Carmenta was the Roman goddess of childbirth and prophecy honored during the Carmentalia festival.
Carmenta, also called Carmentis, protected mothers and children and was especially associated with prophecy surrounding birth. Her name is commonly connected with the Latin carmen, meaning a song, oracle, spell, or prophetic utterance. The festival was primarily observed by women, particularly those concerned with pregnancy and childbirth.
The Carmentalia took place on January 11 and January 15. Carmenta was represented through prophetic aspects or companions named Antevorta, also called Porrima or Prorsa, and Postverta. These figures were associated respectively with foreseeing the future and recalling the past; later traditions also connected them with different birth positions.
Carmenta’s shrine stood near the Porta Carmentalis at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, and she had a dedicated priest, the flamen Carmentalis. Roman tradition also made her the mother of Evander, an Arcadian figure linked to the earliest legends of Latium. She is sometimes confused with Lucina, another Roman childbirth deity, but Lucina’s role centered more directly on assisting labor.