Empanda

In ancient Roman religion, Empanda or Panda was a goddess, or possibly an epithet of Juno.

For the genus of jumping spiders, see Empanda (spider).

Festus[1] identifies her only as a dea paganorum, "goddess of the rustics." Varro[2] connects the word with pandere, "to open," but also explains it by panem dare, "to give bread," so that Empanda would be the goddess of bread or food.

She had a sanctuary near the gate which led to the capitol and which was called the Porta Pandana after her.[3] Her temple was an asylum which was always open. Needy supplicants who came to it were supplied with food from the resources of the temple. In the opinion of Leonhard Schmitz, this custom shows the meaning of the name Panda or Empanda: it is connected with pandere, to open; she is accordingly the goddess who is open to or admits any one who wants protection. Hartung[4] thinks that Empanda and Panda are only surnames of Juno.

Footnotes
  1. Festus, entry on "Empanda," p. 67 in the 1997 Teubner edition of Lindsay.
  2. ap. Non. p. 44; comp. Gell. xiii. 22; Arnobius iv. 2 – cited by Schmitz
  3. Festus, s. v. Pandana; Varro, de Ling. Lat. v. 42, as cited by Schmitz
  4. (die Religion der Röm. ii. p. 76, &c.) – cited by Schmitz

References
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Leonhard Schmitz (1870). Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Missing or empty |title= (help)


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