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In
ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
and
myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
, Carmenta was a goddess of childbirth and prophecy, associated with technological innovation as well as the protection of mothers and children and a patron of
midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; c ...
. She was also said to have invented the
Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...
.


Background

The name ''Carmenta'' is derived from Latin ''
carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...
'', meaning a magic spell, oracle or song, and also the root of the English word ''charm''. Her original name was Nicostrate (, "victory-army"), but it was changed later to honor her renown for giving oracles (Latin singular: ''carmen''). She was the mother of Evander of Pallene (fathered by
Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orat ...
) and, along with other Greek followers, they founded the town of
Pallantium Pallantium ( grc, Παλλάντιον) was an ancient city near the Tiber river on the Italian peninsula. Roman mythology, as recounted in Virgil's ''Aeneid'' for example, states that the city was founded by Evander of Pallene and other ancie ...
which later was one of the sites of the start of Rome.
Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Gramma ...
(''Fab. 277'') mentions the legend that it was she who altered fifteen letters of the Greek alphabet to become the Latin alphabet which her son Evander introduced into Latium. Carmenta was one of the
Camenae In Roman mythology, the Camenae (; also ''Casmenae'', ''Camoenae'') were originally goddesses of childbirth, wells and fountains, and also prophetic deities. List of Camenae There were four Camenae: *Carmenta, or Carmentis * Egeria, or Ægeria, o ...
and the
Cimmerian Sibyl Cimmerian Sibyl by Guercino. The Cimmerian Sibyl, by name Carmentis, was the prophetic priestess presiding over the Apollonian Oracle at Cimmerium in Italy, near Lake Avernus (i.e. Cumae). Background The word Sibyl comes (via Latin) fr ...
. The leader of her cult was called the ''flamen carmentalis''. It was forbidden to wear
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
or other forms of dead skin in her temple which was next to the Porta Carmentalis in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. Her festival, called the
Carmentalia Carmentalia was the two feast days (11 January and 15 January) of the Roman goddess Carmenta In ancient Roman religion and myth, Carmenta was a goddess of childbirth and prophecy, associated with technological innovation as well as the prote ...
, was celebrated primarily by women on January 11 and January 15. She is remembered in ''
De Mulieribus Claris ''De Mulieribus Claris'' or ''De Claris Mulieribus'' (Latin for "Concerning Famous Women") is a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in Latin prose in 1361–1362. ...
'', a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author
Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was som ...
, composed in 136162. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature.


See also

* Theodontius


References


Primary sources

*Ovid, ''Fasti i.461-542'' *Servius, ''In Aeneida viii.51'' *Solinus, ''Collectanea rerum memorabilium i.10, 13''


Secondary sources

*The Dictionary of Classical Mythology by Pierre Grimal, page 89 "Carmenta" *The Book of the City of Ladies, by Christine de Pizan, section I.33.2 *The Lincoln Beacon, Lincoln, Kansas, United States of America "Carmenta" 16 September 1880.


External links


Roman MythologyList of Minor Roman Gods
{{Roman religion Childhood goddesses Creators of writing systems Oracular goddesses Roman goddesses