Abstract
The divine feminine manifests in Roman mythology through four categories: Celestial, Chthonic, Urban, and Untamed. The majority of data for this study originates in the first centuries B.C.E. and C.E. with Ovid, Virgil, Catullus, and others. The origins of this data, however, present several difficulties. Firstly, due the influences of Etruscans, Phoenicians, and other cultures, separating out the specific mythoi of Rome from those of imported narratives is problematic. Secondly, few of the cultures in question left clear data of their myths. This problem compounds with the third, and most difficult, to overcome; typical research into mythology privileges the influence of Greece. Because the Hellenic culture left a strong mythological tradition, mythographers often treat other mythologies as inferior. Such an attitude, however, belies the originality of Roman myth.\r This new categorization seeks to form a more objective mythographic theory. Analysis of major mythological material takes into account not only Hellenic influences, but other contributing cultures such as the Etruscans, Phoenicians, and others. Five goddesses, Juno, Minerva, Proserpina, Diana, and Venus, form the core of this analysis. These divinities offer the greatest wealth of mythological data, underwent extensive Hellenization, and provide non-Grecian mythological material with which to contrast. This comparative mythographic approach forms the basis of the new categories presented.\r From consideration of the mythological data, four categories emerge. These identifying mythoi distinguish Roman goddesses and aid in the understanding of Rome’s mythology as unique. The Celestial goddess embodies the most authoritative incarnations of female divinity. The Chthonic goddess has the strongest connection to humanity and is the most feminine. The Urban goddess embodies the city, distinguishing Roman civilization from the barbarians. The Untamed goddess, in contrast, embodies everything of the wilderness, even the specter of death. Unlike typical interpretations of the various goddesses’ cognomina, these categories do not limit the divine feminine in Roman myth, but rather help to understand its generalized, animistic nature.