Murcia (deity)

Murcia was a little-known goddess in ancient Rome.

Murcus is said to have been an old name for the Aventine Hill itself;[4] hence the adjective murtius (= murcius) was applied to the turning-posts of the Circus Maximus, which was also situated in a valley between the Aventine and the Palatine Hills.

[5] The name Murcia was linked to the name of the myrtle tree (Latin myrtus) by folk etymology; hence the spellings Murtia and Murtea.

[6][7] Christian writers, in their turn, connected Murcia with the adjective murcus or murcidus "lazy, inactive", thus interpreting her as a "goddess of sloth and laziness".

This article relating to an ancient Roman myth or legend is a stub.

Detail from the Foligno relief of the Circus Maximus, showing the shrine of Murcia with a myrtle tree in the lower right, just above the broken corner [ 1 ]