Such a hypothesis seems not unreasonable, though it is based rather on general than particular evidence. It is at any rate better than the wild guessing of one German inquirer, who is always at home when there is no information. Huschke[776] believes that the words _Lucaria_ and _Luceres_ (the ancient Roman tribe-name) are both derived from _lucus_ because the Lucaria take place in July, which is the auspication-month of the Luceres. And there are two days of this festival, because the Luceres owed protection both to the Romani and Quirites (Rhamnes and Tities) and therefore worshipped both Janus and Quirinus. X KAL. SEXT. (JULY 23). NP. NEPT[UNALIA]. (PINC. MAFF.) FERIAE NEPTUNO. (PINC. ALLIF.) The early history of Neptunus is a mystery, and we learn hardly anything about him from his festival. We know that it took place in the heat of summer, and that booths or huts made of the foliage of trees were used at it, to keep the sun off the worshippers—and that is all[777]. Neither of these facts suggests a sea-god, such as we are accustomed to see in Neptune; yet they are hardly strong enough to enable us to build on them any other hypothesis as to his character or functions. Nor does his name help us. Though it constantly appears in Etruscan art as the name of a god who has the characteristics of the Greek Poseidon, it is said not to be of genuine Etruscan origin[778]. If this be so, the Etruscans must have borrowed it from some people who already used it of a sea-god when the loan was made; but one does not see why this great seafaring people should have gone outside the language of their own religion for a name for their deity of the sea. In the ancient cult-formulae preserved by Gellius[779], Neptunus is coupled with a female name Salacia; and of this Varro writes ‘Salacia Neptuni a salo’—an etymology no doubt suggested by the later identification of Neptunus with Poseidon. Salacia is in my opinion rather to be referred to _salax_ (‘lustful,’ &c.), and, like Nerio Martis[780], to be taken as indicating the virile force of Neptunus as the divine progenitor of a stock[781]. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that this god was known as Neptunus pater, like Mars, Janus, Saturnus, and Jupiter himself[782]; all of whom are associated in cult or legend with the early history of Latin stocks. When Neptunus first meets us in Roman history, he has already put on the attributes of the Greek Poseidon; this was in B.C. 399, at the first lectisternium, where he is in company with Apollo and Latona, Diana and Hercules, and is specially coupled with Mercurius (= Hermes)[783]. What characteristics of his suggested the identification, either here or in Etruria, we cannot tell. We find no trace of any evidence connecting him with the sea; and the coupling with Hermes need mean no more than that both this god and Poseidon found their way to Rome through the medium of Greek trade.