Editing Felicitas

{{Short description|Condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness, in ancient Roman culture}}
{{about|the divine personification of a Roman concept|other uses of the name|Felicitas (disambiguation)}}

[[Image:Aureus Valerian-RIC 0034-transparent.png|thumb|upright=1.5|''Felicitas Augusta'' holding a [[caduceus]] and a [[cornucopia]], two symbols of health and wealth, on the [[obverse|reverse]] of an [[aureus]] issued under the emperor [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]]]]
In [[ancient Roman culture]], '''''felicitas''''' (from the [[Latin]] [[adjective]] ''felix'', "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or [[Eudaimonia|happiness]]. ''Felicitas'' could encompass both a woman's fertility and a general's luck or good fortune.<ref>Anna Clark, ''Divine Qualities: Cult and Community in Republican Rome'' (Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 228, quoting G. Sauron, ''Quis deum? L'expression plastique des idéologies politiques et religieuses à Rome'' (École française de Rome, 1994), p. 287.</ref> The divine personification of '''Felicitas''' was [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#cultus|cultivated]] as a goddess. Although ''felicitas'' may be translated as "good luck," and the goddess Felicitas shares some characteristics and attributes with [[Fortuna]], the two were distinguished in [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]].<ref>[[J. Rufus Fears]], "The Theology of Victory at Rome: Approaches and Problem," ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'' II.17.2 (1981), pp. 747, 798.</ref> Fortuna was unpredictable and her effects could be negative, as the existence of an altar to ''Mala Fortuna'' ("Bad Luck") acknowledges.<ref>Lawrence Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. 156.</ref> Felicitas, however, always had a positive significance. She appears with [[#Epithets|several epithets]] that focus on aspects of her divine power.

Felicitas had a temple in Rome as early as the mid-2nd century BC, and during the [[Roman Republic|Republican era]] was honored at two [[Roman festivals|official festivals]] of [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman state religion]], on July 1 in conjunction with [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] and October 9 as ''Fausta Felicitas''. Felicitas continued to play an important role in [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Imperial cult]], and was frequently portrayed on [[Roman currency|coins]] as a symbol of the wealth and prosperity of the [[Roman Empire]]. Her primary attributes are the [[caduceus]] and [[cornucopia]].<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' pp. 142, 146; [[Michael Crawford (historian)|Michael H. Crawford]], ''Roman Republican Coinage'' (Cambridge University Press, 1974), vol. 2, p. 738.</ref> The English word "felicity" derives from ''felicitas.''

==As virtue or quality==
[[File:Bible Museum - Bordellzeichen.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Phallic sexuality|Phallic]] [[relief]] with the inscription "Felicitas dwells here"]]
In its religious sense, ''felix'' means "blessed, under the protection or favour of the gods; happy." That which is ''felix'' has achieved the ''[[pax deorum|pax divom]],'' a state of harmony or peace with the divine world.<ref>H. Fugier ''Recherches sur l'expression du sacre' dans la langue latine'' Paris, 1963</ref> The word derives from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] ''*dhe(i)l,'' meaning "happy, fruitful, productive, full of nourishment." Related Latin words include ''femina'', "woman" (a person who provides nourishment or suckles); ''felo'', "to suckle" in regard to an infant; ''filius'', "son" (a person suckled);<ref>W. W. Skeat ''Etymological Dictionary of the English Language'' New York 1963 sv felicity, feminine</ref> and probably ''fello, fellare'', "to perform [[Sexuality in ancient Rome#Cunnilingus and fellatio|fellatio]]", with an originally non-sexual meaning of "to suck".<ref>J.N. Adams, ''The Latin Sexual Vocabulary'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), pp. 130–131.</ref> The continued magical association of sexual potency, increase, and general good fortune in productivity is indicated by the inscription ''Hic habitat Felicitas'' ("Felicitas dwells here")<ref>''[[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum|CIL]]'' IV, 1454.</ref> on an [[apotropaic]] relief of a [[fascinum|phallus]] at a bakery in [[Pompeii]].<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 10.</ref>

In archaic Roman culture, ''felicitas'' was a quality expressing the close bonds between [[List of Roman agricultural deities|religion and agriculture]]. ''Felicitas'' was at issue when the ''[[suovetaurilia]]'' sacrifice conducted by [[Cato the Elder]] as [[Roman censor|censor]] in 184 BC was challenged as having been unproductive, perhaps for ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#vitium|vitium]]'', ritual error.<ref>Brendon Reay, "Agriculture, Writing, and Cato's Aristocratic Self-Fashioning," in ''Classical Antiquity'' 24.2 (2005), p. 332.</ref> In the following three years Rome had been plagued by a number of ill omens and prodigies ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#prodigium|prodigia]])'', such as severe storms, pestilence, and "showers of blood," which had required a series of expiations ''([[supplicatio]]nes)''.<ref>[[Livy]] 39.46.3–5; 40.2.1, 19.1, 36.14–37.3.</ref> The speech Cato gave to justify himself is known as the ''Oratio de lustri sui felicitate'', "Speech on the ''Felicitas'' of his [[Lustrum]]", and survives only as a possible quotation by a later source.<ref>H. Meyer, ''Oratorum Romanorum Fragmenta'' (Paris, 1837), p. 145.</ref> Cato says that a ''lustrum'' should be found to have produced ''felicitas'' "if the crops had filled up the storehouses if the vintage had been abundant if the olive oil had flowed deliberately from the groves",<ref>''Si horrea messis implesset, si vindemia redundasset, if oliveta large fluxissent'': H. Malcovati, ''Oratorum Romanorum Fragmenta Liberae Rei Publicae'' (Turin, 1976, 4th ed.), pp. 26–27, as cited by Reay, "Agriculture, Writing, and Cato," p. 333, note 2. This definition is said explicitly to reflect beliefs ''in illa vetere re publica'', in the "old" republic.</ref> regardless of whatever else might have occurred. The efficacy of a ritual might be thus expressed as its ''felicitas.''<ref>Reay, "Agriculture, Writing, and Cato," p. 332.</ref>

The ability to promote ''felicitas'' became proof of one's excellence and divine favor. ''Felicitas'' was simultaneously a divine gift, a quality that resided within an individual, and a contagious capacity for generating productive conditions outside oneself:<ref>H.S. Versnel, ''Triumphus: An Inquiry into the Origin, Development and Meaning of the Roman Triumph'' (Brill, 1970), pp. 343, 348, 361ff.</ref> it was a form of "[[charisma]]tic authority".<ref>Fears, "The Theology of Victory," p. 746.</ref> [[Cicero]] lists ''felicitas'' as one of the four virtues of the exemplary general, along with knowledge of [[military science]] ''(scientia rei militaris)'', ''[[virtus (virtue)|virtus]]'' (both "valor" and "virtue"), and ''[[auctoritas]]'', "authority." ''Virtus'' was a regular complement to ''felicitas'', which was not thought to attach to those who were unworthy.<ref>Fears, "The Theology of Victory at Rome," p. 747–748.</ref> Cicero attributed ''felicitas'' particularly to [[Pompey the Great|Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great")]],<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities'', p. 245; Fears, "The Theology of Victory at Rome," pp. 798–799.</ref> and distinguished this ''felicitas'' even from the divine good luck enjoyed by successful generals such as [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus|Fabius Maximus]], [[Marcus Claudius Marcellus|Marcellus]], [[Scipio the Younger]] and [[Gaius Marius|Marius]].<ref>''Divinitus adiuncta fortuna'', in his work ''De lege Manilia''; Fears, "The Theology of Victory at Rome," pp. 797–798.</ref>

The sayings ''(sententiae)'' of [[Publilius Syrus]] are often attached to divine qualities, including Felicitas: "The people's Felicitas is powerful when she is merciful" ''(potens misericors publica est Felicitas)''.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities'', p. 222.</ref>

[[File:Romeinse munten denarius Macrinus 217-218.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|AR [[Denarius]] of [[Macrinus]], reverse side with 'FELICITAS TEMPORVM'.]]
[[File:Caracalla-felicitas+.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|AR [[Denarius]] of [[Caracalla]], reverse side with 'FELICITAS AVGG' - Felicitas Augusti means: "To the good fortune (or happiness) of emperors"]]
==Epithets==
[[Epithet]]s of Felicitas include:
* ''[[List of Roman deities#Augustus and Augusta|Augusta]]'', the goddess in her association with the emperor and [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Imperial cult]].
* ''Fausta'' ("Favored, Fortunate"), a state divinity [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#cultus|cultivated]] on October 9 in conjunction with [[Venus Victrix]] and the ''Genius Populi Romani'' ("[[Genius (mythology)|Genius]]" of the Roman People, also known as the ''Genius Publicus'').
* ''Publica'', the "public" Felicitas; that is, the aspect of the divine force that was concerned with the ''res publica'' or commonwealth, or with the Roman People ''(Populus Romanus)''.
* ''Temporum'', the Felicitas "of the times", a title which emphasize the ''felicitas'' being experienced in current circumstances.

==Republic==
The [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion|cult]] of Felicitas is first recorded in the mid-2nd century BC, when a [[Roman temple|temple]] was dedicated to her by [[Lucius Licinius Lucullus (consul 151 BC)|Lucius Licinius Lucullus]], grandfather of the famous [[Lucullus]], using booty from his military campaigns in [[Roman Spain|Spain]] in 151–150 BC.<ref>[[Strabo]] 8.6.23.</ref> Predecessor to a noted connoisseur of art, Lucullus obtained and dedicated several statues looted by [[Mummius]] from [[ancient Greek art|Greece]], including works by [[Praxiteles]]: the ''Thespiades,'' a statue group of the [[Muses]] brought from [[Thespiae]], and a [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]].<ref>[[Cicero]], ''Verres'' 2.3.2.4; [[Pliny the Elder]], ''Natural History'' 34.69, 36.39.</ref> This Temple of Felicitas was among several that had a secondary function as art museums, and was recommended by [[Cicero]] along with the [[Fortuna Huiusce Diei|Temple of ''Fortuna Huiusce Diei'']] for those who enjoyed viewing art but lacked the means to amass private collections.<ref>Cicero, ''Verres'' 4.126; Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' pp. 177–178.</ref>  The temple was located in the [[Velabrum]] in the ''[[Vicus Tuscus]]'' of the [[Campus Martius]], along a route associated with [[Roman triumph|triumphs]]: the axle of [[Julius Caesar]]'s triumphal [[chariot]] in 46 BC is supposed to have broken in front of it.<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''Divus Iulius'' 37.2.</ref> The temple was destroyed by a fire during the reign of [[Claudius]], though the Muses were rescued.<ref>Pliny, ''Natural History'' 34.69.</ref> It was not rebuilt at this site.<ref>Lawrence Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. 150.</ref>

Sulla identified himself so closely with the quality of ''felicitcas'' that he adopted the ''[[agnomen]]'' (nickname) ''Felix.'' His domination as [[Roman dictator|dictator]] resulted from civil war and unprecedented military violence within the city of Rome itself, but he legitimated his authority by claiming that the mere fact of his victory was proof he was ''felix'' and enjoyed the divine favor of the gods. Republican precedent was to regard a victory as belonging to the Roman people as a whole, as represented by the [[Roman triumph|triumphal procession]] at which the honored general submitted public offerings at the [[Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus]] at the [[Capitoline Hill|Capitol]], and Sulla thus established an important theological element for the later authority of the emperor.<ref>Fears, "The Theology of Victory at Rome," pp. 794–796.</ref> Although he established no new temple for Felicitas,<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 131.</ref> he venerated her with a [[Ludi circenses]] to close the Sullan Victory games on the Kalends of November,<ref><!--''Felicitatem diei, quo Samnitiurn Telesinique pulsus est exercitus, Sulla perpetua ludorum circensium honoravit memoria, qui sub eius nomine Sullanae Victoriae celebrantur.-->Velleius Paterculus 2.27.6; Geoffrey S. Sumi, ''Ceremony And Power: Reforming Politics in Rome Between Republic and Empire'' (University of Michigan Press, 2005), p. 27.</ref> and [[Ovid]] writes of a lavish prosperity feast day for Felicitas which he celebrated thereafter.<ref>Laurel Fulkerson, Ovid: A Poet on the Margins. Bloomsbury, 2016, p.71</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Historian A. Nuttall reports that during Sulla’s lavish feast day citizens would wear ornate dinner robes (''cenatoria'') and recite Felicitan verses, a kind of iambics popularized by [[Catullus]] and used in early satirical compositions, and usually written to give entertainment at the Felicitanalia.<ref>Austin Nuttall, A Classifical and Archaeological Dictionary of the Manners, Customs, Laws, Institutions, Arts, Etc. of the Celebrated Nations of Antiquity, and of the Middle Ages. Whittaker, 1894</ref> [[William of Rubruck]] records that Emperor [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]] of [[Nicaea]] owned a copy of the ''Fasti'' and celebrated a similar festival,<ref>Lars Brownworth, Lost to the West: the Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization. Broadway Books, 2010</ref>  and elements of the same traditions persisted in the Eastern Orthodox feast day for Vatatzes (St. John the Merciful) in parts of Greece through least the 19th Century.<ref>Lorenzo M. Ciolfi, From Byzantium to the Web: the Endurance of John III Doukas Vatazes’ Legacy. EHESS paris, 2017</ref> A version of the holiday called "JohnnysGiving" was also known to be celebrated by Greek immigrants to the southern United States as late as the 1940s.<ref>Nicole Kappatos, Greek Immigration to Richmond, Virginia, and the Southern Variant Theory. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014</ref><ref>Lazar Odzak, “Demetrios is now Jimmy,” Greek Immigration in the Southern United States, 1895-1965, (North Carolina: Monograph Publishers, 2006)</ref>|group=note}}

On July 1 and October 9, Felicitas received a sacrifice ''in Capitolio,'' on the [[Capitoline Hill]], on the latter date as ''Fausta Felicitas'' in conjunction with the ''[[Genius Publicus]]'' ("Public [[Genius (mythology)|Genius]]") and [[Venus Victrix]]. These observances probably took place at an altar or small shrine ''([[aedicula]])'', not a separate [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#templum|temple precinct]].<ref>Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary,'' pp. 148, 150.</ref> The [[Acta Arvalium|Acts of the Arval Brothers]] (1st century AD) prescribe a cow as the sacrifice for Felicitas.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 165.</ref> Pompey established a shrine for Felicitas at [[Theater of Pompey|his new theater and temple complex]], which used the steps to the Temple of Venus Victrix as seating. Felicitas was cultivated with [[Honos|Honor]] and Virtue, and she may have shared her shrine there with [[Victoria (mythology)|Victory]], as she did in the Imperial era as ''Felicitas Caesaris'' (Caesar's ''Felicitas'') at [[Amelia, Umbria|Ameria]].<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities'', pp. 225–226, citing [[Stefan Weinstock]]. ''[[Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae|ILS]]'' 6631–2 on Ameria.</ref> Pompey's collocation of deities may have been intended to parallel the Capitoline grouping.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 234.</ref>

A fourth cult site for Felicitas in Rome had been planned by Caesar, and possibly begun before his death. Work on the temple was finished by [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Lepidus]] on the site of the [[Curia Hostilia]], which had been restored by Sulla, destroyed by fire in 52 BC,<ref>During the riots that broke out during the funeral of [[Publius Clodius Pulcher]].</ref> and demolished by Caesar in 44 BC.<ref>[[Cassius Dio]] [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/44*.html#5.2 44.5.2], with Dio's conjectures about the motivations and rivalries involved (on which see also Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary,'' pp. 102–103).</ref> This temple seems not to have existed by the time of [[Hadrian]]. Its site probably lies under the church of [[Santi Luca e Martina]].<ref>Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary,'' p. 150.</ref> It has been suggested that an [[Ionic order|Ionic capital]] and a [[tuff|tufa]] wall uncovered at the site are the only known remains of the temple.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' pp. 232–232, summarizing the view of Tortorici (1991), pp. 56–61.</ref>

''Felicitas'' was a [[watchword]] used by Julius Caesar's troops at the [[Battle of Thapsus]],<ref>''[[Bellum Africanum]]'' 83.1; ''[[Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae|ILS]]'' 6631; Crawford, ''Roman Republican Coinage'' vol. 2, p. 735.</ref> the names of deities and divine personifications being often recorded for this purpose in the late Republic.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities'', p. 205.</ref> ''[[Felicitas Iulia]]'' ("Julian Felicitas") was the name of a [[Roman colony|colony]] in [[Hispania]] that was refounded under Caesar and known also as [[Olisipo]], present-day [[Lisbon]], Portugal.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities'', p. 11.</ref>

During the Republic, only divine personifications known to have had a temple or public altar were featured on coins, among them Felicitas.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 140.</ref> On the only extant Republican coin type, Felicitas appears as a bust and wearing a [[diadem]].<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 142.</ref>

==Empire==
 [[File:Denarius-Pescennius Niger-RIC 0015var.jpg|thumb|''Felicitas Temporum'' represented by a pair of cornucopiae on a [[denarius]] (193-194 AD) issued under [[Pescennius Niger]]]]
A calendar from [[Cumae]] records that a ''[[supplicatio]]'' was celebrated on April 16 for the Felicitas of the Empire, in honor of the day [[Augustus]] was first acclaimed ''[[imperator]]''.<ref>[[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]], J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price, ''Religions of Rome: A Sourcebook'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998), vol. 2, p. 70.</ref> In extant Roman coinage, Felicitas appears with a [[caduceus]] only during the Imperial period.<ref>Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 142.</ref> The earliest known example is ''Felicitas Publica'' on a ''[[dupondius]]'' issued under [[Galba (emperor)|Galba]].<ref>''RIC'' i 205, no. 55; Clark, ''Divine Qualities,'' p. 10.</ref> ''Felicitas Temporum'' ("Prosperity of the Times"), reflecting a [[Golden Age]] ideology, was among the innovative virtues that began to appear during the reigns of [[Trajan]] and [[Antoninus Pius]].<ref>Fears, "The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology," p. 913ff.</ref> [[Septimius Severus]], whose reign followed the exceedingly brief tenure of [[Pertinax]] and unsatisfactory conditions under [[Commodus]], used coinage to express his efforts toward restoring the [[Pax Romana]], with themes such as ''Felicitas Temporum'' and ''Felicitas Saeculi,'' "Prosperity of the Age" ''([[saeculum]])'', prevalent in the years 200 to 202.<ref>Along with an emphasis on continuity and permanence (''victoria aeterna,'' "perpetual victory"; ''concordia aeterna,'' "eternal harmony"): Susann S. Lusnia, "Urban Planning and Sculptural Display in Severan Rome: Reconstructing the [[Septizodium]] and Its Role in Dynastic Politics," in ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 108.4 (2004), pp. 534, 540.</ref> Some Imperial coins use these phrases with images of women and children in the emperor's family.<ref>Beryl Rawson, ''Children and Childhood in Roman Italy'' (Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 64–68.</ref>

When the Empire came under Christian rule, the personified virtues that had been cultivated as deities could be treated as abstract concepts, though the later [[Empire of Nicaea]] adopted many Hellenic traditions including a version of the prosperity feast day Felicitanalia allegedly described by [[Ovid]] in the missing 11th book of the [[Fasti (poem)]].<ref>Lars Brownworth, Lost to the West: the Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization. Broadway Books, 2010, p 254</ref> ''Felicitas Perpetua Saeculi'' ("Perpetual Blessedness of the Age") appears on a coin issued under [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]], the first emperor to convert to Christianity.<ref>Fears, "The Theology of Victory," p. 751;  "The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology," same ''ANRW'' volume, p. 908.</ref>

''Felicitas'' was also the basis of the [[Roman theology of victory]] adopted during Augustus' reign. The concept, which constituted the foundation of the imperial Roman propaganda, legitimized power or a claimant's right to rule through victory in the absence of traditional institutions.<ref>Whitlark, Jason A. (2014). ''Resisting Empire: Rethinking the Purpose of the Letter to "the Hebrews"''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 167. {{ISBN|978-0-567-00826-8}}.</ref> It held that earthly authority depended on heavenly accord and that the successful conquest projected ''felicitas'' and excessive ''virtus'' indicating divine sanction of sovereignty and authority.<ref>Belser, Julia Watts (2018). ''Rabbinic Tales of Destruction: Gender, Sex, and Disability in the Ruins of Jerusalem''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 152. {{ISBN|978-0-19-060047-1}}.</ref><ref>Porter, Stanley E.; Pitts, Andrew W. (2018). ''Christian Origins and the Establishment of the Early Jesus Movement''. Leiden: BRILL. p. 303. {{ISBN|978-90-04-37274-0}}.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* Champeaux, Jacqueline (1987). ''Fortuna. Recherches sur le culte de la Fortune à Rome et dans le monde romain des origines à la mort de César. II Les Transformations de Fortuna sous le République'' (pp.&nbsp;216–236). Rome: Ecole Française de Rome. {{ISBN|2-7283-0041-0}}.
* Hammond, N.G.L. & Scullard, H.H. (Eds.) (1970). ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (p.&nbsp;434). Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-869117-3}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Felicitas}}
* Gallery of Roman Imperial coins featuring Felicitas at [http://www.cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?PAGE_NUM=200&PAGE=1&TABS_TYPE=1&CONTAINER_TYPE_ID=1&IS_ADVANCED=1&ITEM_DESC=felicitas&ITEM_IS_SOLD=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1 Classical Numismatics Group]

{{Roman religion}}

[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Fortune goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications in Roman mythology]]