The gate of the year

Figure on the left:

Marble statue of the goddess Flora, known as Flora Farnese, dating to the I century A.D., discovered in the XVI century near the Baths of Caracalla and now in the National Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale), Naples, Italy.
[Image: http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=1963]

Figure on the right:

Mural painting, representing Flora, from the ancient city of Stabia, dating to the I century A.D., also in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy.
[Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flora_mit_dem_F%C3%BCllhorn.jpeg]

The cult of Flora seems to go back to a considerable antiquity, it appears, in fact, also among Samnites and Sabines, ancient Italic peoples, among which she was frequently associated with Ceres, of whom she was regarded as the “minister”. In Rome, Flora was served by a priest belonging to the ancient order of the Flamines. Albeit her name referred exclusively to flowers, her original function was that of protecting, at the moment of flowering, all the useful plants, comprising the cereals, the fruit trees and the vineyards. To the goddess were dedicated the Floralia feasts, which were held between April and May and were propitiatory for the fertility and abundance of the earth products (Dumézil 1974, p. 280-281).




Tree Symbols

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Figure on the left: Marble statue of the goddess Flora, known as Flora Farnese, dating to the I century A.D., discovered in the XVI century near the Baths of Caracalla and now in the National Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale), Naples, Italy. [Image: http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=1963] Figure on the right: Mural painting, representing Flora, from the ancient city of Stabia, dating to the I century A.D., also in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy. [Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flora_mit_dem_F%C3%BCllhorn.jpeg] The cult of Flora seems to go back to a considerable antiquity, it appears, in fact, also among Samnites and Sabines, ancient Italic peoples, among which she was frequently associated with Ceres, of whom she was regarded as the “minister”. In Rome, Flora was served by a priest belonging to the ancient order of the Flamines. Albeit her name referred exclusively to flowers, her original function was that of protecting, at the moment of flowering, all the useful plants, comprising the cereals, the fruit trees and the vineyards. To the goddess were dedicated the Floralia feasts, which were held between April and May and were propitiatory for the fertility and abundance of the earth products (Dumézil 1974, p. 280-281).