of the divinity is to some extent extracted from it here (Scheid 1999a). It will be
noted that in Gubbio, Torsa, “the one-who-terrifies,” is alternatively Cerfian and
Jovian. In the same way, Hunte is Cerfian in the coretian sacred grove, where three
calves are sacrificed to him. But on table IIa, it is a Jovian Hunte, to whom the
sacrifice of a dog is offered.
In Gubbio, one thus meets “Jovian,” “Martian,” and “Cerfian” divinities, with
possible permutations, as we have shown. In the Oscan area, there are “Jovian,”
“Cererian,” and “Mefitanian” divinities. We find these last only in the Lucanian sanc-
tuary of Mefitis in Rossano di Vaglio (Lejeune 1990). One can thus consider that
“Mefitanian Venus” and “Mefitanian Mars” are hosts of Mefitis, in the place of wor-
ship of which she is titular. Their epiclesis indicates a certain ratio of dependence.
In the same way, several of the divinities from the sanctuary of Ceres close to Agnone,
about which further discussion follows, are described as “Cererian” for obvious
reasons (Rix 2002: 82 Sa 1). One finds in the same place of cult of Mefitis in Rossano
a “Jovian sovereign,” but she is associated with Jupiter on a monument, found in
an angle of the paved court of the sanctuary, of which the platform carrying two
profiled bases or altars has survived. The double monument constitutes a small cult
ensemble inserted in the large one, belonging to Jupiter and his paredra.
The Rossano sanctuary, attended between the fourth century bc and the first
centuryad, has been excavated since 1969, and today is one of the best-known
Italic places of cult epigraphically and archaeologically: of the 58 inscriptions found,
10 are dedications to Mefitis, sometimes with an epiclesis: Utiana, Aravina,
Kaporoinna. A certain number of other divinities are also attested, as we noticed:
Jupiter, the “Jovian sovereign,” Venus, Mars, Hercules... The sanctuary does not
include a temple (or it has not been found, which is less probable). A wall of the
temenos, endowed with a monumental entry framed by fountains, and, on the three
other sides, a portico and elongated halls surround a rectangular paved surface
crossed longitudinally by the altar (Adamesteanu and Dilthey 1992). The abundance
of the available data should not, however, seduce us into treating Rossano as a
pattern for the rest of Italy. The diversity of the sanctuaries of pre-Roman Italy does
not allow it.The Sanctuaries of Pre-Roman Italy
The archaeological study of the pre-Roman places of cult must avoid two pitfalls. The
first consists in looking too intensely for a specificity, a clearly definable “Italicity”
of the Italic places of cult. But it would also be dangerous, on the other hand, to
see the perspective from a too distant point of view by overlooking differences between
the sanctuaries of the peninsula, which are Etruscan, Roman, Samnite, Lucanian, Greek,
etc. It is necessary to be attentive to cultural and regional particularity.
The places of cult in the open air, without any actual cult edifice, were certainly
very numerous, but one should not make them into a prototype of the indigenous
sanctuary. After all, one of the main extra-urban sanctuaries of Lavinium, “metropolis
of Latins,” until its abandonment at the beginning of second century bc, neverPre-Roman Italy, Before and Under the Romans 51ACTC04 25/04/2007 09:26 AM Page 51