Zeus : a study in ancient religion - Warburg Institute

46
The Sky-Pillar in Italy
The list of portents for the year 96 B.C. inckides an owl killed on
the Capitol, many things destroyed by lightning, and gilded statues
of lupiter overthrown with capital (?) and column to boot\ A third
incident of like character is recorded with somewhat greater detail.
It appears that in 65 B.C. an appalling thunderstorm burst over
Rome. 'On the Capitol,' says Dion Cassius^ 'many statues and
images were melted by thunderbolts, among others one of lupiter
set on a column, while a likeness of the she-wolf with Remus and
Romulus fell from its pedestal,' The diviners, hastily summoned
from all parts of Etruria, foretold the end of Rome. At their advice
desperate efforts were made to placate the gods. Games were held
for ten days, and a larger^ statue of lupiter was erected on a yet
loftier column with its face turned towards the east. Two years
later— for the work progressed slowly—this statue was being placed
in position at the moment when Cicero was delivering his third
the speaker was quick to profit by
speech against Catiline ; and
the coincidence. Surely the detection and punishment of the great
conspiracy were due to lupiter himself, whose penetrating gaze was
even now directed upon the Forum and the Senate Housed
Pighius cj. in Capitolio for in Cainpo. But the change is unnecessary ; for there was an
ancient hypaethral sanctuary of lupiter Ftilgur in the Campus (E. Aust in Roscher Lex.
Myth. ii. 656, Wissovva Rel. Kult. Kom.'^ p. 121 f., H. Kiepert et C. Huelsen Formae
urbis Romae antiijuae- Berolini 1912 p. 20). Besides, the temple of lupiter Slator in the
Porticus MetelH (H. Jordan—C. Huelsen Topographic der Stadt Rom im Alterthum Berlin
1907 i. 3. 538 ff., H. Kiepert et C. Huelsen op. cit. p. 22) was perhaps in existence before
147 B.C. (S. B. Platner The Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome Boston 1904
p. 330). It should, however, be noticed that lul. Obs. 18 does not definitely describe the
ruined monument as a statue of lupiter. J.
portrait of some magistrate.
Scheffer ad loc. took it to have been the
1 lul. Obs. 49 Cn. Domitio C. Cassio coss bubo in Capitolio occisus. fulmine
pleraque decussa. signa aurata lovis cum capite columnaque disiecta. O. Jahn cj. statiia
for capite. But O. Rossbach ad loc. understands caput as the 'capital' of a column, not
as the 'head' of a statue. The meaning is not beyond doubt, since (a) the plural signa
accords ill with the singulars capite, columna, and {b) it is known that two capita, in the
sense of colossal 'heads,' were dedicated on the Capitol byP. Lentulus (Plin. nat. hist.
34- 44)-
^ Dion Cass. 37. 9 iv yap tQ KaTrirmX^Cfj aybpiavTe^ t€ ttoXKol vtto Kepavvwv avvexf^vev-
dr/aav Kai dydX/xaTa dWa re Kai Aids iirl kIovos Idpv/jjivov, eiKwv ri tis \vKalvT)% aiv re t(j5
'Pu)/U(ij Kai