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Portunes

Topics in Roman mythology
Important Gods:
Jupiter Mars Quirinus Vesta Juno Fortuna	Minerva Mercury Vulcan Ceres Venus Lares
Legendary History
Roman religion
The Flamens
Greek/Roman myth compared
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Other gods of craft and trade:
Dei Lucrii Eventus Bonus	Furina Portunes

In Roman mythology, Portunes (alternatively spelled Portunus) was a god of keys and doors and livestock. He later became associated with Palaemon and became primarily a god of ports and harbors. He protected the warehouses where grain was stored. He had a temple of the Forum Boarium. His festival, on August 17, was the Portunalia. On this day, keys were thrown into a fire for good luck. His attribute was a key.

There is a temple of Portunus in Rome( pictured), in the ancient Forum Boarium by the Tiber. From here, Portunus watched over cattle-barges as they entered the city from Ostia.