Dea Tacita
Encyclopedia
In Roman mythology
, Dea Tacita ("the silent goddess") was a goddess of the dead. In later times, she was equated with the earth goddess Larunda
. In this guise, Dea Tacita was worshipped at a festival called Larentalia
on December 23. Goddesses Mutae Tacitae were invoked to destroy a hated person: in this inscription (Année epigr. 1958, 38, 150) someone asks "ut mutus sit Quartus" and "erret fugiens ut mus". These silent goddesses are the personification of terror of obscurity.
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...
, Dea Tacita ("the silent goddess") was a goddess of the dead. In later times, she was equated with the earth goddess 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 this guise, Dea Tacita was worshipped at a festival called 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...
on December 23. Goddesses Mutae Tacitae were invoked to destroy a hated person: in this inscription (Année epigr. 1958, 38, 150) someone asks "ut mutus sit Quartus" and "erret fugiens ut mus". These silent goddesses are the personification of terror of obscurity.