Venilia (pronounced , or as Latin ''Venīlia'') is a
Roman deity associated with the winds and the sea. According to
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
and
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
, she was a
nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
, the sister of
Amata
According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...
and the wife of
Janus (or
Faunus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, after which Romans depicted him as a ...
),
with whom she had three children:
Turnus
Turnus ( grc, Τυρρηνός, Tyrrhênós) was the legendary King of the Rutuli in Roman history, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas in Virgil's ''Aeneid''.
According to the ''Aeneid'', Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph V ...
,
Juturna
In the myth and religion of ancient Rome, Juturna, or Diuturna, was a goddess of fountains, wells and springs, and the mother of Fontus by Janus.
Mythology
Juturna was an ancient Latin deity of fountains, who in some myths was turned by Jupi ...
, and
Canens.
She and
Salacia are the
''paredrae'' of Neptune.
The Venilia Mons, a
mountain on Venus, is named for her.
See also
* ''
Pantoporia venilia'', a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae
* ''
Terebra venilia'', a species of sea snail
External links
Neptune, Venilia, and Triton Fountain, Library of Congress, Washington DCVenilia and Horse, Library of Congress, Washington DCVenilia and Horse, detail
References
Roman goddesses
Sky and weather goddesses
Sea and river goddesses
Neptune (mythology)
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