The
Aventine Triad (also referred to as the
plebeian Triad or the
agricultural Triad) is a modern term for the joint
cult of the Roman deities Ceres,
Liber and
Libera. The cult was established ca. 493 BC within a sacred district
(templum) on or near the
Aventine Hill, traditionally associated with the Roman
plebs. Later accounts describe the
temple building and rites as "Greek" in style. Some modern historians describe the Aventine Triad as a plebeian parallel and self-conscious antithesis to the archaic
Capitoline Triad of
Jupiter,
Mars and
Quirinus and the later Capitoline Triad of Jupiter,
Minerva and
Juno. The Aventine Triad, temple and associated
ludi (games and theatrical performances) served as a focus of plebeian identity, sometimes in opposition to Rome's original ruling elite, the
patricians.