|
Mefitis
Mefitis was the Samnite goddess of the foul-smelling gases of the earth, worshipped in central and southern Italy since before Roman times, with her main shrine at the volcano Ampsanctus in Samnium. There was a temple dedicated to her in Cremona, and another on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. It is theorized that Mefitis was originally a goddess of underground sources, such as natural springs—the fact that many of these springs were sulfurous led to her association with noxious gases. She is almost always identified with volcanoes, having been worshipped at Pompeii. Her name, which likely means "one who smokes in the middle", is also seen as Mephitis. Overview In Roman mythology, Mefitis (or Mephitis; Mefite in Italian) was a minor goddess of the poisonous gases emitted from the ground in swamps and volcanic vapors. Foul-smelling geological fissures connected to the divinity (see below) are located in Italy along the Via Appia between Rome and Brindisi. There, the ancient Rom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocca San Felice
Rocca San Felice is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Geography Located in the central area of Irpinia, the municipality borders with Frigento, Guardia Lombardi, Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, Sturno and Villamaina. It counts no hamlets (''frazioni'') but some localities as Carmasciano, Fontana dell'Olmo, Palombaia, Santa Felicita, Serro del Bosco, Taverna Bruciata, Toriello and Valli. The town is from Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, from Lioni, from Avellino and from Benevento. Main sights Among the main sights of the town there is the Castle and the old town, the Church of St. Maria Maggiore, the Chapel of Mary of Constantinople and the Sanctuary of Santa Felicita, in the homonymous locality. Mefitis The archaeological site of Ansanto Valley (''Valle d'Ansanto''), better known as "Mefite", is a sulphurous lake valley, few kilometres from the towns of Villamaina and Torella dei Lombardi. It was named after the ancient Italic goddess Mefitis, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mefite Of Rocca San Felice
Rocca San Felice is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Geography Located in the central area of Irpinia, the municipality borders with Frigento, Guardia Lombardi, Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, Sturno and Villamaina. It counts no hamlets (''frazioni'') but some localities as Carmasciano, Fontana dell'Olmo, Palombaia, Santa Felicita, Serro del Bosco, Taverna Bruciata, Toriello and Valli. The town is from Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, from Lioni, from Avellino and from Benevento. Main sights Among the main sights of the town there is the Castle and the old town, the Church of St. Maria Maggiore, the Chapel of Mary of Constantinople and the Sanctuary of Santa Felicita, in the homonymous locality. Mefitis The archaeological site of Ansanto Valley (''Valle d'Ansanto''), better known as "Mefite", is a sulphurous lake valley, few kilometres from the towns of Villamaina and Torella dei Lombardi. It was named after the ancient Italic goddess Mefitis, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samnites
The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they formed a confederation consisting of four tribes: the Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. Although allied together against the Gauls in 354 BC, they later became enemies of the Romans and fought them in a series of three wars. Despite an overwhelming victory at the Battle of the Caudine Forks (321 BC), the Samnites were subjugated in 290 BC. Although severely weakened, the Samnites would still side against the Romans, first in the Pyrrhic War and then with Hannibal in the Second Punic War. They also fought in the Social War and later in Sulla's civil war as allies of the Roman consuls Papirius Carbo and Gaius Marius against Sulla, who defeated them and their leader Pontius Telesinus at the Battle of the Colline Gate (82 BC). Afterward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ampsanctus
Ampsanctus, or Amsanctus (modern: Sorgente Mefita) was a small lake in the territory of the Hirpini, south of Aeclanum, close to the Via Appia (southern Italy). There are now two small pools which exhale carbonic acid gas and hydrogen sulfide. Close by was a temple of the goddess Mephitis, with a cave from which suffocating vapors rose, and for this reason the place was brought into connection with the legends of the infernal regions. Virgil's description (''Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...'', vii. 563) is not, however, very accurate. Notes Ancient Roman temples {{Campania-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Goddesses
The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin literature, Roman art, and religious life as it was experienced throughout the Empire. Many of the Romans' own gods remain obscure, known only by name and sometimes function, through inscriptions and texts that are often fragmentary. This is particularly true of those gods belonging to the archaic religion of the Romans dating back to the era of kings, the so-called "religion of Numa", which was perpetuated or revived over the centuries. Some archaic deities have Italic or Etruscan counterparts, as identified both by ancient sources and by modern scholars. Throughout the Empire, the deities of peoples in the provinces were given new theological interpretations in light of functions or attributes they shared with Roman deities. An extensive a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avernus
Avernus was an ancient name for a volcanic crater near Cumae (Cuma), Italy, in the region of Campania west of Naples. Part of the Phlegraean Fields of volcanoes, Avernus is approximately in circumference. Within the crater is Lake Avernus ('). Role in ancient Roman society Avernus was believed to be the entrance to the underworld, and is portrayed as such in the ''Aeneid'' of Virgil. According to tradition, all birds flying over the lake were destined to fall dead, hence the lake’s name was transferred to Greek as ‚ or "Birdless (lake)". This was likely due to the toxic fumes that mouths of the crater gave off into the atmosphere. In later times, the word was simply an alternative name for the underworld. On the shores of the lake is the grotto of the Cumaean Sibyl and the entrance to a long tunnel (Grotta di Cocceio, c. ) leading toward Cumae, where her sanctuary was located. There are also the remains of temples to Apollo and Jupiter. During the civil war between Octavian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus. Biography Varro was born in or near Reate (now Rieti) to a family thought to be of equestrian rank, and always remained close to his roots in the area, owning a large farm in the Reatine plain, reported as near Lago di Ripasottile, until his old age. He supported Pompey, reaching the office of praetor, after having been tribune of the people, ''quaestor'' and ''curule aedile''. It is probable that Varro was discontented with the course on which Pompey entered when the First Triumvirate was formed, and he may thus have lost his chance of rising to the consulate. He actually ridiculed the coalition in a work entitled the ''Three-Headed Monster'' ( in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mephitis (genus)
The genus ''Mephitis'' is one of several genera of skunks, which has two species and a North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ... distribution. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mephitis (Genus) Skunks Mammal genera Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire eo:Mefito ru:Скунс ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mephitidae
Mephitidae is a family of mammals comprising the skunks and stink badgers. They are noted for the great development of their anal scent glands, which they use to deter predators. Skunks were formerly classified as a subfamily of the Mustelidae (the weasel family); however, recent genetic evidence has caused skunks to be treated as a separate family. Similarly, the stink badgers had been classified with badgers, but genetic evidence shows they share a more recent common ancestor with skunks, so they are now included in the skunk family. A 2017 study using retroposon markers indicated that they are most closely related to the Ailuridae (red pandas and allies) and Procyonidae (raccoons and allies). There are twelve extant species of mephitids in four genera: ''Conepatus'' (hog-nosed skunks, four species); '' Mephitis'' (the hooded and striped skunks, two species); ''Mydaus'' (stink badgers, two species); and ''Spilogale'' (spotted skunks, four species). The two stink badgers in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fumarole
A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcanic activity, but fumarole activity can also precede a volcanic eruption and has been used for eruption prediction. Most fumaroles die down within a few days or weeks of the end of an eruption, but a few are persistent, lasting for decades or longer. An area containing fumaroles is known as a fumarole field. The predominant vapor emitted by fumaroles is steam, formed by the circulation of groundwater through heated rock. This is typically accompanied by volcanic gases given off by magma cooling deep below the surface. These volcanic gases include sulfur compounds, such as various sulfur oxides and hydrogen sulfide, and sometimes hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, and other gases. A fumarole that emits significant sulfur compounds is some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esquiline
The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' (Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is that the hill was named after the abundance of ( Italian oaks) growing there. Another view is that, during Rome's infancy, the Capitolium, the Palatinum, and the northern fringes of the Caelian were the most-populated areas of the city, whose inhabitants were considered ("in-towners"); those who inhabited the external regions – Aurelian, Oppius, Cispius, Fagutal – were considered ("suburbanites"). History The Esquiline Hill includes three prominent spurs, which are sometimes called "hills" as well: *Cispian (''Cispius'') – northern spur * Oppian (''Oppius'') – southern spur *Fagutal (''Fagutalis'') – western spur Rising above the valley in which was later built the Colosseum, the Esquiline was a fashionable residential di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Face Mefitis
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the psyche adversely. Structure The front of the human head is called the face. It includes several distinct areas, of which the main features are: *The forehead, comprising the skin beneath the hairline, bordered laterally by the temples and inferiorly by eyebrows and ears *The eyes, sitting in the orbit and protected by eyelids and eyelashes * The distinctive human nose shape, nostrils, and nasal septum *The cheeks, covering the maxilla and mandibula (or jaw), the extremity of which is the chin *The mouth, with the upper lip divided by the philtrum, sometimes revealing the teeth Facial appearance is vital for human recognition and communication. Facial muscles in humans allow expression of emotions. The face is itself a highly sens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Fumarole")
