Libertas (Latin for Liberty) was the Roman goddess and embodiment of liberty.
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In 238 BC, before the Second Punic War, having long been a Roman deity along with other personified virtues, Libertas assumed goddess status. Tiberius Gracchus ordered the construction of her first temple on Aventine Hill; census tables were stored inside the temple's atrium. A subsequent temple was built (58-57 B.C.) on Palatine Hill, another of the Seven hills of Rome, by Publius Clodius Pulcher. By building and consecrating the temple on the former house of then-exiled Cicero, Clodius ensured that the land was legally uninhabitable. Upon his return, Cicero successfully argued that the consecration was invalid and thus managed to reclaim the land and destroy the temple. In 46 B.C., the Roman Senate voted to build and dedicate a shrine to Libertas in recognition of Julius Caesar, but no temple was built; instead, a small statue of the goddess stood in the Roman Forum.[1]
Libertas, along with other Roman goddesses, has served as the inspiration for many modern-day symbols, including the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in the United States of America. According to the National Park Service, the Statue's Roman robe is the main feature that invokes Libertas and the symbol of Liberty from which the Statue derives its name.[2]
In addition, money throughout history has born the name or image of Libertas. Libertas was pictured on Galba's "Freedom of the People" coins during his short reign after the death of Nero.[3] The University of North Carolina records two instances of private banks in its state depicting Libertas on their banknotes;[4][5] Libertas is depicted on the 5, 10 and 20 Rappen denomination coins of Switzerland.
As "Miss Liberty" Libertas was depicted on the obverse (heads side) of most coinage in the USA into the twentieth century.
Libertas was associated with the pileus, commonly worn by the freed slave (emphasis added):[6]
Libertas was also recognized in ancient Rome by the rod (vindicta or festuca),[6] used ceremonially in the act of Manumissio vindicta, Latin for "Freedom by the Rod" (emphasis added):
The fictional characters Columbia of the United States of America and Marianne of France, the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and many other characters and concepts of the modern age were created as, and are seen, as embodiments of Libertas.
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David Hackett Fischer, Liberty and freedom (2005) The many faces of Miss Liberty
Libertas was the Roman goddess of liberty, a personification of the political libertas that distinguished the free from the enslaved.
Libertas (meaning freedom in several languages) may also refer to:
The War of Independence Victory Column (Estonian: Vabadussõja võidusammas) is located in Freedom Square, Tallinn, Estonia. It was opened on 23 June 2009 as a memorial for those who fell during the Estonian War of Independence, through which the people of Estonia will be able to commemorate all those who had fought for freedom and independence. The pillar is 23.5 m high and consists of 143 glass plates. The memorial incorporates the Cross of Liberty, Estonia’s most distinguished award established in 1919.
The idea of creating a monument was conceived in 1919, before the end of the war. During the War of Independence in 1918–1920, 4,000 people were killed, and 14,000 wounded on the Estonian side. In 1936, a law was passed to establish a nationwide monument in commemoration of the war. Preparatory work was interrupted by the Second World War and subsequent Soviet occupation. After Estonia regained independence in 1991, the question of establishing a national monument for the commemoration of the War of Independence was raised again. In the spring of 2005, the Riigikogu decided that a column of victory in memory of the War would be erected at the Freedom Square in Tallinn. In 2006, a design competition for the monument received more than 40 entries. The winning entry "Libertas" was designed by Rainer Sternfeld, Andri Laidre, Kadri Kiho and Anto Savi. Celander Ehitus OÜ was selected as the prime constructor.
Retro style is style that is consciously derivative or imitative of trends, music, modes, fashions, or attitudes of the recent past, typically 15–50 years old.
The term rétro has been in use since the 1970s to describe on the one hand new artifacts that self-consciously refer to particular modes, motifs, techniques, and materials of the past. But on the other hand, some people (incorrectly) use the term to categorise styles that have been created in the past. Retro style refers to new things that display characteristics of the past. It is mostly the recent past that retro seeks to recapitulate, focusing on the products, fashions and artistic styles produced since the Industrial Revolution, of Modernity. The word "retro" derives from the Latin prefix retro, meaning backwards, or in past times.
In France, the word rétro, an abbreviation for rétrospectif gained cultural currency with reevaluations of Charles de Gaulle and France’s role in World War II. The French mode rétro of the 1970s reappraised in film and novels the conduct of French civilians during the Nazi occupation. The term rétro was soon applied to nostalgic French fashions that recalled the same period.
Retro was the only EP (7") by Ultravox, then Ultravox!, released on 10 February 1978. It was the last recording released by the band as Ultravox!. Also this was the last disc featuring original guitarist Stevie Shears, who left the band after its release.
The EP featured four live tracks recorded in 1977 or early 1978, while Ultravox! were promoting one of their first two albums, Ultravox! and Ha! Ha! Ha!, both released in 1977.
In 2006, Island Records re-released the tracks, adding them to remastered versions of Ultravox!'s albums. The tracks from side two of the EP were included on the reissue of Ultravox! and the side one tracks on the reissue of Ha! Ha! Ha!.
All tracks written by Ultravox!