Di nixi

Di nixi

In ancient Roman religion, the di nixi, also Nixae, were birth deities. They were depicted kneeling or squatting, a more common birthing position in antiquity than in the modern era. The 2nd-century grammarian Festus explains their name as the participle of the Latin verb nitor, niti, nixus, "to support oneself," also "strive, labor," in this sense "be in labor, give birth." Varro said that enixae was the term for women in labor brought about by the Nixae, who oversee the types of religious practices that pertain to those giving birth. In some editions of Ovid's Metamorphoses, a phrase is taken as referring to the birth goddess Lucina and her counterpart collective, the Nixi.

Pantheon: Roman Culture: Ancient Roman Civilization: Ancient Rome Period: 750 BCE – 400 CE

Source: Wikipedia