major Roman deity ranking close to Jupiter and Mars (qq.v.); the flamines (see flamen) of these gods constituted the three major priests at Rome. Quirinus' name is in adjectival form and would seem to mean “he of the quirium,” a word generally taken to signify the very ancient Sabine settlement that united with the Palatine community to form the original Rome. It has also been derived, however, from covirium, meaning “assembly of men.” That the Quirinal, traditional site of Sabine settlement, was the seat of his cult there is no doubt, and the Sabine origin of the god is reflected in Ovid (Fasti II, 475).

In spite of his importance, little is known about Quirinus. He bears a similarity to Mars, and some believe that he is only another form of that deity. By the late republic he is identified completely with Romulus (Romulus and Remus). His was the name under which the immortalized Romulus was worshipped, and his festival fell on the same date that Romulus was said to have ascended to the gods, perhaps to assume the identity of Quirinus. He had a festival, the Quirinalia, on February 17; his temple on the Quirinal was one of the oldest in Rome. A cult partner, Hora, is spoken of, as are minor deities, the Virites Quirini, of whom nothing else is known. Janus appears with the epithet Quirinus, but the relationship between the two is a matter of conjecture.