Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

, Laverna was a goddess of gain or profit and the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, who became associated with the protection of lower classes, refugees, and plans developed by

thieves Theft (, cognate to ) 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 short ...

. She was propitiated by

libations A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Various substances have been used for liba ...

poured with the left hand. The poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

and the playwright

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus ( ; 254 – 184 BC) was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by Livius Andro ...

called her a goddess of thieves. In

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, her sanctuary was near the Porta Lavernalis, the gate on the northern summit of the Aventine Hill.

Etymology

Several explanations have been given for the origins of the name: # from the

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

reconstruction , meaning "profit, gain", which makes it cognate with the more familiar . This is currently cited as the most likely etymology; # from Ancient Roman writings (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).

History

Laverna was an

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

deity in ancient Italy, originally one of the spirits of the underworld. A cup found in an Etruscan tomb bears the inscription "," (cf. poculum); and in a fragment of Septimius Serenus Laverna is expressly mentioned in connection with the , the underworld. She was worshiped at many sites by the Etruscans. By an easy transition into Ancient Roman mythology after Etruscan culture was superseded by that of Rome, Laverna 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 (; ; ) 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 southernmost of Rome's seven hills. I ...

, near the gate named after her, Lavernalis, on the northern summit of the southernmost of the seven hills of Rome. She had a sacred grove on the

Via Salaria The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' ( Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed throu ...

, the road across Italy that connects Rome to the Adriatic Sea. Roman sources state that her aid was invoked by thieves to enable them to carry out their plans successfully without forfeiting their reputation for piety and honesty. A sacred mountain in Tuscany entitled, La Verna, was the site of an ancient sanctuary of the goddess. This remote "Sanctuary of La Verna" was given to St. Francis by Count Orlando of Chiusi on May 8, 1213, and became the site where he chose to establish his religious order. In 1218, the Santa Maria degli Angeli chapel was built at the site.

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 fiction, detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of wikt:ratio ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

'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." "Laverna" is an unofficial nickname for Otter 841.

Etymology

History

Popular culture

Notes

References

Further reading