There were a number of festivals celebrated in honor of Minerva. (Peter1936F / CC BY-SA 4.0 ) How Did the Worshipers Honor Minerva? Neo-Romans Revive Classical Worship Ceremonies at New Iuppiter Perunus Temple.Silver-eyed Minerva Statuette Kept in A Flora Tub for 10 Years is Part of a Record Year for Treasure Finds.Aquae Sulis: The Epitome of Roman Syncretization with the Celts.Excavations in modern times, however, have shown that the Minervium was in fact close to but not directly under this church. Later on, the site was Christianized and a church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva (Saint Mary above Minerva) was built above the alleged ruins of the temple. One of these, for example, is the Temple of Minerva Chalcidica or Minervium which was built by Pompey. ![]() Additionally, there were also temples dedicated to Minerva alone. One of these, for instance, was Sulis-Minerva, a combination of Minerva and the Sulis, a local wisdom goddess worshipped by the people of Britannia. Moreover, in certain areas of the Roman Empire, Minerva blended with local deities to become a hybrid goddess. (MM / CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Minerva’s Guidance Blended with Other Gods Sculpture group with "Triad Capitoline" Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, from a roman villa in Guidonia. Temples dedicated to the Capitoline Triad were known as capitolia and were built on hills or other prominent areas in Roman cities, not only in Italy, but also in the provinces. This powerful triad of gods comprised of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva and derived its name from their temple on Rome’s Capitoline Hill. This is most clearly seen in the goddess’ status as one of the Capitoline Triad. Minerva occupied a central place in the public religion of ancient Rome. ( artshop77 / Public Domain ) Minerva Was One of the Most Powerful Gods The maiden was none other than the goddess Minerva. She was fully armed for war, wearing armor and a helmet, with a shield in one hand and a spear in the other. To their great surprise, a fully-grown maiden leapt out of Jupiter’s head. In order to do so, Vulcan cleaved Jupiter’s head open with an axe. The king of the gods calls for Vulcan (Hephaestus in Greek mythology) to relieve the pain. Nine months later Jupiter suffers from an excruciating headache. Wisdom, however, was already impregnated by Jupiter, though it seems that none of the gods nor even Jupiter himself knew. ![]() In order to safeguard his position as king of the gods, Jupiter marries the goddess, has sexual intercourse with her and swallows her. ![]() In this myth, Jupiter receives a prophecy that the child of Wisdom (Metis in the Greek version of the myth) will be more powerful than him. In Roman mythology, Minerva was regarded to be the daughter of Jupiter (whose Greek equivalent was Zeus) and the story of her birth is the same as that of her Greek counterpart Athena. (Thorvaldsen Museum / CC BY-SA 1.0 ) What Was Minerva’s Origin? Later still, Minerva became identified with the Greek Athena and it was at this time that Minerva became associated with war, an area traditionally under the domain of Mars (his Greek equivalent being Ares). The worship of Minerva seems to have been adopted by the Romans later on, who associated the goddess’ name with the Latin word mens which means ‘mind’. Her name, for instance, is almost identical to Menrva the Etruscan goddess of the arts. Minerva is thought to have been originally an Etruscan goddess. ![]() Was Roman Goddess Minerva Originally an Etruscan Goddess? In fact, Minerva ruled over so many different aspects of life that the poet Ovid referred to her as the ‘goddess of a thousand works.’ Minerva is often identified as the equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena. Furthermore, Minerva’s domains included medicine, poetry, and handicrafts. Nevertheless, she was also believed to be the goddess of trade, the arts, and warfare. She was worshipped primarily as the goddess of wisdom. Minerva was an important goddess in the pantheon of the ancient Romans.
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