Patron Deities for the Provincia

[Ti.Horatius]

Salve Labeo,

Good choices, but I disagree a bit.

Minerva. As you pointed out, she is one of teh Capitoline Triad, which would already be worshipped within the Provincia as a Roman Provincia. And as previously mentioned, we currently have a Temple of Minerva http://novabritannia.org/temple.html, even though the Sacerdos is away with the Legions in the Middle East

I have no issue with Fortuna, in general, or Fortuna Respiciens, specifically.

And I especially have no issue with Mithras, who, as you say, has strong ties here to the Provincia.

My recommendation would be Senua http://www.senua.info/index2.html, as we have an equally strong tie to her in this Provincia, having been the first to perform rituals to her in nearly 1500 years.

How say you citizens?

[M. Rutilia Severa]

An excellent, even outstanding choice.

Severa

[Q. Fabius Labeo]

Salve Barbate!  Thank you for the reply.  

Looking again at the link you provide for Senua, I note that when the statue was first discovered, it was at first believed to be Minerva.  

"Her statue is fashioned in a Roman style, and her dress, hair and posture are similar to many depictions of Minerva." "She was depicted as Minerva, which indicates that she may have shared at least some of Minerva's known spheres of influence..." And, "The votive plaques carry classical images of a Minerva-style goddess bearing spear and shield, with messages similar to those found on altars elsewhere in the Roman world."

This all indicates to me that there may have been a strong association, at least from a Roman viewpoint of Senua with Minerva (as Sulis with Minerva, etc.).  I would think it possible to honor Senua as Minerva, taking a Roman view as opposed to a Celtic one, as we might do with Brigantia, Sulis, Victoria etc. as discussed in previous posts.  I feel this would be the best approach, but that is strictly my opinion.

And that we already have a Temple of Minerva is yet another reason I'd favor her.

I look forward to others' comments.

Vale!

[Q. Fabius Labeo]

Salve Labeo,

Good choices, but I disagree a bit.

Minerva. As you pointed out, she is one of teh Capitoline Triad, which would already be worshipped within the Provincia as a Roman Provincia.

Salve!

Apologies, but another point I feel compelled to make.  We may be still confusing Patrons and the Pantheon.  Whether or not Senua (or Minerva for that matter) is chosen as a Patroness has no bearing on her being worshipped within the Provincia.  All the Gods can be worshipped.

Senua, being a goddess of springs (or more likely a particular spring) is in my view a relatively minor goddess.  Minerva, on the other hand, having weaving, music, healing and wisdom all within her sphere of influence, in addition to being a defender, makes a more suitable patroness.  Again, just my opinion.  I'm not saying anyone has to agree with it.

Vale!

[Ti.Horatius]

Excellent points, in both posts. I have mentioned this discussion on the yahoo group to get more comments here, but the ones here seem to revolve around the same/similar recommendations.

Hopefully more citizens will get involved.

[fulvia]

Salvete omnes!
As the organizer of MithraCon, I heartily endorse Mithras as one of the Provincial patron deities. The cult of Mithras co-existed perfectly amicably with (and alongside) the Religio of the State, as well as with the cult of Cybele and Attis. Nova Britannia is home to the (cult niche of the) Dura Europos mithraeum (it's at Yale), one of the most famous and elaborate mithraea which have been conserved. The worship of Mithras was extensive throughout Britannia, especially in the military stationed along Hadrian's Wall.

Also I wish to put in a word for Minerva Sulis (whose major temple in Bath), one of the major deities in the British Roman world. Of course, we should also honor Iuppiter, the wielder of the divine thunderbolt and the giver of the good rain. He was the predominant god wherever there were Romans who followed the Religio.

Iuppiter Cernunnos (was there such a deity?) Cernunnos was mentioned on one plaque from the Paris region; and I don't recall any conjoining of Iuppiter's name with the hart-horned Cernunnos, who seems to have been a rather regional Gaulish god, possibly of the hunt. Any connection of Cernunnos with keraunos (the divine thunderbolt) may possibly be homophonic, although a dialect shift could have slurred keraunos to cernunnos in the local Gaulish tongue.

It would be nice to honor *Romano-Britannic* deities and those Roman deities whose worship was a significant part of the Roman religious life in Britannia.

Valete
sibylla ambrosia fulvia

[Palladius]

Salvete,

First post on this topic, possibly first in this forum.

I am very much in favor of Senua as one of the province's patron deities, especially as this was the first place a ritual was conducted to Her since ancient times. She may be a minor deity but that connection is important.

Minerva of course. Not just because she is one of my patron deities but because New England is one of the centers of learning in North America (or we like to think so here anyway!). I would not be opposed to that aspect of Her called Sulis Minerva. For that connection learning I'd also suggest Apollo, a Greek deity though worshipped by the Romans (He was a patron of Augustus) reason.

For others I'd lean towards Victoria, Mithras and Fortuna, in that order.  There has long been a provincial connection with Mithras because of Mithracon (though I've never attended the event and likely won't be able for a long time I understand its importance to the province).

Valete

[Ti.Horatius]

Salve Palladi

And thanks for posting. We seem to be circling the same deities, so I may mention this discussion again on the NB list as well as the individual emails to generate a continued discussion, or bring it to a close and resolution.

Vale

[Ti.Horatius]

Salvete omnes,

After a flurry of posts and great discussion, we seemed to have quieted down. Are we ready to take our selection to the citizens for their comments?

Valete

[Ti.Horatius]

Salvete

As it has been nearly a month since the last post on this topic, I have made this discussion an agenda item on the upcoming Ordinary Meeting of the Praetorium. Based on the discussion, it looks like three deities are prominent for inclusion as Provincial Deities

Senua
Minerva
Mithras

Valete

[Marcus Audens]

In regard to the Patron Dieties of the Provincia.I don't see my first message in this regard, soit probably didn't make here.  I am leaning toward neptune, since the provincia borders on the sea, and a great deal of the commerce along this coast deals in the abundance of the oceans.  Literally thousands of fishing craft crowd the coastal harbors, and other thousands of pleasure craft dwell there as well.  All along the coast are facilities for diving and underwater exploration. 

In addition to this our Navy has a submarine base in New London, and two three major shipyards for the construction of naval ships, plus many othe smaller yards for commercial vessels both for their initial conxtruction and their repair.

All over the provincia can be found fish markets and restaurants serving seafood to the populace and every year we have contests in the various cities dealing with the preparation of favorite seafood.
The commercial venture supporting the fishing and pleasure activities of those who go to the sea for sustenance and enjoyment is extremely wide spread all along the Provincia's Coast. 

To that end and for those reasons I would very much like to see the Sea God included in our Povincia Diety List.

Respectfully;

Marcus Audens

[Ti.Horatius]

Salve Senator,
Nepture is an excellent choice for this area. Not sure why we never thought of it previously, but he will defnitely be added to the discussion.

Thanks for posting!

[Q. Fabius Labeo]

Salvete omnes

I would whole-heartedly support the Senator's suggestion of adopting Neptunus as a patron deity of the Provincia.  My own neighborhood of East Boston was one of the most important shipbuilding centers, especially known for the clipper ships built at the McKay shipyards.  Then there's also the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Mass Maritime Academy.  I'm surprised Neptunus somehow "slipped through the cracks" in all the previous discussions.  Thank you, Senator Audens.  I think Neptunus is most appropriate as a patron of Nova Britannia.  Ave Neptune!