Angitia

Angitia (also called Anceta, Anagtia [Oscan], Anagtia Diiva, Angitiae): an ancient Italic goddess how controlled the powers of healing and witchcraft, who created various verbal and herbal charms, cures for illnesses, and antidotes for poisons. She was a particularly favorite deity of the Marsi, whose Abruzzian descendents still have a reputation for practicing witchcraft. Once the Romans conquered the Marsi, they included Angitia in their own pantheon. Her principal area of influence, however, remained centered on the Fucine Lake (mod. Piana del Fucino), the Lacus Angitiae (mod. Luco di Marsi), and Sulmo (mod. Sulmona). It was at this last site that the plural form of her name (Angitiae) was used, which suggests that she have been worshipped separately in her various aspects. According to mythology, when the sorceress Medea died, her spirit went to the Elysian Fields, where she became the goddess Angitia. Her favorite animal was the snake or serpent, suggesting that she may have originally been a snake deity, connected with the curing of snakebites. According to some scholars she may have been a Greek deity who was borrowed by the Italic peoples.

                Angitia’s worship still survives in the Abruzzo, incorporated into the ceremonies of the feast of S. Domenico in the town of Cocullo (AQ). Snakes are collected and draped over the statue of the saint as it is carried in procession through the streets.