![Roman terracotta mother goddess 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Roman_terracotta_mother_goddess_1.JPG)
Mater Matuta was an indigenous
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 ...
goddess, whom the
Romans
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 ...
eventually made equivalent to the
dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
goddess
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
, and the
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 ...
goddess
Eos
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Eos (; Ionic and Homeric Greek ''Ēṓs'', Attic ''Héōs'', "dawn", or ; Aeolic ''Aúōs'', Doric ''Āṓs'') is the goddess and personification of the dawn, who rose each morning from her home ...
. Her cult is attested several places in
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...
; her most famous temple was located at
Satricum
Satricum (modern Le Ferriere), an ancient town of Latium vetus, lay on the right bank of the Astura river some SE of Rome in a low-lying region south of the Alban Hills, at the NW border of the Pontine Marshes. It was directly accessible from Ro ...
. In Rome she had a temple on the north side of the
Forum Boarium
The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the cattle ''forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome ...
, allegedly built by
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome ...
, destroyed in 506 B.C., and rebuilt by
Marcus Furius Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus (; c. 446 – 365 BC) was a Roman soldier and statesman of the patrician class. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of ''Second Founder ...
in 396 B.C., and she was also associated with the sea harbors and ports, where there were other temples to her.
Another remarkable place of worship was located in
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
, outside modern
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History
Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
. Dozens of
votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
statues representing ''matres matutae'' were found in the so-called "fondo Patturelli" (a private estate) during excavations in the 19th century. An extensive collection of these votives is housed in the
Museo Campano
The Museo Provinciale Campano di Capua (commonly referred to as Museo Campano) is a provincial museum located in Capua, southern Italy. Established in 1870 and inaugurated in 1874, it is housed in the historic Palazzo Antignano. The museum is dedi ...
in Capua.
Matralia
At Rome her festival was the
Matralia
Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora, and the Greek goddess Eos. Her cult is attested several places in Latium; her most famous temple was located at Satricum. In Rom ...
, celebrated on June 11 at
her temple in the
Forum Boarium
The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the cattle ''forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome ...
. The festival was only for single women or women in their first marriage, who offered prayers for their nephews and nieces, and then drove a slave out of the temple.
[Plutarch, ''Quaestiones Romanae'', 16.]
See also
*
List of Roman birth and childhood deities
In ancient Roman religion, birth and childhood deities were thought to care for every aspect of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and child development. Some major deities of Roman religion had a specialized function they contributed to this ...
References
Further reading
* Desport, Marie. "Matuta, l'Aurore chez Évandre". In: ''Revue des Études Anciennes''. Tome 49, 1947, n°1-2. pp. 111-129.
OI: https://doi.org/10.3406/rea.1947.3366;
ww.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1947_num_49_1_3366* Flacelière, R. Deux rites du culte de « Mater Matuta », Plutarque, Camille, 5, 2.. In: Revue des Études Anciennes. Tome 52, 1950, n°1-2. pp. 18-27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/rea.1950.3415; www.persee.fr/doc/rea_0035-2004_1950_num_52_1_3415
* Kaizer, Ted. Leucothea as Mater Matuta at Colonia Berytus. A note on local mythology in the Levant and the Hellenisation of a Phoenician city. In: Syria. Tome 82, 2005. pp. 199-206. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/syria.2005.8691 ; www.persee.fr/doc/syria_0039-7946_2005_num_82_1_8691
External links
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Solar goddesses
Roman goddesses
Dawn goddesses
Aurora (mythology)