Ops

On 25 August, Romans held the Opiconsivia in honour of Ops. Her name means “help” or “resource”. Ops is a Roman goddess of the harvest, abundance, plenty and wealth. She ensures the fertility of the earth, assists in military efforts and helps in childbirth. Her close ritual connection is with Consus, god of the granary.

Ops is known as the consort of Saturn. Saturn may originally have been a god of seed-sowing, but the Romans identified him with Cronus, the primeval deity and father of the Olympian gods. In this role, Ops was sometimes identified with Rhea, Cronus’s wife. Another account calls her the wife of Consus and the second wife of Saturn, and names her as the mother of Jupiter and Neptune. She belongs to the myths and religious traditions surrounding Saturn, Consus, the harvest, fertility, childbirth and military success.