The fratres arvales or "Arval Brethren" (from arvum, "ploughed field") were a college of twelve priests in charge of the spring festival of Dea Dia, a goddess apparently connected with the fertility of the harvest. The Carmen arvale, though known from an inscription of the early third century C.E., appears to date from 400 B.C.E. or earlier. The Arval Brethren hymn, it seems, to ensure the purification and fertility of the fields. The text of the hymn, which is so old in form that parts of it are difficult to recognize as Latin, continues to puzzle even the experts; nonetheless a tentative translation is provided here.

Help us, Lares' Help us, Lares' Help us, Lares!
Mars, do not let plague and ruin overrun the people!
Mars, do not let plague and ruin overrun the people!
Mars, do not let...