Bellona () is an ancient Roman goddess of war. She is generally characterized as embodying the destructive and brutal side of warfare. Her main attribute is the military helmet worn on her head; she often holds a sword, spear, or shield, and brandishes a torch or whip as she rides into battle in a four-horse chariot. Bellona had many temples throughout the Roman Empire, one of which served as a site for Senate meetings prior to the reign of Augustus. Her iconography was extended by painters and sculptors following the Renaissance.
Etymology The name of the goddess of war stems from an earlier Duellona, itself a derivative of Old Latin duellum ('war, warfare'), which likewise turned into bellum in Classical Latin.
The etymology of duellum remains obscure. Linguist Georges-Jean Pinault has proposed a derivation from *duenelo- ('quite good, quite brave'), a reconstructed diminutive of the word duenos, attested on an eponymous inscription as an early Old Latin antecedent of the word bonus ('good'). According to linguist Michiel de Vaan, the use of *duenelo- "in the context of war (bella acta, bella gesta) could be understood as a euphemism, ultimately yielding a meaning 'action of valour, war' for the noun bellum."
Cults and Beliefs
Archaeology Archaeological evidence confirms that the Bellona dates back to at least the 4th-century BCE, as the earliest mention of this goddess derives from a Campanian dating to this period upon which is painted the phrase "" ("cup of Bellona").Dessau. 2959. Given the ritual function of , which were associated with libation, it is likely that this artifact was involved in some religious activity. However, according to Poplacean, due to the near omnipresence of libation throughout Roman religious life, it is difficult to draw any deeper conclusions regarding the function of this cup. Whereas the exact findspot of the artifact is unknown, the classicist Mary Beard argues that the location of its provenance indicates that it was not a dedication, as it was not uncovered within the temple itself. Beard instead suggests that it may have functioned as a temple souvenir, perhaps removed from the site of the temple.
The earliest known artistic portrayal of the deity appears upon this cup: It depicts the deity—according to the archaeologist Meghan Poplacean—with a long neck, a "calm" and "demure" expression, hair tied atop her head, and several curls of hair. This portrayal is slightly unusual; in later art, Bellona is almost exclusively depicted with armor, and she largely lacks the unkempt appearance found on this cup. The lines in her hair have been interpreted as representations of snakes, which could indicate early associations between Bellona and the Furies, with whom the goddess was frequently associated in later Imperial art. It is perhaps possible that this design was influenced by the Greek divinity Enyo, with whom Bellona was equated. Poplacean, however, argues that—on this cup—the design of Bellona is unremarkable, and her traits are typical of other 4th-century BCE artistic portrayals of Italian goddesses. According to Poplacean, since such lines appear on numerous other contemporary Italian artworks, it is more likely that they serve as a generic symbol for hair curls rather than any unique characteristic particular to Bellona.
Association with war Bellona is largely characterized as an embodiment of the carnage and brutality of war. She was identified with Nerio, the consort of the war god Mars, and later with the Greek war goddess Enyo. In the Punica of Silius Italicus, a 1st-century CE Roman author, Bellona is depicted as holding the reins of the chariot of Mars,Silius Italicus. Punica. 4.439. an image possibly influenced by the role of Enyo as the charioteer of Ares. The 1st-century BCE poet Virgil, in his Aeneid, mentions Bellona as part of an ekphrasis describing the shield of Aeneas: She is—within this passage—mentioned alongside the goddess Discordia.Virgil. Aeneid. 8.703. This section of the Aeneid may parallel another verse from Iliad, in which the shield of Achilles is also—in an ekphrasis—associated with chaotic goddesses such as Ker and Eris. However, according to the classicist John Serrati, it is possible that Bellona was not viewed as a wholly negative entity, as—in the prologue to his play Amphitryon—the 3rd-century BCE playwright Plautus lists Bellona alongside Neptune, Virtus, Victoria, and Mars,Plautus. Amphitryon. 43. all of whom were deities with positive connotations. Moreover, Serrati suggests that the Romans did not necessarily view war—and therefore Bellona—as exclusively odious: The word ("war") itself is possibly related to the description of warfare as "" ("valorous deeds").
Literary depictions of Bellona often emphasize the booming noise and excessive gore accompanying her entry into battle: The 1st-century BCE poet Horace, in his Satires,Horace. Satires. 2.3.223. mentions the "thunder of Bellona, who delights in bloodshed" and Valerius Flaccus, a 1st-century Roman poet, writes "above the open portals appeared Bellona with bare flank, her brazen weapons clanging as she moved."Valerius Flaccus. Argonautica. 3.60. Generally, Bellona and her weapons are covered in blood: Lucan describes the goddess wielding a "bloody whip" (""Lucan. The Civil War. 7.568.) and Ovid, a 1st-century BCE Roman author, writes "But their cries are drowned in the clash of arms and the groans of dying men; while Bellona drenches and pollutes with blood the sacred home, and ever renews the strife."Ovid. Metamorphoses. 5.154-156. According to Serrati, the motif of her blood-soaked weapons may indicate a perception of the goddess as permanently locked in combat, and therefore without the ability to wash away the blood and thus symbolically remove herself from battle.
Beside the Temple of Bellona in Rome was the war column (), which represented non-Roman territory. To declare war on a distant state, a javelin was thrown over the column by one of the priests concerned with diplomacy (fetiales) in a modification of the archaic practice, from Roman territory toward the direction of the enemy land and this symbolical attack was considered the opening of war."Fetiales", Encyclopædia Britannica The Temple of Bellona also served as a common location for Senate meetings: Both the 1st-century BCE Roman statesman Cicero and the 1st-century BCE Roman historian Livy utilized the same term— ("filled, frequent")—to describe the gathering of Senators within this location.Livy. History of Rome. 28.Cicero. Verrine Orations. 2.5.41. Poplacean suggests that, in particular, the Temple of Bellona served as the standard site for the discussion of wartime matters by the Roman senate. Moreover, since the site was located outside of the pomerium—a line of demarcation surrounding Rome—it allowed Senators to meet with and award triumphs to generals holding , who were prohibited from entering the crossing the boundaries of the city. Given the various political functions associated with the temple, Poplacean proposes that the Bellona may have overseen the act of initiating and conducting war in Rome. It was under her supervision where war was officially declared, the Senate discussions concerning wartime decisions were held, and the bequeathment or denial of a triumph was granted—an act that, according to Poplacean, was linked to the conclusion of a war in Rome. The involvement of Bellona within Senate activities may imply that the goddess was not exclusively considered a personification of chaos and savagery but instead possessed a more administrative side.
Emperor Augustus () constructed the Theatre of Marcellus near the site of the Temple of Bellona, leaving only a narrow opening between the walls of the two structures. Therefore, it is possible that any future triumphal processions were unable to pass through the temple and were instead redirected through the theatre. Moreover, Augustus also decreed that Senate discussions regarding wartime matters or triumphs ought to occur—not in the Temple of Bellona—but in the temple to Mars Ultor, which Augustus himself had constructed.Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars. Augustus. 29.Cassius Dio. Roman History. 55.10. 2-5. Poplacean suggests that Augustus may have intentionally sought to mitigate the prominence of the temple and its goddess, as Bellona naturally symbolized the prior period of pervasive civil wars during the final decades of the Roman Republic. In contemporary literature, she was frequently associated with failed marriage, itself a common metaphorical symbol denoting war in Roman culture. Two 1st-century BCE poets, Virgil and Ovid, portray Bellona appearing at ill-fated weddings: Virgil depicts Bellona as the bridesmaid ("") of Lavinia and Ovid describes Bellona appearing at the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda.Virgil. Aeneid. 7.319.Ovid. Metamorphoses. 5.155. Another Roman author, the 1st-century CE poet Statius, depicts Bellona as a torchbearer at the wedding of Helen.Statius. Achilleid. 1.34. The 1st-century Greek historian Plutarch suggests that the Roman military leader and dictator Sulla—who was himself involved in a civil war—may have propitiated the goddess Bellona. Though, Plutarch also states this goddess may have been Luna or Minerva and was "borrowed from the Cappadocians."Plutarch. Parallel Lives. Sulla. 9.
Gender Bellona was the only female deity in Republican Rome with links to warfare, and she was perhaps otherwise associated with traits perceived as masculine by the Romans. In some ancient Roman inscriptions, she was associated with Mars and Virtus, the latter of which exemplified martial valor in ancient Rome. For instance, one text from Novara authored by an individual named Lucius Petronius Callistratus is dedicated to "."CIL 5. 6507. Lactantius, a 3rd-century CE Roman Christian author, writes that the god Virtus was also known as Bellona by Roman pagans.Lactantius. The Divine Institutes. 1.21.6. The Roman author Pomponius Porphyrio claims that Bellona was equated by some with the Sabine goddess Vacuna, although others identified Vacuna with Minerva or Diana.Pomponius Porphyrio. Commentum in Horati Epistulas 1.10.5.1. According to the Poplacean, it is probable that the purported connections between the Sabines and Bellona represent a particular Roman perception of the Sabine people as embodying traditional Roman standards of masculinity and a distant, hardier, and more rustic past. Poplacean further argues that the supposed "Sabine" origins of Bellona may reflect a later attempt to deepen her ties to the Claudia family, a family supposedly of Sabine origin to which belonged Appius Claudius Caecus, who constructed a Temple of Bellona in Rome.