Mefitis
Sign in to saveIn Roman mythology, Mefitis (or Mephitis; Mefite in Italian) was a goddess of Italic origins primarily worshipped by the Samnites and Osci in southern Italy. Mefitis was associated with water— particularly foul-smelling or sulfurous water— and noxious fumes. Her main temple was situated near Lake Ampsanctus, which was described as deadly by Cicero and Pliny. The temple itself was reported to contain poisonous gas that killed anyone who entered, and Virgil described it as an entrance to the underworld.
Key facts
- Deity.type
- Roman
- Deity.god_of
- Goddess of Foul Waters and Fumes
- Deity.symbols
- Sulfur water, foul-smelling air
- Deity.temple
- Temple at Lake Ampsanctus
- Deity.other_names
- Mefitis AravinnaMefitis CaporoinnaMefitis FisicaMefitis Utiana
- Deity.animals
- Boar
- Deity.region
- Southern Italy
- Deity.gender
- Female
- Deity.image
- Face mefitis.jpg
- Deity.caption
- Face of Mefitis. Bronze fragment stored at the National Archaeological Museum of Basilicata in Potenza
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Wikidata facts
- Image
- Face mefitis.jpg
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- Commons category
- Mefitis
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Article
19 sectionsContents
- Functions
- Medicinal Role
- Mythology
- Worship
- Temples and Shrines
- Temple at Ampsanctus
- Temple at Rossano
- Grove of Mefitis
- Etymology and derivatives
- Epithets
- ''Mefitis Aravinna''
- ''Mefitis Caporoinna''
- ''Mefitis Fisica''
- ''Mefitis Utiana''
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- Further reading
- External links
In Roman mythology, Mefitis (or Mephitis; Mefite in Italian) was a goddess of Italic origins primarily worshipped by the Samnites and Osci in southern Italy. Mefitis was associated with water— particularly foul-smelling or sulfurous water— and noxious fumes. Her main temple was situated near Lake Ampsanctus, which was described as deadly by Cicero and Pliny. The temple itself was reported to contain poisonous gas that killed anyone who entered, and Virgil described it as an entrance to the underworld.
Though Mefitis is sometimes cast as the goddess of intoxication, modern scholarship generally disagrees with this assertion. Modern scholars have proposed that Mefitis served a medicinal role due to her association with sulfur, which Romans considered purifying; an agricultural role due to her epithet Aravinna, from arva ("soil"); or a mediatory role, with her sacred sites believed to serve as links between the heavens and the underworld.