Information AboutBona Dea |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BONA DEA | |
| fertility goddesses | |
| health goddesses | |
| roman goddesses | |
| december observances | |
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In Roman Mythology , Bona Dea ("the good goddess") was a goddess of fertility, healing, virginity and women. She was a daughter of Faunus and was sometimes called Fauna . There was a temple to Bona Dea on the Aventine Hill . On December 4 , secret rites in honor of her were held in the house of a famous Roman magistrate. It was an entirely female affair; even paintings or drawings of men or male animals were forbidden, along with the words "wine" and " Myrtle " because Bona Dea had once been beaten by her father with a myrtle stick after she got drunk. Her public festival took place on May 1 . No men were allowed to participate. The sick were tended to in the gardens outside her temples, where medicinal herbs were grown by priestesses. She was associated with the Cornucopia , snakes and coins. Her image frequently occurred on ancient Roman coins. |
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