Bulfinch's Mythology: the Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch
page 24 of 543 (04%)
page 24 of 543 (04%)
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Quirinus was a war god, said to be no other than Romulus the founder of Rome, exalted after his death to a place among the gods. Bellona, a war goddess. Terminus, the god of landmarks. His statue was a rude stone or post, set in the ground to mark the boundaries of fields. Pales, the goddess presiding over cattle and pastures. Pomona presided over fruit trees. Flora, the goddess of flowers. Lucina, the goddess of childbirth. Vesta (the Hestia of the Greeks) was a deity presiding over the public and private hearth. A sacred fire, tended by six virgin priestesses called Vestals, flamed in her temple. As the safety of the city was held to be connected with its conservation, the neglect of the virgins, if they let it go out, was severely punished, and the fire was rekindled from the rays of the sun. Liber is another Latin name of Bacchus; and Mulciber of Vulcan. Janus was the porter of heaven. He opens the year, the first month being named after him. He is the guardian deity of gates, on which account he is commonly represented with two heads, |
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