ROMAN GODDESSES

Aetna
Aetna is the Roman mountain goddess after whom the Italian volcano Mount Etna
is named.

Angerona
The Roman goddess of the winter solstice, Angerona is shown with a bandaged
mouth with a finger to her lips commanding silence. Her feast the Divalia or
Angeronalia was celebrated on December 21.

Antevorta
Antevorta is the Roman goddess of prophecy.

Aurora
The Roman goddess of dawn.

Bellona
The serpent haired goddess Bellona is often described as the feminine side of
the god Mars. She represents conflict as well as peace in war.

Bona Dea
The "good goddess," Bona Dea became the most popular name by which the goddess
Fauna or Fatua was known in Rome. She is worshipped only by women, and only in
secrecy at rites in early December. Led by Vestal priestesses, these rites were
held at the home of a high-ranking Roman matron. The room was decorated with
vine branches and with wine flowing freely, it is thought these events
were rather rowdy.

Camenae
These Roman water spirits dwell in freshwater springs and rivers, their most
notable haunt being the sacred spring at the Porta Capena, just outside of
Rome. Their name means "foretellers." Their festival, the Fontinalia, was
celebrated on October 13 by tossing good luck wreaths into wells.

Ceres
The goddess Ceres is the force of crop growth personified and celebrated by
women in secret rituals.
Concordia
Concordia is the Roman goddess of peace and in art shown as a heavyset matron
holding cornucopia in one hand and an olive branch in the other.

Devera
Devera is the Roman goddess that rules the brooms used to purify ritual sites.

Diana
Diana is the mother of wild animals and forests, and a moon goddess. Oak groves
are especially sacred to her. She is praised for her strength, athletic grace,
beauty and her hunting skills. With two other deities she made up a trinity:
Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the
woodland god.

Disciplina
Disciplina is the Roman goddess of discipline.

Edusa
Edusa is the Roman goddess who oversees the weaning of infants.

Felicitas
Felicitas is the goddess of good fortune, not to be confused with Fortuna.

Flora
Flora is the embodiment of the flowering of all of nature, including human
nature. The female body was honored at the Floralia, the festival of nude women
celebrated until the 3rd century A.D., when Roman authorities demanded revelers
must wear clothes. Flora is the queen of all plants. Romans called her the
secret patron of Rome, without whose help the city would die.

Fons
Fons is the Roman goddess of fountains.

Fortuna
The goddess Fortuna controls the destiny of every human being. She is the
goddess who permits the fertilization of humans, animals and plants.

Fraud
Fraud is the Roman goddess of treachery.

Juno
The Roman supreme goddess is Juno, married to the ruling god, Jupiter. She is
believed to watch and protect all women. Every year, on the first of March,
women hold a festival in honor of Juno called the Matronalia. To this day, many
people consider the month of June, which is named after the goddess who is the
patroness of marriage, to be the most favorable time to marry. The peacock is
sacred to Juno.

Minerva
Minerva is the goddess of wisdom, commerce, crafts, and inventor of music. Ovid
called her the "goddess of a thousand works." The Romans celebrated her worship
from March 19 to 23 during the Quinquatrus, the artisans' holiday.

Pallor
Pallor is the Roman goddess of fear.

Panacea
Panacea is a Roman goddess of health.

Potina
Potina is the goddess honored as the spirit of weaving and of drinking.

Proserpine
Proserpine is the counterpart of the Greek goddess, Persephone. She was
kidnapped by Pluto and taken to his underworld and made queen of the dead.

Providentia
Providentia is a Roman goddess whose name means "forethought."

Puta
Puta is the Roman goddess of tree pruning.

Salus
Salus is a Roman goddess of health.

Tellus Mater
The Roman "Mother Earth" is the constant companion of Ceres, and the two of them
are patrons of vegetative and human reproduction. Tellus is also the mother
death goddess since the dead are returned into her womb, the earth.

Tempestates
Tempestates is the Roman goddess of wind and storm.

Unxia
Unxia is the Roman goddess of wedding anointment.

Sentia
Sentia is the Roman goddess who heightens feelings.

Venus
As the goddess of love, Venus is the "queen of pleasure" and mother of the Roman
people. She is married to Vulcan, the lame god of the forge. She is also
associated with her lover, Mars the god of war. She is also a nature goddess,
associated with the arrival of spring. Venus is the bringer of joy to gods and
humans.

Verplace
Verplace is the Roman goddess of family harmony.