![Aegeria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Aegeria.png)
Egeria (, grc, Ἠγερία) was a
nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
attributed a legendary role in the
early history of Rome as a divine consort and counselor of
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are a ...
, the second
king of Rome
The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...
, to whom she imparted laws and rituals pertaining to
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, ...
. Her name is used as an
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
for a female advisor or counselor.
Origin and etymology
Egeria may predate
Roman myth: she could have been of
Italic origin in the sacred forest of
Aricia in
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...
, her immemorial site, which was equally the grove of
Diana Nemorensis
Diana Nemorensis ("Diana of Nemi"), also known as " Diana of the Wood", was an Italic form of the goddess who became Hellenised during the fourth century BC and conflated with Artemis. Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of Lake N ...
("Diana of
Nemi
Nemi is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is northwest of Velletri and about southeast of Rome.
The town's name derives from the Latin ...
"). At Aricia there was also a Manius Egerius, a male counterpart of Egeria.
The name ''Egeria'' has been diversely interpreted.
Georges Dumézil
Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French philologist, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and mythology. He was a professor at Istanbul University, École pratique d ...
proposed it came from ''ē-gerere'' ("bear out"), suggesting an origin from her childbirth role. It may mean "of the
black poplar
''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref>
...
" (Greek αἴγειρος, ''aigeiros''). Her role as prophetess and author of "sacred books" would compare her to the Etruscan figure of
Vegoia
Vegoia (Etruscan: ''Vecu'') is a sibyl, prophet, or nymph within the Etruscan religious framework who is identified as the author of parts of their large and complex set of sacred books, detailing the religiously correct methods of founding cities ...
(alleged author among other things of "Libri Fulgurales", which give keys to interpreting the meaning of lightning strikes, seen as ominous messages from a variety of deities).
Function
Egeria as a nymph or minor goddess of the Roman religious system is of unclear origin; she is consistently, though not in a very clear way, associated with another figure of the
Diana type; their cult is known to have been celebrated at
sacred grove
Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...
s, such as the site of
Nemi
Nemi is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome (central Italy), in the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake. It is northwest of Velletri and about southeast of Rome.
The town's name derives from the Latin ...
at
Aricia, and another one close to Rome (see section below); both goddesses are also associated with water bearing wondrous, religious or medical properties (the source in that grove at Rome was dedicated to the exclusive use of the
Vestals
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...
); their cult was associated with other, male figures of even more obscure meaning, such as one named
Virbius
upright=1.3, ''The Death of Hippolytus'', by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
In Greek mythology, Hippolytus ( el, Ἱππόλυτος'', Hippolytos'' 'unleasher of horses'; ) is the son of Theseus and either Hippolyta or Antiope. His d ...
, or a Manius Egerius, presumably a youthful male, that anyway in later years was identified with figures like Atys or Hippolyte, because of the Diana reference (see Frazer).
Described sometime as a "mountain nymph" (Plutarch), she is usually regarded as a water
nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
and somehow her cult also involved some link with childbirth, like the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
goddess
Ilithyia
Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (; grc-gre, Εἰλείθυια; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of chi ...
.
But most of all, Egeria gave wisdom and prophecy in return for
libation
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today.
Various substa ...
s of water or milk at her
sacred grove
Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...
s. This quality has been made especially popular through the tale of her relationship with
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are a ...
(the second legendary king of Rome, who succeeded its founder Romulus).
Relationship with Numa Pompilius
![La ninfa Egeria dictando a Numa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/La_ninfa_Egeria_dictando_a_Numa.jpg)
According to mythology she counseled and guided the King
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are a ...
(Latin ''
numen
Numen (plural numina) is a Latin term for "divinity", "divine presence", or "divine will." The Latin authors defined it as follows:For a more extensive account, refer to Cicero writes of a "divine mind" (''divina mens''), a god "whose numen ever ...
'' designates "the expressed will of a deity") in the establishment of the original framework of laws and rituals of Rome. Numa is reputed to have written down the teachings of Egeria in "sacred books" that he had buried with him. When a chance accident brought them back to light some 500 years later, the Senate deemed them inappropriate for disclosure to the people, and ordered their destruction. What made them inappropriate was some matter of religious nature with "political" bearing that apparently has not been handed down by
Valerius Antias
Valerius Antias ( century BC) was an ancient Roman annalist whom Livy mentions as a source. No complete works of his survive but from the sixty-five fragments said to be his in the works of other authors it has been deduced that he wrote a chroni ...
, the source that
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 his ''P ...
was using.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς,
; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...
hints that they were actually kept as a very close secret by the Pontifices.
She is also gifted with oracular capabilities (she interpreted for Numa the abstruse omens of gods, for instance the episode of the omen from
Faunus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, after which Romans depicted him as a ...
). In another episode she helps Numa in a battle of wits with Jupiter himself, whereby Numa sought to gain a protective ritual against lightning strikes and thunder.
Numa also invoked communicating with other deities, such as
Muses
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...
; hence naturally enough, the somewhat "pale" figure of Egeria was later categorized by the Romans as 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 ...
, deities who came to be equated with the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
Muses
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...
as Rome fell under the cultural influence of Greece; so
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς,
; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...
listed Egeria among the Muses.
![Claude Lorrain 005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Claude_Lorrain_005.jpg)
The precise level of her relationship to Numa has been described diversely. She is typically given the respectful label ''coniūncta'' ("consort");
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 his ''P ...
is very evasive as of the actual mode of intimacy between Numa and Egeria, and hints that Numa himself entertained a level of ambiguity. By
Juvenal
Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...
's day that tradition was treated more critically. Juvenal called her Numa's ''amīca'' (or "girlfriend") in a sceptical phrase.
Numa Pompilius died in 673 BC of old age. According to
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
's ''
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
'', with Numa's death Egeria melted into tears of sorrow, thus becoming a
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
(''...donec pietate dolentis / mota soror Phoebi gelidum de corpore fontem / fecit...'' ), traditionally identified with the one nearby Porta Capena in Rome.
Egeria spring in Rome
![ninfeo egeria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Ninfeo_egeria.jpg)
A spring and a grove once sacred to Egeria stand close to a gate of Rome, the
Porta Capena
Porta Capena was a gate in the Servian Wall in Rome, Italy.
The gate was located in the area of Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian, Palatine and Aventine hills meet. Probably its exact position was between the entrance of Via di Valle de ...
. Its waters were dedicated to the exclusive use of the
Vestals
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...
. The ''
ninfeo'', a favored
picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
spot for nineteenth-century Romans, can still be visited in the archaeological
Park of the Caffarella
The Caffarella Park ( it, Parco della Caffarella) is a large park in Rome, Italy, protected from development. It is part of the ''Parco Regionale Appia Antica'' (Appian Way Regional Park). The park is contained in the Caffarella Valley and is bor ...
, between the
Appian Way
The Appian Way (Latin and Italian language, Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Republic, republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is ...
and the even more ancient
Via Latina
The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers.
Route
It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...
, nearby the
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...
(a later construction).
In the second century, when
Herodes Atticus
Herodes Atticus ( grc-gre, Ἡρώδης; AD 101–177) was an Athenian rhetorician, as well as a Roman senator. A great philanthropic magnate, he and his wife Appia Annia Regilla, for whose murder he was potentially responsible, commissioned ...
recast an inherited
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
nearby as a great landscaped estate, the natural
grotto
A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...
was formalized as an arched interior with an
apsidal end where a statue of Egeria once stood in a niche; the surfaces were enriched with revetments of green and white
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
facings and green
porphyry flooring and friezes of
mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
. The primeval spring, one of dozens of springs that flow into the river
Almone
The Almone (Latin: ''Almo'') is a small river of the Ager Romanus, a few miles south of the city of Rome. Today the river is polluted and is channelled to a sewage treatment plant and no longer reaches its natural confluence with the Tiber.
Name
T ...
, was made to feed large pools, one of which was known as ''Lacus Salutaris'' or "Lake of Health". Juvenal regretted an earlier phase of architectural elaboration:
:''Nymph of the Spring! More honour’d hadst thou been,''
:''If, free from art, an edge of living green,''
:''Thy bubbling fount had circumscribed alone,''
:''And marble ne’er profaned the native stone.''
[Juvenal, ''Satire'' 3.17–20, as translated by ]William Gifford
William Gifford (April 1756 – 31 December 1826) was an English critic, editor and poet, famous as a satirist and controversialist.
Life
Gifford was born in Ashburton, Devon, to Edward Gifford and Elizabeth Cain. His father, a glazier and ...
.
In modern literature
* In
Nathaniel Lee
Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an England, English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth; Dr Lee was ...
's
English Restoration
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...
tragedy ''
Lucius Junius Brutus
Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after ...
'' (1680), Egeria appears in a vision to Brutus' son Titus.
*
* In
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
, the canon Chasuble refers to Cecily's tutor Miss Prism as "Egeria."
* In
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
's
Under Western Eyes, (1911) Madame de S___, a Russian lady of "advanced views" is referred to as the Egeria of Peter Ivanovich, the "heroic fugitive" who wrote books preaching and practicing the cult of women under the rites of special devotion to the transcendental merits of Madame de S___.
Notes
External links
Roma Sotterranea: Il ninfeo di Egeria: (in Italian) Ruins of Egeria's Nymphaeum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egeria (deity)
Childhood goddesses
Classical oracles
Naiads
Oracular goddesses
Roman goddesses
Wisdom goddesses
Harvest goddesses