View source for Ops

{{short description|Ancient Roman goddess of fertility and the earth}}
{{for multi|other mythological figures|Ops (Greek mythology)|the suffix used in taxonomy|-ops}}
{{other uses|Ops (disambiguation)|OPS (disambiguation)}}
{{refimprove|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox deity
| type        = Roman
| name        = Ops
| other_names = {{lang|la|Opis}} ("Plenty")
| image       = Livia statue.jpg
| caption     = [[Livia]] attired as the goddess Ops
| god_of      = Goddess of [[earth]] and [[fertility]]
| abode       =[[Chthonic]]
| symbol      = Lions, tambourine, crown, grains, cornucopia
| consort     = [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]
| parents     =  [[Caelus]], [[Terra (mythology)|Terra]]
| siblings    = [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]], [[Janus]]
| children    = [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]], [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], [[Ceres (Roman mythology)|Ceres]] and [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]]
| mount       =
| Greek_equivalent = [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]
| festivals   = [[Opiconsivia]]
| gender       = female
}}
In [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religion]], '''Ops''' or  '''''Opis''''' ([[Latin]]: "Plenty") was a [[fertility deity]] and [[earth goddess]] of [[Sabine]] origin. Her equivalent in [[Greek mythology]] was [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]].

==Iconography==
In Ops's statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as [[chthonic|Chthonian]] deities normally are, and generally holds a [[scepter]], or a [[wheat|corn spray]] and [[cornucopia]]. In Roman mythology the husband of Ops was [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]].<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Saturn (god) |display=Saturn |volume=24 |page=231 |first=James George |last=Frazer}}</ref> Ops is identified as [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]] in Greek mythology, whose husband was [[Cronus]], the bountiful monarch of the [[golden age]]; Cronus was Rhea's brother.

==Name==
In Latin writings of the time, the singular [[nominative case|nominative]] (''Ops'') is not attested; only the form ''Opis'' is used by classical authors. According to [[Festus (historian)|Festus]] (203:19), "''Ops is said to be the consort of Saturn by whom they wanted to signify the [[earth]], because the earth distributes all wealth to the human genus.''" (''{{lang|la|Opis dicta est coniux Saturni per quam uolerunt terram significare, quia omnes opes humano generi terra tribuit}}'').

The Latin word ''ops'' means "riches, goods, abundance, gifts, munificence, plenty".<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dops1 |dictionary=A Latin Dictionary |article=ops |author1=Lewis, Charlton T. |author2=Short, Charles |publisher=perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=17 February 2016}}</ref> The word is also related to ''opus'', which means "work", particularly in the sense of "working the earth, ploughing, sowing". This activity was deemed sacred, and was often attended by religious rites intended to obtain the good will of [[chthonic]] deities such as Ops and [[Consus]]. ''Ops'' is also related to the [[Sanskrit]] word ''ápnas'' ("goods, property").

==Worship==
According to Roman tradition, the cult of Opis was instituted by [[Titus Tatius]], one of the Sabine [[kings of Rome]]. Opis soon became the matron of riches, abundance, and prosperity. Opis had a famous temple in the [[Capitoline Triad|Capitolium]]. Originally, a festival took place in Opis's honor on August&nbsp;10. Additionally, on December&nbsp;19<ref name="EB1911" /> (some say December&nbsp;9), the [[Opiconsivia|Opalia]] was celebrated. On August&nbsp;25, the [[Opiconsivia]] was held. Opiconsivia was another name used for Opis, indicating when the earth was sown. These festivals also included activities that were called [[Consualia]], in honor of Consus, her [[king consort|consort]].

==Mythology and literature==
She is remembered in ''[[De Mulieribus Claris]]'', a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the [[Florence|Florentine]] author [[Giovanni Boccaccio]], composed in 1361–1362. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature.<ref name="Brown_xi">{{cite book |last=Boccaccio |first=Giovanni |author-link=Giovanni Boccaccio |orig-year=1362 |year=2003 |translator=Brown, Virginia |title=Famous Women |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |series=I Tatti Renaissance Library |volume=1 |isbn=0-674-01130-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3Nj04ULC0s8C&pg=PR11 xi]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Primary sources===
*Boccaccio, Giovanni. (1362) [[De Mulieribus Claris|''De mulieribus claris'']].
*Livy ''Ab urbe condita libri''  XXIX.10.4–11.8, 14.5–14
*Lactantius, ''Divinae institutions'' I.13.2–4, 14.2–5

===Secondary sources===
*Virginia Brown's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio's ''Famous Women'', pp.&nbsp;12–13; Harvard University Press 2001; {{ISBN|0-674-01130-9}}

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline}}
{{Commonscat|Ops}}

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

[[Category:Earth goddesses]]
[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Rhea (mythology)]]
[[Category:Food goddesses]]