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 ...

, Mens, also known as Mens Bona (

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 "Good Mind"), was the

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

of thought, consciousness and the mind, and also of "right-thinking". The founding ''( dies natalis)'' of her temple in Rome was celebrated on

June 8 Events Pre-1600 * 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. * 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces ...

. A temple on the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

in Rome was vowed to Mens in 217 BC on advice from the

Sibylline Books The ''Sibylline Books'' () were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameter verses, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and consulted at momentous cri ...

, after the defeat of

Lake Trasimene Lake Trasimeno ( , also ; ; ; ), also referred to as Trasimene ( ), Trasimeno Lake, or Thrasimene in English, is a lake in the province of Perugia, in the Umbria region of Italy on the border with Tuscany. The lake has a surface area of , m ...

, and was dedicated in 215 BC.

In Latin poetry

In Latin love elegy, Mens Bona is represented as a guardian against Desire (''Cupido'') and amorous pursuits.

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium (now Assisi) and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the ...

celebrated his escape from erotic bondage to his Cynthia by dedicating himself to the shrine of Mens Bona.

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

depicted

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: ...

as leading Mens Bona as a

captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

in his triumphal parade.A D Melville trans., ''Ovid: The Love Poems'' (OUP 2008) p. 5 and p. 176 (Amores I.2.32-3)

Legacy

The Latin word ''mens'' expresses the idea of "mind" and is the origin of English words like ''mental'' and ''dementia''. The gifted-only organization

Mensa International Mensa International is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. Mensa ...

was originally to be named ''mens'' in the sense of "mind", but took instead the name ''Mensa'' (Latin: "table") to avoid ambiguity with "men's" in English and "mens" in other languages such as the Dutch language. In the Dutch vocabulary, "mens" is the word for "man" as in "mankind".

In Latin poetry

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading