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Mellona

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mellona or Mellonia was an ancient Roman goddess said by St. Augustine to promote the supply of honey (Latin mel, mellis) as Pomona did for apples and Bubona for cattle. [1] Arnobius describes her as "a goddess important and powerful regarding bees, taking care of and protecting the sweetness of honey."[2]

W.H. Roscher includes Mellona among the indigitamenta, the list of deities maintained by Roman priests to assure that the correct divinity was invoked for rituals.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Augustine, De civitate Dei 4.34; Hendrik Wagenvoort, "Diva Angerona," in Pietas: Selected Studies in Roman Religion (Brill, 1980), p. 22.
  2. ^ Arnobius, Adversus Nationes, IV. 7 (Mellonia dea est pollens potensque in apibus, mellis curans custodiensque dulcedinem) and 8.
  3. ^ W.H. Roscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie (Leipzig: Teubner, 1890–94), vol. 2, pt. 1, p. 203.