Story

Roman goddess Juno Coin

The goddess Juno (Giunone) - the character of ancient Roman mythology, the patroness of marriage, family, motherhood and the feminine. According to legend, Juno was seduced by her brother Jupiter, turning into a cuckoo, they got married and began to rule together. The right hand of the goddess was her sister Minerva - the goddess of wisdom and art. To these three gods, the symbols of the rule of Rome - Juno, Jupiter and Minerva, the ancient Romans built a temple on Capitol Hill (il Campidoglio).

Juno is always depicted with a scepter, a cuckoo companion and a crescent diadem, a symbol of the Moon, which was ruled by the goddess. Juno's body is always covered with rich clothes, except for her face, neck and arms. The goddess is portrayed as a slender, tall, stately woman with large eyes and strict features. Sometimes Juno was portrayed as militant - in a goat skin, a helmet and a spear.
Juno assigned many epithets:

  • Virgininiensis - patroness of virgins;
  • Lutsina - maternal assistant;
  • Sospita - an assistant to the poor;
  • Calendar - the patroness of the beginning of the months;
  • Rumina is an assistant in feeding;
  • Fulgura - throwing lightning;
  • Pronouga is the patroness of marriage rites;
  • Coin - giving advice, warning.

The legend of geese

The appearance of the epithet Coin is associated with the legend of the geese who saved Rome. According to legend, in the 5th century BC between the Romans and the Etruscans a ten-year war broke out. The Romans brought the trophy from the captured city of Vejo - a statue of the Etruscan goddess, who appeared to one of the soldiers' squad and made a sign of blessing. In honor of this, the Temple of Juno was built on Capitol Hill, where domestic geese were sacrificed. In 390 BC the fortress of the Capitol was surrounded by enemies, then the geese woke the leader of the fortress and Rome was saved. Since then, it was believed that Juno warned the Romans and saved from death, and the goddess became the patroness of the Roman Empire.

Mint and temples

In 269 BC in the temple of Juno they founded the first Mint of Rome, where they issued a silver denarius with the image of the goddess and her name. It was after the opening of the mint that the word "coin" came into use, and in many languages ​​the words denoting money are consonant with "coin", for example, English money.

Many ancient Roman coins can be seen in the Palazzo Massimo - we recommend.

Now on the site of the Temple of Juno stands the magnificent old church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which we visit during walks in Rome at dawn.

Another temple of Juno was located on Esquilino Hill (L'Esquilino), where on March 1, holidays were held in honor of the goddess - matronalia. Married women, accompanied by slaves, solemnly brought flower wreaths to the temple, where they prayed for family well-being, received gifts from husbands.

Watch the video: Greco-Roman Mythology 5: HeraJuno, Queen of the Gods (March 2024).

Popular Posts

Category Story, Next Article

Caesar's Death, Before and After - Issue 7
Story

Caesar's Death, Before and After - Issue 7

In the last issue, the legions of the two consuls and the Octavian who joined them went on the warpath against Mark Anthony, who, in turn, besieged one of the conspirators and killers of Caesar - Decimus Brutus, who had consolidated his position in the city of Mutin and looked sadly at what was happening. If the consuls Girtius and Panza thought that citizen Anthony was cool and knew only how to file state budgets and appropriate the treasury, then they were cruelly mistaken.
Read More
The coming to power of Octavian Augustus - 3: the struggle for power and the elimination of rivals
Story

The coming to power of Octavian Augustus - 3: the struggle for power and the elimination of rivals

In the second issue, we described how, thanks to the efforts of soldiers, who were tired and bored of peace and material security, we managed to avoid a war between the two triumviers, after which one of them sailed off to Egypt to hang out, and the second remained in Italy to deal with the pirate separatist Pompey. Octavian zealously used the freshly built ships with a new wunderwaffe, invented by his gunsmiths, Pompey snapped back, using much more experience in tactics at sea, but after some time the Roman troops still managed to land on the enemy island (although they hollowed out a lot of ships in the process) .
Read More
Spartacus Rebellion - Issue 2
Story

Spartacus Rebellion - Issue 2

In the last issue, 78 hefty foreheads left the prison and, having joyfully robbed the surrounding rich estates, decided to keep the defenses on Vesuvius. The local forces of law and order in the person of the praetor Claudius, sighing, broke away from blissful idleness and began to forcefully resolve the issue with unbridled slaves.
Read More
The coming to power of Octavian Augustus - 5: victory in the war with Mark Anthony, the suicide of Cleopatra
Story

The coming to power of Octavian Augustus - 5: victory in the war with Mark Anthony, the suicide of Cleopatra

In the fourth issue, the relationship between the two remaining triumvirs, Octavian and Mark Anthony, grew tense before the declaration of open war. The Senate, at the instigation of Guy, announced it not to Mark himself, but to Cleopatra, but everyone knew very well what that meant - the loving king of the East would not leave her woman in trouble, so there would still be a mass slaughter.
Read More