Saturn might be a god of planting; his name seems to be related to the word sator ("planter"). Some, however, have connected his name with the Etruscan god called Satre. His festival was one of the most enjoyable of Roman holidays and involved the giving of gifts such as wax candles and little earthenware dolls (for children). In the third century BC, Saturn was assimilated to the Greek god Kronos, the king of the golden age, when life was wonderful and not bound by rigid distinctions and rules. Like Kronos, Saturn was depicted with a knife or sickle. This assimilation probably accounts for the theme of freedom that is so prominent in the Saturnalia. First, the feet of the cult statue of Saturn in his temple, normally bound with wool, were unbound. Gambling was allowed in public. Everyone wore the pilleus, a felt cap, which was worn by freedmen as sign of their manumission and thus was a general symbol of liberty. Informal clothes were worn rather than the toga. Inversion ritual is evident in the fact that slaves were freed from their normal tasks and sometimes even served by their masters. Moreover, a lesser member of the familia was chosen Saturnalian supervisor of the festivities.
A highlight of the festival was a public feast after a huge number of sacrifices at the temple of Saturn, which now only survives as a façade of 8 Ionic columns.
The temple was not only a place of worship, but also served as the
public treasury. Note the entrance to the treasury under the temple
in the lower right hand corner of the photograph.