Vica Pota
Encyclopedia
In ancient Roman religion
, Vica Pota was a goddess whose shrine (aedes) was located at the foot of the Velian Hill
, on the site of the domus
of Publius Valerius Publicola
. This location would place the temple on the same side of the Velia as the forum
and perhaps not far from the Regia
. Cicero
explains her name as deriving from vincendi atque potiundi, "conquering and gaining mastery."
In the Apocolocyntosis
, Vica Pota is the mother of Diespiter; although usually identified with Jupiter
, Diespiter is here treated as a separate deity, and in the view of Arthur Bernard Cook
should perhaps be regarded as the chthonic
Dispater. The festival of Vica Pota was January 5.
Asconius identifies her with Victoria, but she is probably an earlier Roman or Italic form of victory goddess that predated Victoria and the influence of Greek Nike
; Vica Pota was thus the older equivalent of Victoria but probably not a personification of victory as such. In a conjecture not widely accepted, Ludwig Preller
thought that Vica Pota might be identified with the Etruscan divine figure
Lasa Vecu.
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...
, Vica Pota was a goddess whose shrine (aedes) was located at the foot of the Velian Hill
Velian Hill
The Velia — or Velian Hill or Velian Ridge — is a saddle or spur stretching out from the middle of the north side of the Palatine Hill towards the Oppian Hill ....
, on the site of the domus
Domus
In ancient Rome, the domus was the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. They could be found in almost all the major cities throughout the Roman territories...
of Publius Valerius Publicola
Publius Valerius Publicola
Publius Valerius Publicola was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the colleague of Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BC, traditionally considered the first year of the Roman Republic...
. This location would place the temple on the same side of the Velia as the forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
and perhaps not far from the Regia
Regia
The Regia was a structure in Ancient Rome, located in the Roman Forum. It was originally the residence of the kings of Rome or at least their main headquarters, and later the office of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Roman religion. It occupied a triangular patch of terrain between the...
. Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
explains her name as deriving from vincendi atque potiundi, "conquering and gaining mastery."
In the Apocolocyntosis
The Pumpkinification of Claudius
The Apocolocyntosis Claudii, literally The Pumpkinification of Claudius, is a political satire on the Roman emperor Claudius, probably written by Seneca the Younger. It is the only example of Menippean satire from the classical era that has survived...
, Vica Pota is the mother of Diespiter; although usually identified with 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....
, Diespiter is here treated as a separate deity, and in the view of Arthur Bernard Cook
Arthur Bernard Cook
Arthur Bernard Cook was a British classical scholar, known for work in archaeology and the history of religions. He is best known for his three-part work Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion. He is often considered one of the Cambridge Ritualists...
should perhaps be regarded as the chthonic
Chthonic
Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land or the land as territory...
Dispater. The festival of Vica Pota was January 5.
Asconius identifies her with Victoria, but she is probably an earlier Roman or Italic form of victory goddess that predated Victoria and the influence of Greek Nike
Nike (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Nike was a goddess who personified victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas and Styx and the sister of Kratos , Bia , and Zelus...
; Vica Pota was thus the older equivalent of Victoria but probably not a personification of victory as such. In a conjecture not widely accepted, Ludwig Preller
Ludwig Preller
Ludwig Preller was a German philologist and antiquarian.Born in Hamburg, he studied at Leipzig, Berlin and Göttingen, in 1838 he was appointed to the professorship of philology at the University of Dorpat, which, however, he resigned in 1843. He afterwards spent some time in Italy, but settled in...
thought that Vica Pota might be identified with the Etruscan divine figure
Etruscan 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...
Lasa Vecu.