Editing Libertas

{{Short description|Roman goddess of liberty}}
{{About|the Roman goddess}}
{{Infobox deity|type=Roman|symbol=[[Pileus (hat)|Pileus]], rod (''vindicta'' or ''festuca'')|image=INC-1841-r Ауреус Траян ок. 108-110 гг. (реверс).png|caption=Libertas with her attributes, on an ''[[aureus]]'' of [[Trajan]]|Greek_equivalent=[[Eleutheria]]|god_of=Goddess of liberty}}
[[File:Gaius Cassius Longinus and Lentulus Spinther. 42 BC. AR Denarius.jpg|thumb|300px|right| [[Denarius]] (42 BC) issued by [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius Longinus]] and [[Lentulus Spinther]], depicting the crowned head of Libertas, with a sacrificial jug and ''[[lituus]]'' on the reverse]]

'''Libertas''' ([[Latin language|Latin]] for 'liberty' or 'freedom', {{IPA|la|liːˈbɛrt̪aːs̠|pron}}) is the [[Roman mythology|Roman goddess]] and [[personification]] of [[liberty]]. She became a politicised figure in the late republic. She sometimes also appeared on coins from the imperial period, such as [[Galba]]'s "Freedom of the People" coins during his short reign after the death of [[Nero]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://artgallery.yale.edu/pdf/perspect/roman_coins.pdf |title=Roman Coins |access-date=2008-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081031072838/http://artgallery.yale.edu/pdf/perspect/roman_coins.pdf |archive-date=2008-10-31 }}</ref> She is usually portrayed with two accoutrements: the spear; and a [[phrygian cap]], which she holds out in her right hand, rather than wears on her head.

The Greek equivalent of the goddess Libertas is [[Eleutheria]], the personification of liberty.  There are many [[Liberty (personification)|post-classical depictions of liberty as a person]] which often retain some of the [[iconography]] of the Roman goddess.

== Etymology ==
The noun ''lībertās'' 'freedom', on which the name of the deity is based, is a derivation from Latin ''līber'' 'free', stemming from [[Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]] ''*leuþero-'', and ultimately from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*h₁leudʰero-'' 'belonging to the people', hence 'free'.{{Sfn|de Vaan|2008|p=338}}

==Attributes==
Libertas was associated with the [[pileus (hat)|pileus]], a cap commonly worn by freed slaves:<ref name="sacred">{{cite book | first1=Karen |last1=Tate |first2=Brad |last2=Olson | title = Sacred Places of Goddess: 108 Destinations | publisher = CCC Publishing | year = 2005 | pages = 360–361 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=b7KbLLjzuRgC | isbn = 1-888729-11-2}}</ref>

{{Quote
|text=Among the Romans the cap of felt was the emblem of liberty. When a slave obtained his freedom he had his head shaved, and wore instead of his hair an undyed pileus (πίλεον λευκόν, [[Diodorus Siculus]] Exc. Leg. 22 p625, ed. Wess.; [[Plautus|Plaut.]] Amphit. I.1.306; [[Persius]], V.82). Hence the phrase ''servos ad pileum vocare'' is a summons to liberty, by which slaves were frequently called upon to take up arms with a promise of liberty ([[Livy|Liv.]] XXIV.32). "The figure of Liberty on some of the coins of [[Antoninus Pius]], struck A.D. 145, holds this cap in the right hand".<ref>Yates, James. Entry "Pileus" in William Smith's ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' ([[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]], London, 1875).</ref>}}

Libertas was also recognized in ancient Rome by the rod (''vindicta'' or ''festuca''),<ref name="sacred" /> used ceremonially in the act of ''Manumissio vindicta'', Latin for 'freedom by the rod' (emphasis added):

{{Quote
|text=The master brought his slave before the [[magistratus]], and stated the grounds ([[causa]]) of the intended [[manumission]]. "The lictor of the magistratus laid a rod ([[festuca]]) on the head of the slave, accompanied with certain formal words, in which he declared that he was a free man ex Jure Quiritium", that is, "vindicavit in libertatem". The master in the meantime held the slave, and after he had pronounced the words "hunc hominem liberum volo," he turned him round (momento turbinis exit Marcus Dama, Persius, Sat. V.78) and let him go (emisit e manu, or misit manu, Plaut. Capt. II.3.48), whence the general name of the act of manumission. The magistratus then declared him to be free [...]<ref>Long, George. Entry "[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Manumissio.html Manumission]" in William Smith's ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' (John Murray, London, 1875).</ref>}}

== Temples ==
The [[Roman Republic]] was established simultaneously with the creation of Libertas and is associated with the overthrow of the [[Tarquinia gens|Tarquin kings]]. She was worshiped by the [[Junia gens|Junii]], the family of [[Marcus Junius Brutus]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Catholic Quarterly Review ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sJkNAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA589|year=1880|publisher=Hardy and Mahony|page=589}}</ref>
In 238 BC, before the [[Second Punic War]], [[Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (consul 238 BC)|Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus]] built a temple to Libertas on the [[Aventine Hill]].<ref name="GalinskyLapatin2016">{{cite book|author1=Karl Galinsky|author2=Kenneth Lapatin|title=Cultural Memories in the Roman Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oW5dCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA230|date=1 January 2016|publisher=Getty Publications|isbn=978-1-60606-462-7|page=230}}</ref> Census tables were stored inside the temple's atrium. A subsequent temple was built (58–57 BC) on [[Palatine Hill]], another of the [[Seven hills of Rome]], by [[Publius Clodius Pulcher]]. By building and consecrating the temple on the site of the former house of then-exiled [[Cicero]], Clodius ensured that the land was legally uninhabitable. Upon his return, Cicero successfully argued that the consecration was invalid and thus managed to reclaim the land and destroy the temple. In 46 BC, the Roman Senate voted to build and dedicate a shrine to Libertas in recognition of [[Julius Caesar]], but no temple was built; instead, a small statue of the goddess stood in the [[Roman Forum]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1389461/Libertas |title=Libertas |year=2008 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=1 September 2008}}</ref>

==Post-classical==
[[File:Statue of Liberty 7.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=The Statue of Liberty in New York, United States of America|The [[Statue of Liberty]] (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') in [[New York City|New York]] derives from the ancient goddess Libertas.]]
The goddess Libertas is also depicted on the [[Great Seal of France]], created in 1848. This is the image which later influenced French sculptor [[Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi]] in the creation of his statue of ''[[Statue of Liberty|Liberty Enlightening the World]]''.

Libertas, along with other Roman goddesses, has served as the inspiration for many modern-day [[personification]]s, including the Statue of Liberty on [[Liberty Island]] in the United States. According to the [[National Park Service]], the Statue's Roman robe is the main feature that invokes Libertas and the symbol of Liberty from which the statue derives its name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/stli/teachercorner/page13.html |title=Robe |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=2008-09-01}}</ref>

In addition, money throughout history has borne the name or image of Libertas.  As "[[Liberty (personification)|Liberty]]", Libertas was depicted on the obverse (heads side) of most coinage in the U.S. into the twentieth century{{snd}} and the image is still used for the [[American Gold Eagle]] gold [[bullion coin]].  The University of North Carolina records two instances of private banks in its state depicting Libertas on their banknotes;<ref name="Howgego1995">{{cite book|last=Howgego|first=C. J.|author-link=Christopher Howgego|title=Ancient history from coins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvEEynd4ZiQC&pg=PA1|access-date=4 December 2011|year=1995|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-08993-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/numismatics,503 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524154825/http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/numismatics,503 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-05-24 |title=Bank of Fayetteville one-dollar note, 1855 |access-date=2008-09-01 }}</ref> Libertas is depicted on the 5, 10 and 20 [[Rappen]] denomination coins of [[Switzerland]].

The symbolic characters [[Columbia (name)|Columbia]] who represents the United States and [[Marianne]], who represents France, the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') in [[New York Harbor]], and many other characters and concepts of the modern age were created, and are seen, as embodiments of Libertas.

==See also==
*[[Liber]]
*[[Libera (mythology)]] a goddess in Roman mythology
*[[Liberty (personification)]]
*''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'', 1830 painting

==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}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Libertas}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=yBW5X77NF4wC&pg=PA233 David Hackett Fischer, ''Liberty and Freedom'' (2005) The many faces of Miss Liberty]

{{Liberty}}
{{Roman religion|state=expanded}}
{{Statue of Liberty}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications in Roman mythology]]
[[Category:Liberty symbols]]