This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Genius (mythology) is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Topics in Roman mythology | |
|---|---|
| Important Gods: | |
| Jupiter | Minerva |
| Mars | Mercury |
| Quirinus | Vulcan |
| Vesta | Ceres |
| Juno | Venus |
| Fortuna | Lares |
| Topics | |
| Legendary History | |
| Roman religion | |
| The Flamens | |
| Greek/Roman myth compared | |
| Other minor Roman deities: | |
| Penates | Larvae |
| Genius | Manes |
| Lemures | Terminus |
In Roman mythology, every man had a genius and every woman a juno (Juno was also the name of the queen of the gods).
Originally, the genii and junones were ancestors who guarded over their descendants. Over time, they turned into personal guardian spirits, granting intellectual prowess. Sacrifices were made to one's genius or juno on one's birthday.
The juno was worshipped under many titles:
- Iugalis, protected marriage
- Matronalis, protected married women
- Pronuba, protected the bride
- Virginalis, protected virginity
In addition to the genius or juno of each individual, regions, families, households and cities had a genius. The genius of the Romans was a winged, naked youth. The genii dedicated to places were usually depicted as snakes.
See also
- Lares
- Di Penates
- Genius loci
- In certain older translations of the Arabian Nights, a genius is a male jinni.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 4 October 2008, at 21:25.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Genius (mythology)".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.