Flora ( la, Flōra) is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

of flowers and of the season of

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 ...

– a symbol for nature and flowers (especially the may-flower). While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several

fertility goddesses A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with fertility, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and crops. In some cases these deities are directly associated with these experiences; in others they are more abstract symbols. Fertility rites may ac ...

, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime, as did her role as goddess of youth. She was one of the fifteen deities who had their own

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 ...

, the ''Floralis'', one of the ''

flamines minores 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 ...

''. Her

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 ...

counterpart is Chloris.

Etymology

The name ''Flōra'' descends from

Proto-Italic The Proto-Italic language is the ancestor of the Italic languages, most notably Latin and its descendants, the Romance languages. It is not directly attested in writing, but has been reconstructed to some degree through the comparative method. P ...

''*flōsā'' ('goddess of flowers'), itself a derivation from Proto-Italic ''*flōs'' ('flower'; cf.

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''flōs'', ''flōris'' 'blossom, flower'). It is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

with the

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...

goddess of flowers ''Fluusa'', demonstrating that the cult was known more widely among

Italic peoples The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family. The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at leas ...

. The name ultimately derives from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

''*bʰleh₃ōs'' ('blossoming').

Festival

Her festival, the ''

Floralia The Floralia was a festival in ancient Roman religious practice in honor of the goddess Flora, held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 in the Julian calendar. The festival included ''Ludi Florae'', the "Games of Flora", which lasted ...

'', was held between April 28 and May 3 and symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life, drinking, and flowers. The festival was first instituted in 240 B.C.E, and on the advice of the

Sibylline books The ''Sibylline Books'' ( la, Libri Sibyllini) were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and were consulted at mo ...

, she was also given a temple in 238 B.C.E. At the festival, with the men decked in flowers, and the women wearing normally forbidden gay costumes, five days of farces and mimes were enacted –

ithyphallic A phallus is a penis (especially when Erection, erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimesis, mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically— ...

, and including nudity when called for – followed by a sixth day of the hunting of goats and hares.H. Nettleship ed., ''A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'' (1891) p. 238 On May 23 another (rose) festival was held in her honor. Flora's

equivalent is Chloris, who was a nymph. Flora is married to Favonius, the wind god also known as Zephyr, and her companion was

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 Gr ...

. Flora achieved more prominence in the neo-pagan revival of Antiquity among

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanis ...

than she had ever enjoyed in ancient Rome.

Music

Flora is the main character of the ballet ''

The Awakening of Flora ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. She is also mentioned in

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

Nymphs and Shepherds Nymphs and Shepherds is a song by the English composer Henry Purcell, from the play ''The Libertine'' by Thomas Shadwell. When the play was first performed, in 1675, the accompanying music was by William Turner. Purcell's music was first use ...

Sculpture

There are many monuments to Flora, for example 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 ...

(Italy),

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

(Spain), and Szczecin (Poland).

In art

File:Carthage(js)5.jpg, Ancient Roman mosaic of Flora in the

Carthage National Museum Carthage National Museum is a national museum in Byrsa, Tunisia. Along with the Bardo National Museum, it is one of the two main local archaeological museums in the region. The edifice sits atop Byrsa Hill, in the heart of the city of Carthage. ...

File:INC-3004-a Ауреус. Ок. 43—39 гг. до н. э. Монетарий Клодий Весталий (аверс).png, Flora on a gold

aureus The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden', used as a noun) was a gold coin of ancient Rome originally valued at 25 pure silver ''denarii'' (sin. denarius). The ''aureus'' was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th cent ...

of 43–39 BCE File:Primavera 04.jpg, Detail of Flora from '' Primavera'' by

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

, c. 1482 File:Flora, por Tiziano.jpg, Flora by

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

, 1515 File:1520 Veneto Idealbildnis einer Kurtisane als Flora anagoria.JPG, Idealized Portrait of a Courtesan as Flora by

Bartolomeo Veneto Bartolomeo Veneto (active 1502–31) was an Italian painter who worked in Venice, the Veneto (the mainland), and Lombardy. During his time in Venice, he studied under Gentile Bellini. The little information available about Bartolomeo's life ...

, c. 1520 File:Francesco Melzi 002a.jpg,

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''. E ...

Francesco Melzi Francesco Melzi, or Francesco de Melzi (1491–1570), was an Italian painter born into a family of the Milanese nobility in Lombardy. He became a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci and remained as his closest professional assistant throughout his career. ...

, c. 1520 File:Jan Brueghel the Elder & Peter Paul Rubens - Flora and Zephyr, 1617.jpg, Flora and Zephyr, by

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborato ...

and

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

, 1617 File:Claude Vignon - Flora - WGA25093.jpg, Flora by

Claude Vignon Claude Vignon (19 May 1593 – 10 May 1670) was a French painter, printmaker and illustrator who worked in a wide range of genres.Paola Pacht Bassani. "Vignon, Claude." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 2 November ...

, 1650 File:Rembrandt, Flora, circa 1654, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.jpg, Flora by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

, 1654 File:Flora (Museum of Bordeaux).jpg, Flora or Hebe by

Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish portrait painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insight ...

, 18th century File:Flora By Valentine Bromley.jpg, Flora by

Valentine Walter Bromley Valentine Walter Bromley (14 February 1848 – 30 April 1877) was a British artist. He was born into a well-known family of artists: his grandfather, William Bromley the Younger (1769-1842), was a tint-engraver and an Associate of the Royal ...

, 1874 File:Keller, Ferdinand - Flora - 1883.jpg, Flora by Ferdinand Keller, 1883 File:Mosè Bianchi Flora.jpg, Flora by

Mosè Bianchi Mosè Bianchi (1840–1904) was an Italian painter and printmaker. Biography Bianchi was born in Monza. His family moved to Milan and he enrolled at the Brera Academy. Having interrupted his studies to serve in the second war of independence, h ...

1890

References

Bibliography

Primary

* Ovid, ''Fasti'' V.193-212 * Macrobius, ''Saturnalia'' I.10.11-14 * Lactantius, ''Divinae institutions'' I.20.6-10

External links

* * *
The Obscure Goddess Online Directory: Flora
{{Authority control Roman goddesses Fertility goddesses Spring deities Nature goddesses Italic deities