Editing Sancus (section)

== Worship ==
The temple dedicated to Sancus stood on the [[Quirinal Hill]], under the name '''{{Lang|la|Semo Sancus Dius Fidius}}'''.

[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]|title={{math|Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία}}|trans-title=Roman Antiquities|at=II 49, 2}}
</ref> writes that the worship of Semo Sancus was imported into Rome at a very early time by the [[Sabines]] who occupied the Quirinal Hill. According to tradition his cult was said to have been introduced by the Sabines and perhaps king [[Titus Tatius]] dedicated a small shrine.<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Ovid]]|title=[[Fasti]]|at=VI 217–218}} <br/>
Properce IV 9, 74; <br/>
{{cite book|author=[[Tertullian]]|title=Ad Nationes|at=II 9, 13}} <br/>
{{cite book|author=[[Varro]]|title=Lingua Latina|at=V 52}}</ref>{{efn|
Note that [[Varro]] does not mention Sancus in the list of gods at {{cite book|author=[[Varro]]|title=Lingua Latina|at=V 72}} to whom [[Titus Tatius|King Tatius]] dedicated shrines.
}} The actual construction of the temple is generally ascribed to [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus]], although it was dedicated by [[Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis (consul 466 BC)|Spurius Postumius]] on 5{{nbs}}June 466{{nbs}}BCE.<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]|title={{math|Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία}}|trans-title=Roman Antiquities|at=IX 60}} <br/>
{{cite book|author=[[Ovid]]|title=[[Fasti]]|at=VI 213}} <br/>
{{cite book|title=[[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum|CIL]]|volume=I|edition=2nd|id=319|page=220}}
</ref>
<ref name=Platner-Ashby-1929>
{{cite book|first1=S.B.|last1=Platner|first2=T.|last2=Ashby|year=1929|title=A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome|place=London, GB|pages=469–470}}
</ref>{{rp|pages=469–470}}

Sancus was considered the son of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], an opinion recorded by [[Varro]] and attributed to his teacher [[Aelius Stilo]].<ref name=Varro-Latin-lang>{{cite book|author=[[Varro]]|title=Lingua Latina|at=V 66}}</ref> He was the god of heavenly light, the avenger of dishonesty, the upholder of truth and good faith, the sanctifier of agreements. Hence his identification with [[Hercules]], who was likewise the guardian of the sanctity of oaths. His festival day occurred on the {{Lang|la|nonae}} of June (5{{nbs}}June).

=== Shrine on Quirinal ===
The shrine on the Quirinal was described by 19th{{nbs}}century archeologist R.A. Lanciani.<ref>
{{cite book|first=R.A.|last=Lanciani|year=1893|title=Pagan and Christian Rome|place=Boston, MA; New York, NY|pages=32–33}}
</ref> It was located near the {{Lang|la|Porta Sanqualis}} of the Servian walls,<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Sextus Pompeius Festus]]|title=s.v. Sanqualis Porta|page=345 L}}
</ref> not far from the modern church of [[San Silvestro al Quirinale]], precisely on the {{Lang|la|Collis Mucialis}}.<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Varro]]|title=Lingua Latina|at=V 52|quote=''Collis Mucialis: Quinticeps apud aedem Dei Fidi; in delubro ubi aeditumus habere solet''.}}
</ref> It was described by classical writers as having no roof so as oaths could be taken under the sky.

It had a chapel containing relics of the regal period: A bronze statue of [[Tanaquil]] or [[Gaia]] [[Caecilia]], her belt containing remedies that people came to collect, her distaff, spindle, and slippers,<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Plutarch]]|title=Quaestiones Romanae|at=30}} <br/>
{{cite book|author=[[Pliny the Elder]]|title=Natural History|at=VIII 94}}
</ref>{{efn|
''Praebia rursus Verrius vocari ait ea remedia quae Gaia Caecilia, uxor Tarquini Prisci, invenisse existimatur, et inmiscuisse zonae suae, qua praecincta statua eius est in aede Sancus, qui deus dius fidius vocatur; et qua zona periclitantes ramenta sumunt. Ea vocari ait praebia, quod mala prohibeant.''}}<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Sextus Pompeius Festus]]|title=''s.v.'' praebia|page=276 L}}
</ref> and after the capture of [[Priverno|Privernum]] in 329{{nbs}}BCE, brass medallions or bronze wheels (discs) made of the money confiscated from [[Vitruvius Vaccus]].<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Livy]]|title=[no title cited]|at=VIII 20, 8}}
</ref>

Dionysius of Halicarnassus records that the treaty between Rome and [[Gabii]] was preserved in this temple. This treaty was perhaps the first international treaty to be recorded and preserved in written form in ancient Rome. It was written on the skin of the ox sacrificed to the god upon its agreement and fixed onto a wooden frame or a shield.<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]|title={{math|Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία}}|trans-title=Roman Antiquities|at=IV 58, 4}}
</ref>

According to Lanciani the foundations of the temple were discovered in March{{nbs}}1881, under what was formerly the convent of [[San Silvestro al Quirinale]] (or {{Lang|it|degli Arcioni}}), later the headquarters of the (former) Royal Engineers. Lanciani relates the monument was a parallelogram in shape, thirty-five feet long by nineteen wide, with walls of [[travertine]] and decorations in white [[marble]]. It was surrounded by votive altars and the pedestal of statues. In Latin literature it is sometimes called [[Aedes (Roman religion)|aedes]], sometimes [[sacellum]], this last appellation probably connected to the fact it was a sacred space in the open air.<ref name=Platner-Ashby-1929/>{{rp|page=469}} Platner & Ashby (1929)<ref name=Platner-Ashby-1929/> though write that its foundations had already been detected in the 16th{{nbs}}century.

Lanciani supposes the statue depicted in this article might have been found on the site of the shrine on the [[Quirinal]] as it appeared in the antiquarian market of Rome at the time of the excavations at [[San Silvestro al Quirinale|San Silvestro]].

=== Statue and shrine on Tiber Island and others ===
Semo Sancus had a large sanctuary at Velitrae, now [[Velletri]], in [[Volscian language|Volscian]] territory.<ref>
{{cite book|author=[[Livy]]|title=[no title cited]|at=XXXII 1, 10}}
</ref>

There was possibly another shrine or altar ({{Lang|la|ara}}) dedicated to Semo Sancus on the [[Isle of the Tiber]], near the temple of {{Lang|la|Iupiter Iurarius}}. This altar bears the inscription seen and misread by [[Justin Martyr|Justin]] ({{Lang|la|Semoni Sanco Deo}} read as {{Lang|la|Simoni Deo Sancto}}) and was discovered on the island in July{{nbs}}1574. It is preserved in the {{Lang|la|Galleria Lapidaria}} of the Vatican Museum, first compartment ({{Lang|la|Dii}} gallery). Lanciani advances the hypothesis that while the shrine on the Quirinal was of [[Sabines|Sabine]] origin that on the Tiber island was [[Latins|Latin]].
Claridge (1998) reports that the statue of Sancus (inscribed {{Lang|la|Semo Sancus Dius Fidus}}) was found on the [[Tiber Island]].<ref name=Claridge-1998>
{{cite book|last=Claridge|first=Amanda|year=1998|title=Rome: An Oxford archaeological guide|place=Oxford, GB|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=226}}
</ref>

The statue is life-sized and is of the [[kouros|archaic Apollo (kouros)]] type. The expression of the face and the modeling of the body however are realistic. Both hands are missing, so that it is impossible to say what were the attributes of the god, one being perhaps the club of Hercules and/or the ''[[ossifrage]]'', the augural bird proper to the god ({{Lang|la|avis sanqualis}}), hypotheses made by archaeologist Visconti and reported by [[Lanciani, Rodolfo Amadeo|Lanciani]]. Other scholars think he should have held lightning bolts in his left hand.

The inscription on the pedestal mentions a {{Lang|la|decuria sacerdot[um] bidentalium}}.<ref>
{{cite book|title=[[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum|CIL]]|volume=VI|id=568}}
</ref>
Lanciani makes reference to a glossa of [[Sextus Pompeius Festus]] s.v. {{Lang|la|bidentalia}} which states these were small shrines of lesser divinities, to whom {{Lang|la|hostiae bidentes}}, i.e. lambs two years old, were sacrificed. [[William Warde Fowler|Fowler]] (1899)<ref name=Fowler-1899/> says these priests should have been concerned with lightning bolts, {{Lang|la|bidental}} being both the technical term for the {{Lang|la|puteal}}, the hole (resembling a well) left by strikes onto the ground and for the victims used to placate the god and purify the site.<ref name=Fowler-1899/>{{rp|page=139}}

=== {{Lang|la|Sacerdotes bidentales}} – priests of Semo Sancus ===
For this reason the priests of Semo Sancus were called {{Lang|la|sacerdotes bidentales}}. They were organised, like a lay corporation, in a {{Lang|la|decuria}} under the presidency of a {{Lang|la|magister quinquennalis}}.

Their residence at the shrine on the Quirinal was located adjoining the chapel: it was ample and commodious, provided with a supply of water by means of a lead pipe.
The pipes have been removed to the [[Capitoline Museum]]. They bear the same inscription found on the base of the statue.<ref>
{{cite book|title=[[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum|CIL]]|volume=XV|id=7253}}
</ref>
The statue is now housed in the {{Lang|la|Galleria dei Candelabri}} of the Vatican Palace.
The foundations of the shrine on the [[Quirinal]] were destroyed.

=== Simon Magus ===
[[Justin Martyr]] records that [[Simon Magus]], a gnostic mentioned in the Christian Bible, performed such miracles by magic acts during the reign of [[Claudius]] that he was regarded as a god and honored with a statue on the island in the Tiber which the two bridges cross, with the inscription {{Lang|la|Simoni Deo Sancto}}, 'to Simon the Holy God'.<ref name=Justin>
{{cite book|author=[[Justin Martyr]]|chapter=Chapter{{nbs}}XXVI — Magicians not trusted by Christians|title=[[First Apology of Justin Martyr|The First Apology]]|chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.ii.xxvi.html}}
</ref>
However, in 1574, the Semo Sancus statue was unearthed on the island in question, leading most scholars to believe that [[Justin Martyr|Justin]] confused {{Lang|la|Semoni Sanco}} with ''[[Simon Magus]]''.