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Acca Larentia
Also known as: Acca Laurentia
Origin: Etruscan or Italian
Feast: The Larentalia on 23 December
Various contradictory legends are told of Acca Larentia. Their common denominator is that she is an important benefactress of Rome. One story says she was a sex worker who amassed a fortune and bequeathed it all to Rome. Another suggests that she was the beautiful prize given to Heracles for winning a game of dice. She was locked in his temple. When the deity (or his priests) had enough of her, she was advised to marry the first rich man she met. She did, eventually inherited his estate, and bequeathed that to the Roman people. The most popular version of Acca Larentia’s myth is that she was the wife of Faustulus, the shepherd who found Romulus and Remus and thus the foster mother of the founders of Rome. Acca Larentia is associated with the Lares, household guardian spirits. Their festival is celebrated right after hers. She may or may not be the same spirit as Larunda.
Acca Larentia is traditionally petitioned for abundance and prosperity.
Favored people: Sex workers; financially independent women; urban gardeners
Sacred site: Gardens, especially vegetable or herb, within or near cities
