the golden bough-第60章

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　procession　always　ended　in　the　temple　of　Jupiter　on　the　Capitol；　it　was　peculiarly　appropriate　that　the　head　of　the　victor　should　be　graced　by　a　crown　of　oak　leaves；　for　not　only　was　every　oak　consecrated　to　Jupiter；　but　the　Capitoline　temple　of　the　god　was　said　to　have　been　built　by　Romulus　beside　a　sacred　oak；　venerated　by　shepherds；　to　which　the　king　attached　the　spoils　won　by　him　from　the　enemy's　general　in　battle。　We　are　expressly　told　that　the　oak　crown　was　sacred　to　Capitoline　Jupiter；　a　passage　of　Ovid　proves　that　it　was　regarded　as　the　god's　special　emblem。

According　to　a　tradition　which　we　have　no　reason　to　reject；　Rome　was　founded　by　settlers　from　Alba　Longa；　a　city　situated　on　the　slope　of　the　Alban　hills；　overlooking　the　lake　and　the　Campagna。　Hence　if　the　Roman　kings　claimed　to　be　representatives　or　embodiments　of　Jupiter；　the　god　of　the　sky；　of　the　thunder；　and　of　the　oak；　it　is　natural　to　suppose　that　the　kings　of　Alba；　from　whom　the　founder　of　Rome　traced　his　descent；　may　have　set　up　the　same　claim　before　them。　Now　the　Alban　dynasty　bore　the　name　of　Silvii　or　Wood；　and　it　can　hardly　be　without　significance　that　in　the　vision　of　the　historic　glories　of　Rome　revealed　to　Aeneas　in　the　underworld；　Virgil；　an　antiquary　as　well　as　a　poet；　should　represent　all　the　line　of　Silvii　as　crowned　with　oak。　A　chaplet　of　oak　leaves　would　thus　seem　to　have　been　part　of　the　insignia　of　the　old　kings　of　Alba　Longa　as　of　their　successors　the　kings　of　Rome；　in　both　cases　it　marked　the　monarch　as　the　human　representative　of　the　oak…god。　The　Roman　annals　record　that　one　of　the　kings　of　Alba；　Romulus；　Remulus；　or　Amulius　Silvius　by　name；　set　up　for　being　a　god　in　his　own　person；　the　equal　or　superior　of　Jupiter。　To　support　his　pretensions　and　overawe　his　subjects；　he　constructed　machines　whereby　he　mimicked　the　clap　of　thunder　and　the　flash　of　lightning。　Diodorus　relates　that　in　the　season　of　fruitage；　when　thunder　is　loud　and　frequent；　the　king　commanded　his　soldiers　to　drown　the　roar　of　heaven's　artillery　by　clashing　their　swords　against　their　shields。　But　he　paid　the　penalty　of　his　impiety；　for　he　perished；　he　and　his　house；　struck　by　a　thunderbolt　in　the　midst　of　a　dreadful　storm。　Swollen　by　the　rain；　the　Alban　lake　rose　in　flood　and　drowned　his　palace。　But　still；　says　an　ancient　historian；　when　the　water　is　low　and　the　surface　unruffled　by　a　breeze；　you　may　see　the　ruins　of　the　palace　at　the　bottom　of　the　clear　lake。　Taken　along　with　the　similar　story　of　Salmoneus；　king　of　Elis；　this　legend　points　to　a　real　custom　observed　by　the　early　kings　of　Greece　and　Italy；　who；　like　their　fellows　in　Africa　down　to　modern　times；　may　have　been　expected　to　produce　rain　and　thunder　for　the　good　of　the　crops。　The　priestly　king　Numa　passed　for　an　adept　in　the　art　of　drawing　down　lightning　from　the　sky。　Mock　thunder；　we　know；　has　been　made　by　various　peoples　as　a　rain…charm　in　modern　times；　why　should　it　not　have　been　made　by　kings　in　antiquity？

Thus；　if　the　kings　of　Alba　and　Rome　imitated　Jupiter　as　god　of　the　oak　by　wearing　a　crown　of　oak　leaves；　they　seem　also　to　have　copied　him　in　his　character　of　a　weather…god　by　pretending　to　make　thunder　and　lightning。　And　if　they　did　so；　it　is　probable　that；　like　Jupiter　in　heaven　and　many　kings　on　earth；　they　also　acted　as　public　rain…makers；　wringing　showers　from　the　dark　sky　by　their　enchantments　whenever　the　parched　earth　cried　out　for　the　refreshing　moisture。　At　Rome　the　sluices　of　heaven　were　opened　by　means　of　a　sacred　stone；　and　the　ceremony　appears　to　have　formed　part　of　the　ritual　of　Jupiter　Elicius；　the　god　who　elicits　from　the　clouds　the　flashing　lightning　and　the　dripping　rain。　And　who　so　well　fitted　to　perform　the　ceremony　as　the　king；　the　living　representative　of　the　sky…god？

If　the　kings　of　Rome　aped　Capitoline　Jove；　their　predecessors　the　kings　of　Alba　probably　laid　themselves　out　to　mimic　the　great　Latian　Jupiter；　who　had　his　seat　above　the　city　on　the　summit　of　the　Alban　Mountain。　Latinus；　the　legendary　ancestor　of　the　dynasty；　was　said　to　have　been　changed　into　Latian　Jupiter　after　vanishing　from　the　world　in　the　mysterious　fashion　characteristic　of　the　old　Latin　kings。　The　sanctuary　of　the　god　on　the　top　of　the　mountain　was　the　religious　centre　of　the　Latin　League；　as　Alba　was　its　political　capital　till　Rome　wrested　the　supremacy　from　its　ancient　rival。　Apparently　no　temple；　in　our　sense　of　the　word；　was　ever　erected　to　Jupiter　on　this　his　holy　mountain；　as　god　of　the　sky　and　thunder　he　appropriately　received　the　homage　of　his　worshippers　in　the　open　air。　The　massive　wall；　of　which　some　remains　still　enclose　the　old　garden　of　the　Passionist　monastery；　seems　to　have　been　part　of　the　sacred　precinct　which　Tarquin　the　Proud；　the　last　king　of　Rome；　marked　out　for　the　solemn　annual　assembly　of　the　Latin　League。　The　god's　oldest　sanctuary　on　this　airy　mountain…top　was　a　grove；　and　bearing　in　mind　not　merely　the　special　consecration　of　the　oak　to　Jupiter；　but　also　the　traditional　oak　crown　of　the　Alban　kings　and　the　analogy　of　the　Capitoline　Jupiter　at　Rome；　we　may　suppose　that　the　trees　in　the　grove　were　oaks。　We　know　that　in　antiquity　Mount　Algidus；　an　outlying　group　of　the　Alban　hills；　was　covered　with　dark　forests　of　oak；　and　among　the　tribes　who　belonged　to　the　Latin　League　in　the　earliest　days；　and　were　entitled　to　share　the　flesh　of　the　white　bull　sacrificed　on　the　Alban　Mount；　there　was　one　whose　members　styled　themselves　the　Men　of　the　Oak；　doubtless　on　account　of　the　woods　among　which　they　dwelt。

But　we　should　err　if　we　pictured　to　ourselves　the　country　as　covered　in　historical　times　with　an　unbroken　forest　of　oaks。　Theophrastus　has　left　us　a　description　of　the　woods　of　Latium　as　they　were　in　the　fourth　century　before　Christ。　He　says：　The　land　of　the　Latins　is　all　moist。　The　plains　produce　laurels；　myrtles；　and　wonderful　beeches；　for　they　fell　trees　of　such　a　size　that　a　single　stem　suffices　for　the　keel　of　a　Tyrrhenian　ship。　Pines　and　firs　grow　in　the　mountains。　What　they　call　the　land　of　Circe　is　a　lofty　headland　thickly　wooded　with　oak；　myrtle；　and　luxuriant　laurels。　The　natives　say　that　Circe　dwelt　there；　and　they　show　the　grave　of　Elpenor；　from　which　grow　myrtles　such　as　wreaths　are　made　of；　whereas　the　other　myrtle…trees　are　tall。　Thus　the　prospect　from　the　top　of　the　Alban　Mount　in　the　early　days　of　Rome　must　have　been　very　different　in　some　respects　from　what　it　is　to…day。　The　purple　Apennines；　indeed；　in　their　eternal　calm　on　the　one　hand；　and　the　shining　Mediterranean　in　its　eternal　unrest　on　the　other；　no　doubt　looked　then　much　as　they　look　now；　whether　bathed　in　sunshine；　or　chequered　by　the　fleeting　shadows　of　clouds；　but　instead　of　the　desolate　brown　expanse　of　the　fever…stricken　Campagna；　spanned　by　its　long　lines　of　ruined　aqueducts；　like　the　broken　arches　of　the　bridge　in　the　vision　of　Mirza；　the　eye　must　have　ranged　over　woodlands　that　stretched　away；　mile　after　mile；　on　all　sides；　till　their　varied　hues　of　green　or　autumnal　scarlet　and　gold　melted　insensibly　into　the　blue　of　the　distant　mountains　and　sea。

But　Jupiter　did　not　reign　alone　on　the　top　of　his　holy　mountain。　He　had　his　consort　with　him；　the　goddess　Juno；　who　was　worshipped　here　under　the　same　title；　Moneta；　as　on　the　Capitol　at　Rome。　As　the　oak　crown　was　sacred　to　Jupiter　and　Juno　on　the　Capitol；　so　we　may　suppose　it　was　on　the　Alban　Mount；　from　which　the　Capitoline　worship　was　derived。　Thus　the　oak…god　would　have　his　oak…goddess　in　the　sacred　oak　grove。　So　at　Dodona　the　oak…god　Zeus　was　coupled　with　Dione；　whose　very　name　is　only　a　dialectically　different　form　of　Juno；　and　so　on　the　top　of　Mount　Cithaeron；　as　we　have　seen；　he　appears　to　have　been　periodically　wedded　to　an　oaken　image　of　Hera。　It　is　probable；　though　it　cannot　be　positively　proved；　that　the　sacred　marriage　of　Jupiter　and　Juno　was　annually　celebrated　by　all　the　peoples　of　the　Latin　stock　in　the　month　which　they　named　after　the　goddess；　the　midsummer　month　of　June。

If　at　any　time　of　the　year　the　Romans　celebrated　the　sacred　marriage　of　Jupiter　and　Juno；　as　the　Greeks　commonly　celebrated　the　corresponding　marriage　of　Zeus　and　Hera；　we　may　suppose　that　under　the　Republic　the　ceremony　was　either　performed　over　images　of　the　divine