Fides
Encyclopedia
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...
, Fides was the goddess of trust.
Her temple on the Capitol
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
was where the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
signed and kept state treaties with foreign countries, and where Fides protected them.
She was also worshipped under the name Fides Publica Populi Romani ("Public (or Common) Trust of the Roman People"). She is represented by a young woman crowned with an olive branch, with a cup or turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
, or a military ensign in hand. She wears a white veil or stola; her priests wore white cloths, showing her connection to the highest gods of Heaven, Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
and Dius Fidius. Her temple which can be dated to 254 B.C.E was near Jupiter's temple in the Capitol.
Traditionally Rome's second king, Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
instituted a yearly festival devoted to Fides, and established that the major priests (the three flamines maiores
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...
) be borne to her temple in a covered arched chariot drawn by two horses. There they should conduct her services with their heads covered and right hands wrapped up to the fingers to indicate absolute devotion to her and to symbolise trust.
Her Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
equivalent was Pistis
Pistis
In Greek mythology, Pistis was the personification of good faith, trust and reliability. She is mentioned together with such other personifications as Elpis , Sophrosyne , and the Charites, who were all associated with honesty and harmony among people.Her Roman equivalent was Fides, a personified...
.