Verticordia

"Turner of hearts." A surname of Venus as the goddess of virtue, the protector against vice, who was supposed to retrain maidens from unchastity. The temple of Venus Verticordia was built on the Via Salaria in 114 BCE, in accordance with instructions of the Sibylline books, to atone for a case of incest among the Vestals and a prodigium that followed the acquittal of two at the first trial. The day of dedication was April 1st.

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Iconography

The statue of the goddess is shown in coins of about 46 BCE of M. Cordius Rufus.

References

Sources

  • Ioannes Lydus. De Mensibus iv, 15.
  • Ovid. Fasti iv, 133, 157.
  • Platner, Samuel Ball. (1929). A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. London: Humphrey Milford. Oxford University Press.
  • Pliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia vii, 120.
  • Solinus, i, 126.
  • Valerius Maximus, viii, 15.12.