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On this page: Juno – Jupiter

JUNO——JUPITER.

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Juno (i.e. Torino, a feminine form cor­responding to lovis contained in lupiter}. In the Italian mythology, the queen of heaven and of heavenly light, especially that of the new moon; the wife of Jupiter. After she had been identified with the Greek Hera (q.v.), she was regarded as the daughter of Saturnus (who was identified with CrOnus), and as sister of her husband. In Italy, as the queen of womankind, she was the representative of woman in general, to such a degree that, as every man had his Genius, so every woman had her luno, to whom she offered sacrifice and by whom she swore. It was as luno Luc.lna (the bringer of light) that she was worshipped from the most ancient times and in many parts of Italy. As such, she was the goddess of the beginnings of all the months, and on the calends, at Rome, the rex sacrorum and his wife made regular sacrifices to her. As all goddesses of light are also goddesses of birth (the appearance of the light from out of the darkness being looked on as a birth), under the same name of Lucina she was honoured as the mightiest of the goddesses of birth. Her temple at Rome, in a sacred grove, was one of the most ancient and venerated. By a custom dating back to Nnma, a piece of gold was placed in her treasury there at the birth of every male child. The MatrOnnlia (q.v.) was the most famous feast of the goddess. It was celebrated by the Roman matrons and virgins on the 1st March. At this festival the goddess was represented veiled, with a flower in her right hand, and an infant in swaddling clothes in her left. Another ancient worship highly honoured throughout Italy was that of luno Sosptta (the Saviour), whose ancient grove and temple at Lanuvlum was deemed sacred at Rome, which itself had two temples to this divinity. At an appointed time in every year the Roman consuls offered a sacrifice to the Juno at Lanuvium. The image of the goddess at that place wore, over the robes of a matron, a goatskin which served as hel­met and cuirass, with a shield held in one hand and a spear brandished in the other. This worship assigned to the goddess who presided over the life of woman the char­acter of a divinity of protecting power.

luno Curltis, or QuMtis (i.e. armed with a spear), who was specially worshipped by the Sabines, was also a warlike goddess. As goddess of marriage Juno was invoked at weddings under many names. As D6mi-Auca she conducts the bride into the bride­groom’s house ; as Unxla she anoints the

doorposts as a sign of good omen at her reception; as Cinxia she ties and unlooses the marriage girdle ; and as Pronuba and luga she is the foundress of marriage. On the citadels of towns, which were deemed to be under her particular protection, she was specially worshipped by matrons, either with Jupiter, or alone, as luno Eeglna, be­ing the wife of luptter Bex and the highest celestial goddess. In this capacity she had her chief temple at Rome, on the Capitol, close to Jupiter. It was there that the well-known geese were kept, which were sacred to her as being prolific and domesti­cated creatures. Another highly honoured fane of luno Hegina was on the Aventine, to which her worship had been transplanted from Veii after the destruction of that city. There was also a temple on the Capitol dedi­cated to luno Moneta (" the admonisher "), in gratitude (it was said) for her salutary admonitions [Cic., De Divinatione, i 45 | § 101]. Money derived from the goddess its designation Moneta, as it was coined in the temple of luno Moneta. Another most ancient Roman worship was that of luno Caprotlna (Juno of the goat). This was celebrated by the festival held by female slaves on the 7th July, called Nonce Caprotince. (SeeCAPROTiNA.) In the third Punic War the worship of luno Ccelestis was brought into Rome from Carthage. This was the ancient tutelary goddess of Carthage, strictly speaking the Astarte of the Phoenicians. When Carthage was restored under the Empire, her worship flourished anew. Not only the goose, but also the raven that loves the heights, was sacred to her as the protectress of citadels. Jupiter (luppiter). In the Italian my­thology, the highest god in heaven, cor­responding to the Greek Zeus (9.^.), with whom he was identical, not only in his nature, but also in his name. For Jupiter is compounded of I6ms (an older form is Diovis) and pater; Zeus stands for Dieus (Indian Diaus = " the bright heaven "). As in course of time the Italian god became identified with the Greek, he was regarded as a son of Saturn and of Ops, the deities deemed to correspond to the Greek Ur5nus and Rhea respectively. From Jupiter comes all that appears in the heavens. As Luc&tius (from lux, " light ") he is the bringer of light, the cause of the dawn of day, as well as of the full moon at night. Just as the calends (1st) of each month are sacred to Juno, so the ides (13th or 15th), which are full-moon days, are sacred