Tarquitius Priscus: Difference between revisions
gens |
→Works and influence: Vegoia |
||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
==Works and influence== |
==Works and influence== |
||
Tarquitius Priscus wrote at least two ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#ostentarium|ostentaria]]'', a form of arcane literature that collected, described, and interpreted signs (''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#ostentum|ostenta]]''),{{sfn|Linderksi|1985|p=231–232}} including an ''ostentarium arborarium'', a book on signs pertaining to [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#arbor felix|trees]], and an ''ostentarium Tuscum'', which may have been translated from [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]]. |
Tarquitius Priscus wrote at least two ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#ostentarium|ostentaria]]'', a form of arcane literature that collected, described, and interpreted signs (''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#ostentum|ostenta]]''),{{sfn|Linderksi|1985|p=231–232}} including an ''ostentarium arborarium'', a book on signs pertaining to [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#arbor felix|trees]], and an ''ostentarium Tuscum'', which may have been translated from [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]]. He translated, or perhaps transcribed, the prophecies of [[Vegoia]], which were kept in the archives of the Palatine Apollo;{{sfn|Turfa|2012|p=28}} one fragment attributed to Tarquitius survives.{{sfn|Grummond|2006|p=2}} |
||
Pliny mentions Tarquitius as a source for the second book of his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' and associates him with [[Aulus Caecina]],{{sfn|Linderksi|1985|p=231–232}} who also wrote on Etruscan religion and who lived in the time of [[Julius Caesar]]. His books were still being used in [[late antiquity]]. The [[haruspices]] consulted books by Tarquitius under the title ''De rebus divinis'' ("On Divine Matters") before the battle that proved fatal to the [[Julian (emperor)|emperor Julian]] — because he failed to heed them, according to [[Ammianus Marcellinus]].{{efn|Ammianus Marcellinus 25.27: ''Ex Tarquitianis libris in titulo de rebus divinis''.}} They were referenced by [[Macrobius]] as well.{{efn|Macrobius, ''[[Saturnalia (Macrobius)|Saturnalia]]'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Macrobius/Saturnalia/3*.html#20 3.20.3] and 3.7.2.}} |
Pliny mentions Tarquitius as a source for the second book of his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' and associates him with [[Aulus Caecina]],{{sfn|Linderksi|1985|p=231–232}} who also wrote on Etruscan religion and who lived in the time of [[Julius Caesar]]. His books were still being used in [[late antiquity]]. The [[haruspices]] consulted books by Tarquitius under the title ''De rebus divinis'' ("On Divine Matters") before the battle that proved fatal to the [[Julian (emperor)|emperor Julian]] — because he failed to heed them, according to [[Ammianus Marcellinus]].{{efn|Ammianus Marcellinus 25.27: ''Ex Tarquitianis libris in titulo de rebus divinis''.}} They were referenced by [[Macrobius]] as well.{{efn|Macrobius, ''[[Saturnalia (Macrobius)|Saturnalia]]'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Macrobius/Saturnalia/3*.html#20 3.20.3] and 3.7.2.}} |
||
Revision as of 15:32, 18 July 2024
Tarquitius Priscus (1st century BC or early 1st century AD) was a Roman writer known for works on the etrusca disciplina, the body of knowledge pertaining to Etruscan religion and cosmology.
Contemporary references suggest that he lived in the late Roman Republic or during the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. He has been conjecturally identified as either the Gaius Tarquitius Priscus who served under Sertorius in the 80s BC, or a son or grandson of the Tarquitius Priscus who was his legate in 72 BC.[1] Inscriptions show a gens Tarquitia in the Etruscan areas of Caere and Veii.[1] The scholar Varro (116–27 BC) seems to have known him.[2]
Works and influence
Tarquitius Priscus wrote at least two ostentaria, a form of arcane literature that collected, described, and interpreted signs (ostenta),[3] including an ostentarium arborarium, a book on signs pertaining to trees, and an ostentarium Tuscum, which may have been translated from Etruscan. He translated, or perhaps transcribed, the prophecies of Vegoia, which were kept in the archives of the Palatine Apollo;[4] one fragment attributed to Tarquitius survives.[2]
Pliny mentions Tarquitius as a source for the second book of his Natural History and associates him with Aulus Caecina,[3] who also wrote on Etruscan religion and who lived in the time of Julius Caesar. His books were still being used in late antiquity. The haruspices consulted books by Tarquitius under the title De rebus divinis ("On Divine Matters") before the battle that proved fatal to the emperor Julian — because he failed to heed them, according to Ammianus Marcellinus.[a] They were referenced by Macrobius as well.[b]
Notes
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus 25.27: Ex Tarquitianis libris in titulo de rebus divinis.
- ^ Macrobius, Saturnalia 3.20.3 and 3.7.2.
Reflist
- ^ a b Turfa 2012, p. 287.
- ^ a b Grummond 2006, p. 2.
- ^ a b Linderksi 1985, p. 231–232.
- ^ Turfa 2012, p. 28.
Sources
- Grummond, Nancy Thomson de (2006). "Introduction: The History of the Study of Etruscan Religion". The Religion of the Etruscans. University of Texas Press. pp. 1–8.
- Linderski, Jerzy (1985). "The libri reconditi". Harvard Studies in Classical Philology. 89: 207–234.
- Turfa, Jean MacIntosh (2012). Divining the Etruscan World: The Brontoscopic Calendar and Religious Practice. Cambridge University Press.