Everything about Juno Mythology totally explained
Juno was the protector and special counselor of the Roman state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister (but also the wife) of the chief god
Jupiter and the mother of
Juventas,
Mars, and
Vulcan.
As the patron goddess of
Rome and the
Roman empire she was called
Regina ("queen") and, together with Jupiter and
Minerva, was worshipped as a triad on the Capitol (Juno Capitolina) in Rome.
As the Juno
moneta (she who warns) she guarded over the finances of the empire and had a temple on the
Arx (one of two Capitoline hills), close to the Royal Mint. She was also worshipped in many other cities, where temples were built in her honor.
Every year, on the first of March, women held a festival in honor of Juno called the
Matronalia . On this day, lambs and other cattle were sacrificed in her honor. Another festival called the
Nonae Caprotinae ("The Nones of the Wild Fig") was held on July 7. Many people consider the month of June, which is named after the goddess who is the patroness of marriage, to be the most favorable time to marry.
Lucina was an epithet for Juno as "she who brings children into light."
Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She often appeared armed and wearing a goatskin cloak, which was the garment favoured by Roman soldiers on campaign. This warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena, whose goatskin was called the 'aegis.'
Etymology and origin
There is a strong possible etymology for Juno in the
Proto-Indo-European root *yeu-, "vital force", which has such derivatives as the English
youth. Although such a derivation could possibly be consistent with an origin as a
mother goddess, it's more likely that the root *yeu- is used in the same sense as other Latin words derived from it, such as
iuvenis ("young man", with derivatives such as
juvenile and
rejuvenate), which would imply that Juno's nature prior to the
syncretism of Greek and Roman mythology was more akin to
Diana's, as a maiden goddess of
birth or
midwifery. However, the Roman absorption of
Greek myth replaced earlier characteristics of Juno with those of
Hera, extending her domain from birth to marriage and promoting her to the role of Jupiter's wife and the queen of the gods. She could also throw lightning bolts like Jupiter.
More immediately, Juno's
Etruscan equivalent was
Uni. It is likely that one of these goddesses inspired the other, but whether
Juno comes from
Uni, or vice versa, remains disputed. Although there's currently more support for the theory that Uni is derived from Juno, if instead Juno's name is of Etruscan origin, it can't have an
Indo-European link to *yeu-, and its root meaning will remain ambiguous. There is some support for the theory of Uni being the original;
Livy states (Book V,
Ab Urbe Condita ) that Juno was an
Etruscan goddess from
Veii, who was ceremonially adopted into the Roman pantheon when Veii was sacked in 396BC.
Worship
Every year, women held a festival in honor of Juno called the
Matronalia. Another festival in her honor, the
Nonae Caprotinae ("The Nones of the Wild Fig") was held on
July 7. Many considered the month of June, which is named after Juno, the patroness of marriage, to be the most favorable time to marry. The
Kalends of every month was also sacred to Juno, and she'd festivals on
July 1 and
September 13.
She held a special place in pantheon of the gods as "Queen of Sex" and was associated with genitals. Juno, as the genitals-goddess was associated with all aspects and the cycles of womanhood. Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She often appeared armed and wearing a goatskin
cloak, which was the garment favored by Roman soldiers on campaign. This warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess
Athena, whose goatskin was called the
aigis.
Epithets
Even more than other major Roman deities, Juno held a large number of significant and diverse
epithets, names and titles representing various aspects and roles of the goddess. In accordance with her central role as a goddess of marriage, these included
Interduca ("she who leads the bride into marriage"),
Domiduca ("she who leads the bride to her new home"),
Cinxia ("she who loses the bride's girdle"). However, many other epithets of Juno are less thematically linked.
Juno was very frequently called
Juno Regina ("Juno the Queen"). This aspect was the one named in the
Temple of Jupiter as part of the
Capitoline Triad, emphasizing that Juno's role as the wife of Jupiter and queen of the gods was the most important in that context. There were also temples of Juno Regina on the
Aventine Hill, in the
Circus Flaminius and in the area that became the
Porticus Octaviae. On
September 1, the festival of Juno took place.
Juno protected the finances of the
Roman Empire as
Juno Moneta ("Juno who Warns" or "Juno the alone").
Lucina was an epithet for Juno as "she who brings children into the light", and
Lucetia as "bringer of light" in general. She was also referenced as
Pomona ("goddess of fruit"),
Pronuba ("matron of honor") and
Ossipagina ("bone setter" or "bone strengthener"). Some of these titles may have been invented as poetic descriptions, however, and may not have been actually used in the cult worship of Juno.
In Virgil's
Aeneid, book I, verse 23, she's referred to as
Saturnia, daughter of Saturnus.
Statue at Samos
In
The Netherlands, in
Maastricht, which was founded as
Trajectum ad Mosam about 2000 years ago, the remains of the foundations of a substantial temple for Juno and Jupiter are to be found in the cellars of Hotel Derlon. Over part of the Roman remains the first Christian church of the Netherlands was built in the 4th century A.D.
The story behind these remains begins with Juno and Jupiter being born as twins of
Saturn and
Opis. Juno was sent to
Samos Island when yet a very young child. She was carefully raised there until
puberty, when she then married her brother. A statue was made representing Juno, the bride, as a young girl on her wedding day. It was carved out of
Parian marble and placed in front of her temple at Samos for many centuries. Ultimately this statue of Juno was brought to Rome and placed in the sanctuary of
Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the
Capitoline Hill. For a long time the Romans honored her with many ceremonies under the name Queen Juno. The remains were moved then sometime between the first century and the four century to the Netherlands.
In literature
- Perhaps Juno's most prominent appearance in Roman literature is as the primary antagonistic force in Virgil's Aeneid, where she's depicted as a cruel and savage goddess intent upon supporting first Dido and then Turnus and the Rutulians against Aeneas' attempt to found a new Troy in Italy. There has been some speculation—such as by Maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator on the Aeneid—that she's perhaps a conflation of Hera with the Carthaginian storm-goddess Tanit in some aspects of her portrayal here.
Pop Culture
Juno is the name of the seventeen-year-old title character who faces an unplanned pregnancy in a
2007 film of the same name. In the words of the movie's young protagonist, "My dad went through this huge obsession with Roman and Greek mythology, so he decided to name me after Zeus' wife. And Zeus, like, he'd tons of lays, but I'm pretty sure Juno was his only wife. And she was supposed to be, like, really beautiful, but really mean. Like Diana Ross." Strictly speaking Zeus' wife is named Hera after the Greek model. Juno is the Roman analogue of Hera, however, and her husband is Jupiter, the Roman analogue to Zeus.
In the manga
Sailor Moon the character
Sailor Juno, is named for the asteroid Juno and the Roman goddess Juno.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Juno Mythology'.
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