Among other identities, she was known to many as Juno Sospita, the chief deity of Lanuvium, a city located in Latium southeast of Rome. She was the protector of one in confinement, often pictured wearing a goatskin, carrying a spear and shield. She was Juno Lucina, a word meaning light, the goddess of childbirth. No offering could be made at her temple unless all knots were untied because the presence of a belt could hinder the delivery of the woman’s child. Lastly, she was Juno Moneta, the moon goddess, who was a personage unique to Rome.

By whatever name she was known, Juno presided over every aspect of a woman’s life. She was the protector of legally married women. To others she was the goddess who made people remember, the goddess who alerted people. Her sacred geese were kept on the Capitoline and a legend is told that they gave warning to the Roman military under the leadership of Manlius Capitolinus when the invading Gauls tried to take Rome in 390 BCE. Eventually, she would have several sanctuaries constructed on her behalf; however, her primary temple or citadel was built on the Arx, the northern part of Capitoline Hill. This sanctuary was located next to the Roman mint; the word money comes from her name, Moneta.

Juno presided over every aspect of a woman’s life.

The Matronalia

Like many gods or goddesses, she had her own festival, on March 1, called the Matronalia, which was a time of renewal and the awakening of nature. It was a day when husbands were expected to give presents to their wives. The day was supposedly in celebration of the birthday of her son Mars, the god of war. Strange as it may be, Jupiter was not Mars’s father; it was instead a magical flower. Some authors claim the festival actually celebrated the anniversary of the end of the Roman-Sabine War and honored the role women played. After the Sabine women had been kidnapped by Romulus, war began but the women restored harmony when they threw themselves between the warring factions.

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