JUNO

Juno was an ancient Italian mother goddess, the Roman form of the Etruscan goddess Uni. She was associated particularly with the lives of women as goddess of childbirth, puberty, and marriage. She became identified with the Greek goddess Hera and therefore was thought of as the wife of the god Jupiter; as Juno Regina she was queen mother of the gods. In her Roman form she was not as vindictive as Hera, although Vergil portrays her in the Aeneid as the chief opponent of Aeneas. Juno was one of the trio of Capitoline deities in Rome; along with Minerva, she shared the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill above the Forum. She also had her own temple, the Temple of Juno Moneta, on the other peak of the Capitoline Hill; the first mint in Rome was in or near this temple. The Kalends (the first day) of every month was sacred to Juno.

This Roman silver statuette of Juno, dating from the third century CE, was part of a large silver service (ministerium) found buried in Chaourse, France. The goddess wears the Roman stola reserved for married women and a diadem on her head; the cornucopia she carries associates her with the goddess Fortuna.