The gate of the year

Stone relief representing the Mother Goddesses of Roman age (I-II century A.D.), now in the Corinium Museum, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.
The Deae Matres o Matronae, whose cult was diffused in Gaul and in the Rhine region, were venerated by both Celts and continent al Germans. They were regarded as local divinities, who protected the home, the family and the descent group. The most common iconography shows three female figures, sometimes appearing of different ages (a maiden, an adult woman and an old woman), who often hold in their hands votive objects: a patera (offering dish or bowl), loaves, fruits, and other foods. Occasionally they are represented in the act of taking care of children or with a cornucopia – or horn of plenty – in their hand. They were thus fertility goddesses of the earth and of women, who protected the harvests and procured abundance, personifications of the seasonal cycle of vegetation, as well as the steps in the life of a woman. One of these goddesses, Matrona, gave her name to the Marne river, the main tributary of the Seine. Yet, we lack documents which could inform us about the times and forms of these divinities’ worship.

[Source: http://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/goddess-matrona/]




Female Symbols

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Stone relief representing the Mother Goddesses of Roman age (I-II century A.D.), now in the Corinium Museum, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. The Deae Matres o Matronae, whose cult was diffused in Gaul and in the Rhine region, were venerated by both Celts and continent al Germans. They were regarded as local divinities, who protected the home, the family and the descent group. The most common iconography shows three female figures, sometimes appearing of different ages (a maiden, an adult woman and an old woman), who often hold in their hands votive objects: a patera (offering dish or bowl), loaves, fruits, and other foods. Occasionally they are represented in the act of taking care of children or with a cornucopia – or horn of plenty – in their hand. They were thus fertility goddesses of the earth and of women, who protected the harvests and procured abundance, personifications of the seasonal cycle of vegetation, as well as the steps in the life of a woman. One of these goddesses, Matrona, gave her name to the Marne river, the main tributary of the Seine. Yet, we lack documents which could inform us about the times and forms of these divinities’ worship. [Source: http://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/goddess-matrona/]