Régis DUVAL Olden Gods of archaic Rome of the Palatine Hill and Forum Romanum Copyright 2024-05-15 Structures, parallel systems, ethno-social logics and spatial distribution English Synopsis (full text : French version in separate edition) Even a cursory glance at the so-called Arcadian religious complex on the Palatine Hill attributed by Dionysius of Halicarnassus to Evander Arcas convinces one it is a makeshift of bits and pieces aiming at giving a Greek-original flavour to a subset of Palatine Hill cults, especially the manifest pretense of an archaic Dêmeter-type figure that left no trace whatsoever vastly predating the very visible and precisely-dated imported figure of Magna Mater Idea. A close scrutiny confirms that the set of cults described by Dionysius of Halicarnassus does not build a precise term-to-term correspondance with anyone of the Peloponnesian cultual contexts described by Pausanias. We argue from there that the so-called Arcadian system can be entirely explained as a transposition in Greek terms of an archaic italian autochtonous belief system belonging to the most ancient populations of the western-tiberine Latium. We argue in addition that this Palatine system can be entirely interpreted in terms of Etruscan-originating names locally variants of one unique cultual set spanning a large zone from Populonia of Pacha that provides a contingent to Aeneas but subservient to Apollo for Vergilius Maro (« Aeneid », livre X, v170-173), Tarquinia/Gravisca that may have known an archaic Suri associated with Selvans evolving however possibly rapidly to an Aplu of the Veies type, through Caere/Pyrgi of Kavutha/Suri+Fufluns to Faleriae/Capena of Feronia-Soranus and their Hirpi Sorani priests to the Samnite heartland of the Hirpini Samnites and their sacred Ampsa(n)c(t)us cave to the Pomptine zone of Matuta/(companion), comprizing the Palatine Rome of Inuus and archaic Sospita and their Luperci priests and the Lavinium of Liber. In this process we interpret Sospita as stemming from etruscan caca/cacei (idea of reward) and pithe/pitai/pitamn (idea of land ownership, ie wealth), thus equating it to Cel of the Piazencia Liver, Kavutha of Pyrgi, Feronia, and Matuta ; this results in adding Inuus to the long standing equation of Soranus/Suri proposed by Giovanni Colonna. Which we propose to extend to (An/Amp)[S/X]ur the god of Tarracina. This proposal leads to an entirely new interpretation of the Heracles/Cacus myth, to equating the latin victor commonly attached to Hercules to the etruscan sanc(h)uneta known to be attached to Selvans, and finally to recognize one unique mythical character with dual opposing values (chtonian/night-time/Aventine versus aerial/day-time/Palatine)) underlying both figures that we designate as [S/K]a(n)[c/k]us ; this in turn opens a unique understanding of the [S/K]a(n)[c/k]a figure mentioned by Iulius Solinus as equivalent to Victoria. In this view the Kakus/Ka(n)kus/Sa(n)c(t)us figure whom Herakles/Hercules Victor gifted with olympian, solar-type attributes overwhelms comes out as his functional double in the belief system of earlier occupants gifted with chtonian type values, which we identify as the Aborigenes of the Tiberine lower valley endowed with an overall spread zone that remains to be precisely determined ; parallels can outright be anticipated between the dark den of Kakus infested by noxious fumes and : 1-the cave of Feronia’s protector at Mount Soractus which contains mephitic vapors fatal to intruders, beasts or humans ; 2-the cave with similar gazeous properties called AmpSa(n)c(t)us given as a sacred place of the Hirpini Samnites mentioned by Vergilius Maro/Virgile, Tullius Cicero/Cicéron, et Plinius Secundus/Pline l’Ancien There was no such cave in classical times anywhere on the Aventine Hill, but then Heracles/Hercules had torn it entirely open. The long-abandoned Roman site had been re-occupied by Aborigenes, and they had re-created a sacred den on the Palatine Hill. On this basis considering reversely the Roman site, we propose to envisage a)-the name Antipolis given by Plinius Secundus to the once-upon-a-time city of Janus facing the Saturnia/Capitolium of Saturnus of the Capitoline Hill, considered as whimsical or even absurd by most specialists, as a greek-alike of the same original name that gave the AmpSa(n)c(t)us of the Hirpini and b)-this name as applied to the Palatine Hill, once known as Janiculum, and not to the hill on the right bank of the Tiber River of that name in the historical period, in conjunction with the Lupercal cave ; this conjecture results in linking the Luperci/Hirpi Sorani rites, the sacred cave of the Aborigenes at Rome, that of the Capenates at Mount Soractus, that of the Hirpini Samnites, comforting the antique claim of Samnites to be a branch of the ‘’Aborigenes’’ that had migrated from Sabina towards the south on the Adriatic side of Italy at a very ancient time Our analysis highlights a series of terms that a valid theory for the most archaic Roman rites and cults must account for : A- A valid explainatory thread for the myth of Evander/Evandre/Evandros Arcas must account for the need of the tale to introduce in a pivotal role the feminine figure of Carmenta, mother of the Arcadian hero in the canonical version as told by Vergilius Maro and Ovidius Naso but his spouse in the version given to Plutarch by his informers although he cannot ignore the widely publicized other version As a spouse, Carmenta consistently holds at Evander’s side the purely italian role of Regina as mediating person with the Gods, role that will be entertained by godly Egeria on account of Numa turned a widower, by Tanaquil ( perita ut volgo Etrusci caelestium prodigiorum mulier) on account of Tarquinius Priscus, by godly Fortuna on account of Servius Tullius likewise turned a widower, by Tullia on account of Tarquinius Superbus. Once the Kings were overthrown and substituted by the triumvirate made of the politically and socially powerless Rex sacrificiorum (/sacrorum/sacrificulus), appointed for life and who must needs have a Regina ‘’uniuxora’’ under penalty of being disqualified, and the two Consuls, it was needed in a systemic way an equivalent Regina-type surrogate function operating as mediator with the Gods for the two Consuls which could be swapped from one spouse of Consul to another one each year which obviously could not be taken in charge by the ‘’permanent’’ Regina of the Rex sacrificiorum : we argue in this work that the ‘’miraculous’’ (re)-apparition of the Libri Sybillini on the eve of Tarquinius Superbus’ downfall is the response devised to this issue : this episode hence is a politico-religious systemic pre-requisite to a transition to an oligarchic exercize of power in Rome with its peculiar annual rotation. Tarquinius Superbus’ laughter stems from certainty he does not need the Libri since he has his Regina by his side, nonetheless he lets himself be cowed, which demonstrates his shortcomings as would-be representative of the Gods; with an premonitory appropriateness that will benefit oligarchic Rome and fatally cripple his position he creates the duoviri sacris faciundis as administrators of the Libri, and thus enables his doom by being himself instrumental in setting up a part of the scheme that will substitute his gods-granted power. Copyright 2024-05-15 Régis Duval, « Les dieux primitifs de la Rome archaïque : structures, systèmes parallèles, logiques ethno-sociales et agencements spatiaux ». Texte déposé, communiqué à Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres (Paris)