Temple of Diana Tifatina
About
A temple to Diana crowned the western slope of Monte Tifata above Capua, drawing worshippers from the city below for centuries. Cult activity here reached back to the 6th century BCE, though the monumental temple itself rose two centuries later. The general Sulla loaded the sanctuary with rich votive offerings after defeating a rival army near the mountain in 82 BCE. A carved white doe tied to a local founding legend gave the shrine part of its enduring fame.
What happened here
The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.
Sources
Nearby
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