Roma (mythology)

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This coin struck under Philip the Arab to celebrate Saeculum Novum bears, on the reverse, a temple devoted to the goddess Roma

In Roman mythology, Roma was a deity personifying the Roman state, or an personification in art of the city of Rome (as seen on the column of Antoninus Pius).

[edit] First appearance

Roma first appeared in 269 BC on Roman coins from Rome and also on Roman coins from Locri (Calabria) in 204 BC. It is hypothesized that non-Roman peoples might have also given Roma divine attributes.

[edit] Empire

She is principally, however, a provincial goddess, used to inculcate loyalty among the provincials to the Roman state (although, late on, she did gain a temple in Rome itself). Temples to Roma were erected in Smyrna (195 BC) and a cult of Roma is reported in Ephesus, Sardis and Delo. Her worship was made official by Augustus Caesar early in his career as "Princeps Civitatis" (first among citizens - i.e. Emperor) as part of a propaganda campaign. In this way he deified the concept of Rome, building many temples to her (often as a 'Temple of Rome and Augustus' to make the imperial cult and emperor worship more palatable), with a copy his Res Gestae alongside inscriptions that popularized the new goddess.