Quirinus or Ixion
Quirinus or Ixion of Rome - CRUCIFIED
506 BCE
It seems there might be a bit of confusion in the names mentioned. Quirinus and Ixion are distinct figures from different mythological traditions. Let’s clarify each one separately.
The pairing of Quirinus and Ixion as a crucified Roman savior originates from Chapter XVII of Kersey Graves’ The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors (1875) and Godfrey Higgins’ Anacalypsis (1836). In classical history, this listing conflates two distinct figures: Quirinus (the Sabine god and deified founder Romulus) and Ixion (a Greek king punished in Tartarus).
Profile & Biographical Claims
- Timeline & Dates:
- Mythicist Claim: Active ~506 BCE.
- Roman History: Romulus traditionally founded Rome in 753 BCE and disappeared c. 716 BCE. The worship of Quirinus as a Sabine and Roman deity continued through the Republican and Imperial eras until the 4th century CE.
- Calendar Date of Birth & Lifespan:
- Birth: Celebrated in Roman state religion around the founding of Rome (Parilia, April 21), not December 25.
- Age at Death: Romulus reigned for 37 years, placing his age at death/disappearance around 54 years old.
- Manner of Death, Cause & Perpetrators:
- Mythicist Claim: Crucified by wicked hands, accompanied by the whole earth being enveloped in darkness, followed by resurrection.
- Roman Accounts (Livy & Plutarch): While reviewing his troops at the Caprae Palus (Goat Marsh), a violent storm suddenly broke out, accompanied by a solar eclipse. Romulus vanished into the whirlwind and was never seen again. Livy noted two traditions: either Mars took his son directly to heaven, or suspicious senators murdered and dismembered him beneath their togas during the darkness.
- Geographical Locations:
- Rome (specifically the Palatine Hill, Quirinal Hill, and Campus Martius).
Theological Details: Mythicist Claims vs. Classical Sources
| Category | 19th-Century Mythicist Claim (Graves) | Classical Roman/Greek Historical Record |
|---|---|---|
| Virgin Birth | Born of a virgin; pursued by King Amulius. | His mother Rhea Silvia was a consecrated Vestal Virgin impregnated by the war god Mars. King Amulius ordered Romulus and Remus cast into the Tiber. |
| Crucifixion | Put to death by crucifixion on a cross. | Quirinus/Romulus: Disappeared in a storm or slain by senators; never crucified.
Ixion: Bound to a four-spoked fiery wheel in Tartarus for hubris and attempting to seduce Hera.
|
| Salvation / Atonement | Died as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of man. | Rome's patron protector; did not die for human moral sin or spiritual atonement. |
| Resurrection & Ascent | Resurrected from the dead and ascended to heaven. | Appeared after his disappearance as a glorified divine vision to Proculus Julius, declaring he was now the god Quirinus and Rome's celestial guardian. |
| Title: "Son of God" | Titled "Son of God" and "Our Savior." | Hailed as Divus Romulus, Pater Quirinus ("Father Quirinus"), and Filius Martis ("Son of Mars"). |
| Part of a Trinity | Second person of a Roman Trinity. | Worshiped as one-third of the Archaic Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus), which governed the three civic strata of the early Roman state. |
| Judgment in Heaven | Presides as judge over souls in the afterlife. | Roman souls were judged in the underworld by Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus, not Quirinus. |
The Conflation with Ixion and Iconography
- Why Higgins and Graves Combined Them:
- In Greek art, Ixion is depicted outstretched across a four-spoked wheel with his arms and legs bound in an X-pattern.
- 19th-century antiquarians misread this punishment wheel as a "crucifixion cross," conflating Ixion's damnation in Greek myth with Romulus's divine ascension into the god Quirinus in Roman history.
- Worship of Quirinus:
- Worshipped by Roman citizens (Quirites) and overseen by one of the three senior patrician high priests, the Flamen Quirinalis.
- Honored on February 17 during the Quirinalia (the Feast of Fools), with major rituals centered at his temple on the Quirinal Hill.