The ''Lacus Iuturnae'', or ''Lacus Juturnae'' or Spring of Juturna, is the name of a formal pool built by the Romans near 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 ...

or well in the

Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...

. The pool was part of a shrine dedicated to the water nymph Juturna, and the name ''Lacus Iuturnae'' is also used for the spring and the shrine, both next to the pool.Eva Margareta Steinby, "Lacus Iuturnae" in '' Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae''. Edizioni Quasar, 1993. B000TGC41S The site was initially excavated by Giacomo Boni in the early twentieth century. Excavations from the 1980s onwards were supervised by

Eva Margareta Steinby Eva Margareta Steinby FSA (born 21 November 1938; Wilén until 1961) is a Finnish classical archaeologist. She was the director of the Finnish Institute in Rome from 1979–1982 and 1992–1994, and Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empir ...

Legends

The shrine marks a place where Roman legend claims the divine twins Castor and Pollux stopped to water their horses while passing through the city, and where they announced Roman victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus, 495 BC. During the Roman Empire, when another spring in the city had dried up, the Vestal Virgins used this spring to supply water for their religious ceremonies. The water at the ''Lacus Iuturnae'' was thought to have healing properties. The elderly and infirm would go to the spring with offerings in order to secure the assistance of Juturna in curing their malady. Shrine of Juturna

References

External links

James Grout: ''Lacus Juturnae''
part of the ''Encyclopædia Romana'' Ancient Roman religion Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Roman Forum Rome R. X Campitelli Springs of Italy {{AncientRome-myth-stub