William Warde Fowler

“ Damia is found worshipped at several places in Greece, and also at Tarentum, where there was a festival called Dameia. It is thus highly probable that on the cult of the original Roman goddess was engrafted the Greek one of Damia, perhaps after the conquest of Tarentum (272 B.C.) . It is no longer possible to distinguish clearly the Greek and Roman elements in this curious cult, though it is itself quite intelligible as that of an Earth-goddess with mysteries attached. ”

“ PONTIFEX. The collegium of the Pontifices was the most important priesthood of ancient Rome, being specially charged with the administration of the jus divinum, i.e. that part of the civil law which regulated the relations of the community with the deities recognized by the state officially, together with a general superintendence of the worship of gens and family. ”

“ In the Comitium was an “area Volcani,” also called “Volcanal”, and here on the 23rd of August (Volcanalia) the Flamen Volcanalis sacrificed, and the heads of Roman families threw into the fire small fish, which the Tiber fishermen sold on the spot. This flamen also sacrificed on the 1st of May to Maia, who in an old prayer formula (Gellius 13. 23) was coupled with Volcanus as Maia Volcani. It is not easy to explain these survivals of an old cult. But in historical times the association of this god with conflagrations becomes very apparent ”