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Salus (, "safety", "salvation", "welfare")M. De Vaan Etymological Dictionary of Latin Leyden 2010 s.v.; The Oxford Classical Dictionary 4th ed. London & New York 2012 s.v. was the Ancient Rome goddess of safety and well-being (welfare, health and prosperity) of both the individual and the state. She is sometimes equated with the Greek goddess Hygieia, though their functions differ considerably.
Salus is one of the oldest Roman goddesses: she has also been referred to as Salus Semonia,Köhler 1965, citing CIL VI 30975. a fact that might hint at her belonging to the category of the Semones (gods such as Semo Sancus Dius Fidius). The two gods had temples in Rome on the Collis Salutaris and Mucialis respectively,Varro De Lingua latina V 53. two adjacent hilltops of the Quirinal located in the regio Alta Semita. The temple of Salus, as Salus Publica Populi Romani, was voted in 304 BC, during the Samnite Wars, by dictator Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus,Köhler 1965, citing Livy Ab Urbe Condita IX 43. dedicated on 5 August 302, and adorned with frescos at the order of Gaius Fabius Pictor.Köhler 1965, citing Valerius Maximum VIII 14, 6.
The high antiquity and importance of the cult of Salus is testified by the little-known ceremony of the Augurium Salutis, held every year on August 5 for the preservation of the Roman state.Köhler 1965, citing Tacit Annales XII 23. Her cult was spread over all Italy.Köhler 1965 citing inscriptions from Orte ( salutes pocolom Diehl Alt lat. Inschrit. 3, 192) and Pompei ( salutei sacrum Dessau 3822). Literary sources record relationships with FortunaKöhler 1965, who cites Plautus Asin. 712. and Spes.Köhler 1965, who cites Plautus Merc. 867. She started to be increasingly associated with Valetudo, the Goddess of Personal Health and the romanized name of Hygieia.
Later, Salus also became a protector of personal health. Around 180 BCE, sacrificial rites in honor of Apollo, Aesculapius, and Salus took place (Livius XL, 37). There was a statue to Salus in the temple of Concordia. She is first known to be associated with the snake of Aesculapius from a coin of 55 BC minted by M. Acilius.Köhler 1965. Her festival was celebrated on March 30.
German scholars Georg Wissowa, Eduard Norden and Kurt Latte write of a deity named Salus Semonia,G. Wissowa Roschers Lexicon s.v. Sancus, Religion und Kultus der Roemer Munich 1912 p. 139 ff.; E. Norden Aus der altrömischen Priesterbüchern Lund 1939 p. 205 ff.; K. Latte Rom. Religionsgeschichte Munich 1960 p. 49-51. who is attested to only in one inscription of year 1 A.D., mentioning a Salus Semonia in its last line (seventeen). Scholars agree that this line is a later addition of uncertain date. Salus Semonia posuit populi Victoria; cf. R. E. A.Palmer: "Studies of the Northern Campus Martius in Ancient Rome" Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 1990 80.2. p. 19 and n.21 citing M. A. Cavallaro "Un liberto 'prega' per Augusto e per le gentes: CIL VI 30975 (con inediti di Th. Mommsen)" in Helikon 15-16 (1975-1976) pp 146-186. In other inscriptions, Salus is never connected to Semonia. Ara Salutus from a slab of an altar from Praeneste; Salutes pocolom on a pitcher from Horta; Salus Magna on a cippus from Bagnacavallo; Salus on a cippus from the sacred grove of Pisaurum; Salus Publica from Ferentinum; salutei sacrum from Pompei.
Sometimes her hand is open and empty, making a gesture. Sometimes the snake directs its gaze along with hers. Sometimes there is no altar; the snake is coiled around the arm of her throne instead.
Occasionally, Salus has a tall staff in her left hand with a snake twined around it; sometimes her right hand raises a smaller female figure. Later, Salus is shown standing, feeding her snake. This became the most common pose: she is standing and grasping the wriggling snake firmly under her arm, directing it to the food she holds out on a dish in her other hand. Rarely, Salus is holding a steering oar in her left hand indicating her role in guiding the emperor through a healthy life. This really belongs to Fortuna.
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