Mania (deity)

In ancient Etruscan and Roman mythology, Mania (Etruscan: 𐌌𐌀𐌍𐌉𐌀), also spelled Manea, was a goddess of the dead, spirits and chaos: she was said to be the mother of ghosts, the undead, and other spirits of the night, as well as the Lares and the Manes.[1] She, along with Mantus (Etruscan: 𐌌𐌀𐌍𐌈, romanized: Manth), ruled the underworld.[2]

Mania, along with the Lares, were given offerings to turn their focus so they would not harm the living, leaving the people spared. This event occurred during Saturnalia.[3]

Etymology

Her name links her to the Manes, Mana Genita, and Manius.[4]

Both the Greek and Latin Mania derive from PIE (Proto-Indo-European) *men-, "to think." Cognates include Ancient Greek μένος, ménos, 'mind, thought', and Avestan 𐬎𐬫𐬥𐬌𐬀𐬨, mainyu, 'spirit'.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Laing, Gordon (1921). "The Origin of the Cult of the Lares". Classical Philology. 16 (2): 124–140. ISSN 0009-837X.
  2. ↑ Leland, Charles Godfrey (2024-07-17). Etruscan Magic & Occult Remedies. Porirua Publishing. ISBN 978-1-991317-43-8.
  3. ↑ Waites, Margaret C. (1920). "The Nature of the Lares and Their Representation in Roman Art". American Journal of Archaeology. 24 (3): 241–261. doi:10.2307/497689. ISSN 0002-9114.
  4. ↑ Roger D. Woodard, Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman Cult (University of Illinois Press, 2006), pp. 116–117.
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