Archaeology Archaeological evidence confirms that the Bellona dates back to at least the 4th-century BCE, as the earliest mention of this goddess derives from a
Campanian dating to this period upon which is painted the phrase "" ("cup of Bellona"). Given the ritual function of , which were associated with
libation, it is likely that this artifact was involved in some religious activity. However, according to Poplacean, due to the near omnipresence of libation throughout Roman religious life, it is difficult to draw any deeper conclusions regarding the function of this cup. Whereas the exact findspot of the artifact is unknown, the classicist
Mary Beard argues that the location of its provenance indicates that it was not a dedication, as it was not uncovered within the temple itself. Beard instead suggests that it may have functioned as a temple souvenir, perhaps removed from the site of the temple. The earliest known artistic portrayal of the deity appears upon this cup: It depicts the deity—according to the archaeologist Meghan Poplacean—with a long neck, a "calm" and "demure" expression, hair tied atop her head, and several curls of hair. This portrayal is slightly unusual; in later art, Bellona is almost exclusively depicted with armor, and she largely lacks the unkempt appearance found on this cup. The lines in her hair have been interpreted as representations of
snakes, which could indicate early associations between Bellona and the
Furies, with whom the goddess was frequently associated in later Imperial art. It is perhaps possible that this design was influenced by the Greek divinity
Enyo, with whom Bellona was equated. Poplacean, however, argues that—on this cup—the design of Bellona is unremarkable, and her traits are typical of other 4th-century BCE artistic portrayals of Italian goddesses. According to Poplacean, since such lines appear on numerous other contemporary Italian artworks, it is more likely that they serve as a generic symbol for hair curls rather than any unique characteristic particular to Bellona.
Association with war Bellona is largely characterized as an embodiment of the carnage and brutality of war. She was identified with
Nerio, the consort of the war god
Mars, and later with the Greek war goddess
Enyo. In the
Punica of
Silius Italicus, a 1st-century CE Roman author, Bellona is depicted as holding the
reins of the
chariot of
Mars, an image possibly influenced by the role of Enyo as the charioteer of
Ares. The 1st-century BCE poet
Virgil, in his
Aeneid, mentions Bellona as part of an
ekphrasis describing the shield of
Aeneas: She is—within this passage—mentioned alongside the goddess
Discordia. This section of the
Aeneid may parallel another verse from
Iliad, in which the shield of
Achilles is also—in an ekphrasis—associated with chaotic goddesses such as
Ker and
Eris. However, according to the classicist John Serrati, it is possible that Bellona was not viewed as a wholly negative entity, as—in the prologue to his play
Amphitryon—the 3rd-century BCE playwright
Plautus lists Bellona alongside
Neptune, Virtus,
Victoria, and Mars, all of whom were deities with positive connotations. Moreover, Serrati suggests that the Romans did not necessarily view war—and therefore Bellona—as exclusively odious: The word ("war") itself is possibly related to the description of warfare as "" ("valorous deeds"). Literary depictions of Bellona often emphasize the booming noise and excessive gore accompanying her entry into battle: The 1st-century BCE poet
Horace, in his
Satires, mentions the "thunder of Bellona, who delights in bloodshed" and
Valerius Flaccus, a 1st-century Roman poet, writes "above the open portals appeared Bellona with bare flank, her brazen weapons clanging as she moved." Generally, Bellona and her weapons are covered in blood: Lucan describes the goddess wielding a "bloody whip" ("") and
Ovid, a 1st-century BCE Roman author, writes "But their cries are drowned in the clash of arms and the groans of dying men; while Bellona drenches and pollutes with blood the sacred home, and ever renews the strife." According to Serrati, the motif of her blood-soaked weapons may indicate a perception of the goddess as permanently locked in combat, and therefore without the ability to wash away the blood and thus symbolically remove herself from battle. Beside the
Temple of Bellona in Rome was the war column (), which represented non-Roman territory. To declare war on a distant state, a javelin was thrown over the column by one of the priests concerned with diplomacy (
fetiales) in a modification of the archaic practice, from Roman territory toward the direction of the enemy land and this symbolical attack was considered the opening of war. The Temple of Bellona also served as a common location for
Senate meetings: Both the 1st-century BCE Roman statesman
Cicero and the 1st-century BCE Roman historian
Livy utilized the same term— ("filled, frequent")—to describe the gathering of Senators within this location. Poplacean suggests that, in particular, the Temple of Bellona served as the standard site for the discussion of wartime matters by the Roman senate. Moreover, since the site was located outside of the
pomerium—a line of demarcation surrounding Rome—it allowed Senators to meet with and award triumphs to generals holding , who were prohibited from entering the crossing the boundaries of the city. Given the various political functions associated with the temple, Poplacean proposes that the Bellona may have overseen the act of initiating and conducting war in Rome. It was under her supervision where war was officially declared, the Senate discussions concerning wartime decisions were held, and the bequeathment or denial of a triumph was granted—an act that, according to Poplacean, was linked to the conclusion of a war in Rome. The involvement of Bellona within Senate activities may imply that the goddess was not exclusively considered a personification of chaos and savagery but instead possessed a more administrative side. Emperor
Augustus () constructed the
Theatre of Marcellus near the site of the Temple of Bellona, leaving only a narrow opening between the walls of the two structures. Therefore, it is possible that any future triumphal processions were unable to pass through the temple and were instead redirected through the theatre. Moreover, Augustus also decreed that Senate discussions regarding wartime matters or triumphs ought to occur—not in the Temple of Bellona—but in the temple to
Mars Ultor, which Augustus himself had constructed. Poplacean suggests that Augustus may have intentionally sought to mitigate the prominence of the temple and its goddess, as Bellona naturally symbolized the prior period of pervasive civil wars during the final decades of the Roman Republic. In contemporary literature, she was frequently associated with failed
marriage, itself a common metaphorical symbol denoting war in Roman culture. Two 1st-century BCE poets,
Virgil and
Ovid, portray Bellona appearing at ill-fated
weddings:
Virgil depicts Bellona as the
bridesmaid ("") of
Lavinia and Ovid describes Bellona appearing at the wedding of
Perseus and
Andromeda. Another Roman author, the 1st-century CE poet
Statius, depicts Bellona as a torchbearer at the wedding of
Helen. The 1st-century Greek historian
Plutarch suggests that the Roman military leader and
dictator Sulla—who was himself involved in a
civil war—may have propitiated the goddess Bellona. Though, Plutarch also states this goddess may have been
Luna or
Minerva and was "borrowed from the
Cappadocians."
Gender Bellona was the only female deity in Republican Rome with links to warfare, and she was perhaps otherwise associated with traits perceived as masculine by the Romans. In some ancient Roman inscriptions, she was associated with
Mars and
Virtus, the latter of which exemplified martial valor in ancient Rome. For instance, one text from
Novara authored by an individual named Lucius Petronius Callistratus is dedicated to "."
Lactantius, a 3rd-century CE
Roman Christian author, writes that the god Virtus was also known as Bellona by Roman pagans. The Roman author
Pomponius Porphyrio claims that Bellona was equated by some with the
Sabine goddess
Vacuna, although others identified Vacuna with
Minerva or
Diana. According to the Poplacean, it is probable that the purported connections between the Sabines and Bellona represent a particular Roman perception of the Sabine people as embodying traditional Roman standards of masculinity and a distant, hardier, and more rustic past. Poplacean further argues that the supposed "Sabine" origins of Bellona may reflect a later attempt to deepen her ties to the
Claudia family, a family supposedly of Sabine origin to which belonged
Appius Claudius Caecus, who constructed a
Temple of Bellona in
Rome. Serrati, however, argues that Bellona was not necessarily a particularly masculine war goddess, and that her warlike persona was not incongruent with her feminine gender. The Romans perceived war as inherently vindicative—the official declaration of war, a ritual performed under the auspices of Bellona, was—according to the 1st-century BCE Roman historian
Livy—the method by which the ancient
Latins sought "redress" (""). Women were depicted as more vengeful in Roman culture, with prominent women in Roman mythology including individuals such as Lucretia, who declared vengeance upon
Sextus Tarquinius following her rape, and
Dido, who sought vengeance upon
Aeneas following his abandonment of their relationship. Such cultural depictions of women perhaps provided the impetus for the existence of a female war goddess, who possibly personified the notion of war as just recompense. Furthermore, in Roman society, women were often portrayed as reckless and irrational: In the Plautine play
Casina, the character of Pardalisca warns her master and his wife about the slave Casina, exclaiming "go away from her, please, so that she doesn’t do you any harm in her rage. Take the sword away from that girl! She has no control over her mind." The perception that women were in some way chaotic may have motivated the creation of a female war deity who herself represented battlefield frenzy.
Connection to Cybele Certain temples of
Cybele may have also featured worship of Bellona: In
Corfinum, a temple to the former goddess also included a statue of Bellona, and Bellona had a temple by the sanctuary of Magna Mater in
Ostia. There is also evidence of geographic proximity between temples of Bellona and temples of eastern deities:
Cassius Dio, a 2nd-century CE Roman historian, mentions that—whilst attempting to destroy a temple of
Isis and
Serapis—a nearby temple of Bellona ("''
") was accidentally demolished. The , a group of priests dedicated to Bellona, would wound their own arms or legs as a sacrifice to her. This ritual is reminiscent of the rites of the , who were priests of Cybele that also injured themselves as part of religious practice. Both the and the are mentioned alongside each other in several Roman inscriptions describing these ceremonies: One text from Mainz states, " ("In that way the , , and pour out their own fervent blood")." Lucan, a 1st-century CE Roman poet, writes "" ("the worshippers who gash their arms, inspired by fierce Bellona chanted of heaven’s wrath, and the Galli whirled round their gory locks and shrieked disaster to the nations"). As a consequence of her acquisition of eastern characteristics, she perhaps came to be viewed with the same disdain that many Romans held for the eastern portions of the empire. In his Satires'', the 2nd-century CE Roman poet
Juvenal describes "frenzied Bellona" ("") accompanying Cybele ("," "mother of the gods"). These gods are in turn followed by a procession of eastern deities such as
Isis or
Anubis and
Jewish priestesses, all of whom are castigated with xenophobic stereotypes regarding these regions found in the Roman world. == Temples ==