Healing Waters: The Natural Mineral Springs of Roman Italy, their Curative Properties and Associated Deities

Abstract

Bodies of water, be it lakes, streams, or rivers, have long been a focus of ancient worship,with some even having been thought to have had some degree of divine connection. The natural curative mineral springs scattered across the Italian peninsula are no exception to this practice. This study attempts to understand if a correlation exists between the deity, or deities, attached to a particular spring and the health benefits attested and the treatments practiced there. I focus on five spring sites, which I have chosen based on John F. Donahue’s classification of a Roman healing spa sanctuary (i.e., a place where a visitor could take the waters for various therapeutic and medicinal purposes) and the amount of information available on the following: a) their water’s properties, b) their architectural layout, and c) the evidence for the presence of divinities and cult worship/activity. Additionally, ancient literary sources consulted regarding the various ancient medicinal practices prescribed at mineral springs. I conclude that there is a lack of a direct correlation between the deity worshipped and the health benefits and treatments attributed to the waters, as the same deity could be present at multiple springs that have differing curative benefits and therapeutic treatments. Rather, it is the mineral composition of the waters that has the strongest influence over the treatments available, while the gods were a secondary focus of the sanctuary.