Mens

This article is about the ancient Roman divine personification. For the commune in France, see Mens, Isère.
An altar dedicated to Bona Mens by a vilicus named Felix (Castello Malaspina)[1]

In ancient Roman religion, Mens, also known as Mens Bona (Latin for "Good Mind"), was the personification of thought, consciousness and the mind, and also of "right-thinking". The founding (dies natalis) of her temple in Rome was celebrated on June 8.[2][3] A temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome was vowed to Mens in 217 BC on advice from the Sibylline Books, after the defeat of Lake Trasimene,[4] and was dedicated in 215 BC.

  1. ^ MENTI BONAE SACRVM FELIX VILICVS POSVIT
  2. ^ Adkins, Roy A. (1998). Handbook to life in ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. p. 267. ISBN 0-19-512332-8.
  3. ^ Harrington, Karl Pomeroy (1914). The Roman elegiac poets. American Book Company.
  4. ^ J E Sandys ed., A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (London 1894) p. 389