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[German version] The identity of the Roman goddess L. is not easily identifiable. L., also called Lara, was understood as the mother of the lares (Lactant. Div. inst. 1,20,35) and equated with Mania (Varro, Ling. 11,61). An aetiological myth says that she was also equated with Tacita Muta (‘mute’) (Ov. Fast. 2,583-616). It is disputed whether L./M.L. is the same goddess as Acca Larentia. According to Varro (Ling. 5,74), L. comes from the Sabine country; Titus Tatius dedicated an altar to her. According to an uncertain reconstruction of a passage in Tacitus (…

[German version] Deity of shepherds and herds. In the pastoral Latin literature (e.g. Verg. Ecl. 5,36; Calp. Ecl. 4,106) and in classical texts on Roman religion (Varro in Gell. NA 13,23,4; Ov. Fast. 4,723ff.) P. is female. However a male P. is documented as well (Varro in Serv. Georg. 3,1). The entry of the 7th July in the late Republican Fasti antiates maiores: Palibus II (InscrIt 13,2 p. 14) and Varro Rust. 2,5,1: Palibus point to the existence of two P.s [1] and could be a further indication of a male P. [2.101f.]. In order to avoid the assumption that two deities of the same name were worshipped here, the female paredros of the god P. has been identified with the diva Palatua, the protective deity of the Palatine [3.1278]. She is known in so far as her cult was entrusted to the flamen (Varro Ling. 7,45) or the pontifex Palatualis…

[German version] is to be understood as ‘that which is divinely sanctioned’; its opposite is nefas. The adjective fastus is derived from it. Fas and nefas appear at first with verbs (e.g. fas est), later also as nouns in expressions such as contra fas. The derivation is disputed: 1. from * fēs-/ * fas<* dh(e)h1s-…

[German version] Roman priests who with the  pontifex, the  rex sacrorum and the  Vestals form the collegium pontificum and are part of the collegia maiora. They are responsible for the cult of individual deities (Cic. Leg. 2,20). Three flamines maiores perform the rites of the cult of the old state gods Jupiter ( flamen Dialis), Mars ( flamen Martialis) and Quirinus ( flamen Quirinalis); there are also twelve flamines minores (Volcanalis, Cerialis, Carmentalis, Portunalis, Volturnalis, Palatualis, Furrinalis, Floralis, Falacer, Pomonalis and two additional unkno…

[German version] (Κλεῖνις; Kleînis) was a rich Babylonian much beloved by  Apollo and  Artemis. Among the Hyperboreans he learnt that Apollo was honoured with a donkey sacrifice and wished to transfer this custom to Babylon. However, he encountered the misgivings of Apollo, who only appreciated the donkey sacrifice in the land of the Hyperboreans. C. stopped the sacrifice but his sons continued it. Thereupon, Apollo drove the donkeys mad. They ate C. and his sons who were then transformed into birds (Antoninus Liberalis 20).…

[German version] The consort of Liber; as he is the god of male fertility, so she is the goddess of female fertility (Aug. Civ. 6,9). She belongs to the Aventine triad of Ceres, Liber and L. (Fast. Caeretani, CIL I 1, 212) and is venerated together with Liber, at the Liberalia and at wine festivals [1. 256ff.]. In accordance with the identification of Liber with Dionysius L. is equated with Ariadne (Ov. Fast. 3,512). For bibliography see Liber. Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva) Bibliography 1 O. de Cazanove, Jupiter, Liber et le vin latin, in: RHR 205, 1988, 245-265.

[German version] Etymologically related to infra (‘below’), Inferi is a collective term for all the gods of the Underworld ( Manes). It corresponds to the Greek terms katachthónioi and hypochthónioi. The Dii Inferi are contrasted to the gods above the earth ( Dii Superi CIL IX 5813) or the gods of the heavens ( Dii Caelestes) and the earth ( Dii Terrestres) (e.g. in a declaration of war by the  Fetiales: Liv. 1,32,9). In the cult, their Underworld nature is characterized by the way in which the sacrifi…

[German version] For the etymology, see  Indiges. According to Wissowa, the word indigitamenta refers to collections of invocation phrases with which Roman priests turn to deities on different occasions and which are kept secret by the state because of their compelling authority [1; 2]. With reference to Varro (Antiquitates 14, fr. 87 Cardauns), however, the indigitamenta are frequently regarded as lists of deities that belong to the pontifical books. Many of these gods, so-called ‘special gods or gods of the moment’, have a limited role which is mo…

[German version] Roman priests, who formed a   collegium of 20 life-time members. They were co-opted from Rome's noble families (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 2,72). Their name was linked with foedus (Serv. Aen. 1,62), fides (Varro, Ling. 5,86), and ferire (Fest. 81 L.). According to tradition, the founder of this collegium was either Numa (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 2,72,1; Plut. Numa 12,4-13,67f-68c; Camillus 18,137b-f), Tullus Hostilius (Cic. Rep. 2,31), or Ancus Marcius (Liv. 1,32,5; Ps. Aur. Vict. De viris illustribus 5,4; Serv. Aen. 10,14). The fetiales upheld the ius fetiale (Cic. Off. 1,36; Liv. 9,9,3), i.e. the sacral aspect of juridic relations between peoples [1; 2]. They conveyed diplomatic decisions by the Senate: a fetialis was the publicus nuntius populi Ro…

[German version] Roman goddess. An inscription (CIL XI 6708,7) on a clay bowl from the 3rd cent. BC represents the first evidence of her name known today. In literature, L. is considered on the one hand as the protector of thieves, the laverniones (Plaut. Aul. 445; Hor. Epist. 1,16,60) who found a hiding-place in her grove (Paul. Fest. 104 L.), and on the other hand as a goddess of the Underworld (Septimius Serenus fr. 6 Blänsdorf). An altar was dedicated to her on the Aventine near the Porta Lavernalis that was named after her (Varro, Ling. 5,163f.). According to later information (Ps.-Acro ad Hor. Epist. 1,16,60), her grove was situated far away from her …

[German version] Lemures is a Roman term that describes the ghosts that appear during the night (Hor. Epist. 2,2,209; Non. 1, 197 L.). The lemures are equated with the dii manes (Ov. Fast. 5,422; schol. in Pers. 8,185) or the larvae (Varro in Non. 1, 197 L.). Later commentators interpret them as souls of the deceased who died early (Porph. ad Hor. Epist. 2,2,209) or through violence (Acro ad Hor. Epist. 2,2,209). The festival of the lemuria (or lemuralia) on 9, 11 and 13 May was dedicated to them. On these days - people believed - the lemures would return to the earth during the night and e…

[German version] (Lat. Calliphana, also Calliphoena). Priestess of Ceres in Rome. Originally a priestess of Demeter in Elea/Velia. In accordance to the concept that Ceres was a goddess of Greek origin and that her ritual must observe Greek form, she was brought to Rome from Elea, like most priestesses dedicated to Ceres. However, in order for her to be able to fulfil her duties as a citizen in the service of fellow citizens ( civis pro civibus) (and with the appropriate fundamental attitude) -- according to Cic. Balb. 55, she was granted Roman citizenship by the praetor C. Valerius Flaccus around 95 BC (Val. Max. 1.1.1b). Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva) Bibliography B. Stanley Spaeth, The Roman Goddess Ceres, 1996.

[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 …

(Μανία; Manía).…

[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…

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[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 reaso…

[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 …

[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…

[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 fa…

[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 …

[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…

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(Καλύβη; Kalýbē). [German version] [1] Mistress of Laomedon Nymph who bore to the Trojan king  Laomedon a son named Bucolion (Apollod. 3.12.3). Without mentioning the name of the mother, Homer (Il. 6.23-24) also mentions the birth of Laomedon's illegitimate son Bucolion. Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva) [German version] [2] Priestess of Juno Priestess of  Juno in Ardea. The fury Allecto takes on her form when she appears to  Turnus in a dream and incites him to fight against the Trojans (Verg. Aen. 7.419). Prescendi, Francesca (Geneva)

[German version] or Incubo (derived from the Latin incubare, ‘to lie on something’) denotes in late Latin both the sender of nightmares, who corresponds to the Greek Ephialtes ( Aloads), and the nightmare he causes. As goblin and bringer of obscene dreams, incubus is equated with, e.g.,  Faunus or, more precisely, the so-called Faunus ficarius (‘Faunus of the fig trees’; Isid. Orig. 8,11,103-104) [1], with  Inuus and  Silvanus (Serv. Aen. 6,775). Christian authors have particularly stressed the lust of the incubi…

[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 …

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(Κομαιθώ; Komaìthṓ). [German version] [1] Lover of Amphitryon Daughter of  Pterelaus, the mythological king of Taphos. She helped  Amphitryon, with whom she ha…

[German version] Goddess of dawn, worshipped in Italy and Rome (Lucr. 5,655f.), whose name, in the form of an adjective, like Lat. maturus, ‘at the proper moment’, goes ba…

[German version] (in the Roman religion ‘the expressed will of a deity’). The concept of numen has been particularly popular in academic religious scholarship since the end of the 19th cent. Interest with regard to the Roman religion was sparked by the proponents of pre-deism or dynamism (W.W. Fowler [1], J.G. Frazer [2], H.J. Rose [3], F. Pfister [4], H. Wagenvoort [5]) (doxography: [6. 36; 7. 355-357]). They claimed numen is similar to the concepts of mana, orenda, vakanda etc. of the so-called ‘primitive’ peoples (Polynesians, Melanesians) and signifies the impersona…

[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 ye…

[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…