Editing Saturnalia (section)

===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>