MURCIA
the shrine of an early Roman divinity in the valley between the
Palatine and Aventine. As the circus Maximus gradually occupied all
this space, the shrine was preserved and kept its place within the circus
at the south-east end of the course on the Aventine side (
Varro v. 154;
Fest. 148, 344; CIL i². p. 189, elog. v.;
Liv. i. 33. 5). This end of the
course and spina was called the metae Murciae (Apul.
Met. vi. 8; Tert.
de spect. 8). For a theory that this shrine was at the other, north-east,
end of the circus, near the carceres, see
BC 1908, 251; M61. 1908, 279.
The shrine itself is called ara vetus (Plin.
NH xv. 121), sacellum (Varro,
Fest.), fanum (Serv.
Aen. viii. 636), aedes (Tert.), but it was probably
originally only an altar, afterwards surrounded by a puteal. It seems to
beindicatedon the Foligno relief (Ann. d. Inst. 1870, pi. LM), but this
may be the shrine of Sol rather than Murcia (Diss. d. Accad. Pont. ser. 2,
vi. 266-267). This point is often referred to as ad Murciae (Varro, Livy,
Elog. locc. citt.), and at a later period the valley of the circus was called
the vallis Murcia (Serv.
Aen. viii. 636; Symmach.
Relat. ix. 6; Claudian.
de cons.
Stilich. ii. 404; Cassiod.
Var. iii. 51; Pol. Silv. 545). Of the
real character of this divinity all knowledge was lost, and the Roman
antiquarians gave several explanations of the name. The most popular
was that of Varro, who derived Murcia from myrtea, on the theory that
this low ground was originally grown up with myrtle. As the myrtle
was sacred to Venus, Murcia herself was identified with the goddess of
love (Tert.), who then became known as Venus Murtea or Murcia
(Varro, Pliny, Plut. q. Rom. 20). (HJ 113-114;
Rosch. ii. 3231-3233;
Gilb. i. 70-71, 79;
BC 1914, 343.)
