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Jupiter (mythology)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Myths

   "Jupiter et Thétis" - by Jean Ingres, 1811.
   "Jupiter et Thétis" - by Jean Ingres, 1811.

   In Roman mythology, Jupiter (Iuppiter in Latin) held the same role as
   Zeus in the Greek pantheon. He was called Juppiter Optimus Maximus
   Soter (Jupiter Best, Greatest, Saviour) as the patron deity of the
   Roman state, in charge of laws and social order. He was the chief god
   of the Capitoline Triad, with Juno and Minerva.

   Jupiter is a vocative compound derived from archaic Latin Iovis and
   pater (Latin for father), this was also used as the nominative case.
   Jove is an English formation based on Iov-, the stem of oblique cases
   of the Latin name. Its Vedic equivalent is Dyaus Pita.

   The name of the god was also adopted as the name of the planet Jupiter,
   and was the original namesake of the weekday that would come to be
   known in English as Thursday (the etymological root can be seen in
   various Romance languages, including ( accusative Iovem, genitive
   Iovis, dative Iovi and ablative Iove - an irregular declension).
   Linguistic studies identify his name as deriving from the Indo-European
   compound * dyēus- pəter- ("O Father God"), the Indo-European deity from
   whom also derive the Germanic *Tiwaz (after whom Tuesday was named),
   the Greek Zeus, and the French jeudi, Castilian jueves, Italian giovedì
   and Catalan dijous, all from Latin Iovis Dies, whereas English takes
   his Norse equivalent, Thor).

Epithets of Jupiter

    1. Jupiter Caelestis ("heavenly")
    2. Jupiter Fulgurator ("of the lightning")
    3. Jupiter Laterius ("God of Latium")
    4. Jupiter Lucetius ("of the light")
    5. Jupiter Pluvius ("sender of rain") See also Pluvius
    6. Jupiter Stator (from stare meaning "standing")
    7. Jupiter Terminus or Jupiter Terminalus (defends boundaries). (See
       also Terminus)
    8. Jupiter Tonans ("thunderer")
    9. Jupiter Victor (led Roman armies to victory)
   10. Jupiter Summanus (sender of nocturnal thunder)
   11. Jupiter Feretrius ("who carries away [the spoils of war]")
   12. Jupiter Optimus Maximus (best and greatest)
   13. Jupiter Brixianus (Jupiter equated with the local god of the town
       of Brescia in Cisalpine Gaul (modern North Italy))
   14. Jupiter Ladicus (Jupiter equated with a Celtiberian mountain-god
       and worshipped as the spirit of Mount Ladicus)
   15. Jupiter Parthinus or Partinus (Jupiter was worshipped under this
       name on the borders of north-east Dalmatia (Croatia) and Upper
       Moesia (Bulgaria), perhaps being associated with the local tribe
       known as the Partheni)
   16. Jupiter Poeninus (Jupiter was worshipped in the Alps under this
       name, around the Great St Bernard Pass, where he had a sanctuary)
   17. Jupiter Solutorius (a local version of Jupiter worshipped around
       the Castile area in Spain; he was syncretised with the local
       Iberian god Eacus)
   18. Jupiter Taranis (Jupiter equated with the Celtic god Taranis)
   19. Jupiter Uxellinus (Jupiter as worshipped in Austria, as a god of
       high mountains)

   Jupiter Stator, Roman bronze from the Gallo-Roman religious centre of
   Gisacum, near Évreux
   Jupiter Stator, Roman bronze from the Gallo-Roman religious centre of
   Gisacum, near Évreux

Capitoline Jupiter

   The largest temple in Rome was that of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the
   Capitoline Hill. Here he was worshipped alongside Juno and Minerva,
   forming the Capitoline Triad. Jupiter was also worshipped at Capitoline
   Hill in the form of a stone, known as Iuppiter Lapis or the Jupiter
   Stone, which was sworn upon as an oath stone. Temples to Juppiter
   Optimus Maximus or the Capitoline Triad as a whole were commonly built
   by the Romans at the centre of new cities in their colonies.

   The building was begun by Tarquinius Priscus and completed by the last
   king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, although it was inaugurated, by a
   tradition recorded by the historians, on September 13, at the beginning
   of the Republican era (509 BC).

   The temple building stands on a high podium with an entrance staircase
   to the front. On three of its sides it was probably surrounded by a
   colonnade, with another two rows of pillars drawn up in line with those
   on the façade of the deep pronaos which precedes the three cellae,
   ranged side by side in the Etruscan manner, the central one being wider
   than the other two.

   The surviving remains of the foundations and of the podium, most of
   which lie underneath Palazzo Caffarelli, are made up of enormous
   parallel sections of walling made in blocks of grey tufa-quadriga stone
   (cappellaccio) and bear witness to the sheer size of the surface area
   of the temple's base (about 55 x 60 m).

   On the roof a terracotta auriga, made by the Etruscan artist Vulca of
   Veii in the 6th century BC, commissioned by Tarquinius Superbus; it was
   replaced in 296 B.C., by a bronze one. The cult image, by Vulca, was of
   terracotta; its face was painted red on festival days ( Ovid, Fasti,
   1.201f). Beneath the cella were the favissae, or underground passages,
   in which were stored the old statues that had fallen from the roof, and
   various dedicatory gifts.

   The temple was rebuilt in marble after fires had worked total
   destruction in 83 BC, when the cult image was lost, and the Sibylline
   Books kept in a stone chest. Fires followed in 69 AD, when the Capitol
   was stormed by the supporters of Vitellius and in 80 AD.

   In front of the steps was the altar of Jupiter (ara Iovis). The large
   square in front of the temple (the Area Capitolina) featured a number
   of temples dedicated to minor divinities, in addition to other
   religious buildings, statues and trophies.

   Its dilapidation began in the fifth century, when Stilicho carried off
   the gold -plated doors and Narses removed many of the statues, in 571
   AD.

In language

   It was once believed that the Roman god Jupiter (Zeus in Greece) was in
   charge of cosmic Justice, and in ancient Rome, people swore to Jove in
   their courts of law, which lead to the common expression "By Jove!",
   still used as an archaism today. In addition, "Jovial" is a
   medium-common adjective still used to describe people who are jolly,
   optimistic, and buoyant in temperament.
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