Mania (deity)
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In ancient Etruscan and Roman mythology, Mania (Etruscan: 𐌀𐌉𐌍𐌀𐌌), also spelled Manea, was a goddess of the dead, spirits and chaos: she was said to be the mother of ghosts, the undead, and other spirits of the night, as well as the Lares and the Manes. She, along with Mantus (Etruscan: 𐌈𐌍𐌀𐌌, romanized: Manth), ruled the underworld.
Her counterpart in Greek mythology, also named Mania (or Maniae), was the goddess of insanity and madness.
Etymology[edit]
Her name links her to the Manes, Mana Genita, and Manius.[1]
Both the Greek and Latin Mania derive from PIE (Proto-Indo-European) *men-, "to think." Cognates include Ancient Greek μένος, ménos, 'mind, thought', and Avestan 𐬎𐬫𐬥𐬌𐬀𐬨, mainyu, 'spirit'.
See also[edit]
- Mother of the Lares (Latin Mater Larum), Roman chthonic goddess identified with Mania by Varro.
- Roman festivals
- Lemuria (festival)
References[edit]
- ^ Roger D. Woodard, Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman Cult (University of Illinois Press, 2006), pp. 116–117.
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