What is the origin of the name Jupiter?
The Latin name Iuppiter originated as a vocative compound of the Old Latin vocative Iou and pater, meaning father. This form replaced the earlier Old Latin nominative case Ious.
Questions about Jupiter (god)
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When was the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus inaugurated?
The building was supposedly begun by king Tarquinius Priscus completed by the last king Tarquinius Superbus and inaugurated in the early days of the Roman Republic the 13th of September 509 BC.
Who were the main sources on the theology of Jupiter?
Marcus Terentius Varro and Verrius Flaccus were the main sources on the theology of Jupiter and archaic Roman religion in general. On these two sources depend other ancient authorities such as Ovid Servius Aulus Gellius Macrobius patristic texts Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Plutarch.
Why was the Ides sacred to Jupiter?
The Ides the midpoint of the month with a full moon was sacred to Jupiter because on that day heavenly light shone day and night. Some or all Ides were Feriae Iovis sacred to Jupiter.