Bellona

Bellona is the Roman goddess of war, destruction, and devastation. She is an important goddess to the Romans, as she also controls the policy of foreign warfare. While she does not have a Greek form, her Greek equivalent is Enyo.
== History ==
Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, was closely associated with Mars, the Roman god of war. She is invariably his companion, although she is also known for being his wife, daughter, sister, or charioteer but mostly recognized for being his twin sister.
Her temple was built in the Campus Martius, the low-lying field by the Tiber River consecrated to Mars, located outside of the city walls. The area around her temple was considered to symbolize foreign soil, and it was there that the Senate met with ambassadors, received victorious generals, and where war was officially declared. Beside her temple was the columna bellica or "war column," representing the boundary of Rome. To declare war, a javelin was thrown over the column by one of the fetialis, a type of priest involved in diplomacy, and this act symbolized the attack on a foreign land. Bellona had several shrines and temples in Rome, though most are known only from inscriptions referencing them, as well as a temple in Ostia, the port city of Rome.
== Representation ==
Bellona is usually shown in a plumed helmet and armor, armed with sword and spear, carrying a shield (being the war goddess); sometimes she carries a torch with a blood-red flame. She is described as loud and active, barking orders or war-cries, her weapons clanging as she runs. She is credited with inspiring violence, starting wars, and goading soldiers into battle; Virgil described her as carrying a bloodstained scourge or whip. She was believed to make wars and battles go well for those who invoked her.
==Etymology==
The name Bellona derives from the Latin word for war (bellum), and is directly related to the modern English words belligerent (lit. war-waging), bellicose (lit. aggression) and antebellum (lit. happenings before war). In earlier times she was called Duellona, the name being derived from a more ancient word for battle.
Category:Female characters
Category:Roman Gods
Category:Minor Goddesses (Roman)
Category:Olympians
Category:Children of Jupiter
Category:Children of Juno
Category:Twins
Category:Immortals (Roman)