Bona Dea
E466766
Bona Dea is an ancient Roman goddess associated with fertility, healing, and women’s mysteries, worshipped in secret female-only rites.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Bona Dea festival | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Roman goddess
ⓘ
fertility goddess ⓘ healing goddess ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
chastity
ⓘ
fertility ⓘ healing ⓘ protection of matrons ⓘ protection of slaves ⓘ protection of women ⓘ women’s mysteries ⓘ |
| attestedInSource |
Cicero’s writings
ⓘ
Juvenal’s writings NERFINISHED ⓘ Plutarch’s writings NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| cultCharacteristic |
exclusion of male gaze
ⓘ
mystery cult aspects ⓘ strict secrecy about rituals ⓘ |
| cultLocation |
Aventine Hill, Rome
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
private houses of Roman magistrates ⓘ |
| cultParticipantsExcluded |
male animals
ⓘ
men ⓘ |
| cultTitleMeaning | Good Goddess NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| culture | ancient Roman religion ⓘ |
| domain |
agricultural fertility
ⓘ
healing through herbs ⓘ women’s health ⓘ |
| epithet | Fauna NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| gender | female ⓘ |
| languageOfName | Latin ⓘ |
| majorFestival |
Bona Dea festival on the Aventine
ⓘ
December nocturnal rite in a magistrate’s house ⓘ |
| mythologicalRelation | sometimes called wife, sister, or daughter of Faunus ⓘ |
| notableEvent | Clodius Pulcher’s intrusion into Bona Dea rites in 62 BCE ⓘ |
| possibleIdentificationWith |
Fauna
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Maia NERFINISHED ⓘ Ops NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| symbol |
herbs
ⓘ
ivy ⓘ serpent ⓘ wine jar ⓘ |
| taboo |
mention of wine by its usual name
ⓘ
presence of myrtle ⓘ |
| worshippers |
Roman matrons
ⓘ
Roman women ⓘ female slaves ⓘ |
| worshipPractices |
female-only rites
ⓘ
nighttime ceremonies ⓘ secret rites ⓘ use of myrtle prohibition ⓘ use of wine under euphemistic names ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Bona Dea festival