"goddess of love and beauty. Vulcan agreed and married Venus. He later built a smithy under Mount Etna on the island of Sicily. It was said that whenever Venus was unfaithful, Vulcan grew angry and beat the red-hot metal with such a force that sparks and smoke rose up from the top of the mountain, creating a volcanic eruption. According to Virgil, Vulcan was the father of Caeculus. To punish mankind for stealing the secrets of fire, Jupiter ordered the other gods to make a poisoned gift for man. Vulcan's contribution to the beautiful and foolish Pandora was to mould"
"Juno (mythology) Juno (; , ) was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. A daughter of Saturn, she is the wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Bellona and Juventas. She is the Roman equivalent of Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology; 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 (""Queen"") and was a member of the Capitoline Triad (""Juno"
"lectisternium of 217 BC. Other facts that seem to hint at this connection are the relative proximity of the two sanctuaries and Dionysius of Halicarnassus's testimony that both cults had been introduced to Rome by Titus Tatius to comply with a vow he had made in battle. Varro confirms the fact. Vulcan is related to two equally ancient female goddesses Stata Mater, perhaps the goddess who stops fires and Maia. Herbert Jennings Rose interprets Maia as a goddess related to growth by connecting her name with IE root *MAG. Macrobius relates Cincius's opinion that Vulcan's female companion is Maia. Cincius"
"Tanit. Ovid's ""Metamorphoses"" offers a story accounting for her sacred association with the peacock. William Shakespeare briefly employs Juno as a masque character in ""The Tempest"" (Act IV, Scene I). Juno (mythology) Juno (; , ) was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. A daughter of Saturn, she is the wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Vulcan, Bellona and Juventas. She is the Roman equivalent of Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology; like Hera, her sacred animal was the peacock. Her Etruscan counterpart was Uni, and she was said to"
"and children according to the various accounts: In addition, the Romans claim their equivalent god, Vulcan, to have produced the following children: Though married to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, the god of war. Eventually, Hephaestus discovered Aphrodite’s affair through Helios, the all-seeing Sun, and planned a trap during one of their trysts. While Aphrodite and Ares lay together in bed, Hephaestus ensnared them in an unbreakable chain-link net so small as to be invisible and dragged them to Mount Olympus to shame them in front of the other gods for retribution. The gods laughed at the sight"
"Physcon and his wives Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III dedicated a temple to Aphrodite Hathor at Philae. Statuettes of Aphrodite for personal devotion became common in Egypt starting in the early Ptolemaic times and extending until long after Egypt became a Roman province. The ancient Romans identified Aphrodite with their goddess Venus, who was originally a goddess of agricultural fertility, vegetation, and springtime. According to the Roman historian Livy, Aphrodite and Venus were officially identified in the third century BC when the cult of ""Venus Erycina"" was introduced to Rome from the Greek sanctuary of Aphrodite on Mount Eryx in"
"was thought to be related to the comparative adjective ""maius, maior"" ""larger, greater"". Originally, she may have been a homonym independent of the Greek Maia, whose myths she absorbed through the Hellenization of Latin literature and culture. In an archaic Roman prayer, Maia appears as an attribute of Vulcan, in an invocational list of male deities paired with female abstractions representing some aspect of their functionality. She was explicitly identified with Earth (""Terra"", the Roman counterpart of Gaia) and the Good Goddess (""Bona Dea"") in at least one tradition. Her identity became theologically intertwined also with the goddesses Fauna, Ops,"
"and armor for various gods and heroes, including the lightning bolts of Jupiter. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and the husband of Maia and Aphrodite (Venus). His smithy was believed to be situated underneath Mount Etna in Sicily. As the son of Jupiter, the king of the gods, and Juno, the queen of the gods, Vulcan should have been quite handsome, but baby Vulcan was small and ugly with a red, bawling face. Juno was so horrified that she hurled the tiny baby off the top of Mount Olympus. Vulcan fell down for a day and a"
"a cook and a baker. According to Hyginus' Fabulae, the sons of Vulcan are Philammon, Cecrops, Erichthonius, Corynetes, Cercyon, Philottus, and Spinther. The origin of the Roman god of fire Vulcan has been traced back to the Cretan god Velchanos by Gérard Capdeville, primarily under the suggestion of the close similarity of their names. Cretan Velchanos is a young god of Mediterranean or Near Eastern origin who has mastership of fire and is the companion of the Great Goddess. These traits are preserved in Latium only in his sons Cacus, Caeculus, Romulus and Servius Tullius. At Praeneste the uncles of"
"Dione (Titaness) Dione (; , ""Diōnē"") was an ancient Greek goddess, an oracular Titaness primarily known from Book V of Homer's ""Iliad"", where she tends to the wounds suffered by her daughter Aphrodite. One source describes her as an ancient wife of Zeus. Dione (Διώνη ""Diṓnē"", from earlier *Διϝωνᾱ ""Diwōnā"") is essentially the feminine of the genitive form of Greek Ζεύς ""Zeús"", that is, Διός ""Diós"" (from earlier Διϝός ""Diwós""), «of Zeus». Other goddesses were called by this name (see Dione). Due to her being a daughter of Dione, Aphrodite was sometimes called «Dionaea» (Διωναίη ""Diōnaíē"") and even «Dione». Following"
"swan, ""Tusna"", ""the swan of Turan"". Her retinue were called Lasas. Turan may be quite ancient but does not appear on the Piacenza list nor in Martianus list of Etruscan deities. The Etruscan month of July was named after her, although we only know the Latin word for it, ""Traneus"". Turan was seen as the equivalent to the Roman Venus and the Greek Aphrodite. Her name is the pre-Hellenic root of ""Turannos"" (absolute ruler, see ), so Turan can be viewed as “Mistress"". Turan had a sanctuary in the Greek-influenced Gravisca, the port for Tarquinia, where votive gifts inscribed with"
"The union of Venus and Mars held greater appeal for poets and philosophers, and the couple were a frequent subject of art. In Greek myth, the adultery of Ares and Aphrodite had been exposed to ridicule when her husband Hephaestus (whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan) caught them in the act by means of a magical snare. Although not originally part of the Roman tradition, in 217 BC Venus and Mars were presented as a complementary pair in the ""lectisternium"", a public banquet at which images of twelve major gods of the Roman state were presented on couches as if present"
"parallel myths and theologies, Venus was understood to be the consort of Vulcan. Virgil, in compliment to his patron Augustus and the ""gens Julia"", embellished an existing connection between Venus, whom Julius Caesar had adopted as his protectress, and Aeneas. Vergil's Aeneas is guided to Latium by Venus in her heavenly form, the morning star, shining brightly before him in the daylight sky; much later, she lifts Caesar's soul to heaven. In Ovid's ""Fasti"" Venus came to Rome because she ""preferred to be worshipped in the city of her own offspring"". In Vergil's poetic account of Octavian's victory at the"
"fire god Vulcan (a nephew of Pluto), and to Romulus the founder of Rome, but also alluding to the fictional planets of Vulcan and Romulus in the ""Star Trek"" universe. The 'Romulus' suggestion was discounted, as there is already an asteroid moon of that name, but Vulcan won the poll after Shatner tweeted about it, with Cerberus (the dog that guards Pluto's underworld) coming second and Styx (the goddess of the river of the same name in the underworld) coming third. The winning names were submitted to the International Astronomical Union. However, ""Vulcan"" was unacceptable to the IAU because it"
"Shrine of Venus Cloacina The Shrine of Venus Cloacina (""Sacellum Cloacinae"" or ""Sacrum Cloacina"") — the ""Shrine of Venus of the Sewer"" — was a small sanctuary on the Roman Forum, honoring the divinity of the ""Cloaca Maxima"", the spirit of the ""Great Drain"" or Sewer of Rome. Cloacina, the Etruscan goddess associated with the entrance to the sewer system, was later identified with the Roman goddess Venus for unknown reasons, according to Pliny the Elder. The Etruscan deity Cloacina may well have been associated originally with the small brook that later became the city's ""Cloaca Maxima"", but the Shrine"
"were especially sacred to her. Diana made up a triad with two other Roman deities; Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god. Diana is revered in modern Neopagan religions including Roman Neopaganism, Stregheria, and Wicca. From the medieval to the modern period, as folklore attached to her developed and was eventually adapted into neopagan religions, the mythology surrounding Diana grew to include a consort (Lucifer) and daughter (Aradia), figures sometimes recognized by modern traditions. In the ancient, medieval, and modern periods, Diana has been considered a triple deity, merged with a goddess of"
"Venus (mythology) Venus (, Classical Latin: ) is the Roman goddess, whose functions encompassed love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the mother of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles. The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus became one"
"Caca were the sons of Vulcan and of a local divine being or a virgin as in the case of Caeculus. Cacus and Caca would represent the metallurgic and the domestic fire, projections of Vulcan and of Vesta. These legends date back to the time of preurban Latium. Their meaning is quite clear: at the divine level Vulcan impregnates a virgin goddess and generates Jupiter, the king of the gods; at the human level he impregnates a local virgin (perhaps of royal descent) and generates a king. The first mention of a ritual connection between Vulcan and Vesta is the"
"Victoria (mythology) Victoria (), in ancient Roman religion, was the personified goddess of victory. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Nike, and was associated with Bellona. She was adapted from the Sabine agricultural goddess Vacuna and had a temple on the Palatine Hill. The goddess Vica Pota was also sometimes identified with Victoria. Victoria is often described as a daughter of Pallas and Styx, and as a sister of Zelus, Kratos, and Bia. Unlike the Greek ""Nike"", the goddess Victoria (Latin for ""victory"") was a major part of Roman society. Multiple temples were erected in her honor."
"Turan (mythology) Turan was the Etruscan goddess of love, fertility and vitality and patroness of the city of Velch. In art, Turan was usually depicted as a young winged girl. Turan appears in toilette scenes of Etruscan bronze mirrors. She is richly robed and jeweled in early and late depictions, but appears nude under the influence of Hellenistic art in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. She is paired with her young lover Atunis (Adonis) and figures in the episode of the Judgement of Paris. Turan was commonly associated with birds such as the dove, goose and above all the"
"Aetna (nymph) Aetna (Greek: , ""Aἴtnē"") was in Greek and Roman mythology a Sicilian nymph and, according to Alcimus, a daughter of Uranus and Gaia, or of Briareus. Stephanus of Byzantium says that according to one account Aetna was a daughter of Oceanus. Simonides said that she had acted as arbitrator between Hephaestus and Demeter respecting the possession of Sicily. By Zeus or Hephaestus she became the mother of the Palici. Mount Aetna in Sicily was believed to have derived its name from her, and under it Zeus buried Typhon, Enceladus, or Briareus. The mountain itself was believed to be"
"the sister of Liber and Fauna the daughter, sister, or wife of Faunus. Lipka suggests that these deities did not come into existence as pairs, but developed to provide complementary gender balance within their sphere of influence, in this case cattle-raising. Despite the lateness of the only ancient sources that mention her, Caca is probably an older Roman goddess. Servius says she had a ""sacellum"" (shrine), probably located in Rome, where sacrifices were made to her through the agency of the Vestals. She has thus been seen as a sort of ""proto-Vesta"", a fire goddess sharing in her brother's Vulcan-inherited"
"Vulcan (mythology) Vulcan (Latin: ""Volcānus"" or ""Vulcānus""; , ) is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. Vulcan 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. Vulcan belongs to the most ancient stage of Roman religion: Varro, the ancient Roman scholar and writer, citing the Annales Maximi, records that king Titus Tatius dedicated altars to a series of"
"Neptune (mythology) Neptune ( ) was the god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto; the brothers presided over the realms of Heaven, the earthly world, and the Underworld. Salacia was his wife. Depictions of Neptune in Roman mosaics, especially those of North Africa, are influenced by Hellenistic conventions. Neptune was likely associated with fresh water springs before the sea. Like Poseidon, Neptune was worshipped by the Romans also as a god of horses, under the name ""Neptunus"
"Proserpina Proserpina (; ) or Proserpine () is an ancient Roman goddess whose cult, myths and mysteries were combined from those of Libera, an early Roman goddess of wine, and the Greek Persephone and Demeter, goddesses of grain and agriculture. The originally Roman goddess Libera was daughter of the agricultural goddess Ceres and wife to Liber, god of wine and freedom. In 204 BC, a new ""greek-style"" cult to Ceres and Proserpina as ""Mother and Maiden"" was imported from southern Italy, along with Greek priestesses to serve it, and was installed in Libera and Ceres' temple on Rome's Aventine Hill."
"of the story of the birth of Romulus the details are identical even though Vulcan is not explicitly mentioned. Some scholars think that he might be the unknown god who impregnated goddesses Fortuna Primigenia at Praeneste and Feronia at Anxur. In this case he would be the father of Jupiter. This view is though in conflict with that which links the goddess to Jupiter, as his daughter (""puer Jovis"") and his mother too, as ""primigenia"", meaning ""primordial"". In all of the above-mentioned stories the god's fertilizing power is related to that of the fire of the house hearth. In the"
"throughout the Roman Empire. Elagabalus used his authority to install El-Gabal as the chief deity of the Roman pantheon, merging the god with the Roman sun gods to form ""Deus Sol Invictus"", meaning ""God - the Undefeated Sun"", and making him superior to Jupiter, and assigning either Astarte, Minerva, Urania, or some combination of the three, as El-Gabal's wife. He rode roughshod over other elements of traditional religion, marrying a Vestal Virgin (who were legally required to remain unmarried virgins during their service), and moved the most sacred relics of Roman religion (including the fire of Vesta, the Shields of"
"Nicaea (mythology) In Greek mythology, Nicaea or Nikaia was a naiad nymph (""the Astakid nymph"", as referred to by Nonnus) of the springs or fountain of the Greek colony of Nikaia in Bithynia (northwestern Anatolia) or else the goddess of the adjacent lake Askanios (Ascanius). She was the daughter of the river-god Sangarius and Cybele. By the god of wine, Dionysus, she mothered Telete (consecration) She was a devotee of the goddess Artemis. When a shepherd, Hymen, pursued Nicaea, she killed him with an arrow to the heart. This enraged Eros, who inspired Dionysus to fall in love with her."
"Dione is identified as the mother of the Roman goddess of love, Venus, or equivalently as the mother of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite; but Dione is also sometimes identified with Aphrodite. A Dione is among the Titanides or Titanesses. She is called a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, hence an Oceanid, a water-nymph. She is otherwise called a daughter of Gaia; according to worshippers of Orpheus her father is the sky-god Uranus, while others identify her father as Aether. She and Zeus are called the parents of Aphrodite by some ancient sources. Hesiod listed Dione among the wives"
"during an epidemic; in hope of its restoration, unafflicted women sacrificed their own hair to Venus. Venus Cloacina (""Venus the Purifier""); a fusion of Venus with the Etruscan water goddess Cloacina, who had an ancient shrine above the outfall of the Cloaca Maxima, originally a stream, later covered over to function as Rome's main sewer. The shrine contained a statue of Venus, whose rites were probably meant to purify the culvert's polluted waters and noxious airs. Pliny the Elder, remarking Venus as a goddess of union and reconciliation, identifies the shrine with a legendary episode in Rome's earliest history, when"
"justifies his view on the grounds that the ""flamen Volcanalis"" sacrificed to her at the Kalendae of May. In Piso's view the companion of the god is Maiestas. According to Gellius as well, Maia was associated with Vulcan; and he backs up his view by quoting the ritual prayers in use by Roman priests. The god is the patron of trades related to ovens (cooks, bakers, confectioners) as attested in the works of Plautus, Apuleius (the god is the cook at the wedding of Amor and Psyche) and in Vespa's short poem in the Anthologia Latina about the litigation between"
"of May. Vulcan was among the gods placated after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. In response to the same fire, Domitian (emperor 81–96) established a new altar to Vulcan on the Quirinal Hill. At the same time a red bull-calf and red boar were added to the sacrifices made on the Vulcanalia, at least in that region of the city. The nature of the god is connected with religious ideas concerning fire. The Roman concept of the god seems to associate him to both the destructive and the fertilizing powers of fire. In the first aspect he"
"substituted for the Nordic deities to help suppress paganism. The Roman pantheon had numerous deities, both Greek and non-Greek. The more famed deities, found in the mythologies and the 2nd millennium CE European arts, have been the anthropomorphic deities syncretized with the Greek deities. These include the six gods and six goddesses: Venus, Apollo, Mars, Diana, Minerva, Ceres, Vulcan, Juno, Mercury, Vesta, Neptune, Jupiter (Jove, Zeus); as well Bacchus, Pluto and Hercules. The non-Greek major deities include Janus, Fortuna, Vesta, Quirinus and Tellus (mother goddess, probably most ancient). Some of the non-Greek deities had likely origins in more ancient European"