Mania (deity)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
In Roman and Etruscan mythology, Mania (or Manea) was a goddess of the dead. She, along with Mantus, ruled the underworld. 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. Her name links her to the Manes, Mana Genita, and Manius.[1]
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")
In Roman and Etruscan mythology, Mania (Manea) is the goddess of Spirits and Chaos. In Greek Mythology, she is the goddess of insanity and madness.
See also
- Mother of the Lares (Latin Mater Larum), Roman chthonic goddess identified with Mania by Varro.
References
- ^ Roger D. Woodard, Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman Cult (University of Illinois Press, 2006), pp. 116–117.
 | This article about a deity is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |