Roman pectoral with relief representations of the Capitoline Triad at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio

Roman pectoral with relief representations of the Capitoline Triad at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio.
The three deities who are most commonly referred to as the "Capitoline Triad" are Jupiter, the king of the gods; Juno (in her aspect as Iuno Regina, "Queen Juno"), his wife and sister; and Jupiter's daughter Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. This grouping of a male god and two goddesses was highly unusual in ancient Indo-European religions, and is almost certainly derived from the Etruscan trio of Tinia, the supreme deity, Uni, his wife, and Menrva, their daughter and the goddess of wisdom. Jupiter, Juno and Minerva were honored in temples known as Capitolia, which were built on hills and other prominent areas in many cities in Italy and the provinces, particularly during the Augustan and Julio-Claudian periods. The earliest known example of a Capitolium outside of Italy was at Emporion (now Empúries, Spain). Although the word Capitolium could be used to refer to any temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad, it referred especially to the temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome known as aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini ("Temple of Jupiter Best and Greatest on the Capitoline"). The temple was built under the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome prior to the establishment of the Roman Republic.


Image: Roman pectoral with relief representations of the Capitoline Triad of Jupter, Juno, and Minerva, 3rd century CE, gold with inset cabochon garnet. Photographed at the Cleveland Museum of Art. From the private collection of James E. and Elizabeth J. Ferrell. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko.

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