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| Saturn The god of agriculture, vines, and workers, Saturn was regarded in Roman tradition as an early ruler of Italy. He was credited with introducing agriculture and, more broadly, the foundations of settled and ordered life. Ancient writers often identified Saturn with the Greek Cronus, although the two share little in their stories beyond their status as very ancient figures. A closer parallel can be drawn between Saturn and Demeter, since the roles assigned to Demeter by the Greeks—especially those connected with agriculture—were attributed by the Italians to Saturn. Saturn’s name was linked with sowing, and he was therefore associated with the beginnings of cultivation, social order, and structured community life. His rule was remembered as a golden age, particularly among the early peoples of Italy. Because agriculture was seen as the source of prosperity, his consort Ops came to represent abundance. According to tradition, Saturn arrived in Italy during the reign of Janus. He was welcomed and established himself on the Capitoline Hill, which was for that reason known as the Saturnian Hill. A temple dedicated to him later stood at its base along the road to the Capitol. Saturn was said to have taught agriculture to the people, bringing an end to a harsher way of life and encouraging stability, productive work, and moral order. In consequence, the land was sometimes called Saturnia, understood as a place of plenty. As with many early rulers in myth, Saturn’s departure was described as a sudden removal from the world of men to that of the gods. After this, Janus was said to have set up an altar to him in the Forum. Some accounts also connected his disappearance with the name of Latium, linking it to the idea of concealment, and for that reason Saturn was at times associated with the underworld. Saturn and Ops were both regarded as guardians of agriculture, with responsibility for plant life and everything necessary for its growth. Son of Caelus and Terra, his consorts were Lua, and Ops, and had issue: • Juno • Jupiter • Neptune • Picus • Pluto • Demeter |
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