Cupra (also spelled Cubrar, Ikiperu, Kypra or Supra) was a

chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

goddess of the ancient pre-Roman population of the Piceni and the

Umbri The Umbri were an Italic peoples, Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the Regio VI Umbria, ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were sett ...

, and may have been associated with

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 ...

Uni. Dedications to her have been found at Plestia (attested as ''matres ple(s)tinas'') and Ripatransone, and in Cupramontana and Cupra Marittima, which are named after her.Palestini, Francesco. ''Studi sulle origini e sulla protostoria dell'odierna San Benedetto del Tronto''. 2016. pp. 314-321.

Etymology

Her name could derive from the Greek ''Kupria'', a name for

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

. Another etymological possibility is from the same root of Roman god

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

Legacy and influence

In the

periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

's symbol is Cu, which derives from ''Cupra'',

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for copper.

Bibliography

* Betts, Eleanor. "Cubrar matrer: goddess of the Picenes?". In: Accordia Research Papers, 12 pp. 119–147. 2013. * Bradley, Guy. Archaic sanctuaries in Umbria. In: Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz, 8, 1997. pp. 111–129. OI: https://doi.org/10.3406/ccgg.1997.1436 ww.persee.fr/doc/ccgg_1016-9008_1997_num_8_1_1436* Capriotti, Tiziana. "Il santuario della dea Cupra a Cupra Maritima: una proposta di ubicazione". In: Hesperìa 26, Studi sulla grecità d'Occidente, a cura di Lorenzo Braccesi, Flavio Raviola e Giuseppe Sassatelli. Università di Padova (Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofa); Università di Bologna (Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia). 2010. pp. 119–160. * Colonna, G. "Il santuario di Cupra fra Etruschi, Greci, Umbri e Picenti". In: Paci G. (a cura di), Cupra Marittima e il suo territorio in età antica. Atti del Convegno di studi, "Picus", suppl. II. Tivoli. 1993. pp. 3–31. * Christie, Neil. The Journal of Roman Studies 85 (1995): 300-01. doi:10.2307/301120. * Delplace, Chirstine. ''La Romanisation du Picenum. L'exemple d'Urbs Salvia''. Rome: École Française de Rome, 1993. 444 p. (Publications de l'École française de Rome, 177). ww.persee.fr/doc/efr_0000-0000_1993_ths_177_* Gagé Jean. La mort de Servius Tullius et le char de Tullia. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 41, fasc. 1, 1963. pp. 25–62. OI: https://doi.org/10.3406/rbph.1963.2451 ww.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1963_num_41_1_2451* Chronique — Kroniek. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 47, fasc. 1, 1969. Antiquité — Oudheid. pp. 172–360. ww.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1969_num_47_1_2766* Galie, V. ''Grottammare e il culto della dea Cupra''. Archeoclub Grottammare 1992, pp. 89. * Lejeune, Michel. Noms osco-ombriens des eaux, des sources et des fontaines. In: L'Italie préromaine et la Rome républicaine. I. Mélanges offerts à Jacques Heurgon. Rome : École Française de Rome, 1976. pp. 551–571. (Publications de l'École française de Rome, 27 ww.persee.fr/doc/efr_0000-0000_1976_ant_27_1_1821 * Rocchi, G. ''Il cippo di Cupra e il suo tempio. Sessualità e antropomorfismo dell'antica "Dea".'' Archeoclub d'Italia, sede di Cupra Marittima 1992, pp. 189. * Susini, Giancarlo. Aspects de la romanisation de la Gaule cispadane : chute et survivance des Celtes. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 109^e année, N. 1, 1965. pp. 143–163. OI: https://doi.org/10.3406/crai.1965.11831 ww.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_1965_num_109_1_11831* Toutain, Jules. X. — Religions de la Grèce et de Rome. In: École pratique des hautes études, Section des sciences religieuses. Annuaire 1925-1926. 1924. pp. 41–45. ww.persee.fr/doc/ephe_0000-0002_1924_num_38_34_20114* Whatmough, Joshua. ''The Foundations of Roman Italy''. Routledge. 2015. p. 241.

References

{{Reflist Italic goddesses Fertility goddesses Picenum