Liber is an ancient Roman wine god whose feast Liberalia is celebrated March 17. He predates Bacchus; early historians see Liber as a different god, the first deity of viniculture and wine, and the archetype from whom all other wine deities and mythologies arise.
Also known as Liber Pater or the Free Father, Liber is part of the Aventine Triad of Gods, together with Ceres and Libera. A Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres rules grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships.
The third of the triad is another Roman fertility goddess, Libera. She's a consort of Liber and they reign together at Liberalia.
She later evolves into Prosperina and identifies with Greek Persephone as Queen of the Underworld, goddess of female and agricultural fertility, and springtime growth. Another goddess who comes to be identified with Persephone is Despoina in Arcadia.
The cult of the three deities occupies a temple in the Aventine, one of the seven hills of Rome. Liberalia celebrates both the festival of Liber and the Aventine fertility trinity. Aventine is also the locale for the women-only rituals of Bona Dea, the Good Goddess.
Liberalia revels include sacrifices, processions, bawdy songs, and masks hung on trees. It's a time of freedom and uninhibited sexuality. Words such as libertine, liberty, libation, liberation and liberal come from the name of the wine god Liber.
Archaeological evidence shows the Greek cult of Dionysus active from about 1200 BCE. The earliest sign of Bacchus is 400 BCE. Dionysus is at first an agriculture deity; as he evolves he's more closely linked wine and aspects such as ecstasy, the theater and madness.
Modeled on Dionysus and Liber, Bacchus also embodies these themes. The Bacchanalia is a harvest festival in early September, which can also occur at other important lunar or solar events such as spring planting; or, in warmer zones, harvest of the winter crop.
Liber's rustic festivals such as Liberalia correspond to springtime awakening, renewal and fertility in the agricultural cycle. The festival also marks the coming into manhood of boys.
Nine days after a baby's birth, a hollow amulet or bulla is put on a thong or silver chain around the child's neck. The bulla has the power to ward off evil spirits.Part of the Liberalia ritual is removal of the amulet, signifying the young man's independence.
He puts a lock of his hair or ideally, growth of his first beard, inside the amulet. He then places it on the altar dedicated to the Lares, gods of household and family.
Often the young man's mother retrieves the bulla and keeps it herself. Later, if her son achieves fame or glory, she waves it to dispel envy from enemies.
At Liberalia the young man also discards his boyhood toga, with a purple trim, for the toga virilis, the all-white toga of the Roman man. With this he becomes a full citizen of Rome and eligible voter.
As fertility deities Liber governs the male seed, and Libera the female. The priestesses of Liber are older women, the Sacerdos Liberi. They wear wreaths of ivy and make honey cakes, or libia. Those who buy the cakes will have a sacrifice made on their behalf.
The Romans are proud of their members. During the feast of Liberalia, processions of large phalluses wind around the countryside, blessing the crops and farms. At the end of a parade each phallus receives a sacred wreath from a holy woman.
On March 16 - 17 and May 14 -15, adherents celebrate an even older feast. This honors the Argei, which are 27 sacred shrines associated with effigy figures. By the time of Augustus (63 BCE - 14 AD) the meaning of the rituals are obscure even to their practitioners.
During the May rites, a procession of pontiffs, Vestals, and praetors visit the stations to collect human-shaped figures of rush, reed, and straw. With an ambience of mourning they proceed to the Pons Sublicius, Rome's oldest bridge, and throw the figures into the Tiber River.
Ancient scholars suggest these vegetation icons are intended to dissuade human sacrifice, which is part of the festivities of agriculture god Saturn.
Liber is one of the older, more obscure gods of the Roman pantheon. He's overshadowed by Dionysus, who takes the stage with aplomb, figures like Pan and Bacchus, and a venerated Irish saint named Patrick. Remember to raise a glass in honor of Liber and Libera March 17.
Non-Fiction Books:
Fiction Books:
READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series
READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries