MANIA

An old Italian goddess of the Manes, i.e. the dead, also called Lara, Larunda, Muta (the dumb), Mana Genita, who was held by some to be the mother or grandmother of the good Lares, by others of the evil Larvoe. Originally daughter of the river-god Almo, and called Lara, she was deprived of her tongue by Jupiter, because she had betrayed his love for the Nymph Juturna, and was condemned to be the Nymph of the marshy waters in the realm of the speechless. On the way to the nether world Mercury fell in love with her, and the Lares were her offspring in early times boys are said to have been sacrificed to her, to insure the prosperity of a family. At a later period heads of poppies and garlic were offered to her, and woollen dolls, manioe, called after her, were suspended on the doors as a protection. As Mana Genita she received the sacrifice of a dog and was implored not to let any of the family become a " good one," i.e. die. In the course of time Mania became a bogy with which children were threatened.