Velificatio
In classical Latin, the abstract noun "velificatio" is uncommon, and refers to the act of setting sail, from "velum", "sail" (but also "cloth, garment, veil") and the "-fic-" combining element from "-ficio, -ficere" (= "facio, facere", "do, make"). The verbal form was the basis for modern scholarly usage. Pliny describes "Aurae velificantes sua veste", the Breezes "making a sail with their own garment" at the Porticus Octaviae ("Portico of Octavia"). Such depictions of the Aurae are known from extant Roman art, and have been used as comparative material to identify the pair of "velificantes" in a scene from the Augustan Altar of Peace. On the basis of a passage from the "Carmen Saeculare" of Horace, composed and performed for Augustus's staging of the Saecular Games in 17 BC, the central figure is often identified as Tellus (Earth):
Fertile in produce and cattle, let Tellus grant Ceres a crown of grain; let the healthful waters and breezes of Jove nourish offspring. Not all scholars agree on this analysis of the scene. The creatures on which the "velificantes" are seated also suggest Nereids, and the reference may point to the Cult of the Nymphs. The significance of the veil is sometimes explained in terms of the initiation rites of the mystery religions. Initiates wore drapery or a veil which was lifted by a priestess. The veil was a symbol of death, and its removal in the rite signified the initiate's rebirth. The "velificatio" thus appears in scenes on sarcophagi and in other funerary art. The "velificatio" motif may be found with numerous deities, divine beings, and "divi", including:
Usage and examples
The term is also used to describe Hellenistic art.