Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/178

 164 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY all of which were sacred to Juppiter, and at all the other feasts of this god ; the flaminica, wife of the Jlamen, was the priestess of Juno. Their married life was supposed to emblematize that of the divine pair whom they repre- sented. 212. The worship of Juno, which was common through- out Italy from ancient times, was very prominent among the Latins, Oscans, and Umbrians. With the Latins, one month, Junius or Junonius, was named after her, and on its Calends the feast of Juno Moneta (' the reminding ') was kept at Kome, probably to celebrate her marriage with Juppiter. Juno Moneta had an ancient temple on the Capitoline, and in the inclosure belonging to this were kept the sacred geese known as the rescuers of the city. As the wife of Juppiter Rex she was called Eegma ; her son Mars was born on the first of March, the date on which the women celebrated in her honor the Matronalia ('mother festi- val'). Moreover, all the Calends (days of new moon) were sacred to her, probably because she was originally a moon goddess. To this fact her epithets Lucetia and Luclna (' light-bringer ') refer, though under the latter name she was usually invoked as the goddess of child- birth. Juno Lucina, who in works of art often carries in her arms a child in swaddling clothes, had a very ancient grove on the Esquiline, and w r as worshiped ex- tensively all over Italy. As goddess of marriage 'she was called also Juno Juga or Jugalis ('the conjugal'), or Pronuba ('bridesmaid'). Her epithet Sospita, which was current especially at Lanuvium, designated her a pro- tectress or savior in general. When so represented, she is armed with shield and spear, and wears a goatskin