Compitalia
compitalia latin ludi compitalicii compitum crossway annual festival ancient roman religion held honor lares compitales household deity crossroad sacrifice offered place two way met festival ancient building rome said writer instituted tarquinius priscus consequence miracle attending birth servius tullius supposed son lar familiaris family guardian deity dionysius say servius tullius founded festival describes celebrated time dionysius relates sacrifice consisted honeycakes ancient greek πέλανοι presented inhabitant house people assisted ministering servant festival free men slave lares took pleasure service slave add compitalia celebrated day saturnalia great splendor slave occasion full liberty pleased celebration festival family placed statue underworld goddess mania door house also hung door figure wool representing men woman accompanying humble request lares mania would contented figure spare people house slave offered ball fleece wool instead human figure macrobius say celebration compitalia restored etruscan king tarquinius superbus response oracle sacrifice head caput head oracle taken mean order maintain health prosperity family child sacrificed mania identified case mother lares brutus overthrowing line tarquin king instead satisfied oracle exploiting verbal loophole substituting head garlic poppy people presided festival magistri vici neighborhood officer occasion allowed wear toga praetexta public game added festival republican period suppressed command senate bce calpurnius piso charged cicero violating decree allowing game celebrated consulship festival still continued observed even game abolished civil war festival fell disuse accordingly restored program religious reform carried augustus augustus pater patriae worship old lares discontinued lares emperor consequently became lares state augustus set altar neighbourhood lares penates place two way met instituted order priest attend worship priest chosen libertini people legally freed slavery called augustales compitalia belonged feria conceptivae festival celebrated day appointed annually magistrate priest exact day festival celebrated appears varied though always winter least time varro observed isaac casaubon dionysius relates celebrated day saturnalia cicero fell kalends january one letter atticus speaks occurring fourth none january january exact word festival announced preserved macrobius aulus gellius die noni popolo romano quiritibus compitalia erunt suetonius writes augustus ordered lares compitales crowned twice yearly spring summer flower compitales lares ornari bi anno instituit vernis floribus et aestivis smith william dcl lld compitalia dictionary greek roman antiquity john murray london article incorporates text publication public domain chamber ephraim ed compitalitia cyclopædia universal dictionary art science st ed james john knapton et al p compital oxford english dictionary oxford university press nd ed