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Silvanus (; meaning "of the woods" in Latin) was a Roman tutelary deity of woods and fields. As protector of forests (''sylvestris deus''), he especially presided over plantations and delighted in trees growing wild.〔Tibullus II.5.27, 30.〕〔Lucan. ''Pharsalia'' III.402.〕〔Pliny the Elder. ''Naturalis historia'' XII.2.〕〔Ovid. ''Metamorphoses'' I.193.〕 He is also described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, protecting in particular the boundaries of fields.〔Horace. ''Epodes'' II.21-22.〕 The similarly named Etruscan deity Selvans may be a borrowing of Silvanus,〔Robert Schilling, "Silvanus," in ''Roman and European Mythologies'' (University of Chicago Press, 1992, from the French edition of 1981), p. 146 (online ), concurring with Dumézil, ''Archaic Roman Religion'', p. 616.〕 or not even related in origin.〔Peter F. Dorcey, ''The Cult of Silvanus: A Study in Roman Folk Religion'' (Brill, 1992), pp. 10–12 (online ), noting earlier efforts to press an Etruscan etymology on Silvanus.〕 Silvanus is described as the divinity protecting the flocks of cattle, warding off wolves, and promoting their fertility.〔〔Virgil. ''Aeneid'' VIII.600-1.〕〔Cato the Elder. ''De Re Rustica'' 83〕〔Nonnus II.324.〕 Dolabella, a rural engineer of whom only a few pages are known, states that Silvanus was the first to set up stones to mark the limits of fields, and that every estate had three ''Silvani:''〔Dolabella. ''ex libris Dolabellae,'' in "Die Schriften der rômischen Feldmesser", edited by Karl Lachmann, Georg Reimer ed., Berlin, 1848, p302〕 * a ''Silvanus domesticus'' (in inscriptions called ''Silvanus Larum'' and ''Silvanus sanctus sacer Larum'') * a ''Silvanus agrestis'' (also called ''salutaris''), who was worshipped by shepherds, and * a ''Silvanus orientalis'', that is, the god presiding over the point at which an estate begins. Hence ''Silvani'' were often referred to in the plural. ==Attributes and associations== Like other gods of woods and flocks, Silvanus is described as fond of music; the syrinx was sacred to him,〔 and he is mentioned along with the Pans and Nymphs.〔〔 Later speculators even identified Silvanus with Pan, Faunus, Inuus and Aegipan.〔Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives.'' Min. 22.〕 He must have been associated with the Italian Mars, for Cato refers to him as ''Mars Silvanus''.〔 In the provinces outside of Italy, Silvanus was identified with numerous native gods:〔Peter F. Dorcey (1992). ''The Cult of Silvanus: A Study in Roman Folk Religion,'' p.32. ISBN 978-90-04-09601-1.〕 : *Sucellos, Poeninus, Sinquas and Tettus in Gaul and Germany : *Callirius, Cocidius and Vinotonus in Britain. A Romano-Celtic Temple containing several plaques dedicated to ''Silvanus Callirius'' has been found at Camulodunum (modern Colchester).〔Crummy, Philip (1997) City of Victory; the story of Colchester - Britain's first Roman town. Published by Colchester Archaeological Trust (ISBN 1 897719 04 3)〕 : *Calaedicus in Spain : *the Mogiae in Pannonia : *Selvans in Etruria (though the validity of this identification has been contested)〔 The Slavic god Porewit has similarities with Silvanus. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Silvanus (mythology)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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