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In ancient Roman religion, Ops, (Latin: "Plenty") also spelled Opes or Opis, was a fertility and Earth deity goddess of abundance, prosperity, and agriculture, and the consort of Saturn. As Ops Consiva, she presided over the reserved portion of the harvest alongside Consus, the god of stored grain. She was celebrated during two yearly festivals: Opiconsivia in August and Opalia in December.
Ops was frequently compared to goddesses like Demeter, Cybele, Ceres, and Terra, who were similarly associated with the earth and agriculture. She was conflated with the Greek mythology Rhea, mother of the first generation Twelve Olympians and consort of Cronus, the Greek equivalent of Saturn.
She was additionally a goddess of abundance as the creator of economies linked to farming and agriculture at large, particularly Cereal. As the guarantor of abundant harvest and food security, Ops may have been worshipped as a protector of Rome— a claim put forth by Macrobius. She may have additionally been abstractly connected to the production or procurement of wealth. The word ops is etymologically related to the words opulenti ("opulence") and opima ("rich, fertile"), and she was bestowed with the epithet Ops Consiva ("she who sows").Miano, Daniele. " The Goddess Ops in Archaic Rome." Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 58.1 (2015): 98-127. Ops Consiva was a goddess associated with the reserved portion ( condere) of the harvest, and was associated closely with Consus, god of stored grain and consilium.
After the Roman Republic's conquest of Greece and the influence of Hellenic mythology and culture on Roman culture, Ops became increasingly conflated with the Greek Rhea: wife of Cronus and mother of the first generation Twelve Olympians. Greek myths were sometimes taken in their entirety and reworked with the gods' Roman counterparts. For example, when they translated the story of Rhea hiding her children from Cronus, Livius Andronicus and Ennius rendered the story faithfully and simply replaced "Rhea" with "Ops."Ennius, Euhemerus, 223-225
" Exim Saturnus uxorem duxit Opem. Titan qui maior natu erat postulat ut ipse regnaret. ibi Vesta mater eorum et sorores Ceres atque Ops suadent Saturno, uti de regno ne concédât fratri. ... deinde Titan postquam rescivit Saturno filios procreatos atque educatos esse clam se, seducit secum filios suos qui Titani vocantur, fratremque suum Saturnum atque Opem conprehendit eosque muro circu."
Ops received a cultuic revival under the reign of Augustus. The Fasti Vallenses, Fasti Amiternini, and Fasti Antiates indicate that Augustus established altars in the Vicus Jugarius dedicated to Ceres Mater and Ops Augusta in 7 AD, and designated August 10th as a holiday celebrating the two goddesses. His decision was likely influenced by a severe famine reportedly occurring at the time.Cassius Dio, Roman History, LIV 1.2
In Rome, Ops Consiva had a poorly documented cult and a sacrarium in the Regia, a temple only the pontifex maximus and the Vestal Virgin could enter; it is not clear whether this restriction was only imposed during her festivals. Two items were mentioned by Festus as being held in the goddess' sacrarium: a ritual knife (Secespita) and a bronze vase used in sacrifices ( praefericulum).
Ops additionally had a temple on the Capitoline Hill near the Temple of Fides and the Temple of Jupiter, but what little evidence there is attesting to its existence is scant and fragmentary, and mostly dated to the Roman Republic. It was mentioned by both Pliny and Livy; using their writings, the temple's terminus ante quem is estimated 186 BC, and could have been founded by Lucius Caecilius Metellus or Aulus Atilius Calatinus, who dedicated temples to Fides and Spes on the Capitol around 250 BC. Cicero wrote about how, in 50 BC, Julius Caesar deposited a portion of the Roman treasury in the temple of Ops, which was later retrieved by Mark Antony.Cicero, Orations, 1.7 This story was also covered by Appian.Appian, The Civil Wars, 3.1.4 (See Note 2) Additionally, Julius Obsequens recorded a supernatural occurrence in 44 BC, when the temple doors shut on their own, and in 17 BC, the Augustus Secular Games were recorded partially taking place at the temple. Little else is known about the temple and the methods of worship associated with it, but its construction could have marked a change in the Romans' perception of the deity; she could have taken on a more political role and become a deity responsible for the protection of Rome, similar to Jupiter and Fides. However, the episode concerning Caesar and the treasury indicate that she was likely still closely associated with abundance at the time.
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