Furrina
Encyclopedia
Furrina was a Roman goddess. Her function in the Roman pantheon was mostly unknown at the time of Cicero.
However, modern archaeological research has revealed some tenuous evidence that seems to indicate that Furrina was associated with water.
Her antiquity is proven by the fact that she was one the Roman deities who had their own flamen
, named Furrinalis, one of the flamines minores.
According to Georges Dumézil
Furrina was a goddess of springs, her name being related to the Indoeuropean root *bhr-u-n, Skr. bhurvan, indicating the moving or bubbling of water, Goth. brunna spring,, Latin fervere (from *fruur > furr by metathesis of the vowel), to bubble or boil. Compare English fervent, effervescent etc.
Dumézil remarks that in the chronological order Roman of festivals, those separated by an interval of three days were interconnected and belonged to the same function, accepting an observation already made by Georg Wissowa
. In the second half of July the grouping included the two Lucaria
on the 19th and 17th, the Neptunalia
on the 23rd and the Furrinalia on the 25th. This grouping is devoted to woods and running waters, intended as a shelter and a relief from the heat of the season, the canicula.
The goddess had a sacred spring and a shrine in Rome, located on the South Western slopes of Mount Janiculum
, on the right bank of the Tiber. The site has survived to the present day in the form of a grove, included within the gardens of Villa Sciarra. Excavations on the site conducted in 1910 have identified a well and a system of underground channels, as well as some inscriptions dedicated to Jupiter Heliopolitanus, Agatis, and the nymphae furrinae. However these findings look to be of later date (2nd century CE) and perhaps the weell is not the original spring..
Martianus Capella
states Furrina is a low ranking deity who has her seat just above the mountain peaks.
According to Cicero another sanctuary dedicated to the cult of Furrina was located near Satricum. This place was not the most widely known one but a hamlet near Arpinum.
Other than this, the only well known fact relevant to Furrina is that Gaius Sempronius Gracchus was killed in the "Grove of Furrina." Her placation was the duty of the Flamen
Furrinalis, her feast day being on July 25.
However, modern archaeological research has revealed some tenuous evidence that seems to indicate that Furrina was associated with water.
Her antiquity is proven by the fact that she was one the Roman deities who had their own flamen
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
, named Furrinalis, one of the flamines minores.
According to Georges Dumézil
Georges Dumézil
Georges Dumézil was a French comparative philologist best known for his analysis of sovereignty and power in Proto-Indo-European religion and society...
Furrina was a goddess of springs, her name being related to the Indoeuropean root *bhr-u-n, Skr. bhurvan, indicating the moving or bubbling of water, Goth. brunna spring,, Latin fervere (from *fruur > furr by metathesis of the vowel), to bubble or boil. Compare English fervent, effervescent etc.
Dumézil remarks that in the chronological order Roman of festivals, those separated by an interval of three days were interconnected and belonged to the same function, accepting an observation already made by Georg Wissowa
Georg Wissowa
Georg Otto August Wissowa was a German classical philologist who was born in Neudorf, near Breslau.Wissowa studied at the University of Breslau, and in 1886 became a professor at the University of Marburg, and in 1895 a professor at the University of Halle.Wissowa was a specialist in the study of...
. In the second half of July the grouping included the two Lucaria
Lucaria
In ancient Roman religion, the Lucaria was a festival of the grove held July 19 and 21. The original meaning of the ritual was obscure by the time of Varro , who omits it in his list of festivals...
on the 19th and 17th, the Neptunalia
Neptunalia
The Neptunalia was an obscure archaic two-day festival in honour of Neptune as god of waters, celebrated at Rome in the heat and drought of summer, probably July 23 . It was one of the dies comitiales, when committees of citizens could vote on civil or criminal matters. In the ancient calendar...
on the 23rd and the Furrinalia on the 25th. This grouping is devoted to woods and running waters, intended as a shelter and a relief from the heat of the season, the canicula.
The goddess had a sacred spring and a shrine in Rome, located on the South Western slopes of Mount Janiculum
Janiculum
The Janiculum is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although the second-tallest hill in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the proverbial Seven Hills of Rome, being west of the Tiber and outside the boundaries of the ancient city.-Sights:The Janiculum is one of the...
, on the right bank of the Tiber. The site has survived to the present day in the form of a grove, included within the gardens of Villa Sciarra. Excavations on the site conducted in 1910 have identified a well and a system of underground channels, as well as some inscriptions dedicated to Jupiter Heliopolitanus, Agatis, and the nymphae furrinae. However these findings look to be of later date (2nd century CE) and perhaps the weell is not the original spring..
Martianus Capella
Martianus Capella
Martianus Minneus Felix Capella was a pagan writer of Late Antiquity, one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early medieval education...
states Furrina is a low ranking deity who has her seat just above the mountain peaks.
According to Cicero another sanctuary dedicated to the cult of Furrina was located near Satricum. This place was not the most widely known one but a hamlet near Arpinum.
Other than this, the only well known fact relevant to Furrina is that Gaius Sempronius Gracchus was killed in the "Grove of Furrina." Her placation was the duty of the Flamen
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
Furrinalis, her feast day being on July 25.