The ancient Italian deity of the sky, time and lightning, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon, whose cult had the greatest state and political significance. In Rome and all of Italy, Jupiter was revered first on the tops of hills. Its oldest shrines were on the Capitol (Iuppiter Feretrius), on Esquiline (Iuppiter Fagutalis), on Monte Cava (Iuppiter Latiaris) and on Ciminius (Iuppiter Ciminius). As the god of the sky and light, all the days of the full moon in the year (going) are dedicated to him, when light does not disappear from the firmament. Every month on that day, which in the old Roman calendar is marked as a holiday (feriae Iovis), the high priest sacrificed a white sheep to Jupiter at the Capitol. As the god of light and sky, the holidays of grapes are dedicated to Jupiter - a fruit that is most dependent on the weather. The feast of Vinalia rustica was celebrated in the vineyards on August 19, and at the beginning of the grape harvest, the high priest sacrificed lambs to Jupiter. The end of the harvest is also marked by Jupiter's holiday - Meditrinalia, which was celebrated on October 11. For the first time, a wider drink was poured on that holiday, and on the third Jupiter holiday, Vinalia priora (April 23), last year's wine was brought into the city and poured. Less clear are Jupiter's functions in connection with his other three holidays: Poplifugia (July 5), Regifugium (February 24) and one holiday that falls on the Day of the Dead (December 23).
As the god of the sky and lightning, Jupiter is called Fulgur. Every place affected by lightning is surrounded by stones (puteal). The lightning thrown by Jupiter is divided into the lightning of the day (fulgur dium) and the lightning of the night (fulgur summanium). As the god of night lightning, Jupiter is identified with Suman (lord of night lightning) and Vejovis (a deity of obscure functions, which may have been created by separating the negative functions of Jupiter, that is, he is Jupiter who takes revenge and brings evil). Jupiter is also revered as the god of rain (Iuppiter Elicius, Iuppiter Pluvialis). In times of drought, he was asked for rain; a solemn procession of priests, magistrates and barefoot matrons with loose hair brought to the Capitol a stone that closed the mundus (lapis manalis), and then water was poured over it. As the god of rain, Jupiter is associated with the fertility of the earth and the ancient Italian god Liber (Iuppiter Liber). From the protector of fields and fertile fields, Jupiter also becomes the guardian of their borders (Iuppiter Terminus).
New functions were added to Jupiter very early, according to which he became the supreme deity of the Roman religion. According to legend, Romulus had already built a shrine to Jupiter Ferretri on the Capitol, in which one stone (Iuppiter Lapis) was revered. In that sanctuary, which was later restored by Augustus, Romulus dedicated to Jupiter the war equipment he had taken from the enemy. Therefore, even later, war trophies and enemy weapons were vowed to Jupiter Ferretri. Thus, Jupiter, from the god of thunder, became a deity that ensures victory in war and guarantees the given word between nations, states and individuals (Dius Fidius).
Capitoline Jupiter (Iuppiter Optimus Maximus), "the best and greatest", established under the Etruscan kings, is the supreme god of the Roman state. Sacrifices were offered to him by young men when they entered their manly years, and the consuls took an oath to him in taking office. After winning the war, the triumphant wore clothes that imitated the clothes on Jupiter's cult statue, that is, he embodied Jupiter himself.
Jupiter brings victory to the Romans (Iuppiter Victor) and stops the enemy (Iuppiter Stator). In Lazio, on the top of the Albanian mountains, a temple was built for him as the patron of the Latin Alliance (Iuppiter Latiaris).
Jupiter's temples in Rome are most often associated with events significant to Roman history. The temple of Jupiter Ferretri on the Capitol and the temple of Jupiter Stator below the Palatine were built by Romulus after the victory over King Akron, that is, after the defeat of the Sabines. Sibyl books (books of prophecies, which could only be opened by order of the Senate), all important documents and numerous laws were kept in the temple on the Capitol.
Capitoline Jupiter was revered in all the provinces; the first task of the architects was to build a temple in the provincial cities, similar to the one on the Capitol, as part of the great triad - Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. In the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, Jupiter was identified with local deities, with the god from Doliha (Iuppiter Dolichenus), Sabazius or Amon.
There were no cult statues in the oldest sanctuaries of Jupiter, that is, Jupiter is symbolized by a sacred stone. The first cult statue of Jupiter in the temple on the Capitol was made by Vulka from Vej. That statue was made of baked earth and represented Jupiter as a bearded man holding lightning in his right hand. The face of that statue was painted red on holidays. Representations of Jupiter on republican money were made under the influence of Greek iconography, modeled on the representations of Zeus, with lightning, a scepter or an eagle in hand. The medallions of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius often depicted the Capitol Triad (Jupiter, Juno, Minerva).
Literature:
• Dragoslav Srejović - Aleksandrina Cermanović-Kuzmanović, Recnik grčke i rimske mitologije, drugo izdanje, Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, 1987
Jupiter was the god of light. He sent thunder and lightning, he was the protector of justice, of truth, he stopped the army on the run and awarded it victory. In history, Jupiter Optimus Maximus was the chief deity of Rome. The oldest temple of the Roman state cult at the Capitol was dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva; here the senate passed decrees on the beginning of war, here international agreements were signed and generals sacrificed here, the victorious emperors on their return to Rome in a triumphal procession first went to the temple of Jupiter.
After the Roman Empire, many temples were built in honor of Jupiter (most often on hills), representing a symbol of Roman power. In honor of Jupiter, crazy Romans were held every September. In the age of the empire, he was often identified in the cult with various foreign, especially oriental gods (Jupiter Optimus Maximus Serapis, Sabazios, Dolichenus and others).
Jupiter was also the protector of borders and agriculture and the patron of alliances.
In art, he is depicted with a royal scepter and his symbols - an eagle and lightning.