The Goddess I have decided to discuss this week is the Roman Goddess Pax. As you can see in my contemporary rendering of her, she is often depicted with an olive branch, a cornucopia (peace brings abundance), and a dove. In this time of fear and panic, we especially need her now to remind us that even if the world around us is filled with hate and rage, we can look within for peace, and we have someone upon whom we can call for that peace.
In Roman times, the term "Pax Roman" referred to the 'peace' brought by Roman colonization. In 19 BC, the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) was dedicated by the Emperor Augustus to celebrate his return from Hispania, and reflects the Augustan religion in Roman culture.
Although this monument was created to glorify Augustus and his family and his vision of peace, it is now possible to take other lessons from the Goddess Pax and the imagery that was associated with her. As the daughter of Jupiter and Lustizia, the god of plenty and the goddess of justice, Pax represents the kind of beauty and plenty that comes from living in a free society.
There is not a great deal written from ancient times about this Goddess, but I would encourage modern practitioners to seek her out and ask her for help in these troubled times. Let us call upon her to assist us in our strivings for social justice and the many protests that are mounting through out the land. May we be able to work in civil disobedience peacefully, modeling ourselves after Martin Luther King, Jr, Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela.