The ''Lacus Iuturnae'', or ''Lacus Juturnae'' or Spring of Juturna, is the name of a formal pool built by the Romans near a spring or well in the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

. The pool was part of a shrine dedicated to the water nymph Juturna, and the name ''Lacus Iuturnae'' is also used for the spring and the shrine, both next to the pool.Eva Margareta Steinby, "Lacus Iuturnae" in '' Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae''. Edizioni Quasar, 1993. B000TGC41S The site was initially excavated by Giacomo Boni in the early twentieth century. Excavations from the 1980s onwards were supervised by Eva Margareta Steinby.

Legends

The shrine marks a place where Roman legend claims the divine twins

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

stopped to water their horses while passing through the city, and where they announced Roman victory at the

Battle of Lake Regillus The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary Roman victory over the Latin League shortly after the establishment of the Roman Republic and as part of a wider Latin War (498–493 BC), Latin War. The Latins were led by an elderly Lucius Tar ...

, 495 BC. During the Roman Empire, when another spring in the city had dried up, the

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from several s ...

s used this spring to supply water for their religious ceremonies. The water at the ''Lacus Iuturnae'' was thought to have healing properties. The elderly and infirm would go to the spring with offerings in order to secure the assistance of Juturna in curing their malady. Shrine of Juturna

References

External links

James Grout: ''Lacus Juturnae''
part of the ''Encyclopædia Romana'' Ancient Roman religion Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Roman Forum Rome R. X Campitelli Springs of Italy {{AncientRome-myth-stub