Quinquatrus--Another Failed Attempt...

The last two days have witnessed multiple failures on my part–some of which I cannot speak about here except in the most vague of terms–but one of which is that I still have not been able to get some dancers together to become a new set of Salii priests in order to do some warlike dances for Minerva on this day.

I am quite certain that Minerva herself would NOT have approved of the following dance, nor is the dance itself anything like what such dances of the Salii would have been like…but, YouTube oracle nonetheless turns this up:

What has been on my mind through these various failures–both of myself and of others who are important in certain situations, as well as failures of expectation on several occasions–is that justice is something that should not be allowed to fail. While we often think of Minerva’s Greek counterpart, Athena, in close association with Nike (or Victoria in Roman contexts), I also think of Minerva as being very connected to Iustitia, or in Greek to Dike–Lady Justice.

So, may I end these final moments of the day dedicated to Minerva Capta with a prayer to Minerva and Iustitia, Athena and Dike, and to Victoria and Nike as well:

Goddess Minerva Capta,
may Iustitia never depart from us,
and may her apprehension be as joyous
as the taking of your statue in Rome of old.

Goddess Athena over Athens,
may Dike reign over us as surely
as your justice was bestowed upon you by your Father,
and may Dike’s triumph be Nike’s coming.

Goddesses of justice, grant this prayer!