Roma (mythology)

In Ancient Rome, Roma was a supposed deity to whom were dedicated some temples and sacred sites; effectively, it was an allegory rhetorically representing the symbolic personification of the State, first appeared in 269 BC in roman coins, and in Locri (Calabria) in 204 BC. External peoples might have given Roma divine attributes, but it seems to be only an hypothesis. Emphasising this allegory, temples were erected in Smyrna (195 BC) and some sort of cult is reported in Ephesus, Sardis and Delo.

Roma was a god decreed to exist by Augustus Caesar early in his career as "Princeps Civitatis" (first among citizens -- i.e. Emperor) as part of a propaganda campaign. In this way he deified the concept of Rome, building many temples with his Res Gestae (resume telling his subjects all his deeds) alongside of inscriptions that popularized the new god Roma.