Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/176

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162 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY Summanus also, the god of the thunderstorms which come up in the night sub mane (' towards morning '), was but a secondary form of Juppiter. It is still doubtful whether the old epithet Lucetius (' light-bringer ') did, as is usually assumed, characterize Juppiter as the god of the light of the sky, or whether this name, too, should be referred to the light of the thunderbolt, the lightning. 209. The mighty god of the thunderstorm, under the name of Juppiter Stator, became a helper in battle, and under the epithet Victor was considered the bestower of victory. Victorious generals offered to Juppiter Feretrius as a gift the spolia opima, i.e. the armor of the opposing commander whom they had slain with their own hands. His servants were the Fetiales, who with solemn cere- monies demanded satisfaction for injuries, declared wars, and concluded treaties ; for his lightning-flash punished the perjured one who violated a treaty. For this rea- son Juppiter was invoked as the god of oaths of other kinds ; Dius Fidius, the god of fidelity, was regarded as the Genius of Juppiter, and the sanctuary of Fides (i.e. ' fidelity ' conceived of as a goddess) from the earliest times stood close beside his temple on the Capitoline. In this temple, moreover, was the sacred boundary stone, the emblem of Terminus, in order that Juppiter might be recognized as the protector of boundaries and property. One of the oldest sanctuaries where the worship of Jup- piter was carried on was a sacred grove on the summit of the Mdns Albanus, where formerly the Latin communities had united themselves under the leadership of Alba Longa for the worship of Juppiter Latiaris, the protector of La- tium. The younger Tarquinius, who built the temple on