Acca Larentia or Acca Larentina was a mythical woman, later a goddess of fertility, 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 ...
whose festival, the
Larentalia
The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on 23 December but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic ''genii'', or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the gua ...
, was celebrated on December 23.
Myths
Foster mother
In one mythological tradition (that of
Licinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer (died 66BC) was a Roman annalist and politician.
Life
A member of the ancient plebeian clan Licinia, he was tribune in 73BC. Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights. He became praetor in 68BC, but in 66BC Cice ...
, et al.), Acca Larentia was the wife of the shepherd
Faustulus
In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infant Romulus (the future founder of the city of Rome) and his twin brother Remus along the banks of the Tiber River as they were being suckled by the she-wolf, Lupa. According to l ...
. And after
Romulus and Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...
were thrown into the
Tiber river
The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...
, Faustulus brought them back to his home, where Acca Larentia would raise the children.
She had twelve sons, and on the death of one of them Romulus took his place, and with the remaining eleven founded the college of the Arval brothers (
Fratres Arvales
In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren (, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide evidence of their oaths, r ...
). She is therefore identified with the
Dea Dia of that collegium. The
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 ...
Quirinalis acted in the role of
Romulus
Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...
(deified as
Quirinus
In Roman mythology and Roman religion, religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Ancient Rome, Roman state. In Augustus, Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, Mars (mythology), Mars, and Jupiter (god), Jupiter.
Name
...
) to perform funerary rites for his foster mother.
Benefactor of Rome
Another tradition holds that Larentia was a beautiful prostitute (''scortum'') of notorious reputation, roughly the same age as
Romulus and Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and (, ) are twins in mythology, twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the Founding of Rome, founding of the History of Rome, city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his frat ...
, during the reign of
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius () was the Roman mythology, legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the Roman a ...
in the 7th century BCE. She was awarded to
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 ...
as a prize in a game of dice by the guardian of his temple, and locked in it with his other prize, a feast. When the god no longer had need of her, he advised her to marry the first man to proposition her as she stepped out that morning, who turned out to be a wealthy Etruscan named Carutius (or
Tarrutius, according to
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
). Larentia later inherited all his property and bequeathed it to the Roman people.
[ Ancus, in gratitude for this, allowed her to be buried in the Velabrum, and instituted an annual festival, the ]Larentalia
The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on 23 December but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic ''genii'', or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the gua ...
, at which sacrifices were offered to the Lares
Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an ama ...
. Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
explicitly states that this Larentia was a different person from the Larentia who was married to Faustulus, although other writers, such as Licinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer (died 66BC) was a Roman annalist and politician.
Life
A member of the ancient plebeian clan Licinia, he was tribune in 73BC. Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights. He became praetor in 68BC, but in 66BC Cice ...
, relate their stories as belonging to the same individual.
Prostitute
Yet another tradition holds that Larentia was neither the wife of Faustulus nor the consort of Hercules, but a courtesan called ''lupa'' by the shepherds. Lupa literally means " she-wolf", although the word colloquially meant "prostitute
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...
". The legend also states that she left the fortune she amassed through prostitution to the Roman people.[
]
Connection to Lares
Whatever may be thought of the contradictory accounts of Acca Larentia, it seems clear that she was of Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things:
**Etruscan language
** Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
**Etruscan coins
**Etruscan history
**Etruscan myt ...
origin, thus possibly connected with the worship of the Lares
Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an ama ...
.[ It is entirely possible her name may be derived from Lares. This relation is also apparent in the number of her sons, which corresponds to that of the twelve country Lares.] Wiseman explores the connections among Acca Larentia, Lara, and Larunda in several of his books. Acca Larentia has also been associated with another Roman Goddess named Dea Dia.[
]
Functions
Like Ceres, Tellus, 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 ...
, and others, Acca Larentia symbolized the fertility of the earth, in particular the city lands and their crops. Acca Larentia is also identified with Larentina, Mana Genita, and Muta.
In modern literature
Acca is a character in David Drake
David A. Drake (September 24, 1945 – December 10, 2023) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran, he worked as a lawyer before becoming a writer in the military science fiction genre.
Biography ...
's story "To Bring the Light", a reconstruction of Rome's beginnings around 751 BCE. She is depicted as a sympathetic village woman in the small shepherd community on Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the ...
from which Rome would begin.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
8th century BC in the Roman Kingdom
Characters in Roman mythology
Roman goddesses
Agricultural goddesses
Ancient Roman courtesans
Mythological Italian people