Editing Saturnalia (section)

==Ancient theological and philosophical views==

===Roman===
[[File:Lucius Appuleius Saturninus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|Saturn driving a four-horse chariot ''([[quadriga]])'' on the reverse of a [[denarius]] issued in 104 BC by the [[tribune|plebeian tribune]] [[Lucius Appuleius Saturninus|Saturninus]], with the head of the [[Roma (mythology)|goddess Roma]] on the obverse: Saturninus was a [[populares|popularist]] politician whose Saturnian imagery played on his name and evoked both his program of grain distribution to aid the poor and his intent to subvert the social hierarchy, all ideas associated with the Saturnalia.{{sfn|Versnel|1992|page=162}}]]

The Saturnalia reflects the contradictory nature of the deity Saturn himself: "There are joyful and utopian aspects of careless well-being side by side with disquieting elements of threat and danger."{{sfn|Versnel|1992|page=148}}

As a deity of agricultural bounty, Saturn embodied prosperity and wealth in general. The name of his consort [[Ops]] meant "wealth, resources". Her festival, [[Opalia]], was celebrated on 19 December. The [[Temple of Saturn]] housed the state treasury (''[[aerarium|aerarium Saturni]]'') and was the administrative headquarters of the [[quaestor]]s, the public officials whose duties included oversight of the [[mint (coin)|mint]]. It was among the oldest cult sites in Rome, and had been the location of "a very ancient" altar ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#ara|ara]])'' even before the building of the first temple in 497 BC.{{sfn|Versnel|1992|pages=136–137}}<ref>Fowler, ''Roman Festivals'', p. 271.</ref>

The Romans regarded Saturn as the original and [[autochthon (person)|autochthonous]] ruler of the [[Capitolium]],<ref>The Capitolium had thus been called the ''Mons Saturnius'' in older times.</ref> and the first king of [[Latium]] or even the whole of Italy.{{sfn|Versnel|1992|pages=138–139}} At the same time, there was a tradition that Saturn had been an immigrant deity, received by [[Janus (mythology)|Janus]] after he was usurped by his son [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] ([[Zeus]]) and expelled from Greece.<ref>{{harvnb|Versnel|1992|page=139}} The Roman theologian [[Varro]] listed Saturn among the [[List of Roman deities#Sabine gods|Sabine gods]].</ref> His contradictions—a foreigner with one of Rome's oldest sanctuaries, and a god of liberation who is kept in fetters most of the year—indicate Saturn's capacity for obliterating social distinctions.{{sfn|Versnel|1992|pages=139, 142–143}}

Roman mythology of the Golden Age of Saturn's reign differed from the Greek tradition. He arrived in Italy "dethroned and fugitive",<ref>Versnel, "Saturnus and the Saturnalia," p. 143.</ref> but brought agriculture and civilization and became a king. As the Augustan poet [[Virgil]] described it: <blockquote>"[H]e gathered together the unruly race [of [[faun]]s and [[nymph]]s] scattered over mountain heights, and gave them laws&nbsp;.... Under his reign were the golden ages men tell of: in such perfect peace he ruled the nations."<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' 8. 320–325, as cited by {{harvnb|Versnel|1992|page=143}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Disc Sol BM GR1899.12-1.2.jpg|thumb|Roman disc in silver depicting Sol Invictus (from [[Pessinus]] in [[Phrygia]], 3rd century AD)]]
The third century [[Neoplatonic]] philosopher [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] took an allegorical view of the Saturnalia. He saw the festival's theme of liberation and dissolution as representing the "freeing of souls into immortality"—an interpretation that [[Mithraic mysteries|Mithraists]] may also have followed, since they included many slaves and freedmen.<ref>[[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]], ''De antro'' 23, following [[Numenius of Apamea|Numenius]], as cited by Roger Beck, "''Qui Mortalitatis Causa Convenerunt'': The Meeting of the Virunum Mithraists on June 26, A.D. 184," ''Phoenix'' 52 (1998), p. 340. One of the speakers in Macrobius's ''Saturnalia'' is [[Vettius Agorius Praetextatus]], a Mithraist.</ref> According to Porphyry, the Saturnalia occurred near the [[winter solstice]] because the sun enters [[Capricorn (astrology)|Capricorn]], the [[House (astrology)|astrological house]] of Saturn, at that time.<ref>Beck, Roger, "Ritual, Myth, Doctrine, and Initiation in the Mysteries of Mithras: New Evidence from a Cult Vessel," ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 90 (2000), p. 179.</ref> In the  [[Saturnalia (Macrobius)|Saturnalia of Macrobius]], the proximity of the Saturnalia to the winter solstice leads to an exposition of solar [[monotheism]], the belief that the Sun (see [[Sol Invictus]]) ultimately encompasses all divinities as one.<ref>[[Roel van den Broek|van den Broek, Roel]], "The Sarapis Oracle in Macrobius ''Sat.'', I, 20, 16–17," in ''Hommages à Maarten J. Vermaseren'' (Brill, 1978), vol. 1, p. 123ff.</ref>

===Jewish===
[[Mishna|M.]] [[Avodah Zarah]] lists Saturnalia as a "festival of the gentiles," along with the [[Calends]] of January and [[Kratesis]].{{Efn|'''קלנטס וסטרנלייא''' ''Kalends and Saturnalia'' in MSS Kaufmann A50 and Parma A (de Rossi 138). The spelling is the same in both, though Kaufmann's [[Waw (letter)#Words written as vav|waw-conjunctive]] is the work of a later scribe and the phrase has been struck through in Parma A. All Mishnaic printings have edited the spellings toward the ''Kalenda and Saturnura'' of b. Avodah Zarah MSS.{{cn|date=January 2025}}}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mishnah Avodah Zarah 1:3|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Avodah_Zarah.1.3|access-date=2021-03-05|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> [[Avodah Zarah|B. Avodah Zarah]] records that [[Hanan bar Rava|Ḥanan b. Rava]] said, "Kalends{{Efn|קלנדא ''Kalenda'' in extant MSS; however Ḥananel b. Ḥushiel quotes s.v. "קלנדס" ''Kalends''.{{cn|date=January 2025}}}} is held during the eight days after the [[Winter solstice|[winter] solstice]] and Saturnura{{Efn|MSS variants: ''Saturnaya'', ''Saturnurya''. This is likely a pun on סתר-נורא ''satar-nura'' "cloaking of the flame"; i.e. the shortening of the day which the solstice represents. In all printings of b. Avodah Zarah, the final mention of the holiday has been corrected to Saturnalia, though all MSS read Saturnura as before.{{cn|date=January 2025}}}} begins eight days before the [winter] solstice".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Avodah Zarah 6a:10|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Avodah_Zarah.6a.10|access-date=2021-03-05|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> [[Chananel ben Chushiel|Ḥananel b. Ḥushiel]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rabbeinu Chananel on Avodah Zarah 6a:3|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Rabbeinu_Chananel_on_Avodah_Zarah.6a.3|access-date=2021-07-22|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> followed by [[Rashi]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rashi on Avodah Zarah 6a:10:1|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Avodah_Zarah.6a.10.1|access-date=2021-07-22|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> claims: "Eight days before the solstice -- their festival was for all eight days," which slightly overstates the Saturnalia's historical six-day length, possibly to associate the holiday with [[Hanukkah]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Sarit|first=Kattan Gribetz|date=2020-11-17|title=Time and Difference in Rabbinic Judaism|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691192857.001.0001|doi=10.23943/princeton/9780691192857.001.0001|isbn=9780691192857|s2cid=241016818 }}</ref>

In the [[Jerusalem Talmud]], ''[[Avodah Zarah]]'' claims the etymology of Saturnalia is שנאה טמונה ''śinʾâ ṭǝmûnâ'' "hidden hatred," and refers to the hatred [[Esau]], whom the Rabbis believed had fathered Rome, harbored for [[Jacob]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 3a:1|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Jerusalem_Talmud_Avodah_Zarah.3a.1|access-date=2021-07-23|website=www.sefaria.org|archive-date=2021-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820143819/https://www.sefaria.org/Jerusalem_Talmud_Avodah_Zarah.3a.1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Babylonian Talmud]]'s ''Avodah Zarah'' ascribes the origins of Saturnalia (and Kalends) to [[Adam]], who saw that the days were getting shorter and thought it was punishment for his sin:
{{quote|When the [[Adam|First Man]] saw that the day was continuously shortening, he said, "Woe is me! Because I have sinned, the world darkens around me, and returns to formlessness and void. This is the death to which Heaven has sentenced me!" He decided to spend eight days in fasting and prayer. When he saw the winter solstice, and he saw that the day was continuously lengthening, he said, "It is the order of the world!" He went and feasted for eight days. The following year, he feasted for both. He established them in Heaven's name, but they established them in the name of idolatry.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Avodah Zarah 8a:7|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Avodah_Zarah.8a.7|access-date=2021-07-23|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>}}In the Babylonian ''Avodah Zarah'', this etiology is attributed to the [[tannaim]], but the story is suspiciously similar to the etiology of Kalends attributed by the Jerusalem Avodah Zarah to [[Abba Arikha]].<ref name=":1" />