Ancient Rome: The Role Of Saturn In Ancient Roman Religion

Saturn

During the certain time of a year, when you look up at the night sky, you can find the planet Saturn. This is named after Saturn in ancient Roman religion, a character in myth. Saturn, as a figure with multiple associations and long history, Saturn had great effects on the society.

In ancient Rome, Saturn is the god of agriculture and farming. Generally speaking, Saturn is the god of sowing seeds who always made good. Saturn, as an old god that in charged of agriculture and time, he takes care of the crops and supported the growing cycle throughout the year. Because of Saturn’s association with the Golden Age, he is often called the god of harvest and fertility. The Golden Age is a plentiful and honorable period that Saturn inspects the crops and the agriculture of the land and the time.

However the Romans regularly identify Saturn with the Greek God Cronus since both of them are the gods of agriculture. Even though people usually think that Saturn should be the same as the Greek god Cronus, it is clear that there are several differences between these two gods. Cronus is the son of Uranus and Gaia, while Saturn is the son of Caelus

We have been teaching that Christmas is a holiday to celebrate Jesus’s birth. However, the fact is, people have been celebrating Christmas long before the birth of the Christ. This festival is then widespread as Saturnalia, which the Romans memorialized the devotions of the god Saturn. The Romans first introduced this festival as a week long holiday from December 17th to 25th. During this period, all Roman courts had to be closed and no one could be punished. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia in the same way people celebrate Christmas nowadays. They exchanged gifts and feast in their homes. Later on, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th of December instead of the