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 a 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 Delos. Her worship was made official by Augustus Caesar early in his career as "Princeps Senatus" or "Primus inter pares" (first citizen of the Senate and first among equals, respectively - 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.