MONETA. - Cultic epithet of Juno, who under this name had a temple on the Capitoline, dedicated by Camillus in 345 B.C. Her festival fell on June 1. Within its sacred precinct lived the famous Capitoline geese, to which the saving of the Capitoline from the Gauls was attributed.

The word "moneta" perhaps derives from the fact that coins were minted near the temple. Another sanctuary of the goddess was located on the Alban Mount, while another of her festivals is documented for October 10. Given the scarcity of data, it is difficult to define the character of the cult, especially because of the uncertainty of the meaning of the epithet (explained linguistically, at first, by the verb monere, more recently by a gentile name or by a Mediterranean root that would be found again in the Cretan name of Zeus Monnitos).

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: G. Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Römer, 3rd ed., Munich 1912, p. 190; Marbach, s. v. in Pauly-Wissowa, XVI, col. 113 ff.; A. Walde-J. B. Hoffman, Lateinisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, II, Heidelberg 1948, p. 107.

Angelo Brelich

@incollection{ec8_moneta_3, author = {Brelich, Angelo}, title = {Moneta}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VIII}, pages = {1279--1280}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/moneta-3} }

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