In ancient Roman religion

Religion in ancient Rome

Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...

, Bubona is thought to have been a goddess of cattle, but she is named only by Saint Augustine

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...

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Augustine mocks Bubona as one of the minor Roman deities whose names correspond to their functions, and derives her name from the Latin word bos (genitive bovis, hence English "bovine"), which usually means "ox" in the singular and "cattle" in the plural (bubus in the dative and ablative plural; compare bubulcus, one who drives or tends cattle). The formation of this theonym has been compared to that of Bellona

Bellona (goddess)

Bellona was an Ancient Roman goddess of war, similar to the Ancient Greek Enyo. Bellona's attribute is a sword and she is depicted wearing a helmet and armed with a spear and a torch....

, "she who presides over war (bellum)"; Pomona

Pomona

Pomona was a goddess of fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion and myth. Her name comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit. She was said to be a wood nymph and a part of the Numia, guardian spirits who watch over people, places, or homes...

, "she who presides over orchard fruits (pomum)"; and Epona

Epona

In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain and the presence of foals in some sculptures suggested that the goddess and her horses were leaders of the...

, the Romano-Celtic

Gallo-Roman religion

Gallo-Roman religion was a fusion of the traditional religious practices of the Gauls, who were originally Celtic speakers, and the Roman and Hellenistic religions introduced to the region under Roman Imperial rule. It was the result of selective acculturation....

 horse goddess (from Gaulish epos, "horse") whose image was placed in stables as a tutelary for the animals.

Augustine mentions Bubona in two passages. In addition to the passage on theonyms and divine personifications, he lists her among several other deities who had specialized functions for the Romans, in contrast to the one god of the Jews

God in Judaism

The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic. God is an absolute one indivisible incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable, and that it is only God's revealed aspect that...

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Georg Wissowa

Georg Wissowa

Georg Otto August Wissowa was a German classical philologist who was born in Neudorf, near Breslau.Wissowa studied at the University of Breslau, and in 1886 became a professor at the University of Marburg, and in 1895 a professor at the University of Halle.Wissowa was a specialist in the study of...

 thought that a festival of cattle (ludi

Ludi

Ludi were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people . Ludi were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also presented as part of the cult of state.The earliest ludi were horse races in the circus...

 boum causa) mentioned by Pliny

Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

 must have been dedicated to Bubona. Those who celebrated the rites were called Bubetii, a title which appears only in Pliny.

Classical tradition

In the 18th century, formal gardens often featured sculptures of classical divinities, which were to be selected for the deity's suitability to the function of the area: Silvanus

Silvanus (mythology)

Silvanus was a Roman tutelary deity of woods and fields. As protector of forests , he especially presided over plantations and delighted in trees growing wild. He is also described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, protecting in particular the boundaries of fields...

 for a grove, for example, or Pomona for an orchard. Bubona was among those recommended for "small paddocks

Pen (enclosure)

A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. The term describes multiple types of enclosures that may confine one or many animals. Construction and terminology varies depending on region of the world, purpose, animal species to be confined, local materials used, and cultural tradition...

of sheep."