[ **up: [[Civilisation and culture--Ancient--Roman]] | [[Deities]]** ] --- # Flora (Roman deity) > **Flóra**. Roman goddess of growing corn and blossoming flowers, originally worshipped by the Oscans and the Sabines. In Rome, her feast (Floralia) was celebrated from 28 April to the beginning of May. It was an uninhibited and somewhat immoral popular revel; Flora herself was known as *meretrix* = whore, but the lasciviousness was probably intended to promote fecundity, and has also been interpreted as a vernal counter-thrust against the world of the dead.[^1] [^1]: Manfred Lurker, ‘Flóra’, *[[Lurker. 'Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons', 2001.|Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons]]*, translated by G.L. Campbell (Routledge, 2001).