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[German version] Liber Pater is an Italic-Roman god of nature, fertility, and wine. L. is attested archaeologically first on the inscriptions of the Praenestine cistae from the 4th cent. BC (CIL I 2, 563), then on a cippus from Pisaurium from the 3rd-2nd cents. BC (CIL I 2, 381). The historians report that L. was introduced from Greece into Rome in the year 496, when the Sibylline Books had recommended to transfer the triad of Demeter, Kore, and Iacchus - who correspond to the Roman deities Ceres,…

[German version] Epithet of Juno in her role as the goddess of birth. In antiquity the name is derived either from Latin lucus, ‘grove’, or Latin lux, ‘light’. The latter emphasizes the role of the goddess as midwife (Varro, Ling. 5,69; Varro antiquitates rerum divinarum fr. 100 Cardauns; Ov. Fast. 2,449f.; Plin. HN 16,235). The Kalendae, the days which mark the return of the cycle of the moon, are dedicated to Juno L. (Varro, Ling. 5,69; [1]). Her temple on the Esquiline in Rome was presumably consecrated in 375 BC by t…

[German version] ( novemdiale sacrum). NS describes a Roman rite of purification, which was probably performed on the ninth and last day (Fest. 186,13) of a period of nine days of festivities ( feriae novendiales, Paul. Fest. 187; feriae per novem dies, Liv. 1,31,4). Such feriae had no fixed position in the calendar, but were announced according to need (Varro Ling. 6,26: feriae conceptivae). They always took place when the prodigium of a rain of stones had happened and demanded state expiation (e.g. Liv. 35,9,5f.; 39,22,3f.; Obseq. 52; [1. 176f…

[German version] Roman goddess who supervises the fulfilment of funeral duties (Plut. Numa 12,1). The name L., the etymology of which is disputed [1], therefore denotes metaphorically death in poetry (Hor. Carm. 3,30,7 L.). L. was equated with Venus Lubentina (Varro Ling. 6,47). Plutarch (Quaest. Rom. 269b; Numa 12,1) based this identification on the fact that two conflicting phenomena such as death and birth - the latter is related to L. as the result of sexual love - must belong to the domain of a single divinity. In L.'s grove ( lucus Libitinae), probably located on the Esquiline, t…

[German version] (Λῆθος; Lêthos). Pelasgian, son of Teutamus, father of Hippothous [2] (Hom. Il. 17,288) and Pylaeus. Both sons were commanders of Pelasgian troops from Larisa (Hom. Il. 2,840ff.). Since the name L. is reminiscent of the underground place of Lethe, it is reasonable to assume that there was a connection between this mythical person and the Underworld. Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva) Bibliography 1 P. Wathelet, Dictionnaire des Troyens de l'Iliade, vol. 1, 1988, no. 170 and 207.

[German version] (Plural: indigetes) refers to a deity or a group of deities whose identity was interpreted in different ways already in antiquity (Serv. Aen. 12,794). The etymology is also disputed: the hypothesis most widely supported today is the one according to which indiges like  Indigitamenta are considered to be derived from indigitare < * end-ag-itare [1] (‘to invoke’; Fest. 101 L.: indigitanto imprecanto), with indiges, its sense passive, meaning ‘invoked’ (* indag-et-) [2. 59]. Near Lavinium on the river Numicus a cult dedicated to Jupiter Indiges (Liv. 1,2…

[German version] Roman spirits of the dead, particularly the animae (‘souls’) of deceased individuals. They are part of the Underworld and also referred to as di inferi (e.g. CIL X 2936; VI 13388) and contrasted with the gods above ground ( di superi); in metonymy, they may stand for the Underworld itself. Literature of antiquity explains di manes euphemistically as ‘the good’ (Paul Fest. 132 l.; Serv. Aen. 1,143) and links them with Lat. mane, ‘the morning’, with mania or with Mater Matuta (Paul Fest. 109 l.). The salutation frequently found on gravestones and in memorial inscriptions, dis…

[German version] The term cult façade (CF) is used to designate the typically Phrygian monument of  Cybele. It consists of a façade chiselled into rock with an alcove for the statue of the goddess. The monuments are pointed towards sunrise. The older CF go back to the 8th cent. BC, when Phrygia was a powerful state. In the 6th cent., when Phrygia was already under Lydian rule, another group of CF was built. The façade of the ‘Midas Monument’ belongs to the older group. It is the best-preserved monument and can be found close to the ancient city of Midas near the modern village of Yazılı Kaya. Prescen…

[German version] In the Roman sphere, larvae are spirits which cause madness (Plaut. Capt. 598; Plaut. Aul. 642): one who has lost his wits is called larvatus (Plaut. Men. 890; Paul Fest. 106 L.). The larvae are regarded as ghosts, who are considered equal to the lemures (Gloss. 5,656,14) and can thus be considered as the addressees of the lemuria (Paul Fest. 77, 25 L.). In the interpretations of Roman authors, the larvae are equated with both the maniae ( Mania) and the dii manes when these return to Earth from the Underworld (Paul Fest. 114 L.). Furthermore, they are also identified with the lar…

[German version] [1] L. (Baebius or Manius), dictator Latinus L. (Baebius or Manius) Egerius [2] had the sanctuary of Diana Nemorensis (Cato fr. 58 Peter) dedicated in his capacity as dictator Latinus. Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva) Bibliography C. Ampolo, Ricerche sulla lega latina, II. La dedica di Egerius Baebius, in: PdP 212, 1983, 321-326. [German version] [2] Probably the first lyric love poet of Rome, 2nd or early 1st cent. BC Probably the first lyric love poet of Rome, 2nd (cf. [8]) or early 1st cent. BC (for example, according to [2. 118]), and in the latt…

[German version] [1] Daughter of Celeus and Metaneira (Καλλιθόη, Kallithóe, ‘excelling in speed’). Oldest daughter of  Celeus, King of Eleusis, and of  Metaneira. C. and her sisters Callidice, Cleisidice and Demo invited  Demeter, who was grieving for her daughter Persephone, to their home (H. Hom. 2,110). Michel, Raphael (Basle) Bibliography N. J. Richardson, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 1974, 183-185. [German version] [2] First priestess of Hera First priestess of Hera Argia's sanctuary in Argos or in Tiryns [1]. She was the first to decorate a column with w…

[German version] I. Religion F. is the cultically venerated personification of faith and veracity [1]. According to Varro (Ling. 5,74), she had been adopted in Rome from the Sabini; her cult is still in evidence at the end of the 2nd cent. AD (Tert. Apol. 24,5). F. is depicted as a woman, her head adorned with a garland or veil, dressed in a   chitṓn and péplos [2]. She appears frequently in poetry, but rarely in prose. She was considered to be a very ancient deity (Sil. Pun. 1,329f.; 2,484ff.) and therefore referred to as cana (Verg. Aen. 1,292). According to Agathocles Perì Kyzíkou (Fest. 328 L…

[German version] [1] Mythical ancestor of the Latin people (Greek Λατῖνος; Latînos). Mythical eponymous ancestor of the Latini. According to the Greek version, L. and his brother Agrius are the sons of Odysseus and Circe and kings of the Tyrrheni on the Island of the Blessed (Hes. Theog. 1011ff.). Servius (Aen. 12,164), who refers to a no longer identifiable Greek author, takes up this origin of L., but identifies him as the founder of the city of Rome, which was named for Rhome, the sister of L. Accor…

(Μανία; Manía). [German version] [1] Greek personification of madness Greek personification of madness. Cultic worship as Maníai (plural!) in the place of that name near Megalopolis. According to Paus. 8,34,1-3, Orestes went mad there (identification with Erinyes/Eumenides? Erinys). In the singular M. is found only in Quint. Smyrn. 5,451ff. for the rage of Ajax [1]. M. appears with an annotation of the name on a Lower Italian vase by Asteas depicting Hercules's infanticide ( Lyssa, Oestrus). Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) [German version] [2] Name of the Roman goddess Larunda Another name for…

(Κλεοπάτρα; Kleopátra, Lat. Cleopatra). I. Mythology [German version] [I 1] Daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia Daughter of  Boreas and  Oreithyia, first wife of  Phineus. C. was rejected in favour of  Idaea [3], whom Phineus married as his second wife; her sons were blinded (Apollod. 3.200; Hyg. Fab. 18). Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva) [German version] [I 2] Daughter of Idas and Marpessa Daughter of  Idas and  Marpessa, wife of  Meleager. After her abduction by Apollo she was also called ‘Alcyone’ after her mother's …