View source for Faunus

{{Short description|Roman deity of the countryside}}
{{About|the Ancient Roman god|the community in the United States|Faunus, Michigan|the gastropod of [[Pachychilidae]] family|Faunus ater}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Roman
| name = Faunus
| deity_of = God of the forest, plains, and fields
| member_of = the [[Di indigetes]]
| image = Nordkirchen 2010-100307-10841-Burgallee-Faunus.jpg
| alt = <!-- for alternate text of the title image per [[WP:ALT]] -->
| caption = Statue of Faunus at [[Schloss Nordkirchen]]
| other_names = [[Inuus]]
| cult_center = a shrine on the [[Tiber Island|Insula Tiberina]]
| consort = [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]], [[Marica (mythology)|Marica]], [[Fauna (mythology)|Fauna]]
| parents = [[Picus]] and [[Canens (mythology)|Canens]]
| siblings = 
| offspring = [[Latinus]]
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| mount = 
| gender = male
| Greek_equivalent = [[Pan (god)|Pan]]
| festivals = Faunalia (13 February and 5 December)
}}
[[File:6329 - Naples - Pan and Daphne.jpg|thumb|200px|Faunus and [[Daphnis]] practising the [[Pan flute]] (Roman copy of Greek original).]]
In [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religion]] and [[Roman mythology|myth]], '''Faunus''' {{IPA|la|ˈfau̯nʊs|}} was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile, he was called [[Inuus]]. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god [[Pan (god)|Pan]], after which Romans depicted him as a [[horned deity|horned god]].

Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as the ''[[di indigetes]]''. According to the epic poet [[Virgil]], he was a legendary king of the Latins. His shade was consulted as a goddess of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles<ref>For descriptions of Faunus as an oracular deity, see:<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Virgil]] |title=[[Aeneid]] |at=vii.81}}<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Ovid]] |title=[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]] |at=iv.649}}<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Cicero]] |title=[[De Natura Deorum]] |at=ii.6, iii.15}}<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Cicero]] |title=[[De Divinatione]] |at=i.101}}<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] |title={{math|Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἀρχαιολογία}} |lang=el |trans-title=Roman Antiquities |at=v.16}}<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Plutarch]] |title=Numa Pompilius |at=xv.3}}<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Lactantius]] |title=Institutiones |at=i.22.9}}<br/> {{cite book |author=[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] |title=On the Aeneid |at=viii.314}}</ref> in the [[sacred grove]] of [[Tibur]], around the well [[Albunea]], and on the [[Aventine Hill]] in [[ancient Rome]] itself.<ref name="Peck-1898">Peck, Harry (1897). “Faunalia Faustina.” ''Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities.'' Harper & Brothers Publishers. 662-663.</ref>{{full citation|date=October 2022|reason=no such article in bibliography}}

[[Marcus Terentius Varro]] asserted that the oracular responses were given in [[Saturnian (poetry)|Saturnian verse]].<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Varro]] |title=[[De Lingua Latina]] |at=vii. 36}}</ref> Faunus revealed the future in dreams and voices that were [[Incubation (ritual)|communicated to those who came to sleep]] in his precincts, lying on the fleeces of sacrificed lambs. [[William Warde Fowler|Fowler]] (1899) suggested that ''Faunus'' is identical with [[Zephyrus|''Favonius'']],<ref>{{cite book |author=Fowler, W.W. |author-link=William Warde Fowler |year=1899 |title=The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic: An introduction to the study of the religion of the Romans |publisher=Macmillan and Co. |place=London, UK |page=[https://archive.org/details/romanfestivalsof00fowluoft/page/259 259] |url=https://archive.org/details/romanfestivalsof00fowluoft |access-date=2007-06-07 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=April 2020}} one of the Roman [[wind gods]] (compare the [[Anemoi]]).

==Etymology==
The name ''Faunus'' is generally thought to stem from [[Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]] *''fawe'' or ''*fawono'' (variant *''fawōn(jo)''), thus being [[cognate]] with [[Umbrian language|Umbrian]] ''fons'', ''foner'' ('merciful'). It may ultimately derive from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) ''*bʰh₂u-n'' ('favourable'), which also reflects [[Old Irish]] ''búan'' ('good, favourable, firm') and [[Middle Welsh]] ''bun'' ('maiden, sweetheart').{{Sfn|de Vaan|2008|p=|pp=205–206}}<ref name=NečasHraste-Vuković-2011>{{cite journal |last1=Nečas Hraste |first1=Daniel |last2=Vuković |first2=Krešimir |year=2011 |title=Rudra-Shiva and Silvanus-Faunus: Savage and propitious |journal=Journal of Indo-European Studies |volume=39 |issue=1–2 |pages=100–115 |issn=0092-2323}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= 102}}

Another theory contends that Faunus is the Latin outcome of PIE *''dhau-no-'' ('the strangler', thus denoting the 'wolf'), a proposition suggested by the fact that the two [[Lupercalia|Luperci]] ("wolf-men", from Latin ''lupus'', 'wolf') are commonly treated as temporary priests of the god Faunus.{{Sfn|Briquel|1974|p=31}}{{Sfn|Sergent|1991|p=18|ps=: "...&nbsp;le terme le plus proche est latin Faunus, qui, lié aux Luperci, doit être le loup"}} If so, his name would be cognate with the Greek ''θαῦνον'' (a less common synonym of ''θηρίον'', 'wild animal').<ref>{{cite web | title=Ancient Greek (LSJ) | website=LSJ (Liddell, Scott, Jones Ancient Greek Lexicon) | date=2023-08-25 | url=https://lsj.gr/wiki/%CE%B8%CE%B1%E1%BF%A6%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%BD | access-date=2025-08-26}}</ref>

== Origin ==
Faunus may be of [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Indo-European]] origin and related to the Vedic god [[Rudra]].<ref name=NečasHraste-Vuković-2011/> It is believed that he was worshipped by traditional Roman farmers before becoming a nature deity.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Faunus (ancient Italian god) |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |lang=en |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Faunus |access-date=2020-10-23}}</ref>

==Consorts and family==
[[File:Faunus Faunus (titel op object) Liber Chronicarum (serietitel), RP-P-2016-49-15-8.jpg|thumb|Faunus depicted as King of Latium ([[Nuremberg Chronicle]], 1493)]]
[[File:FaunusStatue.JPG|alt=|thumb|266x266px|Image of Faunus taken at the Fountain of Neptune in Florence, Italy. Sculpture by Bartolomeo Ammanati.]]
In fable Faunus appears as an old king of [[Latium]], grandson of [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturnus]], son of [[Picus]], and father of [[Latinus]] by the nymph [[Marica (mythology)|Marica]] (who was also sometimes Faunus' mother). After his death he is raised to the position of a tutelary deity of the land, for his many services to agriculture and cattle-breeding.

A goddess of like attributes, called '''[[Fauna (goddess)|Fauna]]''' and '''Fatua''', was associated in his worship. She was regarded as his sister and wife.<ref name=Peck-1898/> The female deity [[Bona Dea]] was often equated with Fauna.

As Pan was accompanied by the ''Paniskoi'', or little Pans, so the existence of many [[Faun]]i was assumed besides the chief Faunus.<ref name=Peck-1898/> [[Faun]]s are place-spirits (''genii'') of untamed woodland. Educated, Hellenizing Romans connected their fauns with the Greek [[satyr]]s, who were wild and orgiastic drunken followers of [[Dionysus]], with a distinct origin.


== Conflation with Greek Pan ==
Faunus was naturally conflated with the [[Pan (god)|Greek god Pan]], who was a pastoral god of shepherds who was said to reside in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]]. 
With the increasing influence of Greek mythology on Roman mythology in the 3rd and 2nd&nbsp;centuries&nbsp;{{sc|BCE}}, the Romans identified their own deities with Greek ones in what was called ''[[interpretatio Romana]]''.
However, the two deities were also considered separate by many; for instance, the epic poet [[Virgil]], in his ''[[Aeneid]]'', independently mentioned both Faunus and Pan.

Pan had always been [[horned deity|depicted with horns]] whereas the original Roman Faunus was not. An indication of the cultural conflation of the two can be seen in many Roman depictions of Faunus that also began to display Faunus with horns.

==Festivals==
In [[Justin (historian)|Justin]]'s epitome, Faunus is identified with ''Lupercus'' ("he who wards off the wolf"), otherwise a priest of Faunus. [[Livy]] named Inuus as the god originally worshiped at the [[Lupercalia]], 15&nbsp;February, when his priests (''Luperci'') wore goat-skins and hit passers-by with goatskin whips.

Two festivals, called '''Faunalia''', were celebrated in his honour—one on 13&nbsp;February, in the temple of Faunus on the [[Tiber Island|island in the Tiber]], the other on 5&nbsp;December, when the peasants brought him rustic offerings and amused themselves with dancing.<ref name=Peck-1898/>

[[File:Joseph Haydn - Armida - Esterhaza 1784 - Costume Faunus.png|thumb|left|Sketch of a Faunus costume for the [[Joseph Haydn]] opera ''[[Armida (Haydn)|Armida]]'']]
A [[euhemerism|euhemeristic]] account made Faunus a [[Latium|Latin]] king, son of [[Picus]] and [[Canens (mythology)|Canens]]. He was then revered as the god [[Fatuus]] after his death, worshipped in a sacred forest outside what is now [[Tivoli, Italy|Tivoli]], but had been known since Etruscan times as Tibur, the seat of the [[Tiburtine Sibyl]]. His [[Numen|numinous presence]] was recognized by wolf skins, with wreaths and goblets.

In [[Nonnus|Nonnos]]' ''[[Dionysiaca]]'', Faunus/Phaunos accompanied Dionysus when the god campaigned in India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PHAUNUS (Phaunos) - Greek God of Forests (Roman Faunus) |url=https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Phaunos.html |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref>

==Later worship==
Faunus was worshipped across the [[Roman Empire]] for many centuries. An example of this was a set of thirty-two 4th&nbsp;century spoons found near [[Thetford]] in England in 1979. They had been engraved with the name "Faunus", and each had a different epithet after the god's name. The spoons also bore Christian symbols, and it has been suggested that these were initially Christian but later taken and devoted to Faunus by pagans. The 4th&nbsp;century was a time of large scale [[Christianisation]], and the discovery provides evidence that even during the decline of [[Religion in ancient Rome|traditional Roman religion]], the god Faunus was still worshipped.<ref name=Hutton-1991>{{cite book |author-link=Ronald Hutton |author=Hutton, R. |year=1991 |title=The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=0-631-17288-2 |pages=260–261}}</ref><ref name=Watts-1988-03>{{cite journal |author=Watts, Dorothy J. |date=March 1988 |title=The Thetford treasure: A reappraisal |journal=Antiquaries Journal |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=55–68 |doi=10.1017/S0003581500022484 |s2cid=163068059 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquaries-journal/article/abs/thetford-treasure-a-reappraisal1/A41EB54BF141FD25C91A3D65D4A33F6F |access-date=2022-10-21 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

In [[Gaul]], Faunus was identified with the Celtic [[Dusios]].<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Papias (lexicographer)|Papias]] |title=Elementarium |quote=''Dusios nominant quos romani Faunos ficarios vocant''.}}
:as quoted by <br/>
{{cite book |author-link=Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange |last=du Cange |first=Charles |year=1678 |title=Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis |place=Niort, FR |publisher=Favre |publication-date=1883–1887 |volume=3 |section-url=http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/DUSII |section=online}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Katherine Nell |last=MacFarlane |year=1980 |title=Isidore of Seville on the pagan gods (''Origines'' VIII. 11) |journal=[[Transactions of the American Philosophical Society]] |volume=70 |issue=3 |pages=36–37|doi=10.2307/1006189 |jstor=1006189 }}</ref>

{{clear}}
==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|25em|small=yes}}

*{{Cite journal
 |last=Briquel |first=Dominique
 |date=1974
 |title=Le problème des Dauniens
 |journal=Mélanges de l'école française de Rome
 |volume=86 |issue=1 |pages=7–40
 |doi=10.3406/mefr.1974.962
 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/mefr_0223-5102_1974_num_86_1_962
}}

*{{Cite book
 |last=de Vaan |first=Michiel |author-link=Michiel de Vaan
 |date=2008
 |title=Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages
 |publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004167971 |lang=en
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecZ1DwAAQBAJ
}}

* {{cite book
 |editor1=Hammond, N.G.L. 
 |editor2=Scullard, H.H. 
 |year=1970
 |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary
 |place=Oxford, UK
 |publisher=Oxford University Press
 |isbn=0-19-869117-3
}}

* {{cite journal
 |last1=Nečas Hraste |first1=D. 
 |last2=Vuković |first2=K.
 |year=2011
 |title=Rudra-Shiva and Silvanus-Faunus: Savage and Propitious
 |journal=The Journal of Indo-European Studies
 |volume=39 |issue=1&2 |pages=100–115
 |issn=0092-2323
}}

*{{cite journal
 |last=Sergent |first=Bernard
 |date=1991
 |title=Ethnozoonymes indo-européens
 |journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne
 |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=9–55
 |doi=10.3406/dha.1991.1932
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}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last=Noonan |first=J. D. |title=Daunus/Faunus in 'Aeneid' 12 |journal=Classical Antiquity |volume=12 |issue=1 |date=1993 |pages=111–125 |doi=10.2307/25010986|jstor=25010986 }} Accessed 3 Jan. 2023.

{{Roman religion}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Roman gods]]
[[Category:Horned gods]]
[[Category:Agricultural gods]]
[[Category:Animal gods]]
[[Category:Nature gods]]
[[Category:Oracular gods]]
[[Category:Mythological kings]]
[[Category:Pan (god)]]
[[Category:Fauns]]