Febris
Febris | |
---|---|
Goddess of fevers | |
Member of Dii averrunci, Di indigetes | |
Other names | Dea Febris |
Major cult center | Rome |
Predecessor | Februus |
Gender | Female |
Region | Ancient Rome |
Ethnic group | Romans |
Offspring |
|
Equivalents | |
Greek equivalent | Pyretos[note 1][1] |
Hinduism equivalent | Jvarasura |
Finnish equivalent | Kuume (spirits related to fevers) |
Febris (lit. 'fever'), or Dea Febris (lit. 'goddess of fever'), is the Roman goddess of fevers, who embodied, but also protected people from fever and malaria. Because of this, Febris was a feared goddess whom people wanted the favour of. She does not have a myth of her own nor is she mentioned in a myth. Among her characteristic attributes are "shrewdness" and "honesty", according to Seneca the Younger's Apocolocyntosis.[2]
Febris was accompanied by two daughters or sisters of her named Dea Tertiana and Dea Quartana,[3][4] the goddesses of tertian and quartan fever of malaria because the fever would come back in every three or four days. Theodorus Priscianus mentions Saturn as Tertiana and Quartana's father.[5]
The goddess Febris belongs to the
Name
Febris is the
Some of Juno's epithets are spelt similarly to Febris' name, such as Februalis, Februata, Februa which are also of the same etymological root as febris.
Cult
Febris had at least three temples in ancient Rome, of which one was located between the
An inscription dedicated to Quartana in Nemausus, Gaul, dated to the third century (CIL 12.3129) and another inscription dedicated to Tertiana in Habitancum (Risingham), Northern England (CIL 7.999) were discovered.[5][14]
The Ancient Greeks under Roman rule may have worshipped a similar fever god named Pyretos[1] (Πυρετός,[note 2] lit. 'fever'), the analogous translation of the Roman goddess Febris.[5][15] Febris might have been worshipped in the Medieval-era Christian Rome disguised under the name Madonna delle Febbri (or della Febbre)[5] as one of her temples is known to be converted into a church.[14] The cult of Febris could be as old as the Roman civilisation.[5]
In literature
Apocolocyntosis
Febris appears with
Poliziano's In Albieram Albitiam puellam formosissimam morientem (1473)
Febris was included as a character in the Italian poet
Febris appears to a dying young woman named Albiera degli Albizzi. Despite never being physically described previously, Poliziano depicted Febris holding a torch in one hand and a snowball in the other, in a chariot drawn by monster-like lions which was accompanied by a train of monsters. She was described as looking "gruesome", similar to Erinyes, as opposed to the beauty of Albiera degli Albizzi. She gives a deadly poison to sick Albizzi after saying "those who live sweet, die sweet" and then flies away with the lions.[15]
See also
- Februus
- Jvarasura; god of fever and disease in Hindu mythology
- List of health deities
Notes
References
- ^ a b Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologies, Volume III, Part 2 (S. 1665 ff.): Pasikrateia – Pyxios. 1902–1909 n840 at the Internet Archive
- ^ a b Seneca the Younger, Apocolocyntosis, 6
- ISBN 9781664105690. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ISBN 9781476643953. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ a b c d e f Burke, Paul F.. "Malaria in the Greco-Roman World: A Historical and Epidemiological Survey". Band 37/3. Teilband Philosophie, Wissenschaften, Technik. Wissenschaften (Medizin und Biologie [Forts.]), edited by Wolfgang Haase, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 1996, pp. 2252-2281. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110809008-005
- ^ Valerius Maximus, Nine Books of Memorable Deeds and Sayings, 2. 5. 6
- ^ Cicero, On The Laws, 2. 11
- ^ Cicero, On The Nature of Gods, 3. 25
- ^ Claudius Aelianus, Various History, 12. 11
- ^ Grimal, 1989.[full citation needed]
- ^ Myth Index - Febris - Archived 26 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Singer, Charles (1928). From Magic to Science: Essays on the Scientific Twilight. Nueva York: Boni and Liveright. p. 17. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ^ Bell, John (1790). New pantheon, or, Historical dictionary of the gods, demi-gods, heroes, and fabulous personages of antiquity. Londres. p. 309. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ a b Tavenner, Eugene. “Notes on the Development of Early Roman Religion.” The Classical Weekly, vol. 11, no. 13, 1918, pp. 97–102. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4387581. Accessed 10 Dec. 2022.
- ^ a b c Perosa, Alessandro, et al. “Febris: A Poetic Myth Created by Poliziano.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 9, 1946, pp. 74–95. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/750310. Accessed 15 Nov. 2022.
External links
- Myth Index - Febris - Archived 26 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- William Smith Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, v. 2, page 142