The purpose of this article is to provide some basic information about the Roman Goddess Juno, plus alternative spellings of her names in both Italian and Latin.
Giunone (Juno) was the ancient Roman divinity of marriage and childbirth. She is often represented in the act of breastfeeding. Giunone is how her name is spelled in contemporary Italian. At some point, this Goddess assumed the functions of a protectress of cities, including Rome. She was one of the Capitoline Triad venerated by the ancient Romans. The Capitoline Triad was comprised of three deities: the Goddess Juno, the God Jupiter, and the Goddess Minerva. Many scholars believe Giunone (Juno) gradually assorbed various attributes of the Greek Goddess, Era Basilea, when Roman culture absorbed much of Greek mythology. She occupied the role of the wife of Giove (Jove) aka Jupiter (Father Jove); therefore she became one of the most important female divinities as the Queen of the Gods (regina degli dei). Yet, some scholars maintain this Goddess was known as Regina Iuno at the city of Rome, prior to influence from Greek culture, as the paredra (consort) of Jupiter, as she was already part the Capitoline Triad. Juno was also the protectress of animals, in particular the peacock was sacred to her.
Nevertheless, the name of the month of Giugno (June) derives from the name of the Goddess Juno (dea Giunone), Jove’s wife (moglie di Giove). Giugno (June) is also known in Italy as the “Month of the Sun” (Mese del Sole) or the “Month of Liberty” (Mese della Liberta). It is the sixth month of the year according to the Gregorian calendar , and is the first month of summer in the northern hemisphere (emisfero boreale) and the first of winter in the southern hemisphere (emisfero austral). Giugno has 30 days and is in the first half of a calendar year.
The Italian name “Mese del Sole” derives from the fact that the month of Giugno (June) is the month during which the summer solstice (solstizio d'estate) occurs sometime between the 19th and 22nd day of that month, due to the tilt of the Earth 's axis to cause the maximum duration of light within a day. This annual event--the “summer solstice”--is at the opposite end of the year from the winter solstice (il solstizio d'inverno), which falls between December 19th and 23rd, designating the shortest solar year day, as the North Pole of the Earth’s axis is tilted furthest from the sun, marking the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.
Epithets of the Goddess Juno (dea Giunone) known in Latin as Iuno