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Roman

Libera

Libera Mater · Libera Augusta · Sancta Libera

01Identity

Libera in Roman tradition

Libera's name was paired with Liber, the Italian fertility god associated with agriculture and wine. She was his daughter and female cognate. In pre-Roman Italy, she belonged to the group of agriculture and fertility deities. She had no separate form beyond her identity as a female deity.

Libera does not act as the protagonist in any myth. She appears within the religious and mythic sphere of Liber, who was sometimes identified with the Greek Dionysos and the Roman Bacchus. Her place was therefore linked to the agricultural and fertility functions shared by Liber and Libera. She did not guard a particular place, serve another deity, or arise from a specific event. Her origin lay in her parentage and her early Italian role, rather than in an independent story.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Libera?

    Libera is a Roman deity associated with fertility and fecundity; agriculture and grain; wine and viticulture; freedom and emancipation; and seasonal renewal and the underworld.
    Source

    Source

    • for a falcon
    • Classical Mythology a to Z
    • Dictionary of Mythology
    • Bullfinch Mythology - The Age of Fable
    • Greek religion
    • Belief and Cult
    • On Roman Religion: Lived Religion and the Individual in Ancient Rome
    • The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

  • What is Libera the goddess of?

    Libera is associated with fertility and fecundity; agriculture and grain; wine and viticulture; freedom and emancipation; and seasonal renewal and the underworld.
    Source

    Source

    • for a falcon
    • Classical Mythology a to Z
    • Dictionary of Mythology
    • Bullfinch Mythology - The Age of Fable
    • Greek religion

  • What family links are recorded for Libera?

    Mother: Ceres, Spouse: Liber.
02Family

Libera’s family, at a glance

Ceres
Libera

with Liber

03The names

The names Libera answers to

Libera Mater

Mother Libera

SourceBelief and Cult

Libera Augusta

Venerable or imperial Libera

SourceOn Roman Religion: Lived Religion and the Individual in Ancient Rome

Sancta Libera

Holy Libera

SourceOn Roman Religion: Lived Religion and the Individual in Ancient Rome

Proserpina

Roman underworld goddess with whom Libera was identified

SourceThe Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion

04Related stories

Where Libera is mentioned

Mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Libera, each on that figure’s page.