«Supplicia canum»: un ritual ceremonial inspirado en la defensa del Capitolio contra los galos en 390 a. C.

In this article we analyze the ceremonial ritual of the supplicia canum celebrated every year in commemoration of the assault and defense of the capitol in 390 BC by the Gallic Senones of King Bruno. To do so, we first analyze the imaginary of the dog in the Roman world. Based on this imaginary, we will focus on its functionality in certain rituals or ceremonies that include the sacrifice of dogs and, finally, we will address the meaning and symbolism of the dog in the supplicia canum. During this event in early Republican Rome, it is said that the dogs that were supposed to warn the sentries fell asleep and that it was the geese, associated with the goddess Juno, who sounded the alarm. Such narrative constituted in the etiological discourse of the city an exemplum that was transferred to a ceremonial where dogs were sacrificed and geese were adorned.