Enthroned woman with babies 3rd-2nd C. BCE
"Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin Goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn Goddess Aurora, and the Greek Goddess Eos. Her cult is attested several places in Latium; her most famous temple was located at Satricum. In Rome she had a temple on the north side of the Forum Boarium, allegedly built by Servius Tullius, destroyed in 506 B.C., and rebuilt by Marcus Furius Camillus in 396 B.C., and she was also associated with the sea harbors and ports, where there were other temples to her.
Another remarkable place of worship was located in Campania, outside modern Capua. Dozens of votive statues representing matres matutae were found in the so-called "fondo Patturelli" (a private estate) during excavations in the 19th century. An extensive collection of these votives is housed in the Museo Campano in Capua.
At Rome her festival was the Matralia, celebrated on June 11 at her temple in the Forum Boarium. The festival was only for single women or women in their first marriage, who offered prayers for their nephews and nieces, and then drove a slave out of the temple."
-taken from Wikipedia
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| Enthroned Woman with Swaddled Babies; Curti near Capua (Italy), 3rd - 2nd century BC. Current location: Altes Museum. |
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