Jupiter

Jupiter is the Roman god of the sky and thunder, also king of the gods in ancient Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the principal deity of Roman religion during the Republican and Imperial eras, until Christianity became the dominant religion of the Empire shortly before the Migration Period. 

His Latin name: Iūpiter or Iuppiter, from Proto-Italic *djous "day, sky" + *patēr "father", thus "sky father", which can be traced back to his Proto-Indo-European origin.

The Etruscan and Roman cultures were strongly influenced by the Greeks, but their shared roots go much further back. These peoples, along with many other European groups, are descended from the Proto-Indo-Europeans, nomadic steppe herders who migrated from the Pontic-Caspian steppe to Europe around 3500 BCE. They had a religion that was dharmic and a society based on oath-bound reciprocity.

Originally, the Italic peoples had their own version of this Proto-Indo-European god, *Dyḗus-ph₂tḗr. The ancient Italic sky god Diespiter fulfilled the role of sky god. In the Etruscan tradition, Jupiter was usually equated with the god Tinia. 

From the 8th century BCE onwards, the Italic peninsula increasingly came under Greek influence. The ancient Greeks established trading colonies such as on the island of Ischia. The Etruscans and Romans adopted many cultural traits from the Greeks, causing their god Dyḗus phtḗr to increasingly resemble the Greek equivalent, Zeus.

This Greek influence is clearly visible in the Roman god Jupiter, who closely resembles Zeus. Roman stories and artworks adopted the myths and iconography of Zeus but gave him the name Jupiter. According to Greco-Roman mythology, Jupiter was the brother of Neptune and Pluto, the Roman equivalents of Poseidon and Hades. Each of these gods ruled over a specific part of the universe:

• Jupiter ruled over the sky,
• Neptune over the seas and rivers,
• Pluto over the underworld.

The similarities between these gods can be seen in different variants in Proto-Indo-European cultures. Notably, among the Greeks and Romans, as well as the later Slavic peoples, their sky father also served as the weather god (thunder god). According to the Proto-Indo-European cosmic Creation story, both were originally different gods. 

Jupiter can be compared to:

• Etruscan: Tinia
• Greek: Zeus
• Hindu: Dyaus Pita
• Germanic: Tyr (and Donar)
• Slavic: Perun
• Indo-European: *Dyḗus-ph₂tḗr

There were also regional variants of Jupiter in the Roman Empire

• Jupiter Poeninus: Worshipped in the Alps near the Great St. Bernard Pass.
• Jupiter Sabazius: A syncretism between Jupiter and the Thracian god Sabazius.
• Jupiter Solutorius: A local version of Jupiter in Spain.
• Jupiter Taranis: Jupiter equated with the Celtic god Taranis.
• Jupiter Uxellinus: Jupiter as the god of high mountains.

Additionally, many epithets of Zeus are applied to Jupiter through interpretatio romana, such as Jupiter Trophonius or Jupiter Meilichius.

In Roman mythology, Jupiter is not only the king of the gods and the god of the sky, but also a central figure in maintaining the cosmic order.

He plays a crucial role in establishing the religious and moral principles of Rome, with the kings, later consuls and emperors as 'representatives' of Jupiter tasked with maintaining this cosmic order.

Mismanagement, weakness, and injustice were seen as causes of chaos. And were thus regarded as hostile behavior against the cosmic order.

Linguists have reconstructed the Proto-Indo-European term for cosmic order as *h₂értus (pronounced xhartus). From this root, concepts emerged in various Indo-European cultures such as 'fitting', 'right', 'perfect', 'shared', 'content', 'satisfied', 'nature', 'fashion', 'healthy', 'lawful', 'cosmetics', and 'art'. This indicates how fundamental the cosmic order was in Indo-European cultures for everything that is beautiful, fair, or good in the world. It was the task of humans to maintain the cosmic order, through which the sky god, via all other gods, could sustain everything in the world positively. 

As a sky god, Jupiter received divine oaths from Roman kings, consuls, and emperors. They promised him to maintain the cosmic order. In return, Jupiter granted them victories on the battlefield, invincibility, and prosperity.

The god expected offerings and self-sacrifice through achievements. This maintained the reciprocal relationship (quid pro quo) between mortals and the immortal gods.

During the annual festivals on the Capitoline Hill in September, special offerings were made to Jupiter to thank him for his help and to ensure his continued protection, including the sacrifice of a white ox with gilded horns.

Triumphant generals also made offerings to Jupiter by laying symbols of their victory at his feet, which was both an acknowledgment of his power and a thanks for his favor.

Jupiter's role in Roman society was thus not only religious but also political and moral, anchored in the daily practices of Roman life and governance.

Both the world of the gods and that of humans knew a hierarchical structure in Indo-European culture.

It is likely that this society was divided into three different classes: herders (working class), warrior class, and the ruling class, with no distinction made between the priestly class and that of the king. The division between these classes can be reconstructed from the Proto-Indo-European cosmic creation story. In this story, the social classes emerge from different body parts of Yemo, who was sacrificed by his twin brother Manu. The royal class comes from both body parts, so they can understand and represent all layers of the population. The other twin brother, Manu, became the first priest and taught humanity to make offerings to the sky god, thus maintaining cosmic order. In this way, humans and gods were united in a relationship of oath-bound reciprocity.

This division is seen in various ways in Roman society. First of all, many aspects of the cosmic creation story can be seen in the twins Romulus and Remus who created Rome, according to the foundation myth. Like Manu and Romulus, the kings, later consuls, and later emperors of Rome, held both ultimate political and religious power.

The class system also characterized the warrior class in which only Roman citizens with citizenship rights (patricians) were allowed to participate and had to finance their own armor. After Rome conquered more surrounding areas, the concept of the third class shifted between inhabitants of the Republic with and without citizenship. 

Jupiter, together with Juno and Minerva, forms the Capitoline triad, they were especially the gods of the patricians (aristocratic and warrior class).

During the Conflict of the Orders, the plebeians of Rome demanded the right to hold political and religious offices. During their first secessio (comparable to a general strike), they withdrew from the city and threatened to establish their own city. After their demands were agreed upon, they returned to Rome. The (inevitable) revolts of the third class must have given the Plebeians a sense of guilt because they acted against the cosmic order. As restitution, they promised the hill where they had withdrawn to Jupiter as a symbol and guarantee of the unity of the Roman res publica. 

Plebeians could eventually become eligible for all magistracies and most priestly offices after various strikes and revolts, but the high priesthood of Jupiter (Flamen Dialis) remained reserved for patricians.

A similar hierarchy was attributed to the world of the gods, in which there was a clear hierarchical order among the gods. The many mythological stories emphasize this.

Images in the Republican and Imperial Capitol were the symbol of authority and bore regalia associated with both the ancient Roman kings and the highest consular and imperial honors, emphasizing Jupiter's status as the supreme god.

Jupiter'ss association with kingship and sovereignty was reinterpreted as the form of government in Rome changed. Originally, Rome was ruled by kings; after the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Republic, religious prerogatives were transferred to the patres, the patrician ruling class.

Nostalgia for kingship was considered treason. In the 5th century BC, the triumphator Camillus was exiled after he rode a chariot with a team of four white horses (quadriga) - an honor reserved for Jupiter himself.

Capitoline Jupiter represented a continuity of royal power from the Royal period and conferred authority on the magistrates and emperors who paid him homage.

Many of Jupiter's religious functions were concentrated on the Capitoline Hill, where he, along with Juno and Minerva, formed the Capitoline Triad, a trio representing the protectors of the state. Here he was the central figure.

Jupiter was the head of the gods, a member of the Archaic Triad, the Capitoline Triad, and the Dii Consentes, the council of the twelve principal gods.

Jupiter was regarded as "the source of the auspicia", the official predictive signs that determined the city of Rome's relationship with the gods. His role was essential for the divine authority over Rome's highest offices, the internal organization, and the external relations of the city.

In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. The term Dialis is related to Diespiter, an ancient Latin form of the name Jupiter. There were 15 flamines, of which three flamines maiores served the three gods of the Archaic Triad. According to tradition, the flamines had various restrictions. These were intended to make him literally Jovi adsiduum sacerdotem (the constant priest of Jupiter), to obligate him continuously to fulfill his priestly duties, without any temptation to neglect them.

The Flamen Dialis was officially ranked second in the hierarchy of the highest Roman priests (ordo sacerdotum), only after the rex sacrorum and before the other flamines maiores (Flamen Martialis, Flamen Quirinalis) and the pontifex maximus.

These prohibitions ensured that the Flamen Dialis, as a servant of the sky god, possessed the attributes of absolute purity and freedom, but also fulfilled the role of administrator of lightning and kingship. His solidarity with the king was reflected in the figure of his earthly counterpart, the rex sacrorum. Similar partnerships, with comparable ritual restrictions, can also be found in other Indo-European cultures.

Annually, various festivals dedicated to Jupiter were held in Rome (and beyond). 

An important festival was the Latiar, where rituals such as swinging on a tree as a symbol of ascension were performed. This recalled the disappearance of King Latinus and was also seen as a celebration of childhood. The festival also had a political significance; the consuls and highest magistrates had to be present, and campaigning was forbidden until the festival ended.

The Regifugium, celebrated around February 24, was mistakenly interpreted as marking the expulsion of the monarchy, but it likely related more to the symbolic absence of power at the beginning of the new year. The Poplifugia, celebrated on July 5 and dedicated to Jupiter, was a ritual for purification and the expulsion of foreign invaders from Rome. This marked the second half of the year according to the old Roman calendar.

There were two festivals called epulum Iovis ("Feast of Jove"). One was held on September 13, the anniversary of the founding of Jupiter's Capitoline temple. The other, presumably older, was part of the Plebeian Games (Ludi Plebei) and was held on November 13. In the 3rd century BC, the epulum Iovis became equivalent to a lectisternium.

The oldest Roman games followed a day after the two Epula Iovis of September and November. The games of September were called Ludi Magni; originally, they were not held annually, but later they became the annual Ludi Romani and were held in the Circus Maximus after a procession from the Capitol. These games were attributed to Tarquinius Priscus and connected to the cult of Jupiter on the Capitol. Analogies with the triumph were recognized, possibly due to their common Etruscan origin. The Ludi Plebei took place in November in the Circus Flaminius. Mommsen proposed that the epulum of the Ludi Plebei was the model for the Ludi Romani, but Wissowa found the evidence for this assumption insufficient.

The oldest forms of the cult of Jupiter belong to the state religion, such as the mountain cult. In Rome, this included the presence of specific sanctuaries, the most important of which were located on the Mons Capitolinus. 

Associated with the oldest sanctuaries on the Capitoline Hill; here he was represented by a sacred flint (silex).

This is one of the most well-known symbols identified with Jupiter. Lightning bolts are depicted on the shields of Roman legionnaires on Trajan's Column. But also on buildings and many art objects.

Lightning bolts symbolize Jupiter's s power over the sky and his ability to punish or protect with his thunder and lightning.

It also shows that the Greeks and Romans made the sky god also a 'storm god' *Perkwunos. 

In Celtic and Germanic religions, the oak was associated with the 'storm god'. It is not surprising that the Romans associated this tree with Jupiter. Oaks are often ancient trees that, due to their size and dense foliage, are regularly struck by lightning.

The oak is seen as a symbol of strength and wisdom. The Celtic word druid is derived from oak. 

Jupiter is connected with Thursday, which in Latin is 'dies Jovis', literally meaning 'day of Jupiter'. This shows how the Romans named the days of the week after their gods, with each day dedicated to a specific deity.

The eagle is the sacred animal of Jupiter and symbolizes his supremacy and prophetic power. In the Roman auspicia system, where birds were used to interpret the will of the gods (based on the Etruscans), the eagle held special significance.

From 104 BC, each legion used an aquila (eagle) as a standard symbol. The symbol was carried by an officer, the aquilifer. This field sign was considered sacred because it symbolizes the authority granted to the legion by Jupiter himself.

The loss of it was considered a very serious disgrace and often led to the dissolution of the legion itself. Pliny the Elder mentions that originally other symbols were also used. The wolf, the ox with the head of a man, the horse, and the boar. These did not refer to Jupiter. Possibly, the boar and the wolf came from the tradition of war bands (koryos) and the horse stood for the land and the authority of the king. The aquilifer itself wore a wolf or bear skin and later a lion skin.

Jupiter, originally a sky god, is often depicted with these symbols. A common image is that of an eagle holding a lightning bolt in its claws, a combination often seen on coins and other artifacts from both Greek and Roman times. This image emphasizes his role as ruler of the sky and his ability to both destroy and protect. Even today, in Western Europe and America, the symbolism of Jupiter is still in use.