FLORA
Ancient statue restored as Flora, Capitoline Museums, Rome Based on a drawing by Thomas Hope from 1812 ce
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Flora is an Italian goddess concerned with flowers and plants. She is one of the primal powers that preside over the growth of the natural world. Everything that grows, blossoms, or bears fruit is within her care. Flora causes the plants to grow, and she brings to fruition that which has blossomed. She guards and protects the plants of garden and field from harm. Flora is one of the primal earth goddesses. She is the divine patroness of all gardens, orchards, and fields, and of everything that blossoms, grows, and ripens.
Flora was worshipped throughout Italy at a very early date. The Sabines dedicated the month of April to her, and the Oscans knew her under the name of Flusia. Important cults of Flora existed in Agnone, Vittorino, Furfo, and Rome.
According to legend, the cults of Flora and other Sabine divinities were brought to Rome by King Titus Tatius in the eighth century bce. The high priest of Flora in Rome was the Flamen Floralis, one of the priesthoods believed to have been established by King Numa in the seventh century bce. The original Roman festival calendar, also said to have been created by King Numa, does not have a festival day for Flora. It is possible that her original feast day was movable, one of the feriae conceptivae, celebrated on different days in different years.
There are very few myths about Flora, and they are mostly the invention of poets who wee imitating the stories of Greek mythology. It had become a common practice by the second century bce to adorn Roman and Italian conceptions of deity with the trappings of fashionable Greek myth. This sometimes obscured the original Italian conception of the divinity. The poet Ovid, in the first century ce, told a story about Flora in which she is identified with the Greek nymph Chloris. In this story the wind god Zephyr fell in love with the beautiful nymph Chloris and carried her off. Chloris agreed to become his wife, and Zephyr made her the mistress of all flowers. In another of Ovid's stories, Flora possessed a magic flower that would make any woman who touched it pregnant. The goddess Juno wished to have a child of her own and asked for Flora's help. Flora gave Juno the magic flower and in due course Juno gave birth to the god Mars. The month of March, when spring begins and the first flowers appear, is named after Mars.
There were at least two temples in Rome dedicated to Flora. There was an old Templum Flora on the Quirinal Hill near the Temple of Quirinus and the temple called the Capitolium Vetus. This was probably the original temple given to Flora and may have been built on the site of the altar dedicated to the goddess by Titus Tatius. The dedication date of this temple was May 3.
The second temple to Flora was the Aedes Flora dedicated on April 28 in 241 or 238 bce by the aediles Lucius and Marcus Publicius Malleolus. There had been a drought and a famine, and the Sibylline Oracle had advised that a new temple be built to propitiate the goddess. The new temple was built on the lower slope of the Aventine Hill, near the Circus Maximus and the Temple of Ceres, Liber, and Libera. The temple was rebuilt by the Emperors Augustus and Tiberius and rededicated on August 13 in the year 17 ce. August 13 became an additional festival day for the goddess. The building is listed in the fourth century ce regionary catalogs. The temple seems to have been restored again by the younger Symmachus when he was Consul in the late fourth century ce.
No trace of either of these temples has survived to the present day, and their exact locations have never been discovered.
The Floral Games in honor of Flora were celebrated from April 28 through May 3. The Ludi Florales, or Floralia, were probably first celebrated in 241 or 240 bce in connection with the construction of the new Aedes Flora. The Floral Games became an annual celebration in 173 bce, if not earlier. The Games consisted of Ludi Scaenica and Ludi Circenses, theatrical presentations and chariot races in the Circus. The chariot races were held on the last day of the Games. The celebrations were also called the the Florifertum, the Festival of Flowers.
The Floral Games were very popular with the people of Rome. The Floralia were a time of celebration, with an emphasis on sensuality, and a joyous abandonment to the rites of spring. There were sacrifices at the temples, and the temples and altars of the gods were decorated with flowers. Comedies, mimes, and farces were presented in the theaters. The courtesans of the City took an active part in the celebrations, and there were displays of nudity and erotic dancing. People dressed in multicolored robes, and adorned themselves with flowers. The festival nights were illuminated with lamps and torches, so that the celebration of the rites of spring could continue without stopping. There were chariot races in the Circus Maximus, and Flora seems to have been regarded as the patroness of the Green chariot faction. Vetchins, beans, and lupines were scattered among the crowds at the Circus as symbols of fertility. After the chariot races on the last day of the festival, hares, goats, and roe deer were released in the Circus for a ritual hunt. These animals were symbols of fertility, and to catch one would bring prosperity to the lucky person who caught it.
There is a curious story, dating from the second or first century bce, that the popularity of the Floral Games was due to the generosity of a courtesan. According to one version of this story, the courtesan Acca Laurentia, whose customers included Hercules, bequeathed her immense fortune to the Roman people. The Floralia were established in her honor and soon became one of the most popular festivals of the common people. This was said to have happened during the reign of King Ancus Marcius in the seventh century bce. The story is an example of the obscurity and confusion into which many Roman religious beliefs and practices fell. Acca Laurentia is actually the name of a goddess who had her own festival day, the Laurentalia, on December 23. Acca Laurentia is a very obscure goddess, and the reason for her supposed connection with Flora is unknown. There are several different versions of this story.
MAIA
In the middle of the Floralia, on May 1, is the festival day of the goddess Maia, for whom the month of May is named. Maia is another obscure goddess about whom little is known. She seems to be very similar to Flora, or may be another manifestation of Flora, since she is concerned with growth and fruit and flowers. The name Maia may be taken to mean "The Great One" and may be a title of Flora. Maia has an obscure connection with the fire god Vulcan. The rituals to Maia on May 1 were presided over by the high priest of Vulcan, the Flamen Volcanalis. Maia had another festival day on May 15, as Maia Invicta, Maia the Unconquered. The identification of the Roman goddess Maia with the Greek goddess Maia, the mother of Hermes, appears to be the invention of the poets.
The modern celebration of May 1 as the flower festival of May Day is descended from the Floral Games, the festival of Maia, and the Celtic festival of Beltane. The Beltane celebrations of May 1 seem to have been similar to the Roman Floralia in tone and spirit, if not in outward form.
* * * The Coming of Flora * * *
Behold, Flora comes, the goddess of a thousand flowers, lady of a thousand blossoms.
Crocus and hyacinth spring forth at each step.
Her radiance is like a sunflower,
Like golden yellow marigolds and chrysanthemums shining in the sun.
Her touch is like the coolness of peony petals and tulips.
She brings the fragrance of violet and rose,
Of lilac, lavender, and lily.
She dances in the dark greenness of the forest and woodland depths,
And in the bright sunlight of flower filled meadows.
She is the goddess of all flowers.
She causes all things to grow, and blossom, and flourish.
The goddess comes, Flora, dressed in garlands of a thousand flowers.
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Celebrate spring, the season of flowers, the season of growth and new beginnings.
Decorate your home and altar with flowers and garlands.
Burn floral scented candles and incense.
Wear a floral crown, and adorn your body with scented oils and colored robes.
Dance and make love in the cool darkness of spring nights,
And in the sparkling sunshine of spring days.
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Crocus and lily
Narcissus and hyacinth
Iris and daisy
Oleander and myrtle
Violets and roses
Green leaves and pink petals against ivory skin
White and gold against bronze
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Flora, great one!
She comes!
She is here!
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