Matres and matronae

Common card · No. 337090

The matres (Latin for "mothers") or matronae (Latin for "matrons") refer to three female goddesses attested in parts of Germania, Eastern Gaul, and Northern Italy during the Roman era. Although usually considered to be fertility goddesses, little is known about the specific mythology, beliefs, and specific devotional activities associated with these cults. The matres and matronae appear in votive inscriptions and depictions on altars showing seated goddesses almost always depicted in groups of three. Among the votive inscriptions which refer to a specific cult, half feature Continental Celtic names and half feature Germanic names. Matres cults are also attested in other areas associated with the Roman army, including southeast Gaul, as at Vertillum; in Spain and Portugal, where some twenty inscriptions are known, among them several ones that include local epithets such as a dedication to the Matribus Gallaicis, "to the Galician Mothers"; and also in the Romano-Celtic culture of Pannonia...

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