Editing Silvanus (mythology)

{{Short description|Roman tutelary deity of woods}}
{{Infobox deity
| type                = Roman
| name                = Silvanus
| deity_of            = Tutelary god of woods and uncultivated lands, protector of field boundaries and cattle, protector against wolves
| image               = Silvanus BritMu023a.jpg
| caption             = Bronze statue of Silvanus, said to be from [[Nocera Inferiore|Nocera]] in southern Italy.
| symbols             = [[Pan flute]], [[Cupressus sempervirens|cypress]]
| abode               = The forest  
| gender              = male
| Greek_equivalent    = [[Silenus]] 
| Etruscan_equivalent = [[Selvans]]?
| festivals           =  
}}
[[File:0 Autel dédié au dieu Sylvanus - Musei Capitolini (1).JPG|thumb|Altar decorated with a bas-relief depicting the god Sylvanus [[Capitoline Museums]] in [[Rome]].]]
'''Silvanus''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ɪ|l|ˈ|v|eɪ|n|ə|s}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/silvanus?showCookiePolicy=true|title=Silvanus or Sylvanus
|access-date=24 September 2014|publisher=Collins Dictionary|date=n.d.}}</ref> meaning "of the woods" in [[Latin]]) was a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[tutelary deity]] of woods and uncultivated lands. As protector of the forest (''sylvestris deus''), he especially presided over plantations and delighted in trees growing wild.<ref name="Tibullus">[[Tibullus]] II.5.27, 30.</ref><ref name="Lucan">[[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]]. ''[[Pharsalia]]'' III.402.</ref><ref name="Pliny">[[Pliny the Elder]]. ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis historia]]'' XII.2.</ref><ref>[[Ovid]]. ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' I.193.</ref> He is also described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, protecting in particular the boundaries of fields.<ref name="Epodes">[[Horace]]. ''[[Epodes (Horace)|Epodes]]'' II.21-22.</ref> The similarly named [[Etruscan mythology|Etruscan]] deity [[Selvans]] may be a borrowing of Silvanus,<ref>Robert Schilling, "Silvanus," in ''Roman and European Mythologies'' (University of Chicago Press, 1992, from the French edition of 1981), p. 146 [https://books.google.com/books?id=Uf2_kHAs22sC&dq=%22borrowed+from+the+Latin%22+%22Etruscan+Selvans%22&pg=PA146 online], concurring with [[Dumézil]], ''Archaic Roman Religion'', p. 616.</ref> or not even related in origin.<ref name="selvans">Peter F. Dorcey, ''The Cult of Silvanus: A Study in Roman Folk Religion'' (Brill, 1992), pp. 10–12 [https://books.google.com/books?id=1YzWMQecwH4C&dq=%22A+popular+theory+traces+Silvanus+back+to+the+Etruscan+divinity+Selvans%22&pg=PA10 online], noting earlier efforts to press an [[Etruscan language|Etruscan etymology]] on Silvanus.</ref>

Silvanus is described as the divinity protecting the flocks of cattle, warding off wolves, and promoting their fertility.<ref name="Tibullus"/><ref name="VirgilVIII">Virgil. ''Aeneid'' VIII.600-1.</ref><ref name="Cato">[[Cato the Elder]]. ''De Agricultura'' 83</ref><ref>[[Nonnus]] II.324.</ref> Dolabella, a rural engineer of whom only a few pages are known, states that Silvanus was the first to set up stones to mark the limits of fields, and that every estate had three ''Silvani:''<ref>Dolabella. ''ex libris Dolabellae,'' in "Die Schriften der rômischen Feldmesser", edited by Karl Lachmann, Georg Reimer ed., Berlin, 1848, p302</ref>
* a ''Silvanus domesticus'' (in inscriptions called ''Silvanus [[Lares|Larum]]'' and ''Silvanus sanctus sacer Larum'')
* a ''Silvanus agrestis'' (also called ''salutaris'', literally "of the fields" or "saviour"), who was worshipped by shepherds, and
* a ''Silvanus orientalis'', literally "of the east", that is, the god presiding over the point at which an estate begins.
Hence ''Silvani'' were often referred to in the plural.

== Etymology ==
The name ''Silvānus'' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|s̠ɪɫ̪ˈwaː.nʊs̠|lang|link=yes}}) is a derivation from [[Latin]] ''silva'' ('forest, wood'). It is [[cognate]] with the Latin words ''silvester'' ('wild, not cultivated'), ''silvicola'' ('inhabiting woodlands') or ''silvaticus'' ('of woodlands or scrub'). The etymology of ''silva'' is unclear.{{Sfn|de Vaan|2008|p=564}}

==Attributes and associations==

Like other gods of woods and flocks, Silvanus is described as fond of music; the [[Pan flute|syrinx]] was sacred to him,<ref name="Tibullus"/> and he is mentioned along with the Pans and Nymphs.<ref name="Lucan"/><ref name="Georgics"/> Later speculators even identified Silvanus with [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]], [[Faunus]], [[Inuus]] and [[Aegipan]].<ref>[[Plutarch]]. ''[[Parallel Lives]].'' Min. 22.</ref> He must have been associated with the Italian [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], for [[Cato the Elder|Cato]] refers to him consistently as ''Mars Silvanus''.<ref name="Cato"/> These references to Silvanus as an aspect of Mars combined with his association with forests and glades, give context to the worship of Silvanus as the giver of the art (techne) of forest warfare. In particular the initiation rituals of the [[evocatus|evocati]] appear to have referenced Silvanus as a protective god of raiding for women and cattle, perhaps preserving elements of earlier Etruscan worship. <ref>[[Dio Cassius]], ''Roman History'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/45*.html#12 45.12]</ref>

In the provinces outside of Italy, Silvanus was identified with numerous native gods:<ref>Peter F. Dorcey (1992). ''The Cult of Silvanus: A Study in Roman Folk Religion,'' p.32. {{ISBN|978-90-04-09601-1}}.</ref>
:*[[Sucellos]], [[Poeninus]], Sinquas and Tettus in [[Gaul]] and [[Germania|Germany]].
:*Callirius, [[Cocidius]] and [[Vinotonus]] in [[Roman Britain|Britain]]. A [[Romano-Celtic Temple]] containing several plaques dedicated to ''Silvanus Callirius'' has been found at [[Camulodunum#Public Buildings|Camulodunum]] (modern [[Colchester]]).<ref>Crummy, Philip (1997) City of Victory; the story of Colchester - Britain's first Roman town. Published by Colchester Archaeological Trust ({{ISBN|1 897719 04 3}})</ref>
:*Calaedicus in [[Hispania|Spain]].
:*The Mogiae in [[Pannonia]].
:*[[Selvans]] in [[Etruria]] (though the validity of this identification has been contested).<ref name="selvans"/>
:*[[Silenus]], a Greek God, merged with Silvanus in Latin Literature.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Silvanus-Roman-god|title=Silvanus {{!}} Roman god|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-05-02|language=en}}</ref>
:*[[Pan (god)|Pan]] (god of forests, pastures, and shepherds), in Greco-Roman mythology.<ref name=":0" />
:*[[Aristaeus]], a god/patron of [[shepherd]]s, harvest and other [[Rural area|rural]] arts.

The [[Slavic mythology|Slavic]] god [[Porewit]] has similarities with Silvanus.<ref name="Ellis">{{cite book |last1=Ellis |first1=Jeanette |title=Forbidden Rites: Your Complete Guide to Traditional Witchcraft |date=2008 |publisher=O Books |isbn=978-1-84694-138-2|pages=53–54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr_BaAPVhMQC&q=Silvanus+vs+Porewit&pg=PA53 |access-date=29 May 2020}}</ref>

[[Xavier Delamarre]] suggests the epithet ''Callirius'' may be related to Breton theonym ''Riocalat(is)'' (attested in Cumberland Quarries), and both mean "(God) With Wild Horses".<ref>Delamarre, Xavier. "Affranchis, chevaux sauvages, libérateurs et mercenaires: le mot gaulois pour «libre»". In: ''Etudes Celtiques'', vol. 41, 2015. pp. 131 and 133. [DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/ecelt.2015.2454] ; www.persee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-1928_2015_num_41_1_2454</ref>

==Worship==
[[File: Head of Silvanus crowned with pine, Centrale Montemartini, Rome (21952718528).jpg|thumb|Head of Silvanus crowned with pine, Centrale Montemartini, Rome.]]

The sacrifices offered to Silvanus consisted of grapes, ears of grain, milk, meat, wine and pigs.<ref name="Tibullus"/><ref name="Epodes"/><ref>Horace. ''Epistles'' II.1.143.</ref><ref name="Juvenal">[[Juvenal]]. VI.446, with associated scholia.</ref><ref>Compare Voss. ''Mythol. Briefe,'' 2.68; Hartung, ''Die Relig. der Röm.'' vol. 2. p. 170, &c.</ref> In [[Cato the Elder|Cato]]'s ''[[De Agricultura]]'' an offering to ''Mars Silvanus'' is described, to ensure the health of [[cow|cattle]]; it is stated there that his connection with agriculture referred to only the labour performed by men, and that females were excluded from his worship.<ref name="Cato"/><ref name="Juvenal"/> (Compare [[Bona Dea]] for a Roman deity from whose worship men were excluded.) [[Virgil]] relates that in the very earliest times the [[Tyrrhenians|Tyrrhenian]] [[Pelasgians]] had dedicated a grove and a festival to Silvanus,<ref name="VirgilVIII"/> a symbol for the wilderness of the god.<ref>Loránd Dészpa, Mihály (2012). ''Peripherie-Denken. Transformation und Adaption des Gottes Silvanus in den Donauprovinzen (1.–4. Jahrhundert n. Chr.).'' Stuttgart: Steiner, 2012, {{ISBN|978-3-515-09945-5}}, p. 168.</ref>

==In literature==
In works of Latin poetry and art, Silvanus always appears as an old man, but as cheerful and in love with [[Pomona (mythology)|Pomona]].<ref name="Epodes"/><ref>[[Virgil]]. ''[[Georgics]]'' II.494</ref><ref name="Carmina">Horace. ''[[Odes (Horace)|Carmina]]'' III.8.</ref><ref>Ovid. ''Metamorphoses'' XIV.639.</ref> Virgil represents him as carrying the trunk of a [[Cupressus sempervirens|cypress]] ({{langx|el|δενδροφόρος}}),<ref name="Georgics">Virgil. ''Georgics'' I.20-1.</ref> about which the following myth is told. Silvanus – or [[Apollo]] according to other versions<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]]. ''Commentary on the Aeneid'' III.680.</ref><ref>Ovid. ''Metamorphoses'' X.106</ref> – was in love with [[Cyparissus]], and once by accident killed a pet hind belonging to Cyparissus. The latter died of grief, and was metamorphosed into a cypress.<ref>Servius. ''Commentary on Virgil's Georgics'' I.20</ref><ref>Virgil. ''[[Eclogues]]'' X.26.</ref><ref>Virgil. ''[[Aeneid]]'' III.680.</ref>

In [[Edmund Spenser]]'s epic poem ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'' (1590–96), Silvanus appears in Canto VI of Book I. His 'wyld woodgods' (Stanza 9) save the lost and frightened Lady Una from being molested by ''Sans loy'' and take her to him. They treat her as a Queen because of her great beauty. Spenser writes in Stanza 14:

:::So towards old ''Syluanus'' they did her bring;
:::Who with the noyse awaked, commeth out,
:::To weet the cause, his weake steps gouerning,
:::And aged limbs on Cypresse stadle stout,
:::And with an yvie twyne his wast is girt gud about.

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

=== Bibliography ===

* {{SmithDGRBM|article=Silvanus (1) |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book|last=de Vaan|first=Michiel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecZ1DwAAQBAJ|title=Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004167971|language=en|author-link=Michiel de Vaan}}

==External links==
* [http://www.novaroma.org/religio_romana/cato_mars.html Cato's ''De Agricultura'':] an offering to Mars Silvanus (e-text in English and Latin)

{{Roman religion}}

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