I'm looking for any information about the Italic Goddess Mefitis, or Mephitis.
So far I have only come up with these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mefitis
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mefitis.html
I've also read that she is connected to water, rivers and swamps, and she is a fertility goddess.
Does anyone know anything else about her (or have other useful links), and does she go by any other names?
Full Version: Mefitis
Ah, Tas's favourite occupation - hunting down obscure deities!
It's pronounced: "muh-FYE-tiss" (No smut please!)
A temple to Mephitis, a goddess of the pre-Roman Samnites, has been found at Pompeii.
The temple is said to be of Mephitis, a female deity worshipped by the Samnites, a mysterious ancient people who preceded the Romans in Pompeii.
A Samnites link - not read it, but it looks comprehensive enough to keep you occupied a while!
http://xoomer.alice.it/davmonac/sanniti/indexen.html
This might be a starting point - underground streams...
http://www.goddessaday.com/roman/mefitis
A pay to read site gave this: "archaeological site of Rossano di Vaglio (Basilicata, Southern Italy), where an important sanctuary was built during the 4th Century B.C. "
Will keep trawiling - tis fun!
It's pronounced: "muh-FYE-tiss" (No smut please!)
A temple to Mephitis, a goddess of the pre-Roman Samnites, has been found at Pompeii.
The temple is said to be of Mephitis, a female deity worshipped by the Samnites, a mysterious ancient people who preceded the Romans in Pompeii.
A Samnites link - not read it, but it looks comprehensive enough to keep you occupied a while!
http://xoomer.alice.it/davmonac/sanniti/indexen.html
This might be a starting point - underground streams...
http://www.goddessaday.com/roman/mefitis
A pay to read site gave this: "archaeological site of Rossano di Vaglio (Basilicata, Southern Italy), where an important sanctuary was built during the 4th Century B.C. "
Will keep trawiling - tis fun!
Added to this, I've found info stating she was related to sulphurous fumes that came from the ground and plague.
This probably explains why the Latin name for a skunk is 'mephitis mephitis'
This probably explains why the Latin name for a skunk is 'mephitis mephitis'
THANKS TAS, you're a STAR
And thanks Flaxen
And thanks Flaxen
Aw shux! 
Re the sanctuary -
"Basilicata or Lucania
The only region in Italy that can boast two names – Basilicata, however, is the officially recognized one – is a land in which human and natural history have left important traces ever since it has emerged from the sea.
In olden times it was known as Lucania, from the Latin ‘lucas’ either because it was a woody land, or because it was populated by the ‘Liky’ an ancient people coming from Anatolia, or maybe because it was the land reached by a warlike people who had followed the sun, known as ‘luc’. "
Fascinating what we can dig up on the WWW!
"Basilicata or Lucania
The only region in Italy that can boast two names – Basilicata, however, is the officially recognized one – is a land in which human and natural history have left important traces ever since it has emerged from the sea.
In olden times it was known as Lucania, from the Latin ‘lucas’ either because it was a woody land, or because it was populated by the ‘Liky’ an ancient people coming from Anatolia, or maybe because it was the land reached by a warlike people who had followed the sun, known as ‘luc’. "
Fascinating what we can dig up on the WWW!
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