Veritas

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For other uses, see Veritas (disambiguation).
Statue of Veritas outside the Supreme Court of Canada.
Statue of Veritas outside the Supreme Court of Canada.

In Roman mythology, Veritas (meaning truth) was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue. It was believed that she hid in the bottom of a holy well because she was so elusive. Her image is shown as a young virgin dressed in white.[1] Veritas is also the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should have possessed. In Greek mythology, Veritas was known as Aletheia.

The word now appears in many University mottos. It is included in Yale University's motto Lux et Veritas (Light and Truth). Veritas is also the motto of Harvard University, the Dominican Order of the Roman Catholic Church, and Providence College which is run by the Dominicans. It is also used in the phrase in vino veritas, meaning "In wine, truth".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mercantante, Anthony S. The Fact on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend. Facts on File, 1988, p. 654, ISBN 0-8160-1049-8.
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