Mater Matuta (deity)

Culture: Roman

In ancient Roman mythology, Mater Matuta was the goddess of the ripening grain. She was widely worshipped in ancient Italy and had many temples dedicated to her. A festival called the Matralia was held annually to honor her. After the Latin poet Lucretius described Mater Matuta as a goddess of the dawn, she became associated with both the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek dawn goddess named Eos. She was also associated with the Greek goddess Leucothea and became a goddess of the sea and sailors. Another of her later incarnations was as the goddess of fertility, childbirth, and newborn babies.

In Mythology

Mater Matuta was a goddess native to Rome and greatly worshipped in her incarnation as the goddess of ripening grain and fertility. There are no myths about Mater Matuta. However, both the Roman goddess Aurora and her counterpart, the Greek goddess Eos, became associated with Mater Matuta as a goddess of the dawn.

Aurora was the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister to Helios, the god of the sun, and Selene, the goddess of the moon. From her union with the Titan Astraeus, she bore the west wind Zephyrus, the east wind Eurus, the south wind Notus, and the north wind Boreas, as well as the evening star Hesperus, and other stars. When Aurora became involved with the god Ares, the goddess Aphrodite was furious. Aphrodite punished her by making Aurora constantly passionate. She became the lover of the hunter Orion, the mortal Cleitus, and of Cephalus, with whom she had a son, Phaethon.

Aurora also greatly loved the mortal youth Tithonius, who was the son of the King of Troy. Together they had a son, Memnon, who was killed in the Trojan War by Achilles.

Aurora begged Zeus to make Tithonius immortal so they would never have to be separated. Zeus agreed; however, Aurora forgot to ask that Tithonius also be granted eternal youth. Tithonius grew older and weaker but could not die. Eventually all that was left of Tithonius was his frail voice and he never stopped talking. Some say that Aurora became tired of him and others that Tithonius begged for death, which he could not have. So Aurora turned him into cicada, which was constantly noisy. Other myths said that he became a grasshopper or a locust.

Aurora was described as wearing a purple mantle, having rosy fingers and arms, holding a torch, and having a star on her forehead. Every morning Aurora flew a chariot across the sky, bringing light to the day, and filling the sky with soft colors. Two white horses pulled the chariot, as Aurora announced to the world the coming of her brother, the sun god Helios. Some say she also heralded his departure by flying across the sky again at twilight. Aurora wept tears for her son, Memnon, which became the morning dew.

Mater Matuta was also identified with Leucothea, a goddess of the sea and protector of mariners. As the mortal woman Ino, she raised her nephew, the god Dionysus, and kept him safe from the goddess Hera. The jealous and vengeful Hera knew Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Ino’s sister Semele. Ino threw herself into the sea either to escape the wrath of the goddess or to kill herself as Hera made her kill her own children. Zeus transformed Ino into the immortal Leucothea.

Origins and Cults

As the ancient Roman goddess of the ripening grain, fertility, and childbirth, Mater Matuta was revered throughout Italy. Her worship resulted in the construction of many temples and statues, some of which have been unearthed by archaeologists.

Her temple in the Forum Boarium, the cattle market in Rome, was constructed in the late sixth or early fifth century BCE. Discovered by archeologists in 1937, the temple is one of the oldest found from ancient Rome. Beneath the temple, an even older building has been found, along with artifacts such as statuettes.

It was said that during the burning of the town of Satricum, where she may have been the most important goddess, only the temple of Mater Matuta was spared. Other temples were destroyed but when men with torches approached the temple of Mater Matuta, a huge and awful voice resounded from the temple. It told them to remove their flames from the temple walls or suffer an awful vengeance. The temple was saved.

Statues of Mater Matuta showed her holding a baby and with a disc of the sun around her head. These statues dated back to the seventh century BCE. A tufa, or limestone, sculpture of the Mother of Capua representing Mater Matuta was found in a sanctuary near Capua, Italy. She is shown holding five children in her arms. The sculpture dates from the fourth through first centuries BCE.

Mater Matuta was identified with Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn. In artworks, both Aurora and her Greek counterpart Eos were typically portrayed as riding in a golden chariot pulled across the skies by two white horses. Eos was also shown carrying a child, and with two pitchers that probably signified that she distributed the morning dew.

Mater Matuta’s festival of the Matralia was celebrated on June 11 in the Forum Boarium in Rome. Only free, married women in their first marriage were allowed to attend. One slave woman was allowed in and then symbolically driven out. The women prayed to Mater Matuta for the safety of their nieces and nephews, not their own children. They often arrived at the festival with children in their arms. Offerings were made of flowers and little toasted cakes. The women decorated the statue of the goddess and there was a feast to celebrate the coming of dawn.

Bibliography

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