From the Oak: Let’s hear it for the God!
Many are those that focus on female divinities, leaving male divinities in the shadows if they get mentioned at all. This is a shame. Here I will share my thoughts, stories and prayers on male divinities. Currently focusing on divinities placed in an atheist "graveyard".
Forgotten Furrina
How do you write about a goddess when there is so little known? Furrina is the next deity from the atheists’ “graveyard” and I’ve been stuck on what to write for her for months. She is of ancient origins, probably an Etruscan goddess adopted into the Roman pantheon as a goddess of springs.
Furrina had her own sacred grove and spring on the Janiculum Hill. Her worship had spread beyond Rome as there is evidence of her worship at Satricum and Arpinum. A flamen minore or lesser priest was assigned to her by the state. The Flamen Furrinalis was one of fifteen flamens that probably dated to pre-Republic times and were connected to agricultural or local cults that lost popularity as the area became more urban. Having a flamen is significant because it meant honoring this goddess was important for the wellbeing of the city. Furrina’s sacred festival was held on July 25th.
After the death of a Roman politician, Gaius Gracchus, in her grove, Furrina became associated with the Furies, goddesses of vengeance. It is theorized that association is simply due to the similarity of names. By the time of the late Republic, historians of the time could find little information upon her which makes it even more interesting that she had a headstone in this “graveyard”.
Whoever she is, but whatever name she cares to be called, may Furrina be remembered and honored as an important divinity lost to history.
Comments
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Wednesday, 07 February 2018
I am probably going to offend some jazz aficionados, and it’s embarrassing given that Jose and I live in the neighborhood of jazz, Harlem, New York . But as I sat and tried to listen in the NYU Skirball Center, I have never felt so taunted and trapped by musical notes. And I really did try to listen.
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As a Roman Polytheist, I can tell you that Furrina is related to water. On July 25, the Furrinalia was held for the Goddess Furrina, who watched over wells and other underground water sources. She is connected to wells and underground cisterns. Therefore, Furrina can be considered the Goddess of Adequate Drinking Supplies or simply of Drinking Water. Say a prayer to Her when you drink from a public water fountain.