Feronia (mythology)

Last updated
Denarius from the time of Augustus, in silver, minted under the monetary magistrate Petronius Turpillianus. On the right, the bust in profile of the goddess Feronia crowned with a diadem, dressed in a drape, a necklace around her neck. Legend: TURPILLIANUS III VIR FE RON ("Turpillianus being a monetary triumvir magistrate, in Feronia") Feronia.jpg
Denarius from the time of Augustus, in silver, minted under the monetary magistrate Petronius Turpillianus. On the right, the bust in profile of the goddess Feronia crowned with a diadem, dressed in a drape, a necklace around her neck. Legend: TURPILLIANUS III VIR FE RON (“Turpillianus being a monetary triumvir magistrate, in Feronia”)
Head identified as Feronia (Archaeologic Museum of Rieti) Head of Feronia (cropped).jpg
Head identified as Feronia (Archaeologic Museum of Rieti)

In Etruscan and Sabine religion, Feronia was a goddess associated with wildlife, fertility, health, and abundance, also venerated by the Faliscans and later adopted into ancient Roman religion. As the goddess who granted freedom to slaves or civil rights to the most humble part of society, she was especially honored among plebeians and freedmen. [1] Her festival, the Feroniae, was November 13 (the ides of November) during the Ludi Plebeii ("Plebeian Games"), in conjunction with Fortuna Primigenia; both were goddesses of Praeneste. [2] [3] (p 7)

Contents

Note that the similar-sounding Feralia on February 21 is a festival of Jupiter Feretrius, not Feronia.

Etymology

Feronia's name is derived from a Sabine adjective corresponding to Latin fĕrus, but with a long vowel, i.e. Fērōnǐa. The root fer has cognate words in every Indo-European language (e.g. Greek θήρ, θήριον, English feral.) Latin fĕrus means "not cultivated, untamed" (Thesaurus Linguae Latinae), "of the field, wood", "untamed", "not mitigated by any cultivation" (Forcellini Totius Latinitatis Lexicon) which fits the environment of the sanctuaries of Feronia and is very close to rudis (rude).

Feronia is one of the Roman and Italic goddesses whose name is formed by a root ending with the suffix -ona or -onia. This form of a noun denotes a difficult or dangerous state or condition: The deity is a sovereign of that danger, only to help man to best avoid damage or get the greatest advantage, such as Angerona for the angusti dies near the winter solstice.

Myths and functions

Many versions of Feronia's cult have been supposed, and it is not quite clear if she was only one goddess or if she had only one function in ancient times. Some Latins believed Feronia to be a harvest goddess, and honoured her with the harvest firstfruits [4] in order to secure a good harvest the following year.

Festus's entry on the picus Feronius [7] of Trebula Mutuesca testifies the goddess had also prophetic qualities among the Sabines, as did the picus martius of Tiora Matiena ascribed to the Aborigines. Feronia also served as a goddess of travellers, fire,[ citation needed ] and waters.

Freedmen and Libertas

Varro identified Feronia with Libertas, the goddess who personified Liberty. [lower-alpha 1] According to Servius, Feronia was a tutelary goddess of freedmen (dea libertorum). [8] : 8.564  A stone at the Terracina shrine was inscribed "let deserving slaves sit down so that they may stand up free." Livy notes [9] that in 217 BCE freed women collected money as a gift for Feronia. [3] (p 109) Some sources state that slaves were set free at her temple near Terracina. [10] [ full citation needed ]

Sabine tribal matron

She was among the deities that Sabine moneyers placed on their coins to honor their heritage. [11] (p 82) She may have been introduced into Roman religious practice when Manius Curius Dentatus conquered Sabinum in the early 3rd century BCE. [13]

Insistence on wild places

Two stories about her sanctuary of Terracina highlight the character of Feronia as goddess of the wilderness: Servius writes that when a fire destroyed her wood and the locals were about moving the statues to another location, the burnt wood suddenly turned green. [14]

Pliny states that all attempts at building towers in times of war between Terracina and the sanctuary of Feronia have been abandoned because all are without exception destroyed by lightning. [16] The goddess thus refused any continuity and linkage with the nearby town.

Role in the Aeneid

In Vergil's Aeneid, troops from Feronia's grove fight on the side of Turnus against Aeneas. [17] (7.800) The Arcadian king Evander recalls how in his youth he killed a son of Feronia, Erulus, who like Geryon had a triple body and a triple soul; Evander thus had to kill him three times. [18] Vergil identifies Erulus as the king of Praeneste, but he is otherwise unknown in literature. [19]

Dumézil's interpretation

Dumézil considers Feronia to be a goddess of wilderness, of untamed nature, and of nature's vital forces – but honoured because she offers the opportunity to put those forces to good use in acquiring nurture, health, and fertility. She fecundates and heals, and therefore despite her being worshipped only in the wild, she receives the first-fruits of the harvest. Because she permits the people to domesticate the wild forces of vegetation, she could be seen as favouring the transformation of that which is uncouth into that which is cultivated. [6] (pp 361–366)

Dumézil compares her to Vedic god Rudra: He and Feronia are similar in that Rudra represents that which has not yet been transformed by civilization – he is the god of the rude, of the jungle; at one time dangerous and uniquely useful: Healer, thanks to the herbs within his domain, protector of the freed slaves and of the outcast. Feronia, though, has only the positive or useful function of putting the forces of wild nature at the service of the people. [6] (pp 361–366)

Cult and cult sites

Inscriptions to Feronia are found mostly in central Italy. [3] (p 109) Feronia's shrines were all located in the wild, far from human settlements. Varro, however, places Feronia in his list of Sabine gods [20] who had altars in Rome.

Feronia's cults at Aquileia and Terracina were near springs that were used in her rites. [11] (p 286) The Augustan poet Horace speaks of the water (lympha) of Feronia, in which "we bathe our face and hands." [23]

Capena, Etruria

Her lucus at Capena was a place where everybody was allowed to come for worship and trade, attracting people from different nations, Sabines, Latins, Etruscans, and others from even farther away. The grove provided everybody with a neutral territory in which peace must not be perturbed. [25]

Feronia's temple at the base of Mt. Soracte which was near Capena. [26] The Lucus Feroniae , or "grove of Feronia" (Fiano Romano) was the site of an annual festival in her honour, [27] [12] which was in the nature of a trade fair. [lower-alpha 2] The place, in the territory of Capena in southwestern Etruria, was plundered of its gold and silver by Hannibal's retreating troops in 211 BCE, when he turned aside from the Via Salaria to visit the sanctuary; [29] later it became an Augustan colonia . Its status as a colony is recorded in a single inscription, copied in a manuscript of the rule of the Farfa Abbey [30] as colonia Iulia Felix Lucoferonensis. [lower-alpha 3]

Anxur, Terracina

Another important site was near Anxur (Terracina, southern Latium), in a wood three Roman miles from the town, where Servius recorded a joint cult of "the boy Jupiter" (puer Iuppiter) under the name of Anxyrus and "Juno the Virgin" (Iuno virgo), whom he identifies as Feronia. [12] [8] : 7.799  According to another tradition, slaves who had just been freed might go to the shrine at Terracina and receive upon their shaved heads the pileus , a hat that symbolized their liberty.

Ruin of the temple of Feronia at Largo di Torre Argentina Largo di Torre Argentina cat 9.jpg
Ruin of the temple of Feronia at Largo di Torre Argentina

Campus Martius, Rome

Her temple in the Campus Martius, in what is now Largo di Torre Argentina, was probably also located in a grove, according to an inscription found on the site. [33] It was established before 217 BCE. It may have been dedicated by Curtius Dentatus following his victory over the Sabines. His building program also included the Anio Vetus, a major new aqueduct, and a number of fountains near the temple. [34]

Late continuation

Charles Godfrey Leland reported surviving traditions of the "witch" Feronia in 19th century Tuscany. [35]

Namesakes

The asteroid 72 Feronia is named for her.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Servius says that Varro called the goddess Liberty Feronia or Fidonia. [8] : 8.564 
  2. ↑ Müller (1828) identified her as a goddess of the marketplace. [28]
  3. ↑ Taylor (1920) identifies the site as Nazzano. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jupiter (god)</span> Chief deity of Roman state religion

Jupiter, also known as Jove, is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the chief deity of Roman state religion throughout the Republican and Imperial eras, until Christianity became the dominant religion of the Empire. In Roman mythology, he negotiates with Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, to establish principles of Roman religion such as offering, or sacrifice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luna (goddess)</span> Roman goddess of the Moon

In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon. She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun, Sol, conceived of as a god. Luna is also sometimes represented as an aspect of the Roman triple goddess, along with Diana and either Proserpina or Hecate. Luna is not always a distinct goddess, but sometimes rather an epithet that specializes a goddess, since both Diana and Juno are identified as moon goddesses.

In ancient Roman religion, the god Consus was the protector of grains. He was represented by a grain seed. His altar (ara) was located at the first meta of the Circus Maximus. It was either underground, or according to other sources, covered with earth, which was swept off during the two Consualia, his festivals on August 21, December 15, and on July 7 when the pontiffs held a sacrifice there. He was thus a chthonic god.

Libitina, also Libentina or Lubentina, is an ancient Roman goddess of funerals and burial. Her name was used as a metonymy for death, and undertakers were known as libitinarii. Libitina was associated with Venus, and the name appears in some authors as an epithet of Venus.

In ancient Roman religion, the diiNovensiles or Novensides are collective deities of obscure significance found in inscriptions, prayer formulary, and both ancient and early-Christian literary texts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neptune (mythology)</span> Roman god of freshwater and the sea

Neptune is the god of freshwater and the sea in the Roman religion. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-inspired tradition, he is a brother of Jupiter and Pluto, with whom preside over the realms of heaven, the earthly world, and the seas. Salacia is his wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juno (mythology)</span> Ancient Roman goddess of marriage and childbirth

Juno was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state. She was equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology and a goddess of love and marriage. A daughter of Saturn and Ops, she was the sister and wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Bellona, Lucina and Juventas. Like Hera, her sacred animal was the peacock. Her Etruscan counterpart was Uni, and she was said to also watch over the women of Rome. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called Regina ("Queen") and was a member of the Capitoline Triad, centered on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, and also including Jupiter, and Minerva, goddess of wisdom.

Fauna is a Roman rustic goddess said in differing ancient sources to be the wife, sister, or daughter of Faunus. Varro regarded her as the female counterpart of Faunus, and said that the fauni all had prophetic powers. She is also called Fatua or Fenta Fauna.

In ancient Roman religion, a lucus is a sacred grove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucus Feroniae</span> Archaeological site in Capena, Italy

Lucus Feroniae was an ancient sanctuary or, literally sacred grove ("lucus"), dedicated to the Sabine goddess Feronia, protector of freedmen, ex-slaves. It was located near to the ancient town of Feronia in Etruria on the ancient Via Tiberina, in what is now the territory of the modern commune of Capena, Lazio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feronia (Etruria)</span> Ancient city in Etruria

Feronia or Lucus Feroniae was an ancient Roman municipium border the present Via Tiberina and Autostrada A1, current Comune of Capena near the present town of Fiano Romano. It is located in the plain along the Tiber Valley, at the foot of Mount Soracte, and was within the ancient territory of Capena. It began as a sanctuary called Lucus Feroniae in the time of Tullus Hostilius when it was located in Etruria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulcan (mythology)</span> Ancient Roman god of fire, volcanoes, and metalworking

Vulcan is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, deserts, metalworking and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. He is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer. The Vulcanalia was the annual festival held August 23 in his honor. His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithery. In Etruscan religion, he is identified with Sethlans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn (mythology)</span> God in ancient Roman mythology

Saturn was a god in ancient Roman religion, and a character in Roman mythology. He was described as a god of time, generation, dissolution, abundance, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn's mythological reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace. After the Roman conquest of Greece, he was conflated with the Greek Titan Cronus. Saturn's consort was his sister Ops, with whom he fathered Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Vesta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epithets of Jupiter</span>

The numerous epithets of Jupiter indicate the importance and variety of the god's functions in ancient Roman religion.

The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the Christian Church. This glossary provides explanations of concepts as they were expressed in Latin pertaining to religious practices and beliefs, with links to articles on major topics such as priesthoods, forms of divination, and rituals.

The Taurian Games were games (ludi) held in ancient Rome in honor of the di inferi, the gods of the underworld. They were not part of a regularly scheduled religious festival on the calendar, but were held as expiatory rites religionis causa, occasioned by religious concerns.

Śuri, Latinized as Soranus, was an ancient Etruscan infernal, volcanic and solar fire god, also venerated by other Italic peoples – among them Capenates, Faliscans, Latins and Sabines – and later adopted into ancient Roman religion.

Manth, latinized as Mantus, is an epithet of the Etruscan chthonic fire god Śuri as god of the underworld; this name was primarily used in the Po Valley, as described by Servius, but a dedication to the god manθ from the Archaic period was found in a sanctuary in Pontecagnano, Southern Italy. His name is thought to be the origin of Mantua, the birthplace of Virgil.

<i>Sulcus primigenius</i>

The sulcus primigenius was the ancient Roman ritual of plowing the boundary of a new city—particularly formal colonies—prior to distributing its lots or erecting its walls. The Romans considered the ritual extremely ancient, believing their own founder Romulus had introduced it from the Etruscans, who had also fortified most of their cities. The ritual had the function of rendering the course of the city wall sacrosanct but, owing to the necessity of some profane traffic such as the removal of corpses to graveyards, the city gates were left exempted from the ritual.

References

  1. ↑ Daly, Kathleen N.; Rengel, Marian (2004-01-01). Kathleen N. Daly, Marian Rengel. Infobase Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4381-1992-2.
  2. ↑ Fowler, W.W. (1908). The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic. London, UK. pp. 252–254.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. 1 2 3 Dorcey, Peter F. (1992). The Cult of Silvanus: A study in Roman folk religion. Brill.
  4. ↑ Livy. [no title cited]. xxvi.11.8.
  5. ↑ Festus. [no title cited]. p. 308 L².
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
    Dumézil, G. (1977). La religione romana arcaica[Archaic Roman Religion] (in Italian). Milano, IT: Rizzoli. pp. 361–366. Con un'appendice sulla religione degli Etruschi Edizione e traduzione a cura di Furio Jesi.
    Italian translation of an expanded version of
    Dumézil, G. (1974). La religion romaine archaïque[Archaic Roman Religion] (in French) (2nd ed.). Paris, FR: Payot.
  7. ↑ Festus [5] as cited by Dumézil. [6] (p 363)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5
    Maurus Servius Honoratus. In Vergilii Aeneidem commentarii [Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid] (in Latin). 7.799–800, 8.564.
  9. ↑ Livy. [no title cited]. 22.1.18.
  10. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9. 1966.
  11. 1 2 3 Farney, Gary D. (2007). Ethnic Identity and Aristocratic competition in Republican Rome. Cambridge University Press.
  12. 1 2 3 Coarelli, Filippo (1987). I santuari del Lazio in eta Repubblicana[The sanctuaries of Lazio in the age of the Roman republic] (in Italian). Rome, IT.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ↑ Coarelli [12] cited by Farney. [11] (p 286)
  14. ↑ Servius [8] : 7.800  cited by Dumézil. [6] (p 362)
  15. ↑ Pliny the elder. Natural History. II 146.
  16. ↑ Pliny [15] as cited by Dumézil. [6] (p 362)
  17. 1 2 Vergil. Aeneid .
  18. ↑ Aeneid [17] (8.564) and Servius's note to that passage. [8]
  19. ↑ Fratantuono, Lee (2007). Madness Unchained: A reading of Virgil's Aeneid. Lexington Books. pp. 242, 248.
  20. ↑ Varro. De lingua latina [The Latin Language] (in Latin). 5.74.
  21. ↑ Horace. Satires. 1.5.24.
  22. ↑ Onians, R.B. (1951). The Origins of European Thought about the Body, the Mind, the Soul, the World, Time, and Fate. Cambridge University Press. p. 480.
  23. ↑ Horace [21] as cited by Onians (1951). [22]
  24. ↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities . III 32, 12.
  25. ↑ Dionysius [24] cited by Dumézil. [6] (p 364)
  26. ↑ Strabo. [no title cited]. v. Sub monte Soracte urbs est Feronia ...
  27. ↑ Strabo. [no title cited]. v.2.9.
  28. ↑ Müller, K.O. (1828). Die Etrusker[The Etruscans] (in German).
  29. ↑ Livy. [no title cited]. 26.11.
  30. ↑ Codex Vaticanus Latinus 6808. Codex Vaticanus Latinus.
  31. ↑ Taylor, L.R. (1920). "The site of lucus Feroniae". The Journal of Roman Studies . 10: 29–36. doi:10.2307/295785. JSTOR   295785. S2CID   163491953.
  32. ↑ Gatti, G. (1905). Notizie degli Scavi. p. 15.
  33. ↑ Gatti (1905) [32] cited by Dumézil. [6] (p 362)
  34. ↑ Stamper, John W. (2005). The Architecture of Roman Temples: The Republic to the middle Empire. Cambridge University Press. pp. 44–45.
  35. ↑ Leland, C.G. (1892). Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition. chapter III – Feronia.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.