Juventas, also known as Iuventus or Juventus (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

equivalent: Hebe), was the ancient Roman goddess whose sphere of tutelage was youth and rejuvenation. She was especially the goddess of young men "new to wearing the

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

" ''(dea novorum togatorum)''—that is, those who had just come of age. Several voluntary associations ''( collegia)'' were formed for Juventas in the Italian

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, as attested by inscriptions.

Temple and early cult

Juventas had a shrine within the cella of

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...

on the Capitoline that probably dates no earlier than 218 BC, at which time she was identified with the Greek Hebe. According to

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

and

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, both she and the god Terminus are supposed to have "refused" the ceremony of reversal ''( exauguratio)'' performed when Tarquin wished to rebuild the temple district on the Capitoline. Although other deities were relocated, these two were incorporated into the new structure. Dionysius also records that the semi-legendary king

Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, ...

established a temple fund for Juventas, to which each family had to contribute. The view that she was a part of archaic Roman religion depends mainly on these two aetiological legends, as she has no presence in the early history of

Roman festivals Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feriae'' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singula ...

. On the advice of the

Sibylline books The ''Sibylline Books'' ( la, Libri Sibyllini) were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and were consulted at ...

, which were consulted amid anxieties surrounding the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

, Juventas was included in sacrifices in 218 BC relating to a lectisternium, a public banquet at which divine images were displayed as if the deities were participating.

21.62.9 and 36.36.5 Like other deities whose cult was ordained by the Sibylline books, Juventas was venerated '' ritu graeco'', according to "Greek" rite. Also at the lectisternium of 218 BC, a supplication was performed at the Temple of

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 ...

. In Greek myth, the divinized Hercules had Hebe as his wife. The cultivation of both deities at the time of the Second Punic War seems intended to reinvigorate men of fighting age: Juventas "was regarded as a powerful divine force rendering a vital gift of strength at a critical moment." This occasion is also the first time the '' Genius Publicus'' ("Genius of the People") is recorded. After the disastrous

Battle of Lake Trasimene The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. It took place on the north shore of Lake Trasimene, to t ...

in April 217 BC, Juventas, Hercules, and the Genius Publicus were excluded for a time from divine honors, as they were not felt to have been efficacious.

Marcus Livius Salinator Marcus Livius Salinator (254 – c. 191 BC) was a Roman general and politician who fought in the Second Punic War, most notably during the Battle of the Metaurus. Born in 254 BC, Livius was elected consul of the Roman Republic with Lucius Aemili ...

vowed a temple to her during the Battle of the Metaurus, when he faced Hasdrubal in 207 BC—an indication that Juventas was still felt to have potency. A procession ''(

supplicia canum The ''supplicia canum'' ("punishment of the dogs") was an annual sacrifice of ancient Roman religion in which live dogs were suspended from a ''furca'' ("fork") or cross ''(crux)'' and paraded. It appears on none of the extant Roman calendars, ...

)'' in which Romans carried crucified dogs passed between the Temple of Juventas and that of

Summanus Summanus ( lat, Summānus) was the god of nocturnal thunder in ancient Roman religion, as counterposed to Jupiter, the god of diurnal (daylight) thunder. His precise nature was unclear even to Ovid. Pliny thought that he was of Etruscan origin ...

. A late source dates the "punishment of the dogs" to August 3.

Imperial era

On Imperial coins, Juventas and

Spes In ancient Roman religion, Spes (pronounced ) was the goddess of hope. Multiple temples to Spes are known, and inscriptions indicate that she received private devotion as well as state cult. Republican Hope During the Republic, a temple to "anc ...

("Hope") are often associated with the reigning

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

. A supplication to Juventas and Spes marked the anniversary of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

's coming of age. Juventas was among the many ''Virtutes'' ("Virtues") to appear on the coinage of

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...

Temple and early cult

Imperial era

References

Bibliography

External links