In ancient Roman religion, Empanda or Panda was a goddess, or possibly an epithet of Juno. Festus identifies her only as a ''dea paganorum'', "goddess of the rustics." Varro associates her with Ceres, and notes that there is a Roman gate named after her, the ''Porta Pandana''. A similarly named gate is mentioned in the

Umbrian Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian ...

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(VIa 14): ''pertome Padellar''.

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 calle ...

connects the word with ''pandere'', "to open," but also explains it by ''panem dare'', "to give bread," so that Empanda would be the goddess of bread or food. Modern scholarship associates the Latin Empanda with the Oscan Patanaí (in the dative singular), and the Umbrian ''Padellar'' (<*''Padenla:s'' < *''Patnla:s'' < *''Patnola:s''), with Latin ''-nd-'' regularly from ''*-tn-'', and Oscan regular vowel insertion to break up consonant clusters. All are ultimately related to not only ''pando/pandere'', but also to Latin ''pateo'' "I open" and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root ''*peth₂-'' "to spread" seen also in English ''fathom'' (originally meaning "outstretched arms"). Empanda had a sanctuary near the gate which led to the

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and which was called the ''

Porta Pandana The Porta Pandana (also known as the ''Porta Saturnia'') was an ancient Roman gateway in the original fortifications of the Capitoline Hill. According to Festus, this gate was the one through which Tarpeia allowed the Sabines to enter the city of ...

'' after her. Her temple was an

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which was always open. Needy supplicants who came to it were supplied with food from the resources of the temple. In the opinion of Leonhard Schmitz, this custom shows the meaning of the name ''Panda'' or ''Empanda'': it is connected with ''pandere'', to open; she is accordingly the goddess who is open to or admits any one who wants protection.

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(die Religion der Röm. ii. p. 76, &c.) – cited by Schmitz thinks that ''Empanda'' and ''Panda'' are only surnames of Juno.

Footnotes

References

* Roman goddesses {{AncientRome-myth-stub ru:Empanda