Numina

Possession of numen

The term denoted some abstract concept possessed by a deity. For instance, the 1st-century CE Roman poetHorace recounts a myth wherein Jupiter forms a layer of ice over snow utilizing his "puro numine" ("unimpeded or unmixed numen"). Deities could also possess multiple numina: In the Aeneid, Virgil—a 1st-century BCE Roman poet—ascribes to the goddess Junonumina, in the plural, and Servius—a 4th-century CE Grammarian—writes, in his commentaries upon the Aeneid, that "Iuno multa habet numina" ("Juno has many numina"). It is possible that the usage of specifically the term numina solely served to accommodate the metrical demands of poetry, though it is alternatively possible that the plural form represents the various functions of a deity or the differing ways they could manifest their influence. Livy, a 1st-century BCE Roman historian, ascribes numen to the gods collectively rather than any specific deity, writing, for instance, of the "great will of the gods" ("magnumque deorum numen").