In
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these represent ...
, Natio (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
: "birth", "nation") was one of many
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
es of
birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the ...
, and a protector of women in labor. According to
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...
in ''De Natura Deorum'' (
On the Nature of the Gods), she was worshipped particularly in the territory of
Ardea Ardea may refer to:
*Ardea, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy
* ''Ardea'' (bird), a genus of large herons and some egrets
* ''Ardea'' (journal), an ornithological journal published by the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union
*The Ardea
The Ardea, form ...
.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...
, '' On the Nature of the Gods'', 3.47
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 ...
* ''
Di nixi
In ancient Roman religion, the ''di nixi'' (or ''dii nixi''), also ''Nixae'', were birth deities. They were depicted kneeling or squatting, a more common birthing position in antiquity than in the modern era. The 2nd-century grammarian Festus ex ...
''
References
Personifications in Roman mythology
Roman goddesses
Childhood goddesses
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