In Roman mythology, the Camenae (also Casmenae, Camoenae) were originally goddesses of childbirth, wells and fountains, and also prophetic deities.
[1] Some mythological figures associated with the Camenae include:[2] The last two were sometimes specifically referred to as the Carmentae and in ancient times might have been two aspects of Carmenta rather than separate figures; in later times, however, they are distinct beings believed to protect women in labor.
The first instance of this is in Livius Andronicus' translation of Homer's Odyssey, rendering the Greek word Mousa (Μοῦσα) as Camena.
[5] Horace refers to poetic inspiration as the "soft breath of the Greek Camena" (spiritum Graiae tenuem Camenae) in Odes II.16.
This began with Livius Andronicus and continued with Gnaeus Naevius' epitaph.