Flora (mythology)

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Topics in Roman mythology
Important Gods:
Jupiter Mars Quirinus Vesta Juno Fortuna	Minerva Mercury Vulcan Ceres Venus Lares
Legendary History
Roman religion
The Flamens
Greek/Roman myth compared
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Other Rustic Gods:
Bona Dea Carmenta Camenae Dea Dia Convector	Flora Lupercus Pales Pomona Egeria

In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of spring. While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime. Her festival, the Floralia, was held in April or early May and symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life, marked with dancing, drinking, and flowers. Her Greek equivalent was Chloris. Flora was married to Favonius, the wind god, but she cheated on him for Hercules while he was resting in Italy. Due to her association with plants, her name in modern English also means plant life.

Image:Lebr024.jpg

Flora achieved more prominence in the neo-pagan revival of Antiquity among Renaissance humanists than she had ever enjoyed in ancient Rome.