Rex Nemorensis

E483261

Rex Nemorensis is the legendary priest-king of the sacred grove at Nemi in ancient Roman religion, whose violent succession ritual became a central example in James Frazer’s study of myth and magic.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf legendary religious office
priest-king
associatedWithDeity Diana Nemorensis NERFINISHED
associatedWithLake Lake Nemi NERFINISHED
associatedWithPlace Nemi NERFINISHED
associatedWithRegion Latium NERFINISHED
attestedInSource Ovid NERFINISHED
Strabo NERFINISHED
Suetonius NERFINISHED
category Roman religious titles
mythological priest-kings
sacred kingship
centralExampleFor James George Frazer's theory of myth and magic
cultType grove cult
woodland cult
culturalContext Roman Italic religious tradition
eligibilityCriterion must be a runaway slave
must break a branch from a sacred tree
must defeat the reigning priest-king in combat
gender male
interpretedAs example of dying and reviving god motif
example of ritual regicide
survival of primitive kingship rites
languageOfName Latin
mentionedInWork The Golden Bough NERFINISHED
nameComponent Nemorensis NERFINISHED
Rex NERFINISHED
nameMeaning King of the Grove NERFINISHED
relatedConcept ritual kingship
sacred grove
sacrificial king
religion ancient Roman religion
ritualObject branch of the sacred tree
golden bough
role guardian of the grove of Diana
high priest of Diana at Nemi
sacral king
sourceType antiquarian reports
literary tradition
successionRitual ritual combat
slaying of predecessor
violent succession
symbol golden bough
sacred tree
timePeriod Roman Empire
Roman Republic
titleHeldAt sacred grove of Nemi
usedByScholar James George Frazer NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.