ancient Roman religion
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the Roman people, people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule.
The Romans thought of themselves as high ...
, Lucina was a title or
epithet
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
given to the goddess Juno, and sometimes to Diana,Green, C.M.C. (2007). ''Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana at Aricia''. New York: Cambridge University Press. in their roles as goddesses of
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...
who safeguarded the lives of women in labor.
The title ''lucina'' (from the Latin ''lux, lucis,'' "light") links both Juno and Diana to the light of the Moon, the cycles of which were used to track female fertility as well as measure the duration of a pregnancy. Priests of Juno called her by the epithet ''Juno Covella'' on the new moon.Gagarin, M. 2010. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome'', Volume 1. Oxford University Press. The title might alternately have been derived from ''
lucus
In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, a ''lucus'' (, plural ''lucī'') is a sacred grove.
was one of four Latin words meaning in general "forest, woodland, grove" (along with , , and ), but unlike the others it was primarily us ...
'' ("grove") after a sacred grove of
lotus tree
The lotus tree (, ''lōtós'') is a plant that is referred to in stories from Greek and Roman mythology.
The lotus tree is mentioned in Homer's '' Odyssey'' as bearing a fruit that caused a pleasant drowsiness, and which was said to be the only f ...
s on the
Esquiline Hill
The Esquiline Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' ( Oppian Hill).
Etymology
The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is that the hill was named after the ...
associated with Juno, later the site of her temple.
Juno Lucina was chief among a number of deities who influenced or guided every aspect of birth and child development, such as Vagitanus, who opened the newborn's mouth to cry, and Fabulinus, who enabled the child's first articulate speech. The collective '' di nixi'' were birth goddesses, and had an altar in the
Campus Martius
The Campus Martius (Latin for 'Field of Mars'; Italian: ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
.
The
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
146 Lucina
146 Lucina is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Alphonse Borrelly on June 8, 1875, and named after Lucina, the Roman goddess of childbirth. It is large, dark and has a carbonaceous composition. The spectra of the asteroid displays ...
and the extinct species of ostracod Luprisca incuba are named after this aspect of the goddess.
See also
*
List of Roman birth and childhood deities
In ancient Roman religion, birth and childhood deities were thought to care for every aspect of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and child development. Some major deities of Roman religion had a specialized function they contributed to this ...