Editing Minerva (section)

==Worship in Rome and Italy==
[[File:Minerva 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Fresco of Minerva (helmeted figure on right) from the Villa San Marco, [[Stabiae]] (1st century AD)]]
[[File:Athena-Schale Hildesheimer Silberfund.jpg|thumb|[[Raised-relief]] image of Minerva on a Roman gilt silver bowl, first century BC]]
[[File:Sbeitla 06.jpg|thumb|Temple of Minerva in [[Sbeitla]], [[Tunisia]]]]
[[File:Minerva from Bath.jpg|thumb|upright|A head of "Sulis-Minerva" found in the ruins of the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Roman baths in Bath]]]]
[[File:Domitian Denarius Minerva RIC 167 1.xcf|alt=Silver denarius of the Roman Emperor Domitian dated c. 90 AD|thumb|Silver denarius of the Roman Emperor Domitianus (Domitian) featuring Minerva, dated {{circa|90 AD}}, IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIIII, laureate head right; IMP XXI COS XV CENS P P P, Minerva standing left, holding spear and thunderbolt, shield resting against back of leg; References: BMC 167, RIC 691, RSC 260, Paris 159, Cohen 260]]

The Romans celebrated her festival from March 19 to March 23 during the day that is called, in the neuter plural, [[Quinquatria]], the fifth day after the Ides of March, the nineteenth, an [[artisan]]s' holiday. This festival was of deepest importance to artists and craftsmen as she was the patron goddess of crafting and arts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lurker|first=Manfred|date=2004-08-02|title=The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons|doi=10.4324/9780203643518|isbn=9780203643518}}</ref> According to [[Ovid]] ([[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]] 3.809) the festival was 5 days long, and the first day was said to be the anniversary of Minerva's birth, so no blood was to be shed. The following four days were full of games of "drawn swords" in honour of Minerva's military association.<ref name="Theoi Classical Texts Library">{{cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidFasti3.html|title=OVID, FASTI BOOK 3 |website=Theoi Classical Texts Library|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref> Suetonius tells us (Life of Domitian 4.4) that Domitian celebrated the [[Quinquatria]] by appointing a college of priests who were to stage plays and animal games in addition to poetry and oratory competitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lexundria.com/suet_dom/4/r|title=Suetonius, Life of Domitian 4|website=lexundria.com|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref> A lesser version, the ''Minusculae Quinquatria'', was held on the Ides of June, June 13, by the [[Auloi|flute-players]], as Minerva was thought to have invented the flute.<ref name="Theoi Classical Texts Library-2"/> In 207 BC, a [[guild]] of poets and actors was formed to meet and make [[votive offering]]s at the temple of Minerva on the [[Aventine Hill]]. Among others, its members included [[Livius Andronicus]]. The Aventine sanctuary of Minerva continued to be an important center of the arts for much of the middle [[Roman Republic]].

As ''Minerva Medica'', she was the goddess of medicine and physicians. As ''Minerva Achaea'', she was worshipped at [[Lucera]] in [[Apulia]] where [[votive gift]]s and arms said to be those of [[Diomedes]] were preserved in her temple.<ref>Aristotle ''Mirab. Narrat.'' 117</ref><ref name="dgrbm2">{{Cite book|last=Schmitz|first=Leonhard|title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]|year=1867|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=William|volume=1|place=Boston|page=8|contribution=Achaea (2)|author-link=Leonhard Schmitz|contribution-url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0017.html|access-date=2007-09-26|archive-date=2005-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050710073848/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0017.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to the [[Acta Arvalia]], a cow was sacrificed to Minerva on October 13 58 AD along with many other sacrifices to celebrate the anniversary of Nero coming to power. On January 3 81 AD, as a part of the New Year vows, two cows were sacrificed to Minerva (among many others) to secure the well-being of the emperor Titus, Domitian Caesar, Julia Augusta, and their children. On January 3 87 AD there is again record of a cow being sacrificed to Minerva among the many sacrifices made as a part of the New Year vows.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gradel|first=Ittai|title=Emperor worship and Roman religion|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=2002|location=New York}}</ref>

In ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' III, [[Ovid]] called her the "goddess of a thousand works"<ref name="Theoi Classical Texts Library" /> due to all of the things she was associated with. Minerva was worshipped throughout Italy, and when she eventually became equated with the Greek goddess Athena, she also became a goddess of battle. Unlike Mars, god of war, she was sometimes portrayed with sword lowered, in sympathy for the recent dead, rather than raised in triumph and battle lust. In Rome her bellicose nature was emphasized less than elsewhere.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Minerva/|title=Minerva|author=Mark Cartwright|encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]]}}</ref>

According to [[Livy]]'s ''History of Rome'' (7.3), the annual nail marking the year, a process where the praetor maximus drove a nail in to formally keep track of the current year, happened in the temple of Minerva because she was thought to have invented numbers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Livy|title=History of Rome|year=1965 |isbn=0-674-99126-5|oclc=991483377}}</ref><ref name="MacRae, Duncan 2016">{{Cite book|last=MacRae, Duncan|title=Legible religion : books, gods, and rituals in Roman culture|date=2016|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-08871-9|oclc=974037540}}</ref>

There is archaeological evidence to suggest that Minerva was worshipped not only in a formal civic fashion, but also by individuals on a more personal level.<ref name="MacRae, Duncan 2016"/>

===Roman coinage===
Minerva is featured on the coinage of different [[Roman emperor]]s. She often is represented on the reverse side of a coin holding an owl and a spear among her attributes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://numismatics.org/search/results?q=ric+691+domitian|title=American Numismatic Society: Browse Collection|access-date=2017-03-02}}</ref>