Febris

2025-07-08T20:18:01Z

2A00:23C6:A074:EF01:9128:2CBA:1BEB:694C: /* See also */

{{Short description|Roman goddess of fever}}
{{About|the goddess of fever|the medical condition often referred to as "febris"|Fever}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Roman
| name = Febris
| deity_of = Goddess of [[fevers]]
| member_of = [[Averruncus|''Dii averrunci'']], [[Di indigetes]]
| image = File:Virgil Solis Febris.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Febris, print by [[Virgil Solis]], from his ''Twelve mythological women'' series
| other_names = Dea Febris
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| cult_center = [[Rome]]
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| offspring = *Dea Tertiana
*Dea Quartana
| predecessor = [[Februus]]
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| gender = Female
| Greek_equivalent = Pyretos<ref group=note>Pyretos was the Late Greek translation of the goddess, rather than a separate god on his own.</ref><ref name="Roscher">[[Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher]], Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologies, Volume III, Part 2 (S. 1665 ff.): ''Pasikrateia – Pyxios''. 1902–1909 {{IA|roscher1/Roscher3NP|n840}}</ref>
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| Hinduism_equivalent = [[Jvarasura]]
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| equivalent1_type = [[Finnish mythology|Finnish]]
| equivalent1 = Kuume (spirits related to fevers)
| equivalent2_type =
| equivalent2 = The Lady of Fevers
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| region = [[Ancient Rome]]
| ethnic_group = [[Roman people|Romans]]
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}}
'''Febris''' ({{literal translation|fever}}), or '''Dea Febris''' ({{literal translation|goddess of fever}}), is the [[Roman mythology|Roman]] goddess of fevers, who embodied, but also protected people from [[fever]] and [[malaria]]. Because of this, Febris was a feared goddess whom people wanted the favour of. She does not have a myth of her own nor is she mentioned in a myth. Among her characteristic attributes are "shrewdness" and "honesty", according to [[Seneca the Younger]]'s ''[[Apocolocyntosis]]''.<ref name=":6">Seneca the Younger, ''[[Apocolocyntosis]]'', 6</ref>

Febris was accompanied by two daughters or sisters of her named Dea Tertiana and Dea Quartana,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4mo4EAAAQBAJ&dq=Dea+Tertiana&pg=PT299 |title=Encyclopedia of the Divine Feminine: Goddess of 10,000 Names - Tamara Von Forslun - Google Books |date=2021-05-26 |isbn=9781664105690 |accessdate=2022-09-14|last1=Forslun |first1=Tamara Von |publisher=Xlibris Corporation }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47dbEAAAQBAJ&dq=Dea+Quartiana+febris&pg=PA23 |title=Roman Fever: Malaria, Transalpine Travelers and the Eternal City - Benjamin Reilly - Google Books |date=2022-01-25 |isbn=9781476643953 |accessdate=2022-09-14|last1=Reilly |first1=Benjamin |publisher=McFarland }}</ref> the goddesses of tertian and [[quartan fever]] of malaria because the fever would come back in every three or four days. [[Theodorus Priscianus]] mentions [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] as Tertiana and Quartana's father.<ref name="Burke"/>

The goddess Febris belongs to the [[averruncus|apotropaic]] (turning away) deities (Lat. ''Dii averrunci'') who have power over a specific evil: to impose it or to get rid of it. Romans worshipped Febris so she would not do harm to them. She may have originated from the Etruscan-Roman god of purification, [[Februus]]. Unlike some [[Roman deities]], Febris was not derived from a [[Greek gods|Greek deity]].

==Name==
''Febris'' is the [[Latin]] word for [[fever]] which the English word "[[wikt:fever|fever]]" has originated from. The word ''[[wikt:febris|febris]]'' is from [[Proto-Italic]] ''*feɣʷris'', from [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''*dʰegʷʰris'' (which is an extension of the root ''*dʰegʷʰ-'' meaning “to burn, warm”). Her name is often translated to English as '''Fever'''.

Some of [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]]'s epithets are spelt similarly to Febris' name, such as ''Februalis, Februata, Februa'' which are also of the same etymological root as ''febris''.

==Cult==
Febris had at least three temples in ancient Rome, of which one was located between the [[Palatine Hill|Palatine]] and [[Velabrum]].<ref>[[Valerius Maximus]], ''Nine Books of Memorable Deeds and Sayings'', 2. 5. 6</ref><ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Legibus|On The Laws]], 2. 11''</ref><ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum|On The Nature of Gods]]'', 3. 25</ref><ref>[[Claudius Aelianus]],
''[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/aelian/ Various History]'', 12. 11</ref> The second temple was on the [[Esquiline]] and the last on the [[Vicus Longus]].<ref>Grimal, 1989.{{fcn|date=September 2022}}</ref> Febris' temples were visited by people with fevers. In those temples, people wore protective amulets against diseases, especially malaria at the time.<ref> [http://www.mythindex.com/roman-mythology/F/Febris.html Myth Index - Febris] - {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926023635/http://mythindex.com/roman-mythology/F/Febris.html |date=26 September 2011}} </ref> She was invoked with the formula ''Febris diva, Febris sancta, Febris magna'' (Divine Fever, Holy Fever, Great Fever).<ref>{{cite book |last=Singer|first=Charles|year=1928|title=From Magic to Science: Essays on the Scientific Twilight|publisher=Boni and Liveright |location=Nueva York|page=17|language=en |url=http://www.questia.com/read/88840560/from-magic-to-science-essays-on-the-scientific-twilight |access-date=19 September 2017|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bell |first=John |year=1790 |title=New pantheon, or, Historical dictionary of the gods, demi-gods, heroes, and fabulous personages of antiquity|page=309|location=Londres |url=https://archive.org/stream/bellsnewpantheo00bellgoog#page/n318/mode/2up |access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref> An inscription, which was later revealed to be a possible forgery,<ref name="Burke">Burke, Paul F.. "Malaria in the Greco-Roman World: A Historical and Epidemiological Survey". Band 37/3. Teilband Philosophie, Wissenschaften, Technik. Wissenschaften (Medizin und Biologie [Forts.]), edited by Wolfgang Haase, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 1996, pp. 2252-2281. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110809008-005</ref> saying ''Febri Divae, Febri Sanctae, Febri Magnae, Camilla Amata pro filio male affecto'' was discovered in [[Transylvania]].
[[File:Februa februarius.jpg|thumb|Goddess figure, possibly Febris]]

An inscription dedicated to Quartana in [[Nîmes|Nemausus]], [[Gaul]], dated to the third century ([[Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum|CIL]] 12.3129) and another inscription dedicated to Tertiana in [[Habitancum]] (Risingham), Northern England (CIL 7.999) were discovered.<ref name="Burke"/><ref name="Tavenner">Tavenner, Eugene. “Notes on the Development of Early Roman Religion.” The Classical Weekly, vol. 11, no. 13, 1918, pp. 97–102. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4387581. Accessed 10 Dec. 2022.</ref>

The Ancient Greeks under Roman rule may have worshipped a similar fever god named Pyretos<ref name="Roscher"/> (Πυρετός,<ref group=note>Unlike the Latin word for fever [[wikt:febris|febris]], which is feminine, the [[Greek language|Greek]] word for fever [[wikt:πυρετός|πυρετός]] is masculine. This explains why the Greek fever deity would be male.</ref> {{literal translation|fever}}), the analogous translation of the Roman goddess Febris.<ref name="Burke"/><ref name="Perosa"/> Febris might have been worshipped in the Medieval-era Christian Rome disguised under the name ''Madonna delle Febbri'' (or ''della Febbre'')<ref name="Burke"/> as one of her temples is known to be converted into a church.<ref name="Tavenner"/> The cult of Febris could be as old as the Roman civilisation.<ref name="Burke"/>

==In literature==
===''Apocolocyntosis''===
Febris appears with [[Hercules]] in the sixth part of ''[[Apocolocyntosis]]''. She reveals that [[Claudius]] was a "German [[Gauls|Gaul]]" and a liar along with many other things about him when Claudius lied to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] about himself. This made Emperor Claudius angry, Claudius expressed his wrath by shouting unintelligible words that nobody understood, except for the order by a hand gesture for Febris to be [[decapitation|beheaded]]. However, his wish was dismissed.<ref name=":6"/>
===Poliziano's ''In Albieram Albitiam puellam formosissimam morientem'' (1473)===
Febris was included as a character in the Italian poet [[Angelo Poliziano]]'s [[Latin]] work ''In Albieram Albitiam puellam formosissimam morientem''. Poliziano's Febris is his own fictional depiction rather than an actual mythological depiction.<ref name="Perosa"> Perosa, Alessandro, et al. “Febris: A Poetic Myth Created by Poliziano.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 9, 1946, pp. 74–95. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/750310. Accessed 15 Nov. 2022. </ref>

Febris appears to a dying young woman named Albiera degli Albizzi. Despite never being physically described previously, Poliziano depicted Febris holding a torch in one hand and a snowball in the other, in a chariot drawn by monster-like lions which was accompanied by a train of monsters. She was described as looking "gruesome", similar to [[Erinyes]], as opposed to the beauty of Albiera degli Albizzi. She gives a deadly poison to sick Albizzi after saying "those who live sweet, die sweet" and then flies away with the lions.<ref name="Perosa"/>

==See also==
* [[Pestis (Roman mythology)]]
* [[Februus]]
* [[Jvarasura]]; god of fever and disease in Hindu mythology
* [[List of health deities]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.mythindex.com/roman-mythology/F/Febris.html Myth Index - Febris] - {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926023635/http://mythindex.com/roman-mythology/F/Febris.html |date=26 September 2011}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101203051057/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1250.html William Smith Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, v. 2, page 142]}}

[[Category:Health deities]]
[[Category:Health goddesses]]
[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Malaria]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman medicine]]
[[Category:Roman deities]]

{{Ancient Roman medicine}}

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Febris