The cult of the goddess Mother Earth in the mines of Illyricum and Hispania
Abstract
In the Roman pantheon the goddess Mother Earth (Terra Mater) assumes the mystery of the production of metals. The daily exploitation of iron and silver ores in the mining regions of Illyricum and Hispania entailed a demonstration of respect, contrition and humility before the goddess through the construction of temples, making sacrifices and the erecting of honorary aras. All together was supposed to propitiate the goddess so that she would richly reward the leaseholders, mining procurators, colons and diggers or ores with her gifts, and to provide the protection to inhabitants and employees from all the dangers that lurked in the territory of the mines. Despite the geographical distance and the difference in the types of ore the cult of the goddess Mother Earth in the mining districts of Illyricum and Hispania shows the same characteristics. In both mining regions we find Roman mining officials, colons and miners of different ethnic origin as worshipers of the goddess. Furthermore, the cult of Mother Earth (Terra Mater) in Illyricum was apparently under the patronage of the Roman state. Over the years the numerous aras were erected in the Pannonian iron mines (ferrariae Pannonicae) by the Roman mining procurators on the birthday of Rome in honor of the goddess and the emperors from the Severian dynasty. It seems that the realities of the mining professions in the mining regions across the Roman empire created a uniform cult of the Mother Earth. The massivity of the cult came from the Roman conviction that taking gifts from the Earth in return required repentance and sacrifices. This fact best explains the ubiquity of the Mother Earth cult in various Roman epochs and mining regions. The Romans were aware, it seems, that Mother Earth (Nature) in addition to giving gifts could show her other face and “strike back”.
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