The day Saturday was named for the Roman god Saturn, as was the planet Saturn. If you’ve ever read Roman mythology♦, you’ve probably heard of Jupiter, Juno, Aphrodite, or Athena. Saturn has likely not come up. So, who was he?
Insight1 on Saturn will require a deep dive2 into Roman mythology. (If you prefer Greek myths♦, Saturn’s Greek equivalent3 Kronos has an identical4 origin and downfall5.) During the time of ancient Rome, people worshipped6 Jupiter and a number of other related deities♦. But they weren’t the first gods, and though immortal7, they hadn’t been around forever.
Roman myths told of a Golden Age when humans lived in harmony with the Earth and didn’t have to work or toil8 for food. This coincided9 with the rule of Saturn. Saturn was born of some of the first gods, Caelus and Terra, or sky and earth. Eventually, Saturn overthrew10 Caelus and became the ruling deity. Worried that his own children would usurp11 him in a similar fashion, Saturn ate his children as soon as they were born. Ops, the mother of Jupiter, didn’t want her son to suffer the same fate and sent him into hiding when he was born. To trick Saturn, she offered him a stone bundled12 in a cloth like a newborn, which he ate without a second glance. Eventually, Saturn had to throw up the stone to get it out of his belly♦ and when he did, all his other children emerged13 with it. At the same time, Jupiter returned to overthrow his father and established the modern pantheon♦ of gods of ancient Rome.
What Did You Learn?
Who was the ruling god before Saturn?
How did Ops trick Saturn?
參考答案
Caelus.
She offered him a stone bundled in a cloth like a newborn. / She gave him a stone wrapped like a baby.
