User:TheRealMithrandir/Bellona (goddess)

Cult, practices, and temples
The first enemy declared in this fashion was Pyrrhus in 208 BC.

There were many people willing to assist in the upkeep and improvement of her temples and shrines. In addition, they were also willing to incur the cost upon themselves.

At least seven inscriptions have been found in Rome that are affiliated with the worship of Bellona. An early inscription in the Forum of Augustus harkens back to the time of the war with Pyrrhus. Five of the inscriptions are found around the Aedem Bellonae (a shrine of Bellona's) and the other two inscriptions are damaged.

The temple of Bellona that lay outside the walls of Rome was the first location to have decorative shields dedicated to mortals hung in a holy place. Appius Claudius was responsible for these shields and he dedicated them to his family.

Bellona had a temple in York, England where the church of St. Peter currently stands.

When she went to war, Discordia, Strife, and the Furies would accompany her. Bellona was widely believed to be a volatile goddess. Thus, she was rarely worshipped openly and most of her worshippers preferred to quietly assuage her.

The Scordici were a brutal people who worshipped Mars and Bellona with savagery. They would offer up human sacrifices to them and drink blood from the skulls of their victims. It is clear that worship of Bellona was often violent and bloody.