Summanus

Summanus (Latin: Summānus) was the god of nocturnal thunder in ancient Roman religion, in some accounts as opposed to diurnal (daylight) thunder coming from Jupiter. His precise nature was unclear even to Ovid. Pliny thought that he was of Etruscan origin, and one of the nine gods of thunder. Varro lists Summanus among gods to whom Sabine king Titus Tatius dedicated altars (arae) in consequence of a votum. Paulus Diaconus considers him a god of lightning. The name Summanus is thought to be from Summus Manium "the greatest of the Manes", or sub-, "under" + mane, "morning", therefore "nighttime." According to Martianus Capella, Summanus is another name for Pluto as the "highest" (summus) of the Manes. This identification is taken up by later writers such as Camões ("If in Summanus' gloomy realm / Severest punishment you now endure ...") and Milton, in a simile to describe Satan visiting Rome: "Just so Summanus, wrapped in a smoking whirlwind of blue flame, falls upon people and cities". Georges Dumézil has argued that Summanus would represent the uncanny, violent and awe-inspiring element of the gods of the first function, connected to heavenly sovereignty. The double aspect of heavenly sovereign power would be reflected in the dichotomy Varuna-Mitra in Vedic religion and in Rome in the dichotomy Summanus-Dius Fidius. The first gods of these pairs would incarnate the violent, nocturnal, mysterious aspect of sovereignty while the second ones would reflect its reassuring, daylight and legalistic aspect.