Sancus

Sangus, or Semo Sancus, a Roman divinity, is said to have been originally a Sabine god, and identical with Hercules and Dius Fidius.1 The name which is etymologically the same as Sanctus, and connected with Sancire, seems to justify this belief, and characterizes Sancus as a divinity presiding over oaths.

Sancus also had a temple at Rome, on the Quirinal, opposite that of Quirinus, and close by the gate which derived from him the name of Sanqualis Porta. This sanctuary was the same as that of Dius Fidius, which had been consecrated in the year 465 BCE by Sp. Postumius, but was said to have been founded by Tarquinius Superbus,2 and the ancients thoroughly identified their Dius Fidius with Sancus. He is accordingly regarded as the protector of the marriage oath, of the law of nations, and the law of hospitality.3 Sancus is said to have been the father of the Sabine hero Sabus.4

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References

Notes

  1. Lactantius, i, 15; Ovid. Fasti vi, 216; Sextus Propertius. Elegies iv, 9.74; Silius Italicus, viii, 421.
  2. Livy. The History of Rome viii, 20, 32.1; Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities ix, 60; Ovid. Fasti vi, 213 ff.
  3. Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities iv, 58; Varro. On the Latin Language v, 66.
  4. Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities ii, 49; Augustine. City of God xviii, 19; Lactantius, l.c.

Source

  • Smith, William. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Taylor, Walton, and Maberly.

This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain.