ABSTRACT
This chapter proceeds to the third, and final, night and day of the festival, which were dedicated to Tellus, Apollo and Diana. The Carmen Saeculare, however, can be seen as a separate closing act for the whole three-day ritual rather than as part of the third day rituals only. The third night followed the formula of the previous nights. The worshipped goddess was Terra Mater, to whom the emperor sacrificed a pregnant sow and prayed according to the Greek rite. Tellus appeared from time to time in Roman iconography during the imperial period. After all, wars, and especially civil wars, often meant troubles for grain transportation if the key provinces or supply routes were in hostile hands. In addition, food problems were sometimes generated by natural causes, like harvest failures, epidemic diseases, or were generated by corruption among the officials responsible for grain distribution.
