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 ...

, Fraus was the

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 personification of treachery and fraud. She was daughter of

Orcus Orcus was a god of the underworld, punisher of broken oaths in Etruscan and Roman mythology. As with Hades, the name of the god was also used for the underworld itself. Eventually, he was conflated with Dis Pater and Pluto. A temple to Orcus ma ...

and Night ( Nyx). She was depicted with a woman's face, the body of a snake, and on her tail the sting of a scorpion.Johann Joachim Eschenburg,
Classical antiquities"> Classical antiquities
', E.C. & J. Biddle, 1860, p122 Fraus is an alternative name for Mercury, the god of theft (among other things). She is alternatively described as Mercury's helper.. Her Greek equivalent was

Apate In Greek mythology, Apate (; Ancient Greek: Ἀπάτη ''Apátē'') is the goddess and personification of deceit. Her mother is Nyx, the personification of the night. In Roman mythology her equivalent is Fraus (Fraud), while her male counterp ...

References

Roman goddesses Trickster goddesses Children of Nyx {{AncientRome-myth-stub