In
ancient Rome, Appias was a statue of a nymph near the Appiades Fountain in the
Forum of Caesar.
Ovid wrote that the fountain was in the middle of the
Temple of Venus Genetrix and surrounded by statues of nymphs who were called "The Appiades" (; plural form of Appias). Traditionally the Appiades are said to be of
Concordia,
Minerva,
Pax
Pax or PAX may refer to:
Peace
* Peace (Latin: ''pax'')
** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace
** Pax, a truce term
* Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services
* Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly kiss ...
,
Venus, and
Vesta.
In
Roman mythology, Appias was a
naiad
In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.
They are distinct from river gods, who ...
who lived in the Appian Well outside the temple to
Venus Genitrix in the
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
.
In one of his letters,
[ Cicero, ''Ad familiares'', 3. 1] Cicero refers to a statue of Minerva as "Appias". In this case, he derived this surname from the name of
Appius Claudius Pulcher, whom he intended to flatter.
References
Sources
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith, v. 1, page 248, under Appias
Characters in Roman mythology
Naiads
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