Flora () is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

of flowers and spring. She was one of the twelve deities of traditional

Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

who had their own

flamen A (plural ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who served the importa ...

, the ''Floralis'', one of the '' flamines minores''. Her association with spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime, as did her role as goddess of youth. She is one of several

fertility goddesses A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with fertility, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and crops. In some cases these deities are directly associated with these experiences; in others they are more abstract symbols. Fertility rites may ...

and a relatively minor figure in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

. Her

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

counterpart is Chloris.

Etymology

The name ''Flōra'' descends from

Proto-Italic The Proto-Italic language is the ancestor of the Italic languages, most notably Latin and its descendants, the Romance languages. It is not directly attested in writing, but has been reconstructed to some degree through the comparative method. ...

''*flōsā'' ('goddess of flowers'), itself a derivation from Proto-Italic ''*flōs'' ('flower'; cf.

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''flōs'', ''flōris'' 'blossom, flower'). It is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

with the

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian and South Picene. Oscan was spoken by a number of t ...

goddess of flowers ''Fluusa'', demonstrating that the cult was known more widely among

Italic peoples The concept of Italic peoples is widely used in linguistics and historiography of ancient Italy. In a strict sense, commonly used in linguistics, it refers to the Osco-Umbrian languages, Osco-Umbrians and Latino-Faliscan languages, Latino-Falisca ...

. The name ultimately derives from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

''*bʰleh₃ōs'' ('blossoming').

Festivals and temples

Flora's festival, the

Floralia The Floralia was a Roman festival, festival of Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion in honor of the Flora (mythology), goddess Flora, held on 27 April during the Roman Republic, Republican era, or 28 April in the Julian calendar. The ...

, was held between April 28 and May 3 and was celebrated with drinking, flowers, and entertainments (''

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin:games; plural of "ludus") were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festiv ...

''). The festival was first instituted in 240 BCE, and on the advice of the Sibylline books, she was also given a temple in 238 BCE. At the festival, with the men decked in flowers, and the women wearing normally forbidden gay costumes, five days of

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

s and mimes were enacted – ithyphallic, and including nudity when called for – followed by a sixth day of the hunting of goats and hares. On May 23 another flower festival was held, the Rosalia.

''Interpretatio graeca''

Flora's

equivalent is the nymph Chloris, whose myths were assimilated to Flora in mythological narratives (''

interpretatio graeca , or "interpretation by means of Greek odels, refers to the tendency of the ancient Greeks to identify foreign deities with their own gods. It is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cult ...

''). The Hellenized Flora was married to Favonius, the wind god also known as Zephyr, and her companion was

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. According to the legend, Flora ran away from Favonius, but he caught her, married her and gave her dominion over the flowers.

In the classical tradition

Music

Flora is the main character of the 1894 ballet '' The Awakening of Flora''.

In painting

File:Primavera 04.jpg, Detail of Flora from '' Primavera'' by

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

, c. 1482 File:Flora, por Tiziano.jpg, Flora by

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

, 1515 File:1520 Veneto Idealbildnis einer Kurtisane als Flora anagoria.JPG, Idealized Portrait of a Courtesan as Flora by Bartolomeo Veneto, c. 1520 File:Francesco Melzi 002a.jpg,

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

Francesco Melzi Francesco Melzi, or Francesco de Melzi (1491–1570), was an Italian painter born into a family of the Milanese nobility in Lombardy. He became a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci and remained as his closest friend and professional assistant throughout h ...

, c. 1520 File:Jan Brueghel the Elder & Peter Paul Rubens - Flora and Zephyr, 1617.jpg, Flora and Zephyr, by

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painting, Flemish painter and Draughtsmanship, draughtsman. He was the younger son of the eminent Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, Flemish ...

and

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, 1617 File:Claude Vignon - Flora - WGA25093.jpg, Flora by

Claude Vignon Claude Vignon (19 May 1593 – 10 May 1670) was a French people, French painter, printmaker and illustrator who worked in a wide range of genres.Paola Pacht Bassani. "Vignon, Claude." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press ...

, 1650 File:Rembrandt, Flora, circa 1654, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.jpg, Flora by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, 1654 File:Flora (Museum of Bordeaux).jpg, Flora or Hebe by

Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (; spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insightful psyc ...

, 18th century File:Flora By Valentine Bromley.jpg, Flora by Valentine Walter Bromley, 1874 File:Keller, Ferdinand - Flora - 1883.jpg, Flora by Ferdinand Keller, 1883 File:Mosè Bianchi Flora.jpg, Flora by Mosè Bianchi, 1890

Sculpture

There are many monuments to Flora, for example in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(Italy),

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

(Spain), and Szczecin (Poland). File:Flora statue orangerie Kassel.jpg, statue of Flora at Orangerie Kassel, around 1703 File:Flora_Farnese_(Napoli).jpg, Flora Farnese (Naples), mid-18th century AD File:PosagFloryWSzczecinie.jpg, Statue of Flora in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Poland, 1730.

References

Bibliography

* Smith, William, ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', London (1873)
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Primary

* Ovid, ''Fasti'' V.193-212 * Macrobius, ''Saturnalia'' I.10.11-14 * Lactantius, ''Divinae institutions'' I.20.6-10

External links

The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Flora)
* * *

{{Authority control Roman goddesses Fertility goddesses Spring deities Nature goddesses Youth Flowers in culture