Pallor



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Pallor, the goddess of paleness, as indicative of Fear, is represented by the countenance of a woman, with long dishevelled hair, from the Hostilia moneyer.  This type and the head of Pavor, on another silver coin of L. Hostilius Saserna, were adopted by that monetary triumvir to denote his claimed decent from King Tullus Hostilius, who (Livy tells us) being in the head of battle with the Veians, in danger of defeat, vowed twelve Salian priests and a temple each to Pallor and Pavor; which vows, after victory, he performed, and afterwards worshipped these "white-faced" personifications of the very opposites to martial courage.  This seems preposterously absurd; but as heathen superstition scrupled not to consecrate altars to impiety, to worship obscenity and even to place some diseases in the number of her divinities there is nothing very surprising in the folly of her having deifyed the attributes of pusillanimity and panic.

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