Family Nomenclature and Same-Name Divinities in Roman Religion and Mythology

A cultural response to language can be detected in the mythology concerning three pairs of male and female deities in Roman religion: Liber/Libera, Faunus/Fauna, and Janus/Jana. Their same-name status usually invokes the familial relationships of the agnatic nomenclatural system, that is, brother/sister and father/daughter. The interpretation of Liber/Libera and Faunus/Fauna as husband-wife pairs in some authors could be understood in terms of the same-name status of agnatic cousins; but such marriages are rarely attested. The unusual or even scandalous treatments of these same-name divine spouses in Latin literature are best understood in light of contemporary issues in Roman culture.