Happy Fornacalia !

[LONGINUS]

I’ve no coins of Fornax but I do have one featuring a similar deity.

Feel free to post your hearth-warming coins or anything you like.

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by LONGINUS
Caption correction

[Prieure de Sion]

Bread Festival?

 

The first thing we need is grain for the bread. Like on this province bronze of the Tranquillina.

 

 

 

And then of course Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility, must not be missing. The attributes of Ceres were fruit, torch, snake, ear wreath or ear sheaf and ant. The poppy and the pig were also sacred to her. Ceres is described as having wheat-blond hair, often worn long, but also plaited into plaits. Sometimes she carries a cornucopia. The name Ceres is associated with Latin verbs such as crescere - to grow and creare - to create, to bring forth, to beget/birth, to choose. Here a denarius of the Roman Republic of Gaius Memmius with Ceres on the reverse.

 

 

 

And then we need Annona. Annona represented the Roman personification of the blessing-giving annual yield of food - first and foremost of grain. The name derives from the Latin annus (year) and thus means the annual yield not only directly from crops (grain), but also from refined products (e.g. wine) or animal products (such as milk). Furthermore, annona also included the delivery of grain by sea (especially to Rome, but also to other cities) and, in the sense of a developed economy, the fair market price. Like on this sestertius of Antoninus Pius.

 

 

 

And finally, both together on a Nero bronze: Ceres and Annona.

 

 

[Roman Collector]

Here's a pair of Annona and Ceres coins in honor of the day!

[LONGINUS]

I used to love this commercial 😊

 

 

[Edessa]

Not to be outdone by mere Romans, the citizens of New Orleans have been worshiping their King Cakes since January 6. The festival ends on the appropriately named "Fat Tuesday", February 21.

Why eat this for only a day, when you can celebrate for six weeks, hmmm?

 

[Al Kowsky]

2 hours ago, LONGINUS said:

I’ve no coins of Fornax but I do have one featuring a similar deity.

Feel free to post your hearth-warming coins or anything you like.

 

D. Ray, Nice score 😊! The Romans had a god or goddess for everything 🤣. Only whole-grain breads back then, no white flour or Wonder Bread in the Roman diet 😜.

[ominus1]

3 hours ago, LONGINUS said:

I used to love this commercial 😊

 

 

...man, i'd forgotten about Roman Meal bread....thanks D. Ray. for the trip back to my youth and Happy Bread Day!.....:D  i offer up Annona and her modius of cereals (not to mention a poppy for flavor) for the celebration 🙂

[arizonarobin]

I can add some more grain! As a celiac, I will refrain from celebrating with a loaf of bread today 😄

 

[Severus Alexander]

This coin was issued to mark the passage of the Marius/Saturninus law subsidizing grain for the people of Rome.  AD FRVmentum EMVndum = "for buying grain":

And here is Triptolemos spreading grain from his serpent biga. You can see the grains in the fold of his cloak and coming from his hand at the top:

[Severus Alexander]

Frankly, I was expecting "Fornacalia" to be something rather different, though...

[Ursus]

Baking bread is a hobby of mine – so this is a holiday that I can very much appreciate!

Roman Republic, moneyer: C. Marius C. f. Capito, AR denarius serratus, 81 BC, Rome mint. Obv: CAPIT; head of Ceres, diademed, r., control number CV; control mark (whip?) before. Rev: C. MARI. C. F. / S. C; ploughman with two oxen l.; above, control number CV. 18mm, 3.88g. Ref: RRC 378/1c.

Julia Domna, Roman Empire, AR denarius, 196–211 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA; bust of Julia Domna, draped, r. Rev: CERERI FRVGIF; Ceres, draped, seated l., holding corn-ears in her r. hand and torch in l. hand. 19mm, 3.65g. RIC IV Septimius Severus 546.

[Etcherdude]

21 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

Frankly, I was expecting "Fornacalia" to be something rather different, though...

Forni are ovens, their openings are arched like the arcades where the naughty deed might be done. I think that’s the basic idea.

[Severus Alexander]

17 minutes ago, Etcherdude said:

Forni are ovens, their openings are arched like the arcades where the naughty deed might be done. I think that’s the basic idea.

Interesting!  Here it says the connection was "perhaps because Roman prostitutes commonly solicited from under the arches of certain buildings."

But enough about fornication. Not where @LONGINUS intended the thread to go, I'm sure! 😬😇 

[Octavius]

 Sestertius of Nero and dupondius of Claudius celebrating Annona and Ceres...

[Roman Collector]

6 hours ago, Etcherdude said:

Forni are ovens, their openings are arched like the arcades where the naughty deed might be done. I think that’s the basic idea.

Fornix and fornax are two different words, though, and there is no etymological relationship between them. 

[Sulla80]

Getting back to baking bread in a fornax and not hanging out under an arch or fornix... a fun post @LONGINUS , I always enjoy your illustrations/presentations.  Congrats on the nice looking Vitellius! I laughed out loud at the Roman Bread ad. 

Here is some Roman Imperial grain from Antoninus

and some Roman Provincial grain from Gordianus

and some Roman Republican Grain

and even the Greeks in Italy had grain - seen here from Metapontum an important city of Magna Graecia: 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Sulla80

[expat]

Another Annona to celebrate the annual food production

[Roman Collector]

On 2/17/2023 at 6:27 AM, LONGINUS said:

I used to love this commercial 😊

 

 

There aren't enough bigas in commercials these days!