thumb|Denarius from the time of Augustus, in silver, minted under the monetary magistrate Petronius Turpillianus. On the right, the bust in profile of the goddess Feronia crowned with a diadem, dressed in a drape, a necklace around her neck. Legend: TURPILLIANUS III VIR FE RON (“Turpillianus being a monetary triumvir magistrate, in Feronia”)
thumb|Head identified as Feronia (Archaeologic Museum of Rieti)
In Etruscan and Sabine religion, Feronia was a goddess associated with wildlife, fertility, health, and abundance. She was also venerated by the Faliscans, and later adopted into ancient Roman religion. As the goddess who granted freedom to slaves or civil rights to the most humble part of society, she was especially honored among plebeians and freedmen. Her festival, the Feroniae, was November 13 (the ides of November) during the Ludi Plebeii ("Plebeian Games"), in conjunction with Fortuna Primigenia; both were goddesses of Praeneste.
Etymology
Feronia's name is derived from a Sabine adjective corresponding to Latin fĕrus, but with a long vowel, i.e. Fērōnǐa. The root fer has cognate words in every Indo-European language (e.g. Greek , , English feral.) Latin fĕrus means "not cultivated, untamed" (Thesaurus Linguae Latinae), "of the field, wood", "untamed", "not mitigated by any cultivation" (Forcellini Totius Latinitatis Lexicon) which fits the environment of the sanctuaries of Feronia and is very close to rudis (rude).
Feronia is one of the Roman and Italic goddesses whose name is formed by a root ending with the suffix -ona or -onia. This form of a noun denotes a difficult or dangerous state or condition: The deity is a sovereign of that danger, only to help man to best avoid damage or get the greatest advantage, such as Angerona for the angusti dies near the winter solstice.
Myths and functions
Many versions of Feronia's cult have been supposed, and it is not quite clear if she was only one goddess or if she had only one function in ancient times. Some Latins believed Feronia to be a harvest goddess, and honoured her with the harvest firstfruits in order to secure a good harvest the following year.
Festus's entry on the picus Feronius
According to Servius, Feronia was a tutelary goddess of freedmen (dea libertorum). that in 217 BCE freed women collected money as a gift for Feronia.
Sabine tribal matron
She was among the deities that Sabine moneyers placed on their coins to honor their heritage. She may have been introduced into Roman religious practice when Manius Curius Dentatus conquered Sabinum in the early 3rd century BCE.