Libertas

This article is about the Roman goddess. For other uses, see Libertas (disambiguation).
Libertas
Goddess of liberty
Libertas with her attributes, on an aureus of Trajan
SymbolPileus, rod (vindicta or festuca)
Equivalents
GreekEleutheria
Denarius (42 BC) issued by Cassius Longinus and Lentulus Spinther, depicting the crowned head of Libertas, with a sacrificial jug and lituus on the reverse

Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', pronounced [liːˈbɛrt̪aːs̠]) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the late republic. She sometimes also appeared on coins from the imperial period, such as Galba's "Freedom of the People" coins during his short reign after the death of Nero.[1] She is usually portrayed with two accoutrements: the spear and a phrygian cap, which she holds out on the spear, rather than wears on her head.

The Greek equivalent of the goddess Libertas is Eleutheria, the personification of liberty. There are many post-classical depictions of liberty as a person which often retain some of the iconography of the Roman goddess.

  1. ^ "Roman Coins" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-31. Retrieved 2008-09-01.