Tellus

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Tellus o Terra (‘tierra’ en latín) era una diosa que personificaba la Tierra en la mitología romana. A veces era llamada Tellus Mater o Tellus Mater, siendo Mater un título honorífico aplicado también a otras diosas. Su equivalente en la mitología griega era Gea, y como tal se decía que era la madre de Fama, la diosa de los rumores y la fama.

[editar] Culto

Los romanos apelaban a ella por los terremotos y, junto con la diosa del grano Ceres, era responsable de la productividad de las tierras de cultivo. También estaba asociada con el matrimonio, la maternidad y los embarazos, tanto humanos como animales.

Un festival dedicado a Tellus llamado la Fordicia u Hordicidia se celebraba el 15 de abril de cada año. Incluía el sacrificio de vacas preñadas a cargo del Pontifex Maximus y las vírgenes vestales. Las vestales guardaban las cenizas de los terneros nonatos hasta que se usaban para purificar en la Parilia. En enero se llevaban a cabo dos festivales para señalar el final de la temporada de siembra invernal, las Sementivae, celebradas en la ciudad, y las Paganalia, principalmente en zonas rurales. La primera parte de las Sementivae se celebraba del 24 al 26 de enero en honor a Tellus y la segunda una semana después en honor a Ceres.

[editar] Etimología

Algunos lingüistas estudiosos de las lenguas indoeuropeas creen que la dos palabras, Terra y Tellus derivan de la frase hecha tersa tellus, ‘tierra seca’. Si esto fuera cierto, Tellus podría ser la versión más antigua del nombre. Según el Oxford Classical Dictionary, Terra alude al elemento tierra (uno de los cuatro elementos clásicos, junto con el aire, el agua y el fuego) y Tellus a la deidad guardiana de la Tierra y por extensión a la esfera sobre la que vive, el propio globo^[1]. El uso real del latín clásico no parece respetar necesariamente esta distinción^[2].

[editar] Tellus en la ciencia ficción

La mayoría de los autores de ciencia ficción han usado el término «Terra» para aludir a la Tierra. Sin embargo, E. E. Smith usó el término «Tellus» en su space opera la serie Lensman.

[editar] Fuentes

1. ↑ Hornblower, Simon y Spawforth, Antony, ed. The Oxford Classical Dictionary Tercera Edición. Oxford University Press, Oxford/Nueva York, 1996. «Tellus», pág. 1480
2. ↑ Ovidio, Fastos, líneas 1 y sig., 67 y sig., 105 y sig., 469 y sig., etcétera

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TELLUS, another form for terra, the name under which the earth was personified among the Romans, as Ge was among the Greeks. She is often mentioned in contrast with Jupiter, the god of heaven, and connected with Dis and the Manes. When an oath was taken by Tellus, or the gods of the nether world, people stretched their hands downward, just as they turned them upwards in swearing by Jupiter. (Varro, de Re Rust. i. 1, 15 ; Macrob. Sat. iii. 9 ; Liv. viii. 9, x. 29.) During the war against the Picentians, an earthquake having been felt during the battle, the consul P. Sempronius Sophus caused a temple of Tellus to be built on the spot where the house of Spurius Cas-sius had stood, in the street leading to the Carinae. (Liv. ii. 41 ; Flor. i. 19. §2 ; Val. Max. vi. 3. § 1 ; Dionys. viii. 79 ; Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 6, 14.) A festival was celebrated in honour of Tellus on the loth of April, which was called Fordicidia or llor-dicalia, from hordus orfordus, a bearing cow. (Ov. Fast. iv. 633 ; Arnob. vii. 22 ; Horat. Epitf. ii. 1, 143.) In private life sacrifices were offered to Tellus at the time of sowing and at harvest-time, especially when a member of the family had died without due honours having been paid to him, for it was Tellus that had to receive the departed into her bosom. (Ov. Fast. iv. 629, &c.) At the fes­ tival of Tellus, and when sacrifices were offered to her, the priests also prayed to a male divinity of the earth, called Tellumo. (Varro, ap. August, de Civ. Dei, vii. 23.) [L. S.]

Tellus. The Italian deity of mother-earth, often called tellus mater. She was invoked during earthquakes (her temple in Rome having been dedicated in 268 b.c. in consequence of an earthquake in the time of war). She was also invoked in solemn oaths as the common grave of all things, toge­ther with the Manes and with Jupiter, the god of heaven. Like the Greek Demeter, she was also the goddess of marriage, but was most revered in conjunction with CSres as goddess of fraitfulness. Thus in her honour were held the festival of the sowing (fence sementlvce), celebrated in January at the end of the winter seed time, fixed by the pontifex to be held on two consecutive market days. The pagdntHia were celebrated at the same time in the country, when a pregnant sow was sacrificed to Tellus and Ceres. Besides these, there was the feast of fordicldla or hordiclcKa, at which cows in calf (fordce) were sacri­ficed to her. This was held on the 15th of April to insure plenty during the year, and was celebrated under the management of the pontiflces and the Vestal Virgins, partly on the Capitol in the thirty curice, and partly outside the town. The ashes of the unborn calves were kept by the Vestal Virgins till the feast of the Pdrilia (see pales), when they were used for the pur­pose of purification. Besides the female deity, a god TellumS was also worshipped.

[editar] Bibliografía

• Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Boston, Little, Brown & Company, 1870 (iii.993-994).
• Seyffert, Oskar. Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, 1894 (págs. 615-616)

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