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Roman Goddesses - B
Bacchae
An epithet of the Maenads; the frenzied, ecstatic women in the train of
Dionysus.
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Bellona
The Roman goddess of war, popular among the Roman soldiers. She accompanied
Mars in battle, and was variously referred to as his wife, sister or daughter.
She had a temple on the Capitolinus (inaugurated in 296 BCE and burned
down in 48 BCE), where, as an act of war, a spear was cast against the
distant enemy. Her festivals were celebrated on the 24th of March (Dies
Sanguinis, the Day of Blood) and the 3rd of June. Bellona's attribute
is a sword and she is depicted wearing a helmet and armed with a spear
and a torch. She could be of Etruscan origin, and is identified with the
Greek Enyo.
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Bona
Dea
("the Good Goddess") A Roman fertility goddess, especially worshipped
by the Roman matrons. She presided over both virginity and fertility in
women. She is the daughter of the god Faunus and she herself is often
called Fauna. She had a temple on the Aventine Hill, but her secret rites
(on December 4) were not held there but in the house of a prominent Roman
magistrate. Only women were admitted and even representations of men and
beasts were removed. At these secret meetings it was forbidden to speak
the words 'wine' and 'myrtle' because Faunus had once made her drunk and
beaten her with a myrtle stick. Her festival was observed on May 1. Similarly,
no men were allowed to be present here either.
She was also a healing goddess and the sick were tended in her temple
garden with medicinal herbs. Bona Dea was portrayed sitting on a throne,
holding a cornucopia. The snake is her attribute, a symbol of healing,
and consecrated snakes were kept in her temple at Rome, indicating her
phallic nature. Her image could often be found on coins.
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Bubona
The Roman goddess of horses and cattle. She is equal to the Gaulish goddess
Epona, whose cult was later adopted by the Roman army.
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