Febris
Roman goddess of fever / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Febris (lit.ā'fever'), or Dea Febris (lit.ā'goddess of fever'), is the Roman goddess of fevers, who embodied, but also protected people from fever and malaria. Because of this, Febris was a feared goddess whom people wanted the favour of. She does not have a myth of her own nor is she mentioned in a myth. Among her characteristic attributes are "shrewdness" and "honesty", according to Seneca the Younger's Apocolocyntosis.[2]
Febris | |
---|---|
Goddess of fevers | |
Member of Dii averrunci, Di indigetes | |
Other names | Dea Febris |
Major cult center | Rome |
Predecessor | Februus |
Gender | Female |
Region | Ancient Rome |
Ethnic group | Romans |
Offspring |
|
Equivalents | |
Greek equivalent | Pyretos[note 1][1] |
Hinduism equivalent | Jvarasura |
Finnish equivalent | Kuume (spirits related to fevers) |
Febris was accompanied by two daughters or sisters of her named Dea Tertiana and Dea Quartana,[3][4] the goddesses of tertian and quartan fever of malaria because the fever would come back in every three or four days. Theodorus Priscianus mentions Saturn as Tertiana and Quartana's father.[5]
The goddess Febris belongs to the apotropaic (turning away) deities (Lat. Dii averrunci) who have power over a specific evil: to impose it or to get rid of it. Romans worshipped Febris so she would not do harm to them. She may have originated from the Etruscan-Roman god of purification, Februus. Unlike some Roman deities, Febris was not derived from a Greek deity.