:In occasione del restauro della fronteorientale (Rome 1983).Moretti G. Moretti, Ara Pacis Augustae (Rome1948).Settis S. Settis,"DieAra Pacis,"n KaiserAu-gustus und die verlorene Republik(Mainz1988)400-29.Strong E. Strong,"TerraMateror Italia?"JRS27 (1937) 114-26.Torelli M. Torelli, Typologyand Structureof Ro-man Historical Reliefs (Ann Arbor1982).Van Buren A. Van Buren, "The Ara PacisAugus-tae,"JRS3 (1913) 134-41.Zanker P. Zanker, The Power of Images in theAge of Augustus (Ann Arbor 1988).On the restorations, ee mostrecentlyLaRocca.

2 For the importanceof the relief, see H. Kahler,"DieAra Pacisund die augusteischeFriedensidee,"JdI 9 (1954)84. Kahlerarguesthatthe east side of the Ara Pacis,whichfaced the Via Flaminia,wasthe primary acadeseen by thepublic,and its two panelreliefsare hence extremelysignif-icantfor the messageof the monument.65AmericanJournal of Archaeology98 (1994) 65-100

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66 BARBETTE STANLEYSPAETH [AJA98

Fig. 1. Ceres and the nymphs. Relief panel from the southeastcorner of the Ara Pacis Augustae. (CourtesyDeutschesArchiologischesInstitut,Rome,neg. 86.1449)and several different types of fruit, including grapes,pomegranates, and nuts. One of the children in herlap offers her a round fruit, possibly a pomegranateor apple. Behind her and to the viewer's right growwheat, and poppies, and several other types of flow-ers. At her feet are a grazing sheep and a recliningcow. Further to the viewer's right appears a seminudefemale figure with drapery billowing over her head.She is seated upon a ketos, or sea monster, which risesup out of turbulent waves. She seems also to wear acrown, which, however, is badly abraded.3 To theviewer's left appears another seminude female figurewith billowing drapery and a crown of reeds. She is

riding upon a large water bird, either a goose or aswan.4 Beside her grows a large reed plant, and be-neath her appear a number of different plants, anoverturned water jug from which a stream of waterflows, and a small water bird, probably a crane.The complexity of the motifs represented here isthe source of the controversy surrounding this relief.The dispute revolves around three major problems:the identification of the central figure, the significanceof the flanking figures, and the relationship betweenthese two groups. Various theories have already beenproposed for the interpretation of the Ara Pacisrelief.The central figure has been identified as Tellus,5

3 On the crowns of the side figures, see T. Schreiber,"DiehellenistischeReliefbilderund die augusteischeZeit,"JdI 11 (1896)94; de Grummond669-70.4 Because the neck of the bird has been restored, itsidentification s in doubt.5 The Tellus identificationeems to have been proposedfirst n a letterbyCardinalGiovanniRiccida Montepulcianoin February1569. See Settis402-403. For aterscholarswhofollowthisidentification,ee 0. Jahn, "Elementargottheitenauf einem florentinischenund kartagischenReliefs,"AZ

1864, 178-79; E. Petersen,"L'AraPacis Augustae,"RM1894, 171-228; Schreiber(supran. 3) 89-96; G. Meautis,"Lesbas-reliefspittoresques t I'artAlexandrin,"n Bronzesantiquesdu Canton de Neuchdtel (Neuchitel 1928) 17; Strong121-26; G. Rizzo,"Auraevelificantes,"BullCom67 (1939)141-59; A. Momigliano, ThePeaceof the AraPacis,"JWarb5 (1942) 228-29; Moretti216, 232-37; I. Ryberg,"TheProcessionof the Ara Pacis,"MAAR 19 (1949) 79-101; A.Adriani,"Divagazionintorno ad una coppa paesisticadelMuseo di Alessandria," in Documentee ricerched'artealessan-



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 67Italia,6 Venus,7 Rhea Silvia,8 and Pax,9 or a combina-tion of several of these.1' The two side figures havebeen identified as spirits or Aurae (breezes)" of landand sea,'2 air and water,'3 or fresh and salt water;'4an Aura and a Nereid;'5 nymphs;'16 a nymph and a

Nereid;17 a Muse and a sea divinity;'8 the celestial andmarine aspects of Venus;'" and the Horae.20 Validcriticisms have been made of each of these identifi-cations.2' Indeed, recently in the pages of thisjournal,the controversy has continued, with de Grummond

drina(Rome1959)31-32; M.Schaefer,"ZumTellusbildaufder Ara PacisAugustae,"Gymnasium6 (1959)294-301; LaRocca; T. H1olscher,Staatsdenkmal und Publikum vom Unter-gang der Republik bis zur Festigung des Kaisertums in Rom(Xenia9, Constance1984)31; Settis413-14.6 Fortheidentification s Italia orTellusItaliae/SaturniaTellus),see Van Buren 134-41;J.Toynbee,"TheAraPacisReconsideredand HistoricalArtinRomanItaly," rocBritAc39 (1953)81; Kahler(supran. 2) 86-89; J. Charbonneaux,La sculpture grecque et romaine au Musie du Louvre (Paris1963) 92-94; E. Simon, Ara Pacis Augustae(Greenwich,Conn. 1967)26-29; A. Borbein,"DieAra PacisAugustae:GeschichtlicheWirklichkeitund Programm," dI 90 (1975)243; J. Pollini, Studies in Augustan "Historical"Reliefs (Diss.Univ. of Californiaat Berkeley1978) 131;E. Simon,Augus-tus: Kunst und Leben in Rom um die Zeitenwende (Munich1986) 36; N. Hannestad, Roman Art and Imperial Policy(Aarhus 1986) 71-74; LIMC 5.1 (1990) 808-10 no. 10, s.v.Italia(F. Canciani).7 For the identificationas Venus, see 0. Benndorf ed.,Griechischeund sizilische Vasenbilder(1869) pl. 77, no. 394;A. Kalkmann,"Aphroditeauf dem Schwan,"dI 1 (1886)231-60; A. Booth, "Venuson the Ara Pacis,"Latomus25(1966) 873-79; K. Galinsky,"Venus n a Relief of the AraPacisAugustae,"AJA70(1966)223-43 (cf.also n. 10below);M. Thornton, "AugustanGenealogyand the Ara Pacis,"Latomus42 (1983) 619-28; G. Freibergs,C. Littleton,andV. Strutynski,"Indo-EuropeanTripartitionand the AraPacisAugustae:An Excursus n IdeologicalArchaeology,"Numen33 (1986) 12.

8 Forthe identificationas RheaSilvia,see Berczelly.' For the identificationas Pax, see V. Gardthausen,DerAltar des Kaiserfriedens, Ara Pacis Augustae (Leipzig 1908)14-16; de Grummond663-77.1) For the identification of the figure as polysemantic,referring o acombinationof divinities, ee K.Hannell,"DasOpferdes Augustusander AraPacis,"OpRom (1960)117-23 (Tellus,Pax,Ceres);Galinsky1969,203-41 (Venus,Tel-lus, Italia, Ceres); H. Kenner, "Das Tellusreliefder AraPacis,"OJh53 (1981)41-42 (Venus,Pax,TerraMater,MaterMatuta,Magna Mater,Bona Dea, Kybele);Torelli 38-43(Pax,Tellus,Venus);Zanker172-79 (Venus, Ceres,Tellus,Pax);Galinsky1992 (Venus,Tellus, Pax,Ceres);D. Kleiner,RomanSculptureNew Haven 1992)96 (Tellus, Italia,ItaliaeTellus,Venus,Ilia,Pax)." Forthe identificationas Auraewithoutfurtherspecifi-cation,see Kahler(supran. 2); Adriani(supran. 5); Pollini(supran. 6) 76; Berczelly133-34; Hannestad(supran. 6);Simon 1986 (supran. 6).

12 For the identificationas spiritsor Aurae of land andsea,see VanBuren;Moretti Auraeof landand seaor freshand saltwater);Zanker;Kleiner(supran. 10)96.13 Forthe identificationas spiritsor Auraeof airand sea/water, see Riccida Montepulciano, n Settis402-403; Jahn(supran. 5); Schreiber supran. 3); Strong;Schaefer(supran. 5); LaRocca;Hdlscher(supran. 5); Settis.'" For the identificationas spiritsor Auraeof fresh and

salt water, see M6autis(supra n. 5); Rizzo (supra n. 5);Moretti(Aurae of fresh and salt water or land and sea);Toynbee (supran. 6); Simon 1967 (supran. 6); LIMC3.1(1986)52-54 no. 4, s.v. Aurae(F.Canciani);LIMC,s.v.Italia(supran. 6) 808, 810 no. 10.15 For the identificationas an Aura and a Nereid, seeMomigliano supran. 5) 228.16 For the identificationas nymphs, see Petersen(supran. 5).17 For the identificationas a nymphand a Nereid sym-bolizingair and sea, see Kenner(supran. 10)32.18 For the identificationas a Museand a sea divinity, eeGardthausen supran. 9).19For the identificationas the celestialand the marine

aspects of Venus, see Benndorf (supra n. 7); Kalkmann(supran. 7) (also spiritsof air and water);Booth (supran.7);Galinskysupran. 7) andGalinsky1969, 1992(alsoAuraeof air and water);Thornton (supran. 7) (alsoAuraeof airand water);Freibergset al. (supra n. 7) (alsoAuraeof airand water).20 Forthe identificationas Horae,see La Rocca supran.1) (Horae/Auraeof air and water);and de Grummond.21 For criticismof the Tellusand Italia dentifications, eeGalinsky1969, 194-203. For criticismof the Venusidenti-fication,see A. Drummond,reviewof Galinsky1969, inJRS62 (1972) 218-20. For criticismof the Paxidentification,eeGalinsky1992, 458-60. To Galinsky'sriticisms f de Grum-mond'sargumentfor Pax669-70, I wishto add the follow-ing. The iconographyof the GreekEireneand the RomanPax are not identical,as de Grummondassumes.On thedistinctionsbetweenthe iconographyof Eireneand Pax,seeG. Belloni,"Espressioniconografichedi 'Eirene' di 'Pax',"in M. Sordi ed., La pace nel mondo antico (Contributidell'Istitutodi storia antica 11, Milan 1985) 127-45, esp.128-30; E. Simon, Eirene und Pax: Friedensgottin in derAntike (Sitzungsberichteder WissenschaftlichenGesellschaftanderJohann Wolfgang Goethe-UniversitiitFrankfurt am Main24.3, Stuttgart 1988). In contrast to the Greek goddess, theRomandivinityis generally represented in active"mascu-line" roles or attire: she drives a chariot,bearsarms, and

wearsmilitarydress.The Romangoddess is not found withthe child Ploutos as is the Greek Eirene. Moreover, thegoddess representedon the Ara Pacisholds two children nher lap, not the one child Ploutos. The statue group byKephisodotos itedbyde Grummond epresentsanessentialunity,Eirene-Ploutos,and the child is not primarilyan at-tributeof the goddess, as the twochildrenon the Ara Pacisseemto be. The attributeshat de Grummondcites asbeingemblematicof Pax, especiallythe poppies and wheat,aremuch more commonlyattributesof Ceres and are closelyassociated with her in myth and cult as well as in literatureand art. Indeed, examplesof their association n art withPaxall postdatethe Ara Pacis(e.g., the coin typescitedbyde Grummond).The one attributethat would distinguishthe figureas Pax, the caduceus, s missingon the AraPacisrelief,as de Grummondherself notes (p. 668).



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68 BARBETTE STANLEYSPAETH [AJA 98

Fig. 2. Head of centralfigurewith coronaspicea.Detailof reliefpanelin fig. 1. (CourtesyDeutschesArchiologischesInstitut, Rome, neg.86.1455)arguing that the figure be identified simply as Pax,and Galinsky rejecting this single identification andarguing that the figure is "polysemous," but with aprevailing meaning of Venus.22 The continuing con-troversy indicates that an entirely satisfactory identi-fication of the figures of the relief has yet to be found.I therefore am offering a new interpretation of thisAra Pacis relief. My interpretation is based on a de-tailed reexamination of the various motifs displayedin the relief. I argue that these motifs point to theidentification of the central figure of the relief as thegoddess Ceres23 and of the two subsidiary figures asnymphs, one of fresh water and the other of saltwater.The identification of Ceres and the nymphs in thisrelief panel has significant implications for the inter-

pretation of the Ara Pacis as a whole and for itspropagandistic message. Moreover, as I shall show,this interpretation provides a convincing solution tothe perplexing problem of a closely related relief fromCarthage.THE CENTRAL FIGURE OF THE ARA PACISRELIEF

Let us consider first the evidence for the identifi-cation of the central figure of the Ara Pacis relief asCeres. In general, in Roman art, the iconography ofthis divinity is largely borrowed from her Greek coun-terpart, Demeter.24Farnell has described the Demetertype in Greek art as follows: "[The goddess] is givenusually the veil and maturer forms proper to mater-

22de Grummond.Galinsky1992.23 Althoughsome scholarshaverecognized he attributesof Ceres n thisfigurebefore,theyhave seen these attributesas secondary to the main identificationof the figure. SoGalinsky1969, 238-39 points out the similaritiesof thisfigureto representations f Ceres,onlyto concludethat the

figure is Venusassimilated o Ceres. I argue belowthattheattributesof the figure point clearlyto her primary denti-ficationas Ceres.24 On the derivationof the iconographyof Ceres fromthat of Demeter, see LIMC 4.1 (1988) 893 and 907, s.v.Demeter/CeresS.De Angeli).



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 69nity and the countenance is marked with emotion andthe impress of experience."25 This description closelymatches the figure in the Ara Pacis relief. The de-scription of Demeter in literary sources also revealsparallels with the Ara Pacis figure. As Beschi hasnoted, the literary image of Demeter remained prac-tically unchanged throughout antiquity.26The god-dess is called queenly (anassa, potnia, polypotnia) andis often shown as a figure seated upon a throne andwearing a crown (eustephane,kallistephanos).Demeteris also described as solemn (agelastos),characterizingher grief and anger at the loss of her daughter, andshe generally wears the veil (kredemnonor kalyptra)asa sign of her grief. Her flowing hair is emphasized,which is as yellow (xanthe) as the grain that is her giftto mankind. The goddess is viewed as both generousand benevolent, for she provides the gift of fruits ofthe field for mankind (aglaokarpos, aglaodoros, hore-phoros, polyphorbe).This general literary descriptionof Demeter points to some of her important attri-butes: the crown, throne, veil, grain, and fruits. Thecentral figure of the Ara Pacis relief has all of theseattributes, as well as others closely associated withDemeter/Ceres.

The crown that the Ara Pacis figure wears is com-posed of wheat stalks and poppy capsules (fig. 2).27The wheat points to its identification as the coronaspicea, a primary attribute of Demeter/Ceres. Thegoddess wears this crown on both Greek and Romancoins.28On Greek coins, a legend is sometimes addedto identify the goddess directly, but she is not soidentified on the Roman types, suggesting that thecrown alone was sufficient to identify the goddess tothe Romans.29 In the Roman period, the crown fre-quently appears on the head of the goddess in othermedia as well, such as gems and sculpture, and during

Fig. 3. Ceres/Liviawith poppy and wheat crown. Onyxcameo. Florence,Museo Archeologico, nv. 26. (After M.Vollenweider,Die Steinschneidekunstnd ihreKiinstler nspiitrepublikanischernd augusteischerZeit [Baden-Baden1966]pl. 76.4)the Empire it may also include the poppy capsuleslike those visible in the crown of the Ara Pacis figure(fig. 3).30 In Latin literature also, Ceres is frequentlydescribed with the corona spicea, as in Tibullus's lines(1.1.15-16): "Golden Ceres, for you may there be acrown of wheat stalks from our fields,"flava Ceres,tibi sit nostro de rure corona / spicea." The crown ofthe Ara Pacis figure thus points clearly to her identi-fication as Demeter/Ceres.

25 L. Farnell,Cultsof the GreekStates 3 (Oxford 1907)272.26 LIMC4.1 (1988)846, s.v.Demeter(L.Beschi).27 The wheat stalksand poppycapsulesareclearlyvisible

in a close physicalexaminationof the relief,althoughtheyaresomewhatdifficult o see in photographs f it.Theywereprobablyeven more visible before the relief had been sub-jected to the ravagesof time and attemptsat cleaning.Theplantscomposingthe crown have not been properly denti-fied by a number of scholarswho treatthe relief. So, e.g.,Berczelly 116 n. 101 identifies it simply as a "crown offlowers."Simon 1967 (supran. 6) 26-27 refers to it as "thewreathof fruit,"andspecifically eniesthat tcan be acoronaspicea: "NeitherCeres appears nor the crown of ears ofcorn, so beloveda symbol n visualart."28 For Demeter with the corona spiceaon Greekcoins,see LIMC,s.v.Demeter(supran. 26) nos. 162-73, 176-86,188. For Cereswiththe coronaspiceaon Romancoins,see

LIMC, s.v. Demeter/Ceres(supran. 24) nos. 13-22. Thecrown sa commonattributeof the goddess;she isportrayed

with it in 47 of the 191representations ited in the article nthe LIMCon Ceres,thatis, in ca. 25%of theserepresenta-tions.29 The addition of the legend on Greek types may be

intended to distinguishher fromher daughterPersephone,who also wearsthe crown on Greekcoins; so LIMC,s.v.Demeter(supran. 26)881.Proserpina/Liberasinfrequentlyrepresentedon Romancoins,so the distinctionbetweenthetwo providedby the legendwasunnecessary.30 Forthe coronaspiceaon sculpturesof Demeter/Ceres,see LIMC,s.v. Demeter/Ceres(supran. 24) nos. 2-4. Forthe crown composed of wheat and poppy capsules, seeLIMC,s.v.Demeter/Ceres(supran. 24) nos. 172(myfig.3),177, 187. These latterexamplesare of the RomanEmpire,and involveassimilation f Ceresto a femalememberof the

imperialfamily.3' All translationsprovided n thisarticleare those of theauthor.Cf. also Hor. Carm.Saec. 29-30; Ov. Fast. 4.615-

16,Am.3.10.3.



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 71goddess of grain; the opium that the plant producesconnects it with sleep and death, and hence with herchthonic aspect.43 Demeter/Ceres is represented inClassical art holding the wheat sheaf in one hand andpoppy capsules in the other.44 In literature as well,these plants are given as attributes of the goddess, asin Theocritus 7.157, where a statue of Demeter isdescribed as "holding wheat-stalks and poppies ineither hand," bdyMOtara xl ~dxCOvag v ~t40o-TrIQttLOLVEXOLtoa.45The other flowers appearing in this group of plantsmay also be connected with the goddess, althoughtheir identification is uncertain. The large centralflower seems to be a poppy. The one immediately tothe left of this central flower may belong to the irisfamily, while the one further to the left may be anarcissus. If these identifications are correct, then theflowers represented on the relief would not normallyhave been in bloom at the same time. Thus the col-lection signals the fantastic quality of the image rep-resented,46 as do the other vegetal motifs on the AraPacis (i.e., the floral scroll and garland frieze). Thesetypes are among the flowers that Persephone wasgathering when she was raped by Hades on the mi-raculous plain of Enna, where flowers bloomed theyear round.47 The narcissus in particular had a specialsignificance for Demeter and Persephone.48 In theHomeric Hymn to Demeter (8-18), when Persephoneplucked the miraculous narcissus, the earth openedand Hades appeared to carry her away. Whatever thespecific species represented in the relief may be, weknow that flowers in general played an important rolein the cult of Demeter at a variety of sites, includingEleusis, Hipponium, Hermione, and Sardis, often inconnection with the myth of Persephone's flower-

gathering.49Flowersmaythereforeappear appropri-atelywith Demeterand Persephone,asintheirtempleat Megalopolis,where Pausanias 8.31.2) tellsus thatPersephone'scompanionsArtemis and Athena wererepresentedwithflowerbasketson theirheads.

Anothersignificantattributeof the AraPacis igureis the rocky throne upon which she is seated. Thehieratically eated figure is one of the mostcommontypesof Demeter/Ceres.51The statuesof Demeterthataccording to Pausanias (2.13.5, 5.17.3) are to becountedamongthe most ancientrepresent he seatedgoddess.51The seat may be a throne, kiste,rock, orthe earth itself.52The rockyseat is sometimes denti-fied as the agelastospetros,or "MirthlessStone,"onwhichthe goddesssat whenshe firstcameto Eleusis.53On the other hand, the goddess is also found seatedupon a rockin contexts that do not seem to refer tothe Eleusinian myth. So, for example, Pausanias(8.42.4) informs us that the originalxoanonof De-meterMelainaatPhigaleia howedthe goddessseatedon a rock. In this instance, the rock may symbolizeDemeter'sconnectionwith the earth,as in the ancientetymologyfor her name: De-meter= Ge-meter, heEarthMother.54 his connection sdifferentfromthedirect identificationwiththe earthrepresented n theiconographyof the goddess Ge/Tellus.The latterdi-vinityis generallyshownrisingup out of the earthorreclining upon it, as befits a personificationof theearth itself.55As the figureon the AraPacis,however,Demeter/Ceres s shown seated upon the earth or arock, indicatingher associationratherthan identifi-cationwith this element.

The detailsof the draperyof the Ara Pacisfigurealso point to an identificationwith Demeter/Ceres.The outer garment of this figure is a heavy robe,

43 On the symbolic ignificance f the poppy,see N. Hop-kinsoned., Callimachus:Hymn oDemeter(Cambridge1984)119;Seeberg(supran. 40) 11; K.Lembach,DiePflanzenbeiTheocrit(Heidelberg1970) 162.44 LIMC, s.v. Demeter/Ceres(supran. 24) nos. 5-7, 43,46, 52-55, 97, 162, 174.45 Cf. alsoCallim.Cer.44.46 In the Mediterranean,he iris blooms in March-April,the poppy in April-July,and the narcissus n September-October.See O. Poluninand A. Huxley,Flowersof theMed-iterraneanLondon 1981) 74 (poppy),219 (narcissus),224(iris).47 Hymn.Hom.Cer.5-18; Ov.Fast.4.437-42, Met.5.391-95; Claud.Rapt.Pros.2.128-34.48 See N. Richardson,TheHomericHymn oDemeterOx-ford 1974) 143-44; LIMC,s.v. Demeter(supran. 26) 846;Lembach(supran. 43) 86-88.49 Forreferences,see Richardson(supran. 48) 141.50 Ceres is representedas a seatedfigurein 48 out of the

191 representations ited in the LIMCarticle on Demeter/

Ceres(supran. 24), thatis, in ca. 25%of them.5' See LIMC,s.v. Demeter(supran. 26) 885.52 Forseatedrepresentations f Demeter,see LIMC,s.v.Demeter (supra n. 26) nos. 121-57. For Demeter seatedupon a rock,see nos. 122, 126, 129, 130,364.53 On the MirthlessStone, see Richardson supran. 48)219-21. Foranexampleof Demetersittingonarocky hroneidentifiedas the MirthlessStone, see I.K. and A.E. Raubit-schek,"The Missionof Triptolemus,"n Studies n AthenianArchitecture, Sculpture, and TopographyPresented to HomerThompsonHesperiaSuppl.20, Princeton1982) 115-17, pl.15b. For further bibliographyon this example,see LIMC,s.v. Demeter(supran. 26) no. 364. Demeter is identifiedonthisvaseby an inscription,now difficultto read.

54 Fortheancientsourcesandmodernscholarship n thisetymology, see A. Pease ed., Marcus Tullius Cicero:De Na-tura Deorum1 (Cambridge,Mass. 1955) 272; vol. 2 (Cam-bridge,Mass.1958)722.55 VanBuren 135-36.



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72 BARBETTE STANLEY SPAETH [AJA98

Fig. 5. Ceres of Ariccia.Terracottabust.Rome,MuseoNa-zionale 112375. (After M. Borda,"FlavaCeres," n StudiesPresentedoDavidMooreRobinson1[St.Louis1951 pl.98a.CourtesyWashingtonUniversity,St. Louis)which is pulled up over her head as a veil. As Berczellyhas noted, the association of the veil with the AraPacis figure contradicts both the Tellus and Italiaidentifications: Tellus is consistently representedbareheaded, and Italia is either shown with a helmetor bareheaded.56 In Greek and Roman art and liter-ature, Demeter/Ceres is frequently represented withthe veil, generally interpreted as a symbol of themourning that the goddess experienced at the rapeof her daughter.57 The undergarment of the Ara Pacis

figure is a thin dress that is slipping off her rightshoulder. Galinsky compared this drapery arrange-ment with similar representations of Aphrodite/Ve-nus.58 Parallels may also be adduced, however, torepresentations of Ceres. For example, a terracottabust from Ariccia, dated to the middle of the secondcentury B.C., shows a female figure wearing a gar-ment slipping off her right shoulder and emphasizingher breast (fig. 5).59 This bust is identified as thegoddess Ceres by the corona spicea that she wears.60The emphasis on the breast suggests fertility andnurture, an appropriate reference, as we shall see, forDemeter/Ceres.

The fruit that appears in the lap of the Ara Pacisfigure may also be associated with this divinity (fig. 6).The Greeks gave Demeter the epithet Karpophoros,signaling her association with fruit, while the Romanscalled Ceres Frugifera and Mater Frugum.6' Indeed,the Romans derived her very name from the bearingof fruits, "she, because she bears fruits, (is called)Ceres," quae quod gerit fruges, Ceres (Ennius apudVarro Ling. 5.64).62 Moreover, the specific type offruits portrayed on the Ara Pacis relief are closelyassociated with the goddess Demeter/Ceres: pome-granates, grapes, and nuts.

Pomegranates are an important attribute of thegoddess, perhaps in reference to the myth of herdaughter Persephone.63 According to the myth, Per-sephone ate several seeds of a pomegranate when shewas in the underworld, and so had to spend the samenumber of months in the land of the dead.64 In votivestatuettes from the sanctuary of Demeter Malophorosat Selinus, the goddess often holds a pomegranate(fig. 7),65 and terracotta imitations of this fruit werealso found at the sanctuary.66Indeed, the epithet ofMalophoros may connect her with pomegranates, ifindeed it refers to fflXov, meaning "apple," or by

56 Berczelly94.57 Ceres is shownwith the veil in 61 of the 191represen-

tationscited in the LIMCarticle on Demeter/Ceres(supran. 24), thatis, in ca. 31%of them.5s Galinsky1969(supran. 10)214-15.59LIMC, s.v. Demeter/Ceres(supra n. 24) no. 23. Thehairstyleof the Aricciabust is alsosimilar o that of the AraPacisfigure:twostrandsof hairfallingonto the shoulders.60 In another representationdated to the Augustanpe-riod, the goddess wears a garment that has completelyslipped off her right shoulder, revealingher right breast.The identification f thisfigureas Ceres s suggestedbythewheatthatgrowsnextto her. SeeLIMC,s.v.Demeter/Ceres(supran. 24) no. 1.61 ForDemeterKarpophoros,ee Farnell(supran. 25)32

with references; Muthmann(supran. 37) 71. For CeresFrugifera,see Sen. Phoen. 219; Claud.Rapt. Pros. 2.138.For this epithet on Romancoins,see LIMC,s.v. Demeter/Ceres(supran. 24)nos.67, 107. ForCeresasMaterFrugum,see Ov. Fast. 1.671, Met. 6.118. Cf. also Ceres as potensfrugum,Ov. Am. 3.10.35 and as genetrix rugum, Ov. Met.5.490.

62 Forthisetymology, ee alsoServ. on Verg.G. 1.7;Cic.Nat. D. 2.67, 3.52.63 On the associationof the pomegranatewithboth De-meterand Persephone, ee Muthmann(supran. 37) 67-77.64Hymn.Hom.Cer.370-74, 405-13; Ov. Met.5.535-39.65 LIMC,s.v. Demeter(supran. 26) no. 148,pl. 572.66 See D. White,"The Post-Classical ult of Malophorosat Selinus,"AJA71 (1967)350.



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 73

Fig. 6. Fruitsin the lap of the centralfigure. Detail of relief panel in fig. 1. (CourtesyDeutschesArchaologischesnstitut,Rome,neg. 86.1454,detail)extension, "any tree-born fruit."''67Like the poppycapsule, the pomegranate with its many seeds was asymbol of fertility and hence appropriately associatedwith Demeter/Ceres.68

The other fruits in the lap of the Ara Pacis figuremay also be associated with this divinity. Grapes arethe attribute of Ceres' cult companion, the god Liber/Bacchus, with whom she is frequently associated inLatin literature.69 The nuts shown among the fruitsare another symbol of fertility. Nuts were thrown atRoman wedding ceremonies, as rice is today.70At thefestival of Ceres, the Cerialia, nuts were thrown to the

onlookers of the procession.7 The fruits associatedwith the Ara Pacis figure may thus be interpreted asreferring to Demeter/Ceres as a goddess of agricul-tural fertility.The children represented in the lap of this figurepoint to the role of the goddess in human fertility, asthe mother or nurse of children. Demeter is given thecultic epithets Kourotrophos, Paidotrophos, Trophos,Polytrophos, and Paidophile, all of which point to herrole as the nurturer of young children.72 In mythol-ogy, Demeter is the mother not only of Persephone,but also of Artemis, Iakchos, Ploutos, and Bromios,

67 On the problemof the interpretationof this epithet,see White (supran. 66) 350; G. Zuntz,Persephone:ThreeEssays on Religion and Thought in Magna Graecia (Oxford1971) 100;Hopkinson(supran. 43) 185.68 On the symbolicsignificanceof the pomegranate,seeMuthmann(supran. 37) 77.

69 See H. Le Bonniec, Le culte de Ceres& ome:Des origines& a fin de la Ripublique (Etudes et commentaires27, Paris

1958)297-304.70 A. Rossbach, Untersuchungen iiber die rimische Ehe(1853) 347-49.71 Funaioli, Gramm. Rom. Frag. 463, no. 16. See Le Bon-niec (supran. 69) 114-15.72 On these epithets, see T. Price, Kourotrophos:Cult and

Representation of the Greek Nursing Deities (Leiden 1978)190, withreferences.



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Fig. 7. Demeterwith pomegranate.Statuette rom the De-meter Malophorossanctuaryat Selinus. Palermo,MuseoRegionale, nv. 395. (CourtesyMuseoRegionale,Palermo,neg. 6307)

and the foster mother of Demoph6on or Triptole-mos.73 The image of Demeter with her daughter inher lap is common in Eleusinianiconography,as isherdepictionwith a youngmalechild,generally den-tified as Dionysos, Iakchos,or Ploutos.74The kouro-trophos type of a woman holding a child found atsanctuaries f Demeterin Greece,AsiaMinor,MagnaGraecia,and Sicily may be a representationof De-meter Kourotrophos.75n an examplefrom the sanc-tuary of Demeter Malophoros at Selinus, the goddessholds a child that stretches ts hand to her breast n apose very similarto the Ara Pacis relief (fig. 8).76InRoman cult, Ceres is given the epithet Mater,as intheAugustanaltarof Ceres MaterandOpsAugusta.77Lucretius 4.1168) presentsCeresas a motherfigure:"But(if she is) swollenand big-breasted, he is Ceresfrom Iacchus (sucklingat her breast),"at tumidaetmammosa Ceres est ipsa ab Iacccho. To the Romans,Ceres was a symbolof both human and agriculturalfertility,motherof childrenand of fruits,as in Ovid'slines (Met. 5.489-90): "O progenitressof the maidensought throughout the world, and progenitress offruits,"o totoquaesitae virginis orbe etfrugum genetrix.This dual nature of the goddess is expressedby thefigureon the Ara Pacis relief.The presenceof twochildren n the reliefmayalsobe significant. In votive figurines from central andsouthern Italy and Sicily,a female figure is shownnursing two children, as in a statue from MegaraHyblaea (fig. 9).78Bonfante has argued that this typeis nativeItalicas opposed to Greek,since the themeof motherhood and especiallyof the nursingmotheris uncommon n Greekart.79Perhaps he Italicmodelinfluencedthe presentationof thegoddesson theAraPacisrelief. A mythologicalexplanationfor the twochildrenmaycomefrom Cicero Nat.D. 2.62):"Thoseborn from Ceres are called Liberand Libera,"Cererenati nominati sunt Liber et Libera. According to St.

73 See Price(supran. 72) 117-20, with references.74ForDemeter and Persephone,seeLIMC,s.v.Demeter(supran. 26) 889, and nos. 245-46, 258-59, 288-92, 300-303. For Demeterand the young malechild, see 891, andnos. 389, 397, 402-404, 407-409.75 For thevarious ites n GreeceandAsiaMinor, ee Price(supran. 72) 88 (Knossos),106-14 (Athens),117-20 (Eleu-sis), 153-54 (Kos), 159-60 (Halikarnassos), 60 (Knidos).For sites in MagnaGraeciaand Sicily,see Zuntz(supran.67) 110-14. Price (28-29, 129-30, 154-56, 181-86) alsodiscusses he kourotrophosypes from these sites,whichshe,however,does not always dentify as Demeter.On the De-meterKourotrophos ype, see alsoLIMC,s.v. Demeter(su-pra n. 26) 844, 889, 891 and nos. 300-302.76 Zuntz(supran. 67) 151, pl. 21c. Zuntz identifies this

kourotrophosigure as Persephone, due to her apparentyouth.An iconographicdistinctionbetweenPersephoneandDemeter,however, s notoriouslyhardto make.Foranotherstatuette rom the samesite,showinga more mature emalefigure holdinga child,see Zuntz112and pl. 14b.77CIL12, 1, pp. 240 and 324; IX, 4192. Cf. also CILIII,6096; VIII, 9020; X, 7501. For literaryreferencesto CeresMater, ee Ov.Met.5.509,Fast.4.447;Verg.G. 1.163;Claud.Rapt.Pros. 1.178. Cf. also Ceresas MaterFrugum,supran.62.78 See E. Langlotzand M. Hirmer,The Art of MagnaGraecia London1965)pl. 17.79On the type, see L. Bonfante, "DedicatedMothers,"VisibleReligion 3 (1984) 21-24.



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Fig.8. Demeterwith child n lap.Statuette rom the DemeterMalophorosanctuary t Selinus. AfterG.Zuntz,Persephone[Oxford 1971]pl. 21c, fromMonAnt32. CourtesyAccade-mia Nazionaledei Lincei,Rome)Augustine (De civ. D. 4.11), Liber was connected withmale fertility, and Libera with female: "Let him pre-side in the name of Liber over the seed of men, and

Fig.9. Goddessnursing wo children.Limestone tatuefromMegaraHyblaea.Syracuse,MuseoNazionale. AfterE.Lan-glotzand M. Hirmer,Die KunstderWestgriechenn Sizilienund Unteritalien Munich 1963] pl. 17. CourtesyHirmerVerlag)in the name of Libera over that of women," ipsepraesitnomineLiberivirorum seminibuset nomineLiberaefem-inarum. The two children on the Ara Pacis may bemeant to suggest, at least on one level, Ceres' childrenLiber and Libera, and hence to refer to their connec-tions with human fertility. The gender of the childrenin the relief is indeterminate, perhaps deliberately soto allow for more than one level of meaning.80 Theirsignificance, I believe, lies in their number, not theirgender.

Finally, the cow and sheep represented at the feetof the central figure may also be related to Demeter/Ceres. Numerous terracotta votive statuettes were dis-covered in the sanctuary of the goddess at Lycosurarepresenting draped female figures with the head ofa cow or a sheep.81 These animals may be associated

80 For the possibility hat the two childrenrepresent,onanother evel,Gaiusand LuciusCaesar, ee infran. 207.Thetwo children may also signal a polysemanticreference toVenus as geminorummaterAmorumOv.Fast.4.1). On themeaningof this phrase,see A. Wlosok,"GeminorumMater

Amorum,"n E. Lef6vreed.,Monumentumhiloniense: tu-dienzuraugusteischen eit.KielerFestschriftfiirErichBurckzum 70. GeburtstagAmsterdam1975)514-23.81 B. Dietrich, "Demeter,Erinys, Artemis,"Hermes90

(1962) 140.



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76 BARBETTE STANLEY SPAETH [AJA98with the goddess as protectress of agricultural workand animal husbandry. Varro (Rust. 2.5.3) calls thebull "this companion of men in agricultural work andservant of Ceres," hic socius hominum in rustico opereet Cererisminister.82According to myth, Ceres was thefirst to domesticate cattle for plowing (Ov. Fast. 4.403-404; Am. 3.10.13-14). Farnell has recognized Deme-ter in a gem representing a female figure riding on abull and carrying poppies, stalks of wheat, and atorch.83The enthroned goddess with a cow and a calfin front of her represented on the west side of theHarpy Monument from Xanthus in Lycia has alsobeen recognized as Demeter.84 In Greek cult, Demetercould receive cattle as an offering.85 Pausanias(2.35.6-8) notes that on Pron at Hermion, cattle wereregularly sacrificed to Demeter. In the DedicatoryEpigrams, Demeter and Hera are invoked, as the ob-jects of heifer-sacrifice, and in one case Demeter isoffered clay models of heifers.86 Cattle bones havebeen found in sanctuaries of Demeter at Knidos andKnossos.87

The sheep is also connected with the goddess inmyth and ritual. Pausanias (2.3.4) refers to a storyinvolving Hermes and a ram, which was told in con-nection with the Mysteries of Demeter. Although Pau-sanias does not relate the story, it may be connectedwith another told by Clement of Alexandria (Protr.2.13). The male divinity in this version was notHermes, but Zeus, who raped Demeter, and then inrepentance tore off the testicles of a ram and threwthem into her lap, claiming that they were his own.Bevan suggests that this myth is an aition for a fertilityritual dedicated to Demeter that involved rams.88Al-though sheep were rarely offered to Demeter inGreek cult,89we hear of them as a sacrifice to Ceresin Roman sources. Vergil (G. 1.338-50) reports anagricultural rite held in the spring for Ceres, in whicha sheep was led around the crops three times beforeits sacrifice. In the Aeneid (4.56-59), Dido and Anna

sacrifice sheep to Ceres and several other divinitiesbefore Dido's wedding to Aeneas. Moreover, somescholars believe that Demeter's cultic epithet of Mal-ophoros indicates her connection with sheep (hijXov= Xov).90 This seems to be how Pausanias under-stood the epithet, for he reports that the goddess wasgiven this epithet by "those who first reared sheep inthe land," Tro0gJgtWtrov;gJtg6PCrfa v rTTyi 0 g~ipav-Uag (Paus. 1.44.3). In his Hymn to Demeter (134-38),Callimachus places both cattle and sheep under theprotection of the goddess:

Hailgoddessand save thiscityin harmonyand in pros-perity,and bring all crops in abundance n the fieldsNourish the cattle, bring the flocks,bring the wheat-stalk,bring harvest And nourishpeace,so that he whohas sown may reap. Be graciousto me, thrice-prayedfor, great queen of goddesses 91The cow and sheep on the Ara Pacis relief thereforereflect the role of Demeter/Ceres as goddess of fertil-ity, and patroness of the agricultural and pastoralwork that that fertility requires.Based on the iconographical associations of the var-ious motifs displayed in association with the centralfigure of the Ara Pacis relief, I would argue that thisfigure must be understood, at least primarily, as thegoddess Demeter/Ceres. Some of the attributes asso-ciated with this figure belong almost exclusively toCeres, such as the corona spicea, wheat stalks, andpoppy capsules. Although a few instances may befound in which these attributes are represented withanother divinity, the overwhelming majority of thempoint to Demeter/Ceres.92 Other attributes are closelyconnected to this goddess, although they may also berelated to other divinities, such as her rocky throne,the arrangement of her drapery, the fruits, children,and animals. The ambiguity in these other attributesmay simply be due to the similarity in the iconographyof all female fertility divinities. On the other hand,

82 Cf. alsoColumellaRust. 6. Praef. 7.83 Farnell(supran. 25) 220, pl. 4a.84 Muthmann(supran. 37) 73-77, with 74 fig. 55. Op-posite Demeter on the relief appears another enthronedgoddess,holdinga floweranda pomegranate,who hasbeenidentified as Persephone.85 The morecommonofferingto Demeter,however,wasthe pig,which s notdepictedin the AraPacisrelief.Perhapsthe reason for this lies in the appearanceof this animalinthe Aeneaspanel oppositethe one under discussion.86 API 6.40 and 258. See E. Bevan, Representations ofAnimals in Sanctuaries of Artemisand OtherOlympianDeities(Oxford 1986) 82.87 Bevan (supra n. 86) 86.88 Bevan(supran. 86) 246-47.89 One of the DedicatoryEpigramsrecordsthe sacrifice

of a ewe to Demeter (API 6.258). Sheep bones have beendiscovered n Demeter'ssanctuaryat Cyrene,althoughpigbones are morecommon.See Bevan (supran. 86) 246 and249.90 Forthisargument,see Hopkinson(supra43) 185,withreferences.91 XaiQE E' xcd'ivE 60VOu6Xt iEv ' 6jIovoiL jv T'

E~l~KEXL,, EE 6' ~ty60 vorTLI[taUaVTa- / 4~)3PE 6Sag,SQE tXa, 'gE or~CXvv, IoE 0cto~t6v, / gE xai'ELQpdVaV, LV'% agQOE T1VOg 4cL6hq. / L'XaOLtIOLTQLXXLUYTeIya XQeotoa 6~ ov.92 See the statistics ited in ns. 28 and 38 suprafor Cereswith the corona spiceaand with wheat.As for poppies, 16out of the 191 referencescited in theLIMCarticleon Ceres

(supran. 24), or ca. 8%,showher withthisplant.



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 77this allusive richness may reflect a deliberate attemptto syncretize, to connect Ceres with other fertilitygoddesses, particularly Aphrodite/Venus and Ge/Tel-lus.

As we have-already noted, the arrangement of theundergarment of the figure points to representationsof Aphrodite/Venus as well as to ones of Ceres. Thedual reference of the iconographic motif may reflectthe cultic connections of Ceres with Aphrodite/Venus.Epigraphical evidence indicates the existence of ajoint cult of Ceres and Venus in central and southernItaly.93The association between the two goddesses isalso reflected in votives from southern Italy and Sicily,which portray a single female figure with attributesof both goddesses.94 Zuntz proposes that the syncre-tism means that one goddess was felt to combine thefeatures of both Aphrodite and Demeter.95 Similarly,the Ara Pacis figure may be meant to combine featuresof both Demeter/Ceres and Aphrodite/Venus.Other attributes of the Ara Pacis figure may beconnected with the goddess Ge/Tellus. The fruits,children, and animals associated with the figure maybe paralleled by depictions of the earth goddess.96Again, cultic connections provide an explanation forthe iconographic ambiguity. Le Bonniec presents con-siderable evidence for the role of Ceres in the cult ofTellus at Rome.97 The nature of the relationship be-tween the two goddesses is revealed by Ovid (Fast.1.673-74): "Ceres and Terra serve a common func-tion, the one provides the cause for fruits, the othertheir place," officium communeCereset Terra tuentur /haec praebet causamfrugibus, illa locum. The passageindicates that Tellus or Terra Mater was consideredto be the physical earth itself, while Ceres was thefertilizing power that produced fruits from the earth.Similarly, according to Cicero in the De natura deorum,the Stoics believed that Ceres was the divine intelli-gence pervading the earth, deuspertinens ... per terras(2.71), and that therefore she was the Earth itself, thatis, another Tellus, terra ipsa dea est (et ita habetur;quaeenim alia Tellus?) (3.52).98 An iconographic corre-

spondence between Ceres and Tellus is readily expli-cable in this context.The multivalent attributes of the central figure inthe Ara Pacis relief may be intended to recall thecultic associations of Ceres with these other divinities,

to connect her with them, and to call upon theirpowers as well as her own in guarding the fertility ofItaly. This view would allow for a polysemantic inter-pretation of the relief, as several scholars have pro-posed.99 The Ara Pacis figure would then beinterpreted as Ceres on the primary level, but alsosuggest secondary references to Venus and Tellus.THE SIDE FIGURES OF THE ARA PACIS RELIEF

We may now turn to an examination of the two sidefigures of the relief. Although some scholars havetreated these figures as mere "space-fillers"with littleintrinsic connection to the central figure, Galinsky hasargued, rightly I believe, that they are essential to thecomposition and interpretation of the relief.100The most common identification of these figures isAurae, or breezes. 101 However, as de Grummond hasshown, this identification rests on a thin founda-tion.102 Iconographically, the figures are identified asAurae by the drapery billowing over their heads, orvelificatio motif. The Aurae are connected with thevelificatio motif through Pliny's description (HN36.29) of a group of sculptures in the Portico ofOctavia: "two Aurae making sails with their clothing,"duae Aurae velificantessua veste. Artistic parallels areprovided by other representations of Aurae shownwith velificatio.'03 The association is then made to thefigures on the Ara Pacis relief, and often the followingpassage from Horace's Carmen Saeculare (29-32) iscited in this connection:

LetTellus,fertile n fruitsandherds,presentCereswitha corona spicea;let the healthy watersand breezes ofJupiter nourishthe offspring.104Based on this passage, Tellus is taken as the centralfigure of the relief and the Aurae as the side figures.

93 CIL12, 1541,1774;IX, 3087, 3089, 3090, 3170; X, 680,5191;EphEpVIII, 315, 855. Seealso R.Schilling,Lareligionromainede VWnusepuis esoriginesjusqu'auempsd'Auguste(Paris1928) 19-20; G. Colonna,"Sulsacerdoziopeligno diCerere e Venere,"ArchCl8 (1956)216-17; I. Chirassi-Col-umbo, "Funzionipolitiche ed implicazioniculturali nell'ideologia di Ceres nell'imperoromano,"ANRW 11.17.1(1981) 426; E. Simon,Die G6tterderRimer (Munich1990)48.94 On these votives,see Zuntz(supran. 67) 175-77.95 Zuntz(supran. 67) 176.96 See Strong 115-18.97Le Bonniec(supran. 69) 48-107.98 Cf. alsoCic.Nat. D. 1.40, 2.67.

99On the polysemantic nterpretation, ee supra n. 10.Fora thoroughdiscussionof polysemy nthe AugustanAge,see Galinsky1992,468-75.100Galinsky1969, 203-204.101 See supra ns. 11-15. For a refutation of the recentargumentthat these figuresare Horae, see Galinsky1992,459-60.102 deGrummond69.103 See, e.g., Simon 1967 (supran. 6) 27, pl. 32, no. 1: askyphosfrom Tarantowitha pictureof a figurewithvelifi-catiolabeledAura(Universityof Sydney nv.no. 53.30).104 FertilisrugumpecorisqueTellus spiceadonetCereremcorona; nutriantfetus etaquae alubres etJovisaurae.



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Fig. 10. Nereid on ketos. Detail from the carvedmantle of the cult statue of Demeter fromLycosura.NationalMuseum,Athens, nv. 1737. (CourtesyTAPService,Ministry f Culture,HellenicRepublic)Tellus, it is argued, wears the corona spicea, holdsoffspring and fruits in her lap, and has at her feetrepresentatives of the herds. The Aurae of Jupitermay be recognized at the side of the goddess by theirbillowing drapery, or velificatio.This argument has many problems. First of all,velificatio is not exclusively associated with Aurae.Many other divinities and semi-divinities are shownwith this motif.'05 In addition, this motif is only oneof a number of attributes associated with the two sidefigures of the Ara Pacis relief. Among the other at-tributes are the mounts that they ride, the crowns theywear, and the creatures and plants represented belowthem. Any interpretation of the side figures must takethese other attributes into account. Finally, the pas-sage from Horace has been misused. The poet saysthat Tellus (i.e., the earth itself) presents the goddess

Ceres with a corona spicea. Horace thus attributes thecrown to Ceres, not Tellus, as indeed we would expectgiven the close connection in art of this attribute withthe former. The identification of the side figures ofthe Ara Pacis relief as Aurae may therefore be re-jected.I offer another proposal for the identification ofthese two figures, namely that they are water nymphs,specifically a Nereid, or sea nymph, and a Naiad, orfreshwater nymph.'06 This identification indicates thesignificance of these figures, for in both Greek andRoman myth and cult, the nymphs play an importantrole.'07 In Italy, the cult of the nymphs may be tracedback to the sixth century B.C.s08 It gained in impor-tance during the time of Caesar and Augustus andspread rapidly through the Empire during the Prin-cipate.'09The somewhat colorless Aurae have no such

105 For the velificatiomotif,see Rizzo(supran. 5) 141-59and F. Matz,"DerGottauf dem Elephantenwagen," kade-mie der Wissenschaftund derLiteratur,Mainz 10 (1952) 725-28. Other beings represented with velificatio n antiquityinclude: Nereids, Horae, Maenads,Lycomedids,Niobids,Niobe, Selene, Helios, Caelus,Europa,Dionysos,Ariadne,Poseidon,Amphitrite,and Aphrodite.106 For the distinctionbetween the twotypes,see RE 17.2

(1937) 1533-39, s.v.Nymphai(W.Ruge).107 RE, s.v.Nymphai(supran. 106)1527-80; Roscher, .v.Nymphae,500-67.108 RE, s.v. Nymphai (supra n. 106) 1589.109 RE, s.v.Nymphai(supran. 106)1582-90. For cultsitesof nymphsduring the imperial period, see J. Toutain,Lescultespaiens dans l'empireromain 1 (Paris 1907) 380.



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 79significance in Roman religion. Moreover, as we shallsee, the nymphs have important associations with thegoddess Demeter/Ceres in myth, cult, and art. Theirassociation with this divinity on the Ara Pacis reliefmay be read on a number of different levels.The attributes associated with the two side figuressupport their identification as a Nereid and a Naiad.The figure on the right rides upon a sea dragon, orketos, who emerges from the waves of the sea. Thisanimal has the essential characteristics of the ketos:the canine head and large erect ears, open denticu-lated jaw, and scaly serpentine body."1 The figuremost frequently represented riding the ketos is a Ne-reid."IThis motif became especially popular in Greekart and was appropriated by the Romans for theirdepictions of the sea thiasos."12Pliny (HN 36.26) de-scribes Nereids "sitting upon dolphins, or ketoi, orhippocamps," supra delphinosaut ceteaut hippocampossedentes. In his description of the creatures of the seaportrayed on the doors of the Palace of the Sun God,Ovid (Met. 2.11-13) portrays Dores, the wife of Ne-reus, and describes her daughters, the Nereids:

Dores and her daughters,some of whom are seen toswim;some, sittingon a rock, to dry theirgreen hair;some to be carriedon a fish. . ."3The Nereids "carried on a fish" are equivalent to thefigure on the Ara Pacis relief riding the ketos.The other attributes of this figure may also beconnected with Nereids. The figure wears a crown,the details of which have been badly abraded. Perhapsthis crown represented seaweed and other plants ofthe sea. In the passage quoted above, Ovid describesthe Nereids with green hair, perhaps a reference toseaweed in their hair. Like the figure in the Ara Pacisrelief, Nereids were frequently shown as nude orseminude,"14 and were often depicted with the billow-ing veils of the velificatio motif."I5The closest parallelto the Ara Pacis figure is found on the carved mantleof the cult statue from the Sanctuary of Demeter atLycosura (fig. 10).116 In this representation, a Nereidwith a billowing veil rides upon a ketos. This icono-graphic correspondence suggests that the right side

Fig. 11.The nymph Kamarina n a swan. Didrachma romKamarina.London, BritishMuseum. CourtesyTrusteesofthe BritishMuseum)figure of the Ara Pacis relief is to be interpreted as aNereid, or sea nymph.The attributes of the left side figure of the reliefsuggest its interpretation as a Naiad. The Naiads arenymphs of fountains, rivers, pools, and lakes, that is,of fresh water (Ov. Met. 2.238 and 14.326-32). Thefigure rides upon a large water bird, either a gooseor a swan, which rises up from a marsh. The identityof the bird is difficult to determine, since its neck hasbeen restored. Both birds, however, are closely asso-ciated with freshwater divinities. The coins of Kataniashow the river god Symaethus with a goose."' Thegoose is connected with the nymph Herkyna in a storyrelated by Pausanias (9.39.2). Indeed, Keller suggeststhat the goose is a natural attribute of the nymph,who rules over the waters upon which the bird lives."18For the same reason, the swan too is an appropriateattribute for the nymph. This bird is closely connectedwith rivers, ponds, and marshes in Classical litera-ture. 19Swans are also depicted with nymphs in Clas-sical art. Perhaps the closest parallel to the figure onthe Ara Pacis is provided by the didrachmas of Ka-marina, dated to 415-405 B.C. (fig. 11). These coinsshow a seminude female figure riding on a swan; the

110 K.Shepard,TheFish-TailedMonstern Greek ndEtrus-can Art (New York 1940) 29 and 94."' Shepard (supra n. 110) 94.112 Forthe motif in Greekart,see Shepard(supran. 110)42; for its use in Romanart, see D. Levi,AntiochMosaicPavements (Rome 1971) 101.113 Doridaque t natas,quarumparsnarevidetur, pars inmole edensviridis iccarecapillos piscevehiquaedam...

~4 RE 17.1 (1936) 2, s.v. Nereiden (G. Herzog-Hauser).

115 S. Lattimore, The Marine Thiasos n GreekSculpture(Monumenta archaeologica3, Los Angeles 1976) 53.116 Lattimore (supra n. 115) fig. 19; S. Karouzou, NationalArchaeologicalMuseum.Collection f Sculpture.A Catalogue(Athens1968) 173-74.117 RE 7 (1912)732, s.v.Gans(F. Olck).118 O. Keller, Thiere der klassischenAltertums in kulturge-schichtlicherBeziehung (Innsbruck 1887) 291-92.119 RE 22 (1923)788, s.v.Schwan H. Gossen).



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80 BARBETTE STANLEY SPAETH [AJA 98figure has her drapery billowing up behind her in thevelificatio motif. This figure was interpreted as anAura by Rizzo, who was followed by many scholars.120Westermark and Jenkins have shown, however, thatshe represents the nymph Kamarina, personificationof the lake near the ancient city, who is addressed inPindar (01. 5.2-4) as the "daughter of Okeanos."'121The close iconographic correspondence suggests thatthe Ara Pacis figure is also to be interpreted as afreshwater nymph.The marshy scene represented beneath the figureon the Ara Pacis contains other details that may beassociated with nymphs. Primary among these is theoverturned urn, from which emerges a stream ofwater. The urn is a common attribute of nymphs inClassical art.122 The stream emerging from the urnon the relief may symbolize the water source overwhich the nymph rules. The reed plants that growaround the urn, as well as the large reed that growsbeside the nymph on the relief and the reed crownthat she wears, are all indicative of the type of plantsthat grow around freshwater sources and are there-fore symbolic of the realm of the nymph. The smallbird that appears on top of the urn in the relief is alsoa water bird, and therefore subject to the rule of thenymph.This bird may have an additional meaning, how-ever. It may be identified as a crane, which was con-nected with the time of sowing grain and was a heraldof the rains that were necessary after the sowing ifthe grain was to sprout."23 Its association with rainagain connects the bird with the nymphs."24Its con-nection with the sowing of grain, however, also asso-ciates the crane with Demeter/Ceres. Indeed, thecrane was considered in antiquity to be the herald of

Demeter (Porph. Abst. 3.5). This interpretation of thecrane provides a direct connection between the sidefigures of the relief, the nymphs, and its central figure,the goddess Demeter/Ceres.An association of Demeter/Ceres and the nymphsis not surprising, for the two have links in Greek andRoman myth and religion. Piccaluga has done a thor-ough study of the connection of Demeter/Ceres withwater and water divinities, both of the sea and of freshwater."25In the various versions of the Rape of Per-sephone in Classical literature, for example, waterdivinities play an important role. The companions ofPersephone before her rape are identified variouslyas the Oceanids (Hom. Hym. Dem. 5), Naiads andnymphs (Claud. Rapt. Pros. 2.55-61), or the Sirens,daughters of the river god Acheloos (Ov. Met. 5.551-55). In other myths and legends, Demeter is con-nected with a variety of beings associated with water,including Nereids and nymphs, as well as Poseidon,Okeanos, Pelasgos, Tantalos, Keleos, Kychreos, theDanaids, and the Sirens.126 For example, accordingto one of the Orphic hymns, the Nereids were thefirst to introduce the mysteries of her daughter, Per-sephone (Hymn. Orph. 24.10-12).127 Various Classicalauthors inform us that Demeter received sacrificeandprayers together with the nymphs.'12 This literaryevidence is supported by archaeological finds. Thecult sites of Demeter were generally by water, eithersalt or fresh,129 and special arrangements were madeat many of these sites for the use of water in the ritualsof the goddess.'13 Her worship at many sites is fre-quently combined with that of the local water divini-ties,'13 and Demeter herself may bear cultic epithetsthat connect her with water nymphs, e.g., Hagne,Herkynia, Lusia, and Poteriophoros.132 In Roman cult

120 Rizzo (supra n. 5) 150-59.121 U. Westermark and K. Jenkins, The Coinage of Kamar-ina (London1980)59-71.122 For representationsof nymphswith urns, see RE, s.v.Nymphal(supran. 106) 1578-80; and Roscher,s.v. Nym-phae,455-65.123 For the crane as herald of plowingand sowingtime,see Hes. Op.448-50, Ar.Av. 710, Theoc.Id. 10.31.Forthecrane as the signalof the coming rains,see AratusPhaen.1075-81. See also Brumfield(supran. 32) 20-23 and RE11(1922) 1576, s.v. Kranich H. Gossen-Steier).124 For the nymphsand rain, see Roscher,s.v. Nymphai,515.125 G. Piccaluga, "Il corteggio di Persephone," Minutal:Saggi di storia delle religioni (Rome 1974) 37-77.126 Piccaluga supran. 125)66-69.127 Cf. also Eur.Ion 1081-89: Nereidsdance in honor ofDemeterand Persephone.See Piccaluga supran. 125)67.128 For cultic worship of Demeter and the nymphs, see

Theoc. Id. 7.147-57, Schol.Pind.Ol. 13.74.

129 The cult sites of Demeter and Persephonewere bysprings (Pellene, Athens, Patrai, Platea, Andania), rivers(Argos,Triphyliaka,Lidia,Phigaleia,Trapezos n Arcadia),lakes (Kopais,Lerna),swamps(Artela),ritual baths (Leba-deia),and the sea (Attica,Phaleros,Mykalessosn Boeotia).See Piccaluga supran. 125)62-64.130Wells, pringhouses,and drainsareimportant lementsof the physicalplanof thesanctuaries f Demeterat Eleusis,Priene, Pergamon,Selinunte,and Kos. See F. Muthmann,"Weihreliefan Acheloos und Naturgottheiten,"AntK 11(1968)37-41.131 The goddesseswereworshipped ogetherwiththelocalwater divinities: the Hagnai (Andania),the nymphs andHagne(Megalopolis),ZeusHyetiosandHerkyna Lebadeia),Kyane(Syracuse),Poseidon(Haigioin Achaia,near Manti-nea in Arcadia,at Phalarnarion, n the roadto Eleusis,andat the gates of Athens, along with Zeus Ombriosand thenymphsand Nereids).See Piccaluga supran. 125)62-64.132 Piccaluga (supra n. 125) 65.



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Fig. 12. Demeter and Persephonewith the nymphsand Pan. Votiverelief from the Ilissos.Berlin,StaatlicheMuseen, inv. Sk 709. (CourtesyAntikensammlung, taatlicheMuseen zu Berlin,Preus-sischerKulturbesitz, eg. Sk3259)

as well, Ceres was linked with the nymphs. A marbleputeal from Ostia dated to A.D. 197 bears a dedicatoryinscription to Ceres as the goddess of grain and tothe nymphs (CIL XIV, 2).'33In Greek art, Demeter isshown with the nymphs in several representations,such as in an Attic votive relief dedicated to thenymphs and depicting Demeter, Persephone, and alocal hero in the lower register, and Hermes, thenymphs, and Pan in the upper (fig. 12).'34 Thesemythic and cultic connections indicate the close rela-tionship between the goddess Demeter/Ceres and thenymphs.

This connection bears a variety of meanings. First,the nymphs are symbolic of the nutritive powers ofthe goddess. Nymphs are goddesses of growth andfertility,135for they are connected with the rain thatmakes the vegetation grow.'36 Eustathius (Od. 1.14,p. 1384, 35) calls them the goddesses through whomthe fruit comes to ripeness, and they are given theepithets of Aglaokarpoi (Hymn. Orph.51.12) and Kar-pophoroi (Hymn. Orph. 51.4).'37 The nymphs are alsodivinities of spring and are associated with flowersand gardens.'38 Their connection with fertility andthe growth of vegetation explains their association

133See Muthmann supran. 130)37 n. 102.134 Forotherrepresentations f Demeterandthe nymphs,see Muthmann(supra n. 130) 24-44. See esp. the votiverelief from Megalopolis secondhalf of the fourthcentury)in the AthensNationalMuseum,no. 1449,on whichthe lastof the dancing nymphs holds a poppy and wheat stalks:Karouzou(supran. 116) 97, pl. 74.'35 See Roscher, .v.Nymphae,515-19; andRE, s.v.Nym-phai(supran. 106) 1548-49.

136 For the nymphsand rain, see Roscher,s.v. Nymphae,515.137 For the nymphsand fruit, see also Ov. Met. 9.85-88,where the Naiadscreate the cornucopiae.138 For the nymphsand spring, see Hor. Carm.1.4.5-12,4.7.1-6. For the nymphsand flowers,see Prop. 1.20.33-38,4.4.25-26; Nic. in Ath.681D,683A;Verg.Ecl.2.45-50; Ov.Met. 14.264-67.



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82 BARBETTE STANLEY SPAETH [AJA98with Demeter. According to a scholion on Pindar(Pyth. 4.106a),'39 no sanctuary of Demeter would behonored without the nymphs, for they were the firstto make known the fruits of the field. Antipater ofThessalonica (Anth. Pal. 9.418) says that the nymphsgrind the grain by the command of Demeter.'14 Be-cause of the nymphs' close connection with the growthof vegetation and hence the nourishment of humanbeings, they received sacrifices and prayers along withDemeter during a time of famine (Schol. Pind. 01.13.74).1'41Like Demeter/Ceres, the nymphs nurtured not onlycrops, but also animals and human beings. Accordingto Eustathius (Od. 14.435, p. 1765, 64), the nymphsprovided food for the herds, and they were connectedin myth and cult with other divinities associated withthe herds, including Faunus, Pan, and Apollo.'42 Inmyth, nymphs frequently served as nurses of chil-dren, e.g., of Dionysos, Hermaphroditos, and Jupi-ter.'43 In art and literature, the nymphs wererepresented as kourotrophoi.'44 As we have seen, thevegetation, animals, and children that the nymphsnurture all appear as attributes of the central figureof Demeter/Ceres on the Ara Pacis relief. On onelevel, then, the nymphs of the relief symbolize thenurture that the goddess provides.The nymphs and their attributes point toward an-other level of interpretation as well. These attributesmay also be interpreted as signs of weather phenom-ena. The swelling sea on the right side of the relief isa signal of approaching wind and storm.145 The waterbirds (swan/goose and crane) represented on the leftside of the relief are connected with rain. As we havealready noted, the crane is the herald of the winterrains.'46 The flight of water birds from the marsh ortheir sportive play in its waters are signs of an ap-proaching storm.14" The windblown cloaks of thenymphs also suggest the approach of stormy weather.The rains that these iconographic details suggest are

necessary for the growth of the crops, but may alsodo damage to them if they are too heavy. The stormsuggested by the nymphs and their attributes is count-ered by the calm presence of the goddess in the center.The peaceful attitude of the animals, the undisturbedgrowth of the plants around her, and the cheerfulplay of the children in her lap all counteract theimplicit threat of the storm. The goddess who protectsthe crops against the storm is Ceres.148In the Georgics(1.338-40), Vergil instructs the farmer to guardagainst the storms that destroy crops by worshippingthe gods, especially Ceres:

Firstof all, worshipthe gods, and conductthe annualrites of great Ceres, worshipping among the joyfulgrasses at the final end of winter, now in cloudlessspringtime.49The central figure of the relief is Ceres, who protectsthe farmers and the crops from the storm signaled bythe attributes of the two nymphs represented at thesides of the relief.

On yet another level, the two nymphs, beings offresh water and the sea, point to the goddess's con-nections with the two different kinds of water, asPiccaluga has defined them: "useful" water (acquautile), that is, fresh water to be used for wateringplants, for fertilization; and "non-useful" water (acquanon utile), that is, sea water, or water as an element, apower of nature.'15 "Useful" water is associated withDemeter as an agricultural divinity who controls thefertility of plants. "Non-useful" water is tied to herrole as one of the supernatural beings who gave formto the cosmos at its time of origin through manipu-lating the elements of nature. The Naiad and Nereidof the Ara Pacis relief symbolize Ceres' control of boththe fertilizing and elemental qualities of water.

Finally, the two nymphs of the relief point to thedual origin of Rome itself: her foreign origin throughthe Trojan prince Aeneas, and her native Italic origin

139 A.B. Drachman ed., Scholia vetera in Pindari carmina(Leipzig1910) 113.140 For the nymphs and grain, see also Ov. Fast. 5.261-72.141 Drachman(supran. 139) 373. See alsoRE, s.v. Nym-phai (supran. 106) 1569.142 See Roscher, .v.Nymphae,515-19; andRE, s.v.Nym-phai(supran. 106) 1549.143 Dionysos:Ov. Fast. 3.769-70, Met. 3.313-15; Herma-phroditos:Ov.Met. 4.287-88; Jupiter:Ov.Fast.3.443-44,5.111-28.144 For the nymphs as kourotrophoi,see Hes. Theog. 347;Serv. on Verg. Ecl. 10.62. For artisticrepresentationsofnymphsas kourotrophoi,ee Kenner(supran. 10)36.145 AratusPhaen. 909-12; Cic.Div. 1.13;Verg.G. 1.356-

57; PlinyHN 18.359.146 See supra n. 123. The appearanceof the crane inland

wasgenerallythought to be a sign of rain:Verg.G. 1.374-75; PlinyHN 18.362.147 For the flightof water birdsfromthe marsh,see PlinyHN 18.362;and Verg.G. 1.363-64. For theirsportiveplayin the watersof lake, marsh,or sea,see AratusPhaen.942-43; Varroof Atax apudServ. on Verg. G. 1.375;Verg. G.1.383-87; PlinyHN 18.363.148 Cf. alsoa fragmentof the hymnto Demeterby Philico,in which Zeuspromisesthat if Demeterstops the rainthatis destroyingall the crops,she and the nymphswillbegivena cult at Eleusis.See G.Gallovotti, InnoaDemeterdi Filico,"Studi italianidifilologiaclassica9 (1931)51 n. 95.149 Inprimisvenerare eos,atqueannuamagnae sacrareferCererisaetisoperatusn herbis extremaeubcasumhiemis,

iam verene sereno.150 Piccaluga supran. 125)70-76.



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 83through the twins Romulus and Remus. The Nereidsymbolizes the foreign origin of Rome. In Latin lit-erature, sea nymphs are generally given Greek namesand are considered foreign to native Italic beliefs.151In the Aeneid (5.823-26), Aeneas is accompanied byGreek sea divinities as he leaves Sicily, including Glau-kos, Inous, Palaemon, the Tritons, and the seanymphs Thetis, Melite, Panopea, Nesaea, Spio,Thalia, and Cymodoce. When his ships, built fromthe timbers of the trees of Trojan Mount Ida, arethreatened by Turnus and the Rutuli, they turn intosea nymphs (Aen. 9.107-22). One of these nymphslater protects Aeneas by warning him of Turnus'sattack on the Trojan camp, and she too has a Greekname: Cymodocea (Aen. 10.225). These foreign seanymphs may be contrasted with the native Italicstream and fountain nymphs.152The latter have Latinnames and ancient Italic cults and are connected withthe early history of Rome,"53such as Juturna, Egeria,Carmentis, and the Camenae.'54 Vergil (Aen. 8.314)and Ovid (Met. 6.329-30) call these nymphs the "na-tive gods," indigenae dei. In the Aeneid (8.314-20),Evander tells Aeneas that the nymphs were amongthe first inhabitants of Rome before even Saturn ar-rived. Aeneas himself prays to the nymphs, amongother divinities, as the native spirits in whose protec-tion the land of Italy lies on three critical occasions:upon his landing in Italy (Aen. 7.135-40), beforereceiving the omen of the sow (Aen. 8.71-78), andbefore his single combat with Turnus (Aen. 12.176-86).Ceres appropriately serves as the mediator betweenthese symbols of Rome's dual origin. For the Romans,Ceres was both a native Italic divinity and a foreignGreek one. The native Italic cult of Ceres was veryancient and linked the goddess to the worship ofTellus.15 The Greek cult of Ceres assimilated her tothe goddess Demeter and was imported from theGreek cities of southern Italy.'56As the central figureof the relief, Ceres mediates between the foreignorigin of Rome, represented in the sea nymph, andthe city's native origin, symbolized by the freshwaternymph.

The nymphs of the Ara Pacis relief therefore havea polysemantic reference. On one level, they symbol-ize the nutritive powers inherent in the water that istheir domain. They also signal the possible destructiveeffects of rain and storm, which is counteracted bythe power of Ceres. Through their distinction intofreshwater and sea divinities, they refer to Ceres'control of both the fertilizing and elemental qualitiesof water. Finally, they symbolize the dual origin ofRome, which is mediated by the goddess who is herselfboth a native Italic divinity and a foreign Greek one.This dual origin as we shall see is also indicated bythe relief panels with Aeneas and the Lupercal on theopposite side of the altar.THE CERES PANEL AND THE RELIEF PROGRAMOF THE ARA PACIS

The identification of Ceres and the nymphs in thispanel of the Ara Pacis has significant implications forthe interpretation of the sculptural program of theAra Pacis as a whole. As several scholars have noted,the reliefs of the altar must be read as an integratedprogram, for they complement and contrast with oneanother."57The Ceres panel has important associa-tions with the other three relief panels at the cornersof the monument, the garland frieze, the floral scroll,and the processional frieze.The Aeneas and Lupercal panels at the oppositeside of the altar from the Ceres panel are closelyconnected with it in theme and symbols. The basictheme of these two panels is the dual origin of Rome:her foreign origin from the Trojan Aeneas, and hernative origin from the twins Romulus and Remus.'58As we have seen, this theme is also present in theCeres panel through the representation of the twotypes of nymphs. Indeed, the figure of Aeneas himselfsuggests an association with the sea nymph of theCeres relief, since Aeneas was saved by the sea nymphswho had been transformed from his ships (Verg. Aen.9.77-122, 10.215-57). Although the Lupercal panelsurvives only in fragments, scholars have recon-structed that it represented the twins as they werediscovered by the wolf on the marshy banks of the

151 See C. Bailey, Religion n Virgil Oxford 1935) 36-37.152 On the contrastbetween the native riversand streamsof Italy and the foreign waters of the sea, see alsoProp.3.22.23-29. PropertiusdentifiesRomebyher benev-olent rivers and streams, while he describes the waters ofthe sea as filled with foreign monsters.153 See Bailey (supra n. 151) 34-36.'54 Juturna: sister of Turnus; her shrine in the RomanForum, where the Castores appeared after the Battle of LakeRegillus (Ov. Fast. 2.585-616; Verg. Aen. 12.138-59, 468-

99, 783-85, 843-86); Egeria: wife and adviser of Numa; hershrine at the Porta Capenae with the Capenae and at Ariccia

(Ov. Met. 15.479-551, Fast. 3.261-94); Carmentis: motherof Evander; her shrine at the Porta Carmentalis (Ov. Fast.1.466-586; Verg. Aen. 8.337-41); Camenae: associated withCanens, daughter of Janus; their grove and spring outsidethe Porta Capena (Ov. Met. 14.320-434; Plut. Numa 13).155 Le Bonniec (supra n. 69) 24-107.156 Le Bonniec (supra n. 69) 213-53.157 See, e.g., Settis 416-17; Galinsky 1969, 218-37; Gal-insky 1992, 468.158 Cf. Galinsky 1969, 219 and 226, who divides the Ara

Pacis into a Trojan and a Roman half.



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84 BARBETTE STANLEY SPAETH [AJA98river Tiber.'59 This scene recalls the marsh repre-sented below the freshwater nymph in the Cerespanel. The twins themselves recall the two childrenin the lap of the goddess.'60The pig in the Aeneas panel also suggests a linkwith the Ceres relief.'16' The sacrifice of a pig is acommon offering to the goddess in both Greek andRoman religion. 62For example, in Roman cult, sucha sacrifice was conducted in agricultural and funeraryrituals and at the Cerialia, the annual festival ofCeres.'63 This is not to say, however, that the pig inthe Aeneas panel is being offered to Ceres directly. Iagree with those who argue that the recipients of thesacrifice in the panel are the Penates, who are repre-sented in the small temple in the relief.'64The occasion for this sacrifice, however, merits fur-ther discussion. Some argue that the scene on thepanel represents Aeneas's sacrifice of the sow of La-vinium upon his landing in Italy, here offered to thePenates, as in the version of Dionysius of Halicarnas-sus (1.57.1), rather than to Juno Maxima as in theAeneid (8.81-85).165 As Weinstock points out, how-ever, the literary tradition indicates that the sacrificeof the sow by Aeneas was followed by an annualsacrifice of a pig to the Penates of Lavinium.166Thescene on the Aeneas panel may well represent thisannual sacrifice.

The choice of the sacrificial victim has special sig-nificance. The sacrifice of a pig, as Varro (Rust. 2.4.9)informs us, is generally associated with "beginnings,"initia:For it seems that the beginning (initium)of sacrificingwas first taken from the herd of swine, of which thetracesare that in the initiaof Cerespigsare immolated,and in the initiaof peace,when a treaty s struck,a pigis killed, and in the initiumof weddings,the ancientkings and important men in Etruria,in the nuptialunion,the new bride and the new husband irstsacrificea pig. The ancientLatins, too, as well as the Greeks nItaly,seemcustomarilyo have done the samething.'67

I propose that the sacrifice of the pig to the Penatesprimarily commemorates the establishment of peacebetween the Trojans and the Latins, and thus is re-lated to Varro's initia pacis.168The theme would bevery appropriate for the Ara Pacis. The sacrifice,however, may also recall the initia of weddings, andcommemorate Aeneas's wedding to Lavinia. In thisinstance, it would refer indirectly to the marriagelegislation that Augustus promoted and would con-nect the Aeneas panel with the processional panels,in which women and children significantly appear.'69This interpretation of the sacrifice may also connectthe Aeneas panel with Ceres, for she was associatedwith marriage, as Servius informs us (on Verg. Aen.4.58):

1'59Cf. Livy1.4.4-7. Fordiscussionof the Lupercalpanel,see Simon 1967 (supran. 6) 24-25; Berczelly99-114.160 For the association of Romulusand Remus with thechildren of the Cerespanel,see Strong 118;Berczelly131-32, de Grummond668.161 On the Aeneaspanel,see Simon 1967 (supran. 6) 23-24; LIMC1.1 (1986) 391 no. 165,s.v.Aineias(F.Canciani).162 For the offeringof a pig to Demeter in Greekcult,seeBevan(supran. 86) 68-73.163 Agricultural rituals: Cato De Agr. 134 (porca praecida-nea); Ov. Fast. 1.671-80 (Feriae Sementivae: gravida sus).Funeraryrituals:Varroapud Non. p. 240 Lindsay(porcapraecidanea); Fest. 250 Muiller(porcapraesentanea). Cerealia:Ov. Fast. 4.414 (ignava sus).164 See, e.g., Moretti216; Simon 1967 (supra n. 6) 24;Hannestad(supran. 6) 74; Zanker204. Forthe recipientasJuno, see L.R.Taylor,"The Motherof the Lares,"AJA29(1925) 309-13; Ryberg (supran. 5) 80; Toynbee (supran.6) 77.165 See Zanker 204.166 S. Weinstock,"Paxand the Ara Pacis," RS 50 (1960)57, n. 141. For the annualsacrifice o the Penatesat Lavi-nium, see Macrob.3.4.11; Serv.on Verg.Aen. 2.296, 3.12;Val.Max. 1.6.7.167 Ab suillo enimpecore immolandiinitiumprimumsumptumvidetur, cuius vestigia, quod initiis Cererisporci immolantur,et

quod initiis pacis, foedus cumferitur, porcus occiditur,et quodnuptiarum initio antiqui reges ac sublimes viri in Etruria inconiunctione nuptiali nova nupta et novus maritus primumporcum immolant. Prisci quoqueLatini, etiam Graeci in Italiaidemfactitasse videntur.168 Cf. also Verg. Aen. 8.641: caesa iungebat oedera porca.Weinstock(supran. 166) 57 notes that the annualsacrificeof the pig to the Penatesof Lavinium"seems o beconnectedwithothersacrifices,with therenewalof thealliancebetweenRome and Lavinium,with the sacrificeof the consulsonentering office, at departure,and returnfrom a province.The common purpose of most, if not all, these occasionsseemsto have been an oath-ceremony n whichthe Penateshad their share and the sacrificeof a pig wasperformed."Perhaps ikethe sacrifice t aconsul's eturn romaprovince,the sacrificeof the pig on the Ara Pacis s connected withAugustus'sreturn, the occasion for which the altar wasvowedby the Senate.169 On Augustus'smarriagelegislation,see G. Galinsky,"Augustus'Legislationon Moralsand Marriage,"hilologus125(1981)126-44. Ontheconnectionof thislegislationwiththe appearanceof womenand childrenin the processionalpanelsof the Ara Pacis,see D. Kleiner,"TheGreatFriezesof the Ara PacisAugustae:GreekSources,RomanDeriva-tivesand AugustanSocialPolicy,"MEFRA 90 (1978) 772-76.



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1994] THE GODDESS CERES IN THE ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE 85Some say that Ceres favorsweddings,becauseshe wasthe first to marry Jove, and she is in charge of thefounding of cities, as Calvus teaches:"Shetaught thesacred awsandshejoined thelovingbodies nweddingsand established he greatcities."'17

Finally, the sacrifice of the pig may be related to theother type of initia to which Varro refers, the initiaCereris,and hence associate the panel with the goddessin this way as well. In another passage, Varro (Rust.3.1.5) notes that the sacred rites chiefly called initiaare those in honor of Ceres: initia vocanturpotissimumea quae Cereri fiunt sacra. This statement may beconnected with the belief that Ceres established thebeginnings (initia) of civilization through her inven-tion of agriculture (Varr. Rust. 2.4.9-10, 3.15.5; Serv.in Verg. Aen. 4.58). Ceres is a divinity closely con-nected with a variety of initia by the Romans. Perhapswe are to understand the goddess in her panel at therear entrance of the altar as supervising the initia ofRome represented in the Aeneas and Lupercal panelsat the front entrance.

Significantly, Ceres is also connected with anotherinitium of Rome, the foundation of the plebeian po-liticalorganization at the very beginning of the RomanRepublic. According to tradition, the dictator AulusPostumius vowed a temple to Ceres, Liber, and Liberaafter a terrible famine in Rome in 496 B.C. (Dion.Hal. 6.17.2-4). This temple was dedicated by theconsul Spurius Cassius in 494/3 B.C. (Dion. Hal.6.94.3), traditionally the same date as the First Seces-sion of the plebs.171 During the Early Republic, thistemple became the nucleus of the plebeian politicalstruggle against the patricians, and Ceres herself wasclosely tied to the plebeians as their patron goddess.172On the Ara Pacis, then, the plebeian Ceres serves tocontrast with the patrician founders Aeneas and Ro-mulus. Aeneas was the father of the patrician gens ofthe Julii, and Romulus as king established the ordoof

the patricians (Livy 1.8.7). Ceres symbolizes the ple-beian contribution to the origins of the Roman state,while these two figures on the other side of the altarrepresent the patrician role in the origins of the city.Although the political conflict bet

stanley specth - the goddess ceres in the ara pacis augustae

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