Venus Libitina: Liebe und Tod

The focal point of the paper is the interpretation of the name and the figure of Libitina, the Roman goddess of the graveyard. It deals with the arguments of her Etruscan origin and finds them lacking in convincing evidence. Instead, the paper is undertaking to establish Libitina's ancient association with the Latin stem lib- (lub-) is right. The assertion that she belongs to a series of figures formed from the same Latin stem, as Lubia / Lubentia / Lubentina, proves to be correct and the creation of such series is to be seen as a usual procedure for 'Sondergötter'. Her secondary identification with Venus is not a misunderstanding, on the contrary, it is based on the general idea of humanity, that love and death are organically connected with each other. This is corroborated by many ancient and modern examples

Jungfrauen in Waffen: Camilla Virgo, Iuturna Virago

The paper starts with the analysis of the ambiguous figure of the “Italic Amazon” Camilla in the Aeneis. Two main factors are analysed, the role of the spear in the life of this “armed virgin” and her relations with natural surroundings, especially with rivers like the Amasenus and with lakes and marshes generally. Both prove to be fateful. The second factor is also noticeable with the other armed virgin of the Aeneis, Iuturna, who emerges as an upgraded and contrasting parallel to Camilla. Iuturna virago shows similarities with another famous virago of Latin literature, the Paluda virago of Ennius, and this gives an opportunity to evoke other women of the Roman tradition in connection with rivers and marshes, a phenomenon which proves to be a suitable topic for future exanimation