Bona Dea

American  

[boh-nuh dee-uh, dey-uh] / ˈboʊ nə ˈdi ə, ˈdeɪ ə /

noun

1. an ancient Roman goddess of chastity and fertility.

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Etymology

Origin of Bona Dea

< Latin: literally, (the) Good Goddess

Example Sentences

Caesar’s second wife, Pompeia, was in charge of a rite for the goddess Bona Dea, a ceremony for women only, performed in Caesar’s house.

From The Wall Street Journal

So too, at first, was the worship so popular among the Roman women of the Bona Dea—the ideal wife who according to the legend had, when on earth, never looked in the face or known the name of any man but her husband.122 “For altar and hearth” was the rallying cry of the Roman soldier.

From Project Gutenberg

The mysteries of the Bona Dea became, however, after a time, the occasion of great disorders.

From Project Gutenberg

In the hereditary religion of Rome, the only power that could possibly have been invested with any such character was Jupiter Capitolinus, but he had too great a likeness to the other gods of Italy—the gods with names, that is, for some of the more significant had none—Bona Dea and Dea Dia for example.

From Project Gutenberg

The mysteries of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, in Egypt; Atys and Cybéle, in Phrygia; Ceres and Proserpine, at Eleusis; of Venus and Adonis in Phœnicia; of Bona Dea, and Priapus, in Rome, are all susceptible of one explanation.

From Project Gutenberg