Editing Providentia

[[File:Pertinax Providentia Aureus.jpg|thumb|300px|Roman [[aureus]] struck under the rule of [[Pertinax]]. Inscription: IMP. CAES. P. HELV. PERTIN. AVG. / PROVIDentia DEORum COnSul II]]
In [[ancient Roman religion]], '''Providentia''' is a divine personification of the ability to foresee and make provision. She was among the embodiments of [[Roman virtues|virtues]] that were part of the [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Imperial cult of ancient Rome]].<ref>[[J. Rufus Fears]], "The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology," ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'' II.17.2 (1981), p. 886.</ref> Providentia thus figures in [[Roman art|art]], cult, and [[Latin literature|literature]], but has little or no [[Roman mythology|mythology]] as such.

''Providentia'' was an important moral and philosophical abstraction in Roman discourse. [[Cicero]] says it is one of the three main components of ''prudentia'', "the knowledge of things that are good or bad or neither,"<ref>''Prudentia est rerum bonarum et malarum neutrarumque scientia.''</ref> along with ''memoria'', "memory," and ''intellegentia'', "understanding."<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Inventione]]'' 2.160; Elizabeth Henry, ''The Vigour of Prophecy: A Study of Vergil's Aeneid'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 1989), p. 68.</ref> The Latin word is the origin of the Christian concept of [[divine providence]].

==Imperial cult==
Upon the death of [[Augustus]], the emperor [[Tiberius]] established an [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#ara|altar]] to Providentia Augusta in recognition of "the godhead manifested in his father's provisions for the [[Roman State|Roman state]]." The cult title [[Augustus (honorific)|Augusta]] was attached also to such goddesses as [[Pax (mythology)|Pax]], [[Justitia]], and [[Concordia (mythology)|Concordia]] during the [[Roman Empire|Imperial era]]. Traditional epithets invoked a deity within a specific functional sphere by declaring their power. The title ''Augusta'' thus fixed the divinity's force within the sphere of the emperor as Augustus.<ref>Fears, "The Cult of Virtues," pp. 886–887, 891.</ref>

In 28 AD, after Tiberius arrested and executed [[Sejanus]] for conspiracy, the Cult of Virtues played a role in the propaganda that presented the restoration of Imperial order as a return to constitutional government. Sacrifices were offered to Providentia along with Salus ("Security"), [[Libertas]] ("Liberty"),  and the [[Genius (mythology)|Genius]]. Providentia at this time also received a permanent full-time priest ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#sacerdos|sacerdos]])'' devoted to her.<ref>Fears, "The Cult of Virtues," p. 892.</ref> In the wake of the [[Pisonian conspiracy]] against [[Nero]], religious observances in 59 AD to repair the state included sacrifices by the [[Arval Brethren]] to various deities, among them Providentia.<ref>Fears, "The Cult of Virtues," pp. 895, 897.</ref>

[[File:TRAIANUS RIC II 358-251001.jpg|thumb|[[Denarius]] of [[Trajan]] (struck 115–116 AD) with representation of Providentia]]
Providentia appeared on [[Roman currency|Roman coins]] issued under [[Vespasian]], [[Trajan]], [[Hadrian]], [[Antoninus Pius]], [[Septimius Severus]], [[Commodus]], [[Pertinax]], and [[Diocletian]].<ref>Fears,  "The Theology of Victory at Rome: Approaches and Problem," ''ANRW'' II.17.2 (1981), p. 813, "The Cult of Virtues," pp. 900, 903, 904, 905, 907.</ref> A coin issued by [[Titus]] depicted his deified father Vespasian handing a globe to his son as his successor, with the legend ''Providentia Augusta''. Coins issued by [[Nerva]] depicted the Genius of the [[Roman senate|Senate]] handing the globe to the new emperor, with the legend ''Providentia Senatus'', "the Providence of the Senate."<ref>Fears, "The Cult of Virtues," p. 902.</ref>

==Providentia in numismatics==
Providentia has been the main motif for many collector coins and medals, the most recent one being the [[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Austria)#2002 coinage|100 euro Sculpture Gold coin]] issued on November 13, 2002. The reverse features the Providentia Fountain ("Provendentia Brunnen") in central Vienna, work of one of the greatest Baroque sculptors [[Georg Rafael Donner]]. In the centre of the coin, the allegorical figure of Providentia with a medallion of the Roman god, [[Janus (mythology)|Janus]], who had two faces, is displayed. Surrounding the fountain there are other symbolic figures representing tributary rivers of the [[Danube]]. Providentia is enthroned high above the figure of an old man representing the [[Enns River]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Roman goddesses]]
[[Category:Wisdom goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications in Roman mythology]]