Flora () is a Roman goddess of flowers and spring. She was one of the twelve deities of traditional Roman religion who had their own flamen, the Floralis, one of the flamines minores. Her association with spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime, as did her role as goddess of youth.H. Nettleship ed., A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1891) p. 238 She is one of several fertility goddesses and a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology. Her Greek counterpart is Chloris.
Etymology The name Flōra descends from Proto-Italic ('goddess of flowers'), itself a derivation from Proto-Italic ('flower'; cf. Latin , 'blossom, flower'). It is cognate with the Oscan goddess of flowers , demonstrating that the cult had spread across the Italic peoples. The name ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European ('bloom, flower'). Compare the name of the goddess Aurora, which shows a similar a-extension.
Festivals and temples
Flora's festival, the Floralia, was held between April 28 and May 3 and was celebrated with drinking, flowers, and entertainments (ludi). The festival was first instituted in 240 BCE, and on the advice of the Sibylline books, she was also given a temple in 238 BCE. At the festival, with the men decked in flowers, and the women wearing normally forbidden gay costumes, five days of farces and mimes were enacted – ithyphallic,P/ Green ed., Juvenal: The Sixteen Satires (1982) p. 156 and including nudity when called forH. J. Rose, A Handbook of Latin Literature (1967) p. 151 – followed by a sixth day of the hunting of goats and hares.H. Nettleship ed., A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1891) p. 238 On May 23 another flower festival was held, the Rosalia.
Mythology The cult of Flora was evidently ancient, as Varro—a 1st-century BCE Roman author—reports that king Titus Tatius had dedicated an altar to her in Rome.Varro. De Lingua Latina. 5.74. Ennius, a 2nd-century BCE Roman poet, is recorded by Varro to have claimed that the king Numa Pompilius created the office of the .Ennius. Annals. 2.3. Her cult likely was also greatly respected in ancient Rome; the 1st-century BCE poet Lucretius describes a procession of the seasons wherein Flora occupies an important role pertaining to spring.Lucretius. De Rerum Natura. 5.737-740. Ovid, a 1st-century BCE Roman poet, does describe a purported brief lapse in the popularity of her cult, in response to which Flora supposedly decided to withdraw her protection of agriculture from any misfortune.Ovid. Fasti. 5.321-524.
Flora's Greek equivalent is the nymph Chloris,Smith, s.v. Chloris (3). whose myths were assimilated to Flora in mythological narratives (interpretatio graeca). The Hellenized Flora was married to Favonius, the wind god also known as Zephyr, and her companion was Hercules. According to the legend, Flora ran away from Favonius, but he caught her, married her and gave her dominion over the flowers.
In the classical tradition Music Flora is the main character of the 1894 ballet The Awakening of Flora.
In painting
Sculpture There are many monuments to Flora, for example in Rome (Italy), Valencia (Spain), and Szczecin (Poland).
See also Abundantia Feronia Flora Fountain Fauna Nymph Pomona 8 Flora
References
Bibliography Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Primary
Ovid, Fasti V.193-212 Macrobius, Saturnalia I.10.11-14 Lactantius, Divinae institutiones I.20.6-10
External links The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Flora)
The Obscure Goddess Online Directory: Flora