Acca Larentia or Acca Larentina was a mythical woman, later goddess of fertility, in
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...
whose festival, the
Larentalia, was celebrated on December 23.
Myths
Foster mother
In one mythological tradition (that of
Licinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer (died 66BC) was a Roman annalist and politician.
Life
A member of the ancient plebeian clan Licinia, he was tribune in 73BC. Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights. He became praetor in 68BC, but in 66BC Cic ...
, et al.), she was the wife of the shepherd
Faustulus
In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infant Romulus (the future founder of the city of Rome) and his twin brother Remus along the banks of the Tiber River as they were being suckled by the she-wolf, Lupa. According to lege ...
. And after
Romulus and Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf sucklin ...
were thrown into the
Tiber river
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...
, Faustulus brought them back to his home, where Acca Larentia would raise the children.
She had twelve sons, and on the death of one of them Romulus took his place. and with the remaining eleven founded the college of the Arval brothers (
Fratres Arvales
In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren ( la, Fratres Arvales, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide eviden ...
). She is therefore identified with the
Dea Dia of that collegium. The
flamen
A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...
Quirinalis acted in the role of
Romulus
Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...
(deified as
Quirinus
In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, as ''Janus Quirinus''.
Name
Attestations
The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman so ...
) to perform funerary rites for his foster mother.
Benefactor of Rome
Another tradition holds that Larentia was a beautiful girl of notorious reputation, roughly the same age as
Romulus and Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf sucklin ...
, during the reign of
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the assembly of the people wh ...
in the 7th century BCE. She was awarded to
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
as a prize in a game of dice by the guardian of his temple, and locked in it with his other prize, a feast. When the god no longer had need of her, he advised her to marry the first man she met as she stepped out that morning, who turned out to be a wealthy Etruscan named Carutius (or
Tarrutius, according to
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
). Larentia later inherited all his property and bequeathed it to the Roman people.
[ Ancus, in gratitude for this, allowed her to be buried in the ]Velabrum The Velabrum () is the low valley in the city of Rome that connects the Forum with the Forum Boarium, and the Capitoline Hill with the western slope of the Palatine Hill. The name Velabrum may translate to "place of mud." It was believed that befor ...
, and instituted an annual festival, the Larentalia, at which sacrifices were offered to the Lares
Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these.
Lare ...
. Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
explicitly states that this Larentia was a different person from the Larentia who was married to Faustulus, although other writers, such as Licinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer (died 66BC) was a Roman annalist and politician.
Life
A member of the ancient plebeian clan Licinia, he was tribune in 73BC. Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights. He became praetor in 68BC, but in 66BC Cic ...
, relate their stories as belonging to the same individual.
Prostitute
Yet another tradition holds that Larentia was neither the wife of Faustulus nor the consort of Hercules, but a courtesan called ''lupa'' by the shepherds. Lupa literally means " she-wolf", although the word colloquially meant "prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
". The legend also states that she left the fortune she amassed through sex work to the Roman people.[
]
Connection to Lares
Whatever may be thought of the contradictory accounts of Acca Larentia, it seems clear that she was of Etruscan origin, thus possibly connected with the worship of the Lares
Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these.
Lare ...
.[ It is entirely possible her name may be derived from Lares. This relation is also apparent in the number of her sons, which corresponds to that of the twelve country Lares.] Wiseman explores the connections among Acca Larentia, Lara, and Larunda in several of his books. Acca Larentia has also been associated with another Roman Goddess named Dea Dia.[
]
Functions
Like Ceres, Tellus
Tellus is a Latin word meaning "Earth" and may refer to:
* An alternative name for the planet Earth
* Tellus of Athens, a citizen of ancient Athens who was thought to be the happiest of men
* Tellus Mater or Terra Mater, the ancient Roman earth mo ...
, Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
...
, and others, Acca Larentia symbolized the fertility of the earth, in particular the city lands and their crops. Acca Larentia is also identified with Larentina, Mana Genita
In ancient Roman religion, Mana Genita or Geneta Mana is an obscure goddess mentioned only by Pliny, Plutarch, and Horace. Both Pliny and Plutarch tell that her rites were carried out by the sacrifice of a puppy or a bitch. Plutarch alone has lef ...
, and Muta.
In modern literature
Acca is a character in David Drake
David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre.
Biography
Drake graduated Ph ...
's story "To Bring the Light", a reconstruction of Rome's beginnings around 751 BCE. She is depicted as a sympathetic village woman in the small shepherd community on Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...
from which Rome would begin.
References
External links
*
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8th century BC in the Roman Kingdom
Characters in Roman mythology
Roman goddesses
Agricultural goddesses
Ancient Roman courtesans