Saturday, August 1, 2009

Origins of the term MONEY


Iuno Moneta Iuno Moneta Regina

"Every man has his Genius, every woman her Juno"-used in the sense of a tutelary spirit informing the mind. Juno was the Roman version of the Greek Hera, wife of Zeus.

The coin above represents her in her temple which contained the first mint for silver coinage in Rome. She is flanked by a peacock, her sacred bird, and is seated holding a balance, of which she appears at the centre.

"Various explanations were given by the Roman antiquarians of the epithet Moneta. Cicero (de Div. I.101) says that it was derived from the warning voice of the goddess, heard in the temple on the occasion of an earthquake, 'ut sue plena procuratio fieret'. Suidas (s.v. Μονῆτα) states that during the war with Tarentum the Romans, needing money, obtained it by following the advice of Juno; and that in gratitude they gave her the epithet Moneta and decided to establish the mint in her temple. None of the explanations yet suggested is satisfactory, and even the usual derivation of the word Moneta from moneo is open to doubt (Walde, Etym. Wörterb. 2nd ed. 493). The mint was in the temple during the last centuries of the republic, perhaps established there in 269 when silver coinage was introduced into Rome (Liv. IV.20.13; Cic. ad Att. VIII.7.3), and was called Moneta or ad Monetam. It seems to have been removed at the end of the first century (see Moneta), and nothing further is heard of the temple (Jord. I.2.108‑111; WR 190; Rosch. II.592‑594, 603, 612; RE X.1118)."

The sacred geese which guarded the Capitoline gave warning -fr: Lat. monere- when the Gauls were attacking the hill. There is an intrinsic sense of warning in the Latin roots of the word money

Sean O'Casey's play Juno and the Paycock takes it's title from Iuno Moneta .

Summary: At the etymological root of money there are questions of balance, judgment and warning.
The image of the balance points directly to the idea of justice as inherent in dealing with money.

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