Verminus

In Roman mythology, Verminus was the Roman god who protected cattle from disease. The god may have been inherited from the Indigetes, whom the Romans conquered in 218 BC. An altar dedicated by consul (or duovir) Aulus Postumius Albinus in 151 BC to Verminus was discovered in 1876,[1][2] and was housed in the museum of the Antiquarium Comunale in Rome.[3]

A 2nd century inscription dedicated to the god has been considered to be a reaction to increased worm infections among humans. However, Spanish veterinary scientist M. Cordero del Campillo has concluded that it was due to an epidemic infectious disease affecting both humans and animals.[4]

An altar to Verminus was discovered on Viminal Hill in Rome.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Adkins, Roy; Adkins, Lesley (1996). Dictionary of Roman religion. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-3005-7. Verminus
  2. ↑ Elizabeth Rawson (1973). "Scipio, Laelius, Furius and the Ancestral Religion". The Journal of Roman Studies 63: 161–74. doi:10.2307/299175. JSTOR 299175. p 161
  3. ↑ Frothingham AL (1917). "Vediovis, the Volcanic God: A Reconstruction". The American Journal of Philology 38 (4): 370–91. doi:10.2307/288964. ISSN 0002-9475. JSTOR 288964. p 375
  4. ↑ Cordero-del-Campillo M (1999). "On the Roman god Verminus". Hist Med Vet 24 (1): 11–9. PMID 11623710.
  5. ↑ Jesse Benedict Carter (Jan–Mar 1909). "The Death of Romulus". American Journal of Archaeology 13 (1): 19–29. doi:10.2307/496877. JSTOR 496877. p 28