![]() ![]() Neptunalia, the Roman festival of Neptune, was held at the height of summer (typically on July 23). Neptune was considered the legendary progenitor god of the Falisci (who called themselves Neptunia proles), joining Mars, Janus, Saturn, and Jupiter as the deific father of a Latin tribe. For a time, Neptune was paired in his dominion of the sea with Salacia, the goddess of saltwater. By the first century BC, he had supplanted Portunus as the god of naval victories Sextus Pompeius called himself the "son of Neptune". Neptune has been associated with a number of other Roman deities. This is in contrast to Poseidon, who was primarily a god of the sea. Servius explicitly names Neptune as the god of rivers, springs, and waters he may parallel the Irish god Nechtan, master of rivers and wells. It has been speculated that Neptune has been conflated with a Proto-Indo-European freshwater deity since the Indo-Europeans lived inland and had little direct knowledge of the sea, the Romans may have reused the theology of a previous freshwater god in their worship of Neptune. The lectisternium of 399 BC indicated that the Greek figures of Poseidon, Artemis, and Heracles had been introduced and worshipped in Rome as Neptune, Diana, and Hercules. The theology of Neptune is limited by his close identification with the Greek god Poseidon, one of many members of the Greek pantheon whose theology was later tied to a Roman deity. Detail of a large Roman mosaic from Cirta, Roman Africa (ca. Worship Mosaic of Neptune ( Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas, Palermo) Roman mosaic on a wall in the House of Neptune and Amphitrite, Herculaneum, Italy The Chichester inscription, which reads (in English): "To Neptune and Minerva, for the welfare of the Divine House, by the authority of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, Great King in Britain, the college of artificers and those therein erected this temple from their own resources ens, son of Pudentinus, donated the site." Neptune (1802) by Catalan sculptor Nicolau Travé, with two nereids by Antoni Solà ( Barcelona: Llotja de Mar) Triumph of Neptune, Roman mosaic with the seasons in each corner and agricultural scenes and flora (La Chebba, Tunisia, late 2nd century, Bardo National Museum) Triumph of Poseidon and Amphitrite, showing the couple in procession. Like Poseidon, he was also worshipped by the Romans as a god of horses, as Neptunus equestris (a patron of horse-racing). He was likely associated with freshwater springs before the sea. Salacia is his wife.ĭepictions of Neptune in Roman mosaics, especially those in North Africa, were influenced by Hellenistic conventions. ![]() In the Greek-inspired tradition, he is a brother of Jupiter and Pluto the brothers preside over the realms of heaven, the earthly world (including the underworld), and the seas. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. Neptune ( Latin: Neptūnus ) is the Roman god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion. ![]()
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