Providentia is a celestial personification of the capacity for foresee and make provision in the religion of ancient Rome.
She was one of the icons of virtue that made up the ancient Roman Empire’s worship of the Emperor. Thus, Providentia appears in literature, worship, and art but has little to no mythology per se. In Roman speech, Providentia played a significant role as a moral and intellectual abstraction. It is one of the three basic elements of prudentia, which Cicero defines as “the knowledge of things that are good or bad or neither,” together with memoria and intellegentia. The Christian idea of divine providence derives from the Latin term.
Featured image: head of Augustus left Facade and altar enclosure of Ara Providentiae Augusti
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