return to Home Page
or move on to Goddess Morrighan, next chronologically,
or use Her Cyclopedia Index

Minerva, {Mindful-One}.
MYN6V1
Alternate meaning: Full-of-Thought.
[to Whom the twenty-fourth day of September, day 267, is dedicated]

Geography/Culture: Etruscan > Roman.
Description: Goddess of the moon, the arts (including threatre), sciences and scholarship; Incarnation of wisdom; She of a thousand works; Inventor of music, numbers, weaving and other trades; Nature as Mind which directs the creative impulse; She Who presides over mental life; Matron of physcians, teachers, scholars and of all intellectual activities, especially as applied to everyday work.
To Whom Sacred: willow (5th tree of the tree-calendar alphabet); alder (of which the flower-decorated boats were probably made); flower-decorated boats (in Her festivals); owl (no doubt due to Her identification with Athene, I-Have-Come-From-Myself); the number 5, written 'V'; the letter 'M'; thunderbolts (of sudden insight); trumpet; flute.

Festivals: March 19 - 23, the Quinquatriai, (or perhaps Quinquatrus), 'the five halls', the artisans holiday. Source: Eliot M 136; Graves WG 174, 361; Kravitz WWGRM 149; Monaghan BGH 203-204; Vermeule GRARE 50, 130. Source:
Aeterna, {Eternal}
AT=RN1

Geography/Culture: Roman. Roma-Aeterna, {Eternal-Rome}, shared a temple near the colisseum (dedicated in CE 136-7) with Venus-Felix, ----, Her traditional companion.
Description: Divine personification of the city of Rome and its {eternal} worldwide rule.
To Whom Sacred: the Victoriola and Palladium {the same attributes of Roma, ----}.

Source: Vermeule GRARE 8, 35, 40.
Manasvin, Full-of-Mind.
M1N1SVYN
Alternate meaning: Full-of-Sense.

Geography/Culture: Hindustani.
Description: Mother of the moon.


Roma, ----.
ROM1

Geography/Culture: Roman.
Linguistic Note: Latin Roma is probably from the as yet undeciphered Etruscan language. Related English words: Rome, and all its derived words.
Description: Goddess of the world; Embodiment of the imperial ideal of the city as ruler of the world; She Who personifies the city Rome.
To Whom Sacred: eagle; the Seven Hills (of Rome); a human head (particularly a Dacian head); crested helmet; cuirass; short sword; shield; Victoriol; palladium; orb (symbol of universal domain).
Iconography: The standing Roma, ----, is Amazon-like wears a short skirt and slipped tunic, high-boots; short-sword at Her side. The seated Roma, ----, wears a crested helmet, has a short sword, sits traditionally on a cuirass (invariably Her attribute), later on a throne on the left side of which is attached the shield that is Her arm-rest, three or more shields are piled around Her. A helmet is by Her foot, or Her foot rests on one, or on a Dacian head, which in later representations becomes an orb. Her foot sometimes rests on a foot-stool, or on a small prow. Her left foot is extended, the right drawn back. She sometimes holds a Her chief attribute, figurine of Victoria in Her out-stretched right hand (normal pose), or the (also a chief attribute, or perhaps secondary -- don't know what that is), or a wreathe {but the wreathe may only belong to the Victoriola}, or an olive-branch. The orb, tends to replace the Victoriola in later times. Or She holds a short spear, [left-hand?] and sometimes has bow and quiver beside Her. Sometimes She has a cornucopia with Her, spear, or sceptre-staff (the sceptre-staff is sometimes eagle-topped, mostly simply knobbed).

Source: Vermeule GRARE 13, 29, 30-4, 37, 39, 40-3, 45, 51, 56, 59, 66, 69, 83, 84, 85, 106.
Virtus, Courage.
V6rTUS

Geography/Culture: Roman.
Victoria might be better place to keep Virtus, Courage. Or perhaps Culsu.
Description: Personification of the virtue of courage.
Iconography: usually standing warrior Amazon type figure with crested helmet, short-sword, short tunic and high boots, one or both breasts bared. These qualities, originally of Roma, ----, became the exclusive property of representations of Virtus, Courage; She holds a parazonium diagonally in the crook of Her right arm. Occasionally She has long drapery. Occasionally She is seated with the parazonium resting on Her knee.
She also appears in funerary sculpture standing beside the deceased, usually a person of imperatorial rank.

Source: Vermeule GRARE 8, 11, 41, 66-7, 100; Larousse NLEM 216.
worked on: September, August, July, June 1995; August 1991.
Return to the top of this document.