Bona Dea

American  

[boh-nuh dee-uh, dey-uh] / ˈboʊ nə ˈdi ə, ˈdeɪ ə /

noun

1. an ancient Roman goddess of chastity and fertility.

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Etymology

Origin of Bona Dea

< Latin: literally, (the) Good Goddess

Example Sentences

Caesar’s second wife, Pompeia, was in charge of a rite for the goddess Bona Dea, a ceremony for women only, performed in Caesar’s house.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 27, 2018

The 39 settings commemorate mythic or real women, goddesses and culture heroines, from the Bona Dea of prehistory to Georgia O'Keeffe.

From Time Magazine Archive

She is the mother of the Gaelic Gods, as Bona Dea of the Romans.

From The Divine Adventure Volume IV by Macleod, Fiona

Bona Dea, the name of the Mysteries of Rome, 625-u.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert

Eventually this new title Bona Dea crowded out the old title Fauna, so that it was almost entirely forgotten.

From The Religion of Numa And Other Essays on the Religion of Ancient Rome by Carter, Jesse Benedict