In Roman mythology, Laverna was a goddess of

thieves Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

, cheats and the underworld. She was propitiated by libations poured with the left hand. The poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

and the playwright Plautus call her a goddess of thieves. In Rome, her sanctuary was near the

Porta Lavernalis Porta can refer to: People * Porta (rapper) (born 1988), stagename of Christian Jiménez Bundo, a Spanish rap singer * Bernardo Porta (1758–1829), Italian composer active in France * Bianca Della Porta (born 1991), Canadian ice hockey and rugby ...

History

Laverna was an old Italian deity, originally one of the spirits of the underworld. A cup found in an Etruscan tomb bears the inscription "," (cf.

poculum ''Poculum'' is a genus of fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classi ...

); and in a fragment of Septimius Serenus Laverna is expressly mentioned in connection with the . By an easy transition, she came to be regarded as the protectress of thieves, whose operations were associated with darkness. She had an altar on the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...

, near the gate called after her Lavernalis, and a grove on the Via Salaria. Her aid was invoked by thieves to enable them to carry out their plans successfully without forfeiting their reputation for piety and honesty. cites Horace, ''Ep.'' i. 16, 60. Many explanations have been given of the name: # from (Schol. on Horace, who gives as another form of or robber); # from (Acron on Horace, according to whom thieves were called , perhaps referring to bath thieves); # from (cf. shop-lifters). Modern etymologists connect it with ', and explain it as meaning the goddess of gain.

Popular culture

Her name is used for the main antagonist in the CGI animation Barbie: Fairytopia film series. Laverna is an evil fairy who is the twin sister of the land's fairy queen, The Enchantress. In “

The Murders in the Rue Morgue "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in 1841. It has been described as the first modern detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". C. Auguste Dup ...

,” Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin describes the ineffective Prefect of Police as “too cunning to be profound. In his wisdom is no stamen. It is all head and no body, like the pictures of the Goddess Laverna.”

History

Popular culture

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Further reading