Terra

Tellus Mater, also known as Terra Mater, was the original earth goddess in ancient Roman religion and mythology. She was one of the twenty principal gods of Rome and one of the twelve agricultural deities. Tellus was associated with Ceres in rituals relating to earth and agricultural fertility. Her attributes included cornucopias, bunches of flowers, or fruit, and she was typically depicted reclining or rising from a hole in the ground. Her male counterpart was a sky god like Caelus or a form of Jupiter. Her Greek counterpart was Gaia, and among the Etruscans, her name was Cel. Michael Lipka argues that the Terra Mater, appearing during Augustus' reign, is a direct transfer of the Greek Ge Mater into Roman religious practice, while Tellus represents the original earth goddess cultivated by state priests.
The words terra and tellus are believed to be derived from the formulaic phrase tersa tellus, meaning "dry land." The etymology of tellus is uncertain, possibly related to Sanskrit talam, "plain ground." Servius, a 4th century AD Latin commentator, distinguishes between the use of tellus and terra, stating that terra is the elementum, earth as one of the four classical elements with air (Ventus), water (Aqua), and fire (Ignis). Tellus is the goddess, whose name can be substituted for her functional sphere the earth, just as Vulcanus is used for fire, Ceres for produce, and Liber for wine. Tellus may be an aspect of the spirit called Dea Dia by the Arval priests or a close collaborator with her as "divinity of the clear sky." Ovid distinguishes between Tellus as the locus of growth and Ceres as its causa. Mater, the Latin word for "mother," is often used as an honorific for goddesses, including Vesta, who was represented as a virgin. Tellus and Terra are both regarded as mothers in both the literal and honorific sense.
==Background==
===Temple===
The Temple of Tellus was a prominent landmark in the Carinae neighborhood, located near Pompey's homes and the Cicero family. It was built in 268 BC by Publius Sempronius Sophus after an earthquake during a battle with the Picenes. The temple was likely a rebuilding of the people's house, which was destroyed by Spurius Cassius. The temple's anniversary was December 13. It housed a mysterious magmentarium, a representation of Italy on the wall, and a statue of Quintus Cicero, set up by his brother Marcus. Cicero claimed that the proximity of his property caused some Romans to assume he had a responsibility to help maintain the temple.
===Festivals===
Tellus, a Roman goddess, was honored with various festivals related to agriculture and Ceres. She was honored as "mothers of produce" at the Sementivae feast in January, and on December 13, the Temple of Tellus was celebrated along with a lectisternium for Ceres, who symbolized "growing power" and earth productivity. Tellus received the sacrifice of a pregnant cow at the Fordicidia festival, which focused on fertility and animal husbandry. The institution of the Fordicidia was attributed to Numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king of Rome.
Numa was instructed by the rustic god Faunus in a dream that a sacrifice to Tellus was needed. The message required interpretation, but Numa solved the riddle by instituting the sacrifice of a pregnant cow. The purpose of the sacrifice was to assure the fertility of planted grain growing in the womb of Mother Earth in the guise of Tellus.
During Augustus' Secular Games in 17 BC, Terra Mater was among the deities honored in the Tarentum in the Campus Martius. Her ceremonies were conducted by "Greek rite," distinguishing her from the Roman Tellus whose temple was within the pomerium. Under Augustus, the Games were dedicated to seven other deities, including Moerae, Iuppiter, Ilithyia, Iuno, Terra Mater, Apollo, and Diana.
===Prayers and Rituals===
The sacrum ceriale was a ritual performed for Tellus and Ceres by a flamen, possibly the Flamen Cerialis, who also invoked twelve male helper gods. They jointly received the porca praecidanea, a pig sacrificed in advance of the harvest. Some rites originally pertaining to Tellus may have been transferred to Ceres or shared with her due to her identification with Greek Demeter. Tellus was believed to be present during rites of passage, possibly involved in the birth of a child and at Roman weddings. Dedicatory inscriptions to Tellus or Terra are relatively few, but epitaphs during the Imperial period sometimes contain formulaic expressions like "Terra Mater, receive me." Vote inscriptions in Pannonia, present-day Ljubija, record dedications to Terra Mater from vilici, imperial slave overseers who ran operations at ore smelting factories. These inscriptions are dated April 21, the founding day of Rome, possibly reflecting the connection between the Parilia on April 21 and the Fordicidia as a feast of Tellus.
===Iconography===
Tellus is often identified as the central figure on the so-called Italia relief panel of the Ara Pacis, which is framed by bucrania (ornamental ox heads) and motifs of vegetative and animal fertility and abundance. Terra long remained common as a personification, if not exactly treated as a goddess. She often formed part of sets of the personified Four Elements, typically identified by a cornucopia, farm animals, and vegetable products.
===Tellumo===
Male counterparts named Tellumo or Tellurus are mentioned, although rarely. Augustine of Hippo identified Tellumo as the male counterpart of Tellus: 7.23  A Tellurus is named by Capella but by no other source.
===In science===
In several modern Romance languages, Terra or Terre is the name of planet Earth. Earth is sometimes referred to as "Terra" by speakers of English to match post-classical Latin astronomical naming conventions, and to distinguish the planet from the soil covering part of it. It is also, rarely, called "Tellus", mainly via the adjective "tellurian".
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Category:Goddess
Category:Roman Pantheon
Category:Religion