page_title: List of Roman birth and childhood deities
section_title: Conception and pregnancy
hierarchical_section_title: List of Roman birth and childhood deities / Conception and pregnancy
caption_attribution_description: English: This sarcophagus, also called the "Childhood Sarcophagus," depicts the birth of the god Dionysus (the Roman Bacchus) in exquisitely detailed high relief. At the left, the newborn god is nursed by a nymph and surrounded by Silenus-his future teacher-and other attendants, including one preparing a basin for the child's first bath. A panther cub, the god's favorite animal, is seated on the ground. To the right, satyrs and maenads, including a drunken old man, celebrate the god's birth. On the lid, satyrs and maenads-followers of the wine god-feast at a banquet. On the sides of the lid, Dionysus's panther drinks from an overturned wine vessel. The coffin is small, as if made for a child rather than for an adult.
context_page_description: In ancient Roman religion, birth and childhood deities were thought to care for every aspect of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and child development. Some major deities of Roman religion had a specialized function they contributed to this sphere of human life, while other deities are known only by the name with which they were invoked to promote or avert a particular action. Several of these slight "divinities of the moment" are mentioned in surviving texts only by Christian polemicists.
  An extensive Greek and Latin medical literature covered obstetrics and infant care, and the 2nd century Greek gynecologist Soranus of Ephesus advised midwives not to be superstitious. But childbirth in antiquity remained a life-threatening experience for both the woman and her newborn, with infant mortality as high as 30 or 40 percent. Rites of passage pertaining to birth and death had several parallel aspects. Maternal death was common: one of the most famous was Julia, daughter of Julius Caesar and wife of Pompey. Her infant died a few days later, severing the family ties between her father and husband and hastening the Caesar's Civil War, which ended the Roman Republic.
context_section_description: The gods of the marriage bed (di coniugales) are also gods of conception. Juno, one of the three deities of the Capitoline Triad, presides over union and marriage as well, and some of the minor deities invoked for success in conceiving and delivering a child may have been functional aspects of her powers.
  Jugatinus is a conjugal god, from iugare, "to join, yoke, marry."
  Cinxia functions within the belt (cingulum) that the bride wears to symbolize that her husband is "belted and bound" (cinctus vinctusque) to her. It was tied with the knot of Hercules, intended to be intricate and difficult to untie. Augustine calls this goddess Virginiensis (virgo, "virgin"), indicating that the untying is the symbolic loss of virginity. Cinxia may have been felt as present during a ritual meant to ease labor. The man who fathered the child removes his own belt (cinctus), binds it (cinxerit) around the laboring woman, then releases it with a prayer that the one who has bound her in labor should likewise release her: "he should then leave." Women who had experienced spontaneous abortions were advised to bind their bellies for the full nine months with a belt (cingulum) of wool from a lamb fed upon by a wolf.
  Subigus is the god (deus) who causes the bride to give in to her husband. The name derives from the verb subigo, subigere, "to cause to go under; tame, subdue," used of the active role in sexual intercourse, hence "cause to submit sexually".
  Prema is the insistent sex act, from the verb primo, primere, to press upon. Although the verb usually describes the masculine role, Augustine calls Prema dea Mater, a mother goddess.
  Inuus ("Entry"), the phallic god Mutunus Tutunus, and Pertunda enable sexual penetration. Inuus, sometimes identified with Faunus, embodies the mammalian impulse toward mating. The cult of Mutunus was associated with the sacred fascinum. Both these gods are attested outside conception litany. Pertunda is the female personification of the verb pertundere, "to penetrate", and seems to be a name for invoking a divine power specific to this function.
  Janus, the forward- and backward-facing god of doorways and passages, "opened up access to the generative seed which was provided by Saturn," the god of sowing.
  Consevius or Deus Consevius, also Consivius, is the god of propagation and insemination, from con-serere, "to sow." It is a title of Janus as a creator god or god of beginnings.
  Liber Pater ("Father Liber") empowers the man to release his semen, while Libera does the same for the woman, who was regarded as also contributing semina, "seed."
  Mena or Dea Mena with Juno assured menstrual flow, which is redirected to feed the developing child.
  Fluonia or Fluvionia, from fluo, fluere, "to flow," is a form of Juno who retains the nourishing blood within the womb. Women attended to the cult of Juno Fluonia "because she held back the flow of blood (i.e., menstruation) in the act of conception." Medieval mythographers noted this aspect of Juno, which marked a woman as a mater rather than a virgo.
  Alemona feeds the embryo or generally nourished growth in utero.
  Vitumnus endows the fetus with vita, "life" or the vital principle or power of life (see also quickening). Augustine calls him the vivificator, "creator of life," and links him with Sentinus (following) as two "very obscure" gods who are examples of the misplaced priorities of the Roman pantheon. These two gods, he suggests, should merit inclusion among the di selecti, "select" or principal gods, instead of those who preside over physical functions such as Janus, Saturn, Liber and Libera. Both Vitumnus and Sentinus were most likely names that focalized the functions of Jove.
  Sentinus or Sentia gives sentience or the powers of sense perception (sensus). Augustine calls him the sensificator, "creator of sentience."
caption: Child's sarcophagus (150-160 AD) depicting the festivities attending the birth of Dionysus; the basin at far left represents the baby's first bath
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