The ''Iunonalia'' or Junonalia is a

Roman festival Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in religion in ancient Rome, Roman religious life during both the Roman Republic, Republican and Roman Empire, Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feri ...

in honor of

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

, held on March 7 (the

Nones Nones may refer to: * ''Nones'' (Auden), a 1951 book of poems by W. H. Auden * ''Nones'' (Berio), a 1954 orchestral composition by Luciano Berio *Nones (calendar), or ''Nonae'', days of the Roman Calendar *None (liturgy) Nones (), also known as N ...

). Among extant Roman calendars, it appears only in the

Calendar of Filocalus The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrato ...

(354 AD), and was added to the festival calendar after the mid-1st century AD. The Junonalia is attested also in a fragmentary poem ''De Iunonalibus'', attributed to

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost ent ...

. In it, Juno is addressed as mistress of the celestial pole, and the spouse and sister of the king of heaven. Her function as a goddess of marital bonds is also noted. Although the text is conjectural at this point, she may be asked to grant a return. The Junonalia may have concluded a three-day festival begun March 5 with the

Isidis Navigium The ''Navigium Isidis'' or ''Isidis Navigium'' (trans. ''the vessel of Isis'') was an annual ancient Roman religious festival in honor of the goddess Isis, held on March 5. The festival outlived Christian persecution by Theodosius (391) and ...

, the "Sailing of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

." In the ''

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 ...

'' of

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...

, Isis is addressed as Queen of Heaven, and by the 2nd century a number of goddesses, including Juno, shared the epithet ''Caelestis''.Stephen Benko, ''The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology'' (Brill, 2004), pp. 112–114.

References

{{Roman religion (festival) Ancient Roman festivals March observances Festivals of Hera Religious festivals in Italy Juno (mythology)