Editing Cloacina

{{Short description|Roman Goddess protector of the Cloaca Maxima}}
{{for|the genus|Cloacina (nematode)}}
[[File:Coins-venus-cloacina.jpg|thumb|Denarius of L. Mussidius Longus (42 BC) showing [[Concordia (mythology)|Concordia]] on the [[obverse]], and two statues within the [[balustrade]] of the shrine of Venus Cloacina on the [[reverse (coin)|reverse]]<ref> Crawford 494/42b; CRI 188a; Sydenham 1093a; Mussidia 6)</ref>|alt=]]'''Cloacina''' was a goddess who presided over the [[Cloaca Maxima]] ('Greatest Drain'), the main interceptor discharge outfall of the system of sewers in [[Rome, Italy|Rome]]. 

== Name ==
The [[theonym]] ''Cloācīna'' is a derivative of the noun ''cloāca'' ('sewer, underground drainage'; cf. ''cluere'' 'to purify'), itself from [[Proto-Italic]] *''klowā''-, ultimately from [[Proto-Indo-European]] *''ḱleuH-o-'' ('clean'). A cult-title of Venus, ''Cloācīna'' may be interpreted as meaning 'The Purifier'.{{Sfn|de Vaan|2008|p=122}}

In later English works, phrases such as "the temple of Cloacina" were sometimes used as [[euphemism]]s for the [[toilet]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://daily.jstor.org/venus-of-the-sewers/ |title=Venus of the Sewers |first=Amelia |last=Soth  |date=30 September 2021 |publisher=JSTOR |access-date=27 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/wanderingsinsout00wate_1/page/150/mode/2up?q=Cloacina |title=Wanderings in South America |first=Waterton |last=Charles |author-link=Charles Waterton |date=1866 |publisher=T. Fellowes |location=London |access-date=27 August 2024 |quote=Now, in the British plantations of Guiana, as well as in Europe, there is always a little temple dedicated to the goddess Cloacina.}}</ref>

== Cult ==
The Cloaca Maxima was said to have been begun by [[Tarquinius Priscus]], one of Rome's [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] kings, and finished by another, [[Tarquinius Superbus]]: Cloacina might have originally been an Etruscan deity. According to [[Founding of Rome|one of Rome's foundation myths]], [[Titus Tatius]], king of the [[Sabines]], erected a statue to Cloacina at the place where Romans and Sabines met to confirm the end of their conflict, following the [[rape of the Sabine women]]. Tatius instituted lawful marriage between Sabines and Romans, uniting them as one people, ruled by himself and by Rome's founder, [[Romulus]]. The peace between Sabines and Romans was marked by a cleansing ritual using [[Myrtaceae|myrtle]], at or very near an ancient Etruscan shrine to Cloacina, above a small stream that would later be enlarged as the main outlet for Rome's main sewer, the [[Cloaca Maxima]]. As myrtle was one of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus']] signs, and Venus was a goddess of union, peace and reconciliation, Cloacina was recognised as Venus Cloacina (Venus the Cleanser). She was also credited with the purification of sexual intercourse within marriage.<ref>Eden, P.T., "Venus and the Cabbage," ''Hermes'', 91, (1963), p. 457, citing Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'', Book 15, 119 – 121.</ref><ref>Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 15, 119, cited in Wagenvoort, Hendrik, "The Origins of the goddess Venus", in ''Pietas: selected studies in Roman religion'', Brill, 1980p. 180.</ref><ref>Smith, William, ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London, John Murray, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=venus-bio-1 perseus, Tufts, entry for "Venus"]</ref>
[[File:Sacrum Cloacina.jpg|thumb|Remains of the Shrine of Venus Cloacina]]
The small, circular [[shrine of Venus Cloacina]] was situated before the [[Basilica Aemilia]] on the [[Roman Forum]] and directly above the Cloaca Maxima.  Some Roman coins had images of Cloacina's shrine. The clearest show two females, presumed to be deities, each with a bird perched on a pillar. One holds a small object, possibly a flower; birds and flowers are signs of Venus, among other deities. The figures may have represented the two aspects of the divinity, Cloacina-Venus.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rome and Environs: An Archaeological Guide.|last=Coarelli|first=Filippo|pages=50|date=2008|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520079618}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Toilet god]]
* [[Mefitis]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==

* {{Cite book |last=de Vaan |first=Michiel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecZ1DwAAQBAJ |title=Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages |date=2008 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004167971 |language=en |author-link=Michiel de Vaan}}

== Further reading ==
* [http://www.vroma.org/~jruebel/cloacina.html Information on Cloacina]

{{Roman religion}}

[[Category:Love and lust goddesses]]
[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Toilet goddesses]]
[[Category:Sewerage]]