Acca Larentia
Encyclopedia
Acca Larentia or Acca Larentina was a mythical woman, later goddess, in Roman mythology
whose festival, the Larentalia
, was celebrated on December 23.
, et al.), she was the wife of the shepherd Faustulus
, and therefore the adoptive mother of Romulus and Remus
, whom she is said to have saved after they were thrown into the Tiber
on the orders of Amulius
. She had twelve sons, and on the death of one of them Romulus took his place, and with the remaining eleven founded the college of the Arval brothers (Fratres Arvales). She is therefore identified with the Dea Dia
of that collegium. The flamen
Quirinalis acted in the role of Romulus
(deified as Quirinus
) to perform funerary rites for his foster mother.
, during the reign of Ancus Marcius
in the 7th century BC
. She was awarded to Hercules
as a prize in a game of dice, and locked in his temple with his other prize, a feast. When the god no longer had need of her, he advised her to marry the first wealthy man she met, who turned out to be an Etruscan named Carutius (or Tarrutius
, according to Plutarch
). Larentia later inherited all his property and bequeathed it to the Roman people. Ancus, in gratitude for this, allowed her to be buried in the Velabrum
, and instituted an annual festival, the Larentalia
, at which sacrifices were offered to the Lares. Plutarch explicitly states that this Laurentia was a different person from the Laurentia who was married to Faustulus, although other writers, such as Licinius Macer
, relate their stories as belonging to the same being.
origin, and connected with the worship of the Lares
, from which her name may or may not be derived. This relation is also apparent in the number of her sons, which corresponds to that of the twelve country Lares. T.P. Wiseman
explores the connections among Acca Larentia, Lara, and Larunda
in his books Remus: A Roman Myth and The Myths of Rome.
, Flora
and others, Acca Laurentia symbolized the fertility of the earth, in particular the city lands and their crops. Acca Larentia is also identified with Larentina
, Mana Genita
, and Muta.
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
whose festival, the Larentalia
Larentalia
The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on December 23, but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic genii, or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the guardians and protectors of families, supposed to reside...
, was celebrated on December 23.
Foster mother
In one mythological tradition (that of Licinius MacerLicinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer was an official and annalist of ancient Rome.A member of the ancient plebeian gens Licinia, he was tribune in 73 BC; Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights...
, et al.), she was the wife of the shepherd Faustulus
Faustulus
In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infants Romulus and Remus, who were being suckled by a she-wolf, known as Lupa, on the Palatine Hill. He, with his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the children. In some versions of the myth, Larentia was a prostitute...
, and therefore the adoptive mother of Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
, whom she is said to have saved after they were thrown into the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
on the orders of Amulius
Amulius
In Roman mythology, Amulius was the brother of Numitor and son of Procas. He was the hostile uncle of Romulus and Remus' mother.-Myth:His brother, Numitor, was the King of Alba Longa. Amulius overthrew him and took the throne. Amulius forced Rhea Silvia, Numitor's daughter, to become a Vestal...
. She had twelve sons, and on the death of one of them Romulus took his place, and with the remaining eleven founded the college of the Arval brothers (Fratres Arvales). She is therefore identified with the Dea Dia
Dea Dia
In Roman mythology, Dea Dia is the goddess of growth. She was sometimes identified with Ceres, and sometimes with the equivalent Greek goddess Demeter....
of that collegium. The flamen
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
Quirinalis acted in the role of Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
(deified as Quirinus
Quirinus
In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus. His name is derived from Quiris meaning "spear."-History:...
) to perform funerary rites for his foster mother.
Benefactor of Rome
Another tradition holds that Larentia was a beautiful girl of notorious reputation, roughly the same age as Romulus and RemusRomulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
, during the reign of Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth of the Kings of Rome.He was the son of Marcius and Pompilia...
in the 7th century BC
7th century BC
The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising formidable power over neighbors like Babylon and Egypt. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to...
. She was awarded to Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
as a prize in a game of dice, and locked in his temple with his other prize, a feast. When the god no longer had need of her, he advised her to marry the first wealthy man she met, who turned out to be an Etruscan named Carutius (or Tarrutius
Tarutius
In Roman mythology, Tarutius or Tarrutius was a wealthy merchant married to Acca Larentia. According to Plutarch's Life of Romulus, the keeper of the Temple of Hercules challenged the hero to a game of dice with Hercules to receive a night with a beautiful woman and a fine spread and the god to...
, according to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
). Larentia later inherited all his property and bequeathed it to the Roman people. Ancus, in gratitude for this, allowed her to be buried in the Velabrum
Velabrum
The Velabrum is the low valley in the city of Rome that connects the Forum with the Forum Boarium, and the Capitoline Hill with the western slope of the Palatine Hill. Before the construction of the Cloaca Maxima, which probably follows the course of an ancient stream, the area was a swamp...
, and instituted an annual festival, the Larentalia
Larentalia
The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on December 23, but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic genii, or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the guardians and protectors of families, supposed to reside...
, at which sacrifices were offered to the Lares. Plutarch explicitly states that this Laurentia was a different person from the Laurentia who was married to Faustulus, although other writers, such as Licinius Macer
Licinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer was an official and annalist of ancient Rome.A member of the ancient plebeian gens Licinia, he was tribune in 73 BC; Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights...
, relate their stories as belonging to the same being.
Prostitute
Yet another tradition holds that Larentia was neither the wife of Faustulus nor the consort of Hercules, but a prostitute called "lupa" by the shepherds (literally "she-wolf", but colloquially "courtesan"), and who left the fortune she amassed through sex work to the Roman people.Connection to Lares
Whatever may be thought of the contradictory accounts of Acca Laurentia, it seems clear that she was of EtruscanEtruscan mythology
The Etruscans were a diachronically continuous population, with a distinct language and culture during the period of earliest European writing, in the Mediterranean Iron Age in the second half of the first millennium BC...
origin, and connected with the worship of the Lares
Lares
Lares , archaically Lases, were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, hero-ancestors, or an amalgam of these....
, from which her name may or may not be derived. This relation is also apparent in the number of her sons, which corresponds to that of the twelve country Lares. T.P. Wiseman
T.P. Wiseman
Timothy Peter Wiseman FBA , who usually publishes as T.P. Wiseman and is named as Peter Wiseman in other sources, is a classical scholar and professor emeritus of the University of Exeter...
explores the connections among Acca Larentia, Lara, and Larunda
Larunda
Larunda was a naiad or nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's Fasti. She was famous for both beauty and loquacity . She was incapable of keeping secrets, and so revealed to Jupiter's wife Juno his affair with Juturna...
in his books Remus: A Roman Myth and The Myths of Rome.
Functions
Like Ceres, TellusTerra (mythology)
Terra or Tellus was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. The names Terra Mater and Tellus Mater both mean "Mother Earth" in Latin; Mater is an honorific title also bestowed on other goddesses...
, Flora
Flora (mythology)
In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of spring. While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime...
and others, Acca Laurentia symbolized the fertility of the earth, in particular the city lands and their crops. Acca Larentia is also identified with Larentina
Larentina
Larentina was a Roman goddess of death. She had her tongue torn out by Jupiter after she revealed one of his indiscretions, and was then called Muta, "the mute one" . She is also associated with Acca Larentia, Mania, and Lara or Larunda, Mother of the Lares....
, Mana Genita
Mana Genita
In ancient Roman religion, Mana Genita or Geneta Mana was the goddess who could determine whether infants were born alive or dead. Her rites were carried out by the sacrifice of a puppy or bitch. Her name would seem to connect her to the Manes, or spirits of the dead, but is also comparable to the...
, and Muta.