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
- Ah-Muzen-Cab, Mayan god of bees
- Aristaeus, ancient Greek god of bees
- Austėja, Lithuanian goddess of bees
- Bee (mythology)
- Bhramari, Hindu goddess of bees
- Bubilas, Lithuanian god of bees
- Colel Cab, Mayan goddess of bees
- Melissa, ancient Greek/Minoan nymph/goddess of bees
References
- ^ Augustine, De civitate Dei 4.34; Hendrik Wagenvoort, "Diva Angerona," in Pietas: Selected Studies in Roman Religion (Brill, 1980), p. 22.
- ^ Arnobius, Adversus Nationes, IV. 7 (Mellonia dea est pollens potensque in apibus, mellis curans custodiensque dulcedinem) and 8.
- ^ W.H. Roscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie (Leipzig: Teubner, 1890–94), vol. 2, pt. 1, p. 203.
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