Vacuna was an ancient

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

goddess, identified by ancient Roman sources and later scholars with numerous other goddesses, including Ceres, Diana,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

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 ...

Bellona Bellona may refer to: Places *Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy * Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia *Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands Ships * HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 7 ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. She was mainly worshipped at a sanctuary near Horace's villa (now in the commune of

Licenza Licenza is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome. Licenza borders the following municipalities: Mandela, Monteflavio, Percile, Roccagiovine, San Polo dei C ...

), in sacred woods at Reate, and at Rome. The protection she was asked to provide remains obscure.

Pomponius Porphyrion Pomponius Porphyrion (or Porphyrio) was a Latin grammarian and commentator on Horace. Biography He was possibly a native of Africa, and flourished during the 2nd century A.D. (according to some, much later). Works His ''scholia'' on Horace, which ...

calls her ''incerta specie'' (of an uncertain kind) in his commentaries on

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

. Renaissance authors and

Leonhard Schmitz Leonhard Schmitz FRSE (1807 – May 1890) was a Prussian-born classical scholar and educational author, mainly active in the United Kingdom. He is sometimes referred to in the Anglicised version of his name Leonard Schmitz. Biography Schmitz was ...

state that she was a divinity to whom the country people offered sacrifices when the labours of the field were over, that is, when they were at leisure, ''vacui''. The etymology of her name is linked to lack and

privation Privation is the absence or lack of basic necessities. Child psychology In child psychology, privation occurs when a child has no opportunity to form a relationship with a parent figure, or when such relationship is distorted, due to their treatm ...

, and Horace appears to call upon her in favour of a friend to whom one of his epistles is addressed. From this, it has been conjectured that she was prayed to in favour of absent people, family members or friends.G. Dumézil, ''La religion romaine archaïque'', 2nd ed., p. 369, n. 3; id., ''Mélanges Geo Widengren'', 1972, p. 307-311. Ovid mentions rites linked to sacramental fires with attendants either standing or sitting, that he compares to olden ceremonies observed on behalf of Vesta, without any suggestion of field work nor absent dear ones.

References

Sources

Ancient sources

, ''Epistles'', l. 1, ep. 10, v. 49-50 (commented by

Helenius Acron Helenius Acron (or Acro) was a Roman commentator and grammarian, probably of the 3rd century AD, but whose precise date is not known. Helenius Acron is known to have written on Terence ('' Adelphi'' and ''Eunuchus'' at least) and Horace. Thes ...

and the scholiast of Cruquius); *

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

, ''Fasti'', 6, v. 305 to 308; *

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, ''Natural History'', l. 3 (ch. 12), par. 109; * Auson, Epistle 4, v. 101. Epigraphical sources: * ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'', IX, 4636, 4751, 4752.

Modern sources

* Edmond Courbaud, ''Horace : sa vie et sa pensée à l’époque des Épîtres'', Paris, 1914, ch. 2, § 7, note 16
Online on espace-horace
* A. W. van Buren, « Vacuna », The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 6, 1916 (1916), pp. 202–204. * Elizabeth Cornelia Evans, « Horace's Sabine Goddess Vacuna », Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 65, 1934 (1934). *

External links

*{{Commonsinline Agricultural goddesses Roman goddesses