View source for Juventas

{{Short description|Ancient Roman goddess of youth}}
{{confuse|Juventus F.C}}
 
{{Infobox deity
| type = Roman
| name = Juventas
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| god_of = Goddess of youth and rejuvenation
| abode = 
| symbol = Chalice
| consort = 
| parents = [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]]
| siblings = [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]], [[Bellona (goddess)|Bellona]], [[Eris (mythology)|Discordia]], [[Lucina (mythology)|Lucina]], [[Hercules]]
| children = 
| mount = 
| Greek_equivalent = [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]
}}

'''Juventas''', also known as '''Iuventus''' or '''Juventus'''
([[Ancient Greece|Greek]] equivalent: [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]), was the [[List of Roman deities|ancient Roman goddess]] whose sphere of [[tutela]]ge was youth and rejuvenation.{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=857}} She was especially the goddess of young men "new to wearing the [[toga]]" ''(dea novorum togatorum)''—that is, those who had just come of age.<ref>[[Tertullian]], ''Ad nationes'' 2.11</ref><ref>[[Augustine of Hippo]], ''De civitate Dei'' 4.11</ref>{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=858}}

Several voluntary associations ''([[Collegium (ancient Rome)|collegia]])'' were formed for Juventas in the Italian [[Municipium|municipalities]], as attested by inscriptions.{{sfnp|Madigan|2013|p=99}}

==Temple and early cult==
Juventas had a shrine within the [[cella]] of [[Minerva]] on the [[Capitoline]]. According to [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dionysius]]<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] 3.69.5.</ref> and [[Livy]],<ref>[[Livy]] 5.54.7.</ref> both she and the god [[Terminus (god)|Terminus]] are supposed to have "refused" the ceremony of reversal ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#exauguratio|exauguratio]])'' performed when [[Lucius Tarquinius Priscus|Tarquin]] wished to rebuild the temple district on the Capitoline. Although other deities were relocated, these two were incorporated into the new structure.{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=848}} Dionysius also records that the semi-legendary king [[Servius Tullius]] established a temple fund for Juventas, to which each family had to contribute.<ref>Dionysius 4.15.5</ref>{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=848}} The view that she was a part of archaic Roman religion depends mainly on these two aetiological legends, as she has no presence in the early history of [[Roman festivals]].{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=846}}{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=848}}

On the advice of the [[Sibylline books]], which were consulted amid anxieties surrounding the [[Second Punic War]], Juventas was included in sacrifices in 218 BC relating to a [[lectisternium]], a public banquet at which divine images were displayed as if the deities were participating.<ref>[[Livy]] 21.62.9 and 36.36.5</ref>{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=835, 848 & 851–852|ps=; citing also [[Kurt Latte]] for the date}} Like other deities whose cult was ordained by the Sibylline books, Juventas was venerated ''[[ritus graecus|ritu graeco]]'', according to "Greek" rite.{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=858}} Also at the lectisternium of 218 BC, a [[supplicatio]]n was performed at the Temple of [[Hercules in ancient Rome|Hercules]]. In [[Greek myth]], the divinized Hercules had Hebe as his wife. The cultivation of both deities at the time of the Second Punic War seems intended to reinvigorate men of fighting age: Juventas "was regarded as a powerful divine force rendering a vital gift of strength at a critical moment."{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=858}} This occasion is also the first time the ''[[Genius (mythology)|Genius Publicus]]'' ("Genius of the People") is recorded. After the disastrous [[Battle of Lake Trasimene]] in April 217 BC, Juventas, Hercules, and the Genius Publicus were excluded for a time from divine honors, as they were not felt to have been efficacious.{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=858}} [[Marcus Livius Salinator]] vowed a temple to her during the [[Battle of the Metaurus]], when he faced [[Hasdrubal (Barcid)|Hasdrubal]] in 207 BC—an indication that Juventas was still felt to have potency.{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=858}}

A procession ''([[supplicia canum]])'' in which Romans carried crucified dogs passed between the Temple of Juventas and that of [[Summanus]]. A late source dates the "punishment of the dogs" to August 3.{{sfnp|Scullard|1981|p=170}}

==Imperial era==
On Imperial coins, Juventas and [[Spes]] ("Hope") are often associated with the reigning [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]].
A supplication to Juventas and Spes marked the anniversary of [[Augustus]]'s coming of age.{{sfnp|Fears|1981|pp=862, 899}} Juventas was among the many ''Virtutes'' ("Virtues") to appear on the coinage of [[Antoninus Pius]].{{sfnp|Fears|1981|p=903}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=J. Rufus |last=Fears |author-link=J. Rufus Fears |chapter=The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology |volume=Band II.17.2 Teilband Religion |title=Heidentum: Römische Götterkulte, Orientalische Kulte in der römischen Welt [Forts.] |editor=Wolfgang Haase |location=Berlin & New York |publisher=De Gruyter |year=1981 |pages=827–948 }}
* {{cite book |first=Brian |last=Madigan |title=The Ceremonial Sculptures of the Roman Gods |location=Leiden & Boston |publisher=Brill |year=2013 |isbn=978-90-04-22723-1}}
* {{cite book |first=H. H. |last=Scullard |author-link=Howard Hayes Scullard |title=Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic |location=Ithaca, NY |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1981 |isbn=978-08-01-41402-2}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Juventas|short=x}}

{{Roman religion}}

[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications in Roman mythology]]