Concordia (mythology)

Concordia, standing with a patera and two cornucopiae, on the reverse of this coin of Aquilia Severa.

In ancient Roman religion, Concordia (means "concord" or "harmony" in Latin) is the goddess who embodies agreement in marriage and society. Her Greek equivalent is usually regarded as Harmonia, with musical harmony a metaphor for an ideal of social concord or entente in the political discourse of the Republican era. She was thus often associated with Pax ("Peace") in representing a stable society.[1] As such, she is more closely related to the Greek concept of homonoia (likemindedness), which was also represented by a goddess.[2]

Concordia Augusta was cultivated in the context of Imperial cult. Dedicatory inscriptions to her, on behalf of emperors and members of the imperial family, were common.[3]

  1. ^ Carlos F. Noreña, Imperial Ideals in the Roman West: Representation, Circulation, Power (Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. 132.
  2. ^ Anna Clark, Divine Qualities: Cult and Community in Republican Rome (Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 31.
  3. ^ H.L. Wilson (1912). "A New Collegium at Rome". American Journal of Archaeology. 16 (1). Archaeological Institute of America: 94–96. doi:10.2307/497104. JSTOR 497104. S2CID 191390675.