Enyo/Bellona

**Also known as:** Bella Donna; Duellona (as in “duel to the death”)

**Pantheon**: Greek/Roman

**Origin:** Rome; possibly Etruscan

**Title**: Goddess of War

**Authority**: Power

**Feast:** 3 June

## Information

Bellona, Goddess of War and Conquest, was once extremely popular with Roman soldiers. Roman senate meetings pertaining to foreign wars were conducted in Bellona’s temple on the Capitoline Hill. Bellona’s name derives from the same root as bellicose and belligerent. Some consider it safer to call her Bella Donna. Bella Donna, literally “Beautiful Lady,” contains the name Bellona within it. It may be a euphemistic pun so that one could refer to Bellona without actually calling upon this beautiful but fierce lady.

Classical Roman mythology classifies Bellona, Lady of War, as belonging to the family of Mars. She is described as his sister, wife, or daughter.

Macbeth’s success in battle is celebrated and his bloodthirsty nature is insinuated when William Shakespeare has the Thane of Ross describe him as “Bellona’s Bridegroom.”

**Favoured people:** Soldiers, those who battle

**Manifestation:** A beautiful woman with long windswept hair, girded for battle

**Attributes:** Scourge; whip (to whip troops into frenzy); torch (to light her opponents’ funeral pyres)

**Sacred plant:** Belladonna (Atropa belladonna), a beautiful but lethal killer, shares her essence.

**Sacred sites:** In addition to her Roman temple, Bellona had a temple outside York, England, and a shrine in Arfeuilles, France, now home of the Black Madonna of the Hollies. She was venerated wherever Roman soldiers travelled.

**See Also:** Mars

### Enyo

*Warlike*

**Origin:**Greece

Enyo is Ares’ sister, friend, lover, and companion. She accompanies him on the battlefield where she exults in battle. Enyo may or may not be the same as Ares’ sister, Eris. She is the spirit who destroys cities during war.

**Manifestation:** She often, but not always, appears covered in blood.

**See Also:** Ares; Eris

## Smite Lore

Rome has forgotten her.

Bellona, the Goddess of War, took no time to build temples or gather worshippers. She favours only those for whom war is life; for that is where she thrives - not on the steps of hallowed basilicas or in whispered prayers, but in the blood-soaked mud, among the breathless armored troops, in the roar of victory.

When Rome was young, Bellona ran with her armies, conquered her enemies, made her strong. As Rome aged and began to crumble, she fought only with her strongest and most cunning of worshippers, Lucius Cornelius Sulla.

Sulla rose through the ranks by accomplishing impossible deeds of heroism and ruthless prowess. His enemies feared him, his soldiers loved him, and everywhere he went, Bellona rode with him. Together they quelled the Germanic hordes, they broke the Social War, they sacked Athens. Sulla was utterly undefeatable, and it was the Goddess of War that made him so.

But the Roman Senate moved to displace Sulla and end his rise to glory.

"March on Rome," Bellona quietly urged, "and you shall rise as no other."

Emboldened, Sulla commanded his legions and took the city streets, Bellona at the fore, slaughtering the gladiator-slaves that stood against them. The Senate buckled. They cast the vote. Sulla became the first life-long dictator of Rome.

During Sulla's reign, Bellona was worshipped for the Goddess she was. But Sulla had grown old. His wars were over. Bellona moved on, and Rome forgot.

## Appearances in Modern Media

From SmiteFrom Age of IshtariaAs Bellona from Reign of DragonsAs Enyo from Reign of Dragons
## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies,
Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes