Mania (mythology)
Encyclopedia
In Roman
and Etruscan mythology
, Mania (or Manea) was the goddess
of the dead. She, along with Mantus
, ruled the underworld
. She was said to be the mother of ghosts, the undead
, and other spirits of the night, as well as the Lares
and the Manes
. Both the Greek and Latin Mania derive from PIE
*men-, "to think." Cognate
s include Ancient Greek
menos ("life," "vigor") and Avestan mainyu, "spirit."
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
and Etruscan mythology
Etruscan mythology
The Etruscans were a diachronically continuous population, with a distinct language and culture during the period of earliest European writing, in the Mediterranean Iron Age in the second half of the first millennium BC...
, Mania (or Manea) was the goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
of the dead. She, along with Mantus
Mantus
In Etruscan myth and religion, Mantus was a god of the underworld in the Po Valley, as described by Servius. A dedication to the god manθ from the Archaic period was found in a sanctuary at Pontecagnano...
, ruled the underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
. She was said to be the mother of ghosts, the undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
, and other spirits of the night, as well as the Lares
Lares
Lares , archaically Lases, were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, hero-ancestors, or an amalgam of these....
and the Manes
Manes
In ancient Roman religion, the Manes or Di Manes are chthonic deities sometimes thought to represent the souls of deceased loved ones. They were associated with the Lares, Genii, and Di Penates as deities that pertained to domestic, local, and personal cult...
. Both the Greek and Latin Mania derive from PIE
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
*men-, "to think." Cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
s include Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
menos ("life," "vigor") and Avestan mainyu, "spirit."
See also
- The Mother of the LaresThe Mother of the LaresThe Mother of the Lares has been identified with any of several minor Roman deities. She appears twice in the records of the Arval Brethren as Mater Larum, elsewhere as Mania and Larunda...
(L. Mater Larum), Roman chthonic goddess identified with Mania by Varro.