Mania (deity)

Not to be confused with Maniae (deity).

For other uses, see Mania (disambiguation).

In ancient Etruscan and Roman mythology, Mania (Etruscan: 𐌀𐌉𐌍𐌀𐌌), also spelled Manea, was a goddess of the dead, spirits and chaos: she was said to be the mother of ghosts, the undead, and other spirits of the night, as well as the Lares and the Manes.^[1] She, along with Mantus (Etruscan: 𐌈𐌍𐌀𐌌, romanized: Manth), ruled the underworld.^[2]

Her counterpart in Greek mythology, also named Mania (or Maniae), was the goddess of insanity and madness.

Mania, along with the Lares, were given offerings to turn their focus so they would not harm the living, leaving the people spared. This event occurred during Saturnalia.^[3]

Etymology

Her name links her to the Manes, Mana Genita, and Manius.^[4]

Both the Greek and Latin Mania derive from PIE (Proto-Indo-European) *men-, "to think." Cognates include Ancient Greek μένος, ménos, 'mind, thought', and Avestan 𐬎𐬫𐬥𐬌𐬀𐬨, mainyu, 'spirit'.

See also

• Mother of the Lares (Latin: Mater Larum) – Roman chthonic goddess identified with Mania by Varro
• Roman festivals
• Lemuria (festival)

References

1. Laing, Gordon (1921). "The Origin of the Cult of the Lares". Classical Philology. 16 (2): 124–140. ISSN 0009-837X.
2. Leland, Charles Godfrey (2024-07-17). Etruscan Magic & Occult Remedies. Porirua Publishing. ISBN 978-1-991317-43-8.
3. Waites, Margaret C. (1920). "The Nature of the Lares and Their Representation in Roman Art". American Journal of Archaeology. 24 (3): 241–261. doi:10.2307/497689. ISSN 0002-9114.
4. Roger D. Woodard, Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman Cult (University of Illinois Press, 2006), pp. 116–117.