Field boundaries and crops were sacred, and any adult who damaged or stole field-crops, or moved field boundaries would be hanged "for Ceres".Ī 2nd Century AD inscription by a soldier in Britain suggests Ceres was by then part of a larger grouping of deities. Not only did Ceres introduce man to settlement and agriculture, through her laws she determined the course of settled, lawful and civilized life.
It's thought that her Aventine Temple may have served as the plebeian law-court, as well as treasury and legal archive. As well as being credited with giving the gift of agriculture to man, Ceres was a patron and protector of plebeian laws, rights, and Tribunes. The cult served as a focus of plebeian identity, in opposition to the patricians' Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Minerva, and Juno. Along with Liber and Libera she made up the Aventine (or plebeian) Triad, established c.493 BC within a sacred district on the Aventine Hill. The mount is Victorian, ,made circa 1880, and modelled in 9 karat gold with maker's mark for the esteemed Charles Green & Son.Ĭeres was the goddess of agriculture, fertility, grain, and motherhood, and the Romans saw her as the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter. I believe (although without certainty) that it represents the goddess Ceres, with wheat sheaf and scales of justice. DATE: Ring Mount Victorian, c.1880 - Intaglio Roman, c.3rd Century ADĪn intriguing antique signet ring with ancient Roman intaglio dating from the 3rd Century AD.