Angerona

In Roman mythology, Angerona or Angeronia was an old Roman goddess, whose name and functions are variously explained. According to ancient authorities, she was a goddess who relieved men from pain and sorrow, or delivered the Romans and their flocks from "angina" (quinsy). Also she was a protecting goddess of Rome and the keeper of the sacred name of the city, which might not be pronounced lest it should be revealed to her enemies. It was even thought that Angerona itself was this name; a late antique source suggests it was Amor, "i.e." Roma inverted. Modern scholars regard her as a goddess akin to Ops, Acca Larentia, and Dea Dia; or as the goddess of the new year and the returning sun (according to Mommsen, "ab angerendo" = ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀναφέρεσθαι. τὸν ἥλιον). Her festival, called Divalia or Angeronalia, was celebrated on the 21st of December. The priests offered sacrifice in the temple of Volupia, the goddess of pleasure, in which stood a statue of Angerona, with a finger on her mouth, which was bound and closed (Macrobius i. 10; Pliny, "Nat. Hist." iii. 9; Varro, "L. L." vi. 23). She was worshipped as Ancharia at Faesulae, where an altar belonging to her has been discovered. In art, she was depicted with a bandaged mouth and a finger pressed to her lips, demanding silence.

References

*1911