Roman goddess, the deification of good faith and honesty. Many of the oldest Roman deities were embodiments of high ideals (e.g., Honos, Libertas); it was the function of Fides to oversee the moral integrity of the Romans.
Closely associated with Jupiter, Fides was honoured with a temple built near his on the Capitoline Hill in 254 &BC;. In symbolic recognition of the secret, inviolable trust between gods and mortals, attendants presented sacrificial offerings to her with covered hands.
In the later Roman period, she was called Fides Publica (“Public Faith”) and was considered the guardian of treaties and other state documents, which were placed for safekeeping in her temple. There, too, the Senate often convened, signifying her importance to the state.
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