Larunda: Encyclopedia - Acca LarentiaIn Roman mythology, Acca Larentia was Hercules' mistress after he won her in a game of dice (Macrobius i. 10; Plutarch, Romulus, 4, 5, Quaest. Rom. 35; Aulus Genius vi. 7). Hercules advised her to marry the first man she met in the street, who proved to be a wealthy Etruscan named Tarutius. She inherited all his property and bequeathed it to the Roman people, who out of gratitude instituted in her honour a yearly festival called Larentalia (23 December). According to some, Acca Larentia was the mother of the Lares, and, like Ceres, Teilus, Flora and others, symbolized the fertility of the ...
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