Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/166

 152 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY flattery Mulciber, mltis or quietus. He may have been connected with the fire of the lightning at first because this causes conflagrations ; but, since in ancient prayers he was invoked in conjunction with Maia, the goddess of the fruitfulness of the ground, whose worship was celebrated in May, it seems probable that other results of his activity in the fire of the lightning and of the sun were recognized. It was not until later times that he became the god of the smith's art and of volcanoes, and then only by being identified with Hephaestus. 198. Like Yolcanus, the divinities that protected agri- culture, Saturnus, Consus, and Ops, retained their charac- ter as spirits of activity. Saturnus, or Saeturnus, was the god of sowing ; after the sowing of the winter grain was finished, the feast of the Saturnalia was celebrated in his honor from the 17th to the 21st or 23d of December, with banqueting, the interchange of presents, and exemption of the slaves from their customary duties. The wax candles that were regularly included among the gifts undoubtedly symbolized the newly-beginning increase of sunlight, which gave ground for the hope that the seed buried in the ground would thrive. The ancient sanc- tuary of Saturn, and his temple, which was built by Tar- quinius Superbus, were situated beside the ascent that led from the Forum to the Capitol. Consus, on the other hand, was the harvest god, the deus condendi, i.e. god of stowing away the produce of the fields. As this prod- uce was originally kept in subterranean rooms, the old altar of Consus in the Circus Maximus was usually con- cealed in the ground, and was uncovered and cleared for use in sacrifice only during the festivals of the Consualia,