Levan Vasadze: “Liber was a patron deity of Rome’s plebeians and part of the Aventine Triad in the pantheon of Roman quasi-gods and was known for his fondness of sexual perverseness and alcohol abuse. And when one says that he/she is a liberal, it means that one is the follower of this quasi god known for that vice.”
Meaning-wise, there is not much link between the liberalism and the ancient Roman god. The term Liberalism in political sciences is synonymous to freedom, equality. It comes from the Latin word Liber (freedom). This word acquireda modern meaning since the Age of Enlightenment. Liberals, as a rule, fought against absolute power (monarchy, Pope of Rome) to build equal and free society.
Today, liberalism is a political ideology and represents one of the models of arrangement and governanceof society. It does not have much link with religion except for the fact that ideas of liberalism such as freedom and equality are close to the Christian worldview. It was Christianity that created the environment that gave rise to, first, Renaissance and then, Enlightenment which eventually led to the formulation and spread of liberal ideas.
In modern science or everyday life we often use words and symbols that were created in pre-Christian era. The symbol of Christianity – the cross, was used for religious purposes in ancient Egypt. The modern world often uses a symbol of medical profession – Caduceus, a wand with two serpents twined around it which was first seen in Mesopotamia, then in Greece. Using it does not at allmean worshipping a pagan god.
The similarity of words does not mean any linkmeaning-wise. For example, citizens of Treviso in Italy would find it very difficult to understand how their patron saint Liberalis may be connected to pagan gods. Liberalis was the priest who worked in Ancona, Italy, in the fifth century. He tried to convert Arians who were known as heretics. His relics are kept in Treviso and he is considered the patron of Treviso eparchy. From the Christian viewpoint the ancient world is pagan, though cultural links with that world has not been lost in the epoch of Christianity. In pre-Christian period there were cults of sun, moon and other in the territory of Georgia. Even under Christianity these cults have continued to exist in a modified form. Symbols of bull, sun that are carved on the walls of ancient Georgian temples are of pagan origin. Georgia’s mountainous regions are distinguished for the abundance of pagan traditions and performances. It is worth noting that preserved pagan traditions eventually became part of Christian traditions.
A number of international terms which are used today have Greek or Latin roots. Forms of government such as monarchy, republic, democracy are all created in the pagan era as well and this does not at all mean rejecting Christianity or any other religion and worshiping ancient Greek or Roman gods.
Before the birth of Christianity, polytheism was a customary tradition of Mediterranean people. The same holds true for Roman mythology. It was created under the influence of local Etruscan and Greek culture.
The Aventine Triad is a term used to denote the cult of three Roman deities whose temples stood on the Aventine Hill. This location was traditionally associated with the most numerous segment of the Roman society – plebs. This stratum of society was engaged in agriculture, craftsmanship and represented the backbone of Roman economy. Their deities were also connected to their occupations. The Aventine Triad comprised three gods:Ceres, Liber and Libera. They represented Roman equivalents of Greek deities Dionysus,Demeter and Persephone. Liber was a male god whereas Libera its female equivalent. It is translated as “the free one” and Romans also called him Liber Pater which literally means “the free father;” by its social connotation Liber was the deity defending freedom. At times of Roman Monarchy and Roman Republic there was a constant confrontation between plebs and patricians. The key reason of this confrontation was that patricians tried to maintain political power granted to them in earlier period whilst plebs fought for the increase of their rights. It is not therefore surprising that one of favorite deities of plebs was associated with freedom.
Apart from being associated with freedom, Liber and Libera were deities of agriculture of the plebs – the activity important for this social group. It must be noted that the festival Liberalia was held on 17 March. Holding of festivals in honor of agriculture deities in spring is characteristic not only for Roman culture. Before starting spring agricultural works, agricultural gods were honored by ancient Greeks, Egyptians, peoples of Mesopotamia. At the festival of Liberaliaa symbol of phallus was carried throughout the countryside to bring the blessing of fertility to the land.
Moreover, at the festival of Liberalia, young Roman men of 14-15 years of age boys,for the first time in their life, put on a new clothing – toga virilis, toga pura, symbolizing the stepping into adulthood.
Apart from agriculture and protection of rights, the Aventine Triad represented an antithesis to the Capitoline Triad in Rome. The Capitoline Hill was associated with patricians and represented the citadel of Rome, the center of its military and political power. Such power was the privilege of patricians alone in the earlier period of the Roman monarchy and republic. Temples of three deities worshiped by patricians – Jupiter, Minerva and Juno – were built on the Capitoline Hill.
The word liberal comes from the name of Roman god, but the term liberal or liberalism has nothing to do with the pantheon of Roman gods. Consequently, assertion that liberalism is linked to worshiping a pagan god is wrong.
