| Type: | Latin/Ancient Rome |
| Mater Matuta | |
| Deity Of: | deity of the dawn, ripening grain, and female maturation; protector in childbirth; associated with sea harbors/ports |
| Cult Centre: | Satricum |
| Day: | June 11, Matralia |
| Gender: | Female |
| Region: | Latium |
| Temples: | on the north side of the Forum Boarium; also Campania |
| Greek Equivalent: | Eos |
| Roman Equivalent: | Aurora |
Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora and the Greek goddess Eos.[1] [2] She was the goddess of female maturation and later also of the dawn.[3] Her cult is attested to in several places in Latium; her most famous temple was located at Satricum.
Mater Matuta had a temple in the capital city of Rome, on the north side of the Forum Boarium, mentioned in Ovid's Fasti.[4] The sixth king of Rome, Servius Tullius, was thought to have personally consecrated it in the sixth century BCE.[5] It was destroyed in 506 BCE and rebuilt by Marcus Furius Camillus in 396 BCE.[6] The temple in Rome was associated with the Matralia festival. It was situated beside the temple of Fortuna, discovered under the church of Sant' Omobono.[5]
A temple located at Satricum is described in literature by Roman historian Livy.[7] [8] The earliest evidence of temple activity is dated simultaneously with votive deposits dating to the sixth century BCE.[7] A second more prodigious temple constructed of stone replaced it.[5] In the another yet even larger temple was constructed.[5] [7] The temple was struck by lightning in 206 BCE. Excavation of thousands of objects has been itemized and recorded; vessels to eat and drink, statuettes, anatomical votives and domestic animal votives.[7] Votive material indicative of both male and female worship is attributed to this site.[5]
A temple in Campania, outside modern Capua, yielded dozens of votive statues representing matres matutae, found in the so-called "Fondo Patturelli", a private estate. The site was severely damaged by unprofessional excavations in 1845 and 1873, executed by the Paturelli family, who owned the land. The family took it upon themselves to recover artifacts and then sold them for personal gain.[9] [5] In order to conceal their illicit activity, the family terminated the excavation, but not before damage had been done to the uncorroborated temple site. Eventually, a multitude of statues and valuables were recovered. An extensive collection of these votives is housed in the Museo Campano in Capua.[5] [9]
Mater Matuta is associated with Fortuna, due to the closeness of their temples in Rome and the dates of their festivals. Because her temple at Pyrgi is located next to a port, she was associated with the sea. By the Roman Imperial period, Mater Matuta was linked with the Greek goddess Leucothea, previously known as Ino, an ancient sea goddess. Statuettes at Satricum depicted a female figure with a solar disc behind her head an iconographic detail similar to representations of other goddesses, such as Uni in Etruria and the Phoenician Astarte.
At Rome, her festival was the Matralia, celebrated on June 11 at her temple in the Forum Boarium.[10] The festival was only for single women or women in their first marriage (univirae), who offered prayers for their nephews and nieces. The crowning of garlands on the deity's image was for these revelers. Another aspect of the festival besides praying for nieces and nephews was eating specially prepared cakes. Notably a singular female slave participated in a ritual whereupon the woman was beaten and driven from the area by the freeborn women.[11]
In book VI (June) of the Fasti, Ovid describes the ancient festival in some detail:
"Go, good mothers (the Matralia is your festival), and offer to the Theban goddess the yellow cakes that are her due. Adjoining the bridges and the great Circus is an open space of far renown, which takes its name from the statue of an ox there, on this day, it is said, Servius consecrated with his own sceptered hands a temple of Mother Matuta. Who the goddess is, why she excludes (for exclude she does) female slaves from the threshold of her temple, and why she calls for toasted cakes."[12]