Jupiter and Juno (c1600). Fresco. 120 x 150. Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. Juno is often depicted as a regal and majestic figure, reflecting her status as queen of the gods. She may be shown wearing a crown or diadem, and holding a scepter or other symbol of authority. One of Juno's most distinctive attributes is the peacock, which is often shown accompanying her in art. The peacock was sacred to Juno, and its beautiful feathers were believed to symbolize her all-seeing power and majesty. As the goddess of marriage and childbirth, Juno was often depicted as a protective figure for women. She may be shown with attributes such as a pomegranate or a crescent moon. Juno was often depicted in the company of other gods and goddesses, particularly her husband Jupiter and her daughter Minerva. She may also be shown in the context of mythological stories or events, such as the Judgment of Paris. Some famous works of art featuring Juno include the Juno Ludovisi, a Roman sculpture now in the National Museum of Rome, and the Juno Sospita, a painting by the Italian Baroque artist Guido Reni. Juno is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent was Hera. Her Etruscan counterpart was Uni. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called and, together with Jupiter and Minerva, was worshipped as a triad on the Capitol in Rome. Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She often appeared sitting pictured with a peacock armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Hera, whose goatskin was called the 'aegis'. The name Juno was also once thought to be connected to Iove, originally as Diuno and Diove from *Diovona. At the beginning of the 20th century, a derivation was proposed from iuven-, through a syncopated form iun-. This etymology became widely accepted after it was endorsed by Georg Wissowa. Iuuen-is related to Latin aevum and Greek aion through a common Indo-European root referring to a concept of vital energy or fertile time. The iuvenis is he who has the fullness of vital force. In some inscriptions Jupiter himself is called Iuuntus, and one of the epithets of Jupiter is Ioviste, a superlative form of iuuen-meaning the youngest. Iuventas, Youth, was one of two deities who refused to leave the Capitol when the building of the new Temple of Capitoline Jove required the exauguration of deities who already occupied the site. Juno is the equivalent to Hera, the Greek goddess for love and marriage. Juno is the Roman goddess of love and marriage. Ancient etymologies associated Juno's name with iuvare, to aid, benefit, and iuvenescendo, rejuvenate, sometimes connecting it to the renewal of the new and waxing moon, perhaps implying the idea of a moon goddess. Juno's theology is one of the most complex and disputed issues in Roman religion. Even more than other major Roman deities, Juno held a large number of significant and diverse epithets, names and titles representing various aspects and roles of the goddess. In accordance with her central role as a goddess of marriage, these included Pronuba and Cinxia. However, other epithets of Juno have wider implications and are less thematically linked. While her connection with the idea of vital force, fulness of vital energy, eternal youthfulness is now generally acknowledged, the multiplicity and complexity of her personality have given rise to various and sometimes irreconcilable interpretations among modern scholars. Juno is certainly the divine protectress of the community, who shows both a sovereign and a fertility character, often associated with a military one. She was present in many towns of ancient Italy: at Lanuvium as Sespeis Mater Regina, Laurentum, Tibur, Falerii, Veii as Regina, at Tibur and Falerii as Regina and Curitis, Tusculum and Norba as Lucina. She is also attested at Praeneste, Aricia, Ardea, Gabii. In five Latin towns a month was named after Juno. Outside Latium in Campania at Teanum she was Populona, in Umbria at Pisaurum Lucina, at Terventum in Samnium Regina, at Pisarum Regina Matrona, at Aesernia in Samnium Regina Populona. In Rome she was since the most ancient times named Lucina, Mater and Regina.