Cult and Inscriptions
Bonus Eventus had a temple of unknown date in the Campus Martius. It is mentioned only by Ammianus Marcellinus, in connection to a new portico (Porticus Boni Eventūs) built by the urban prefect Claudius in 374 AD. Five Corinthian capitals "of extraordinary size" that were uncovered in the 19th century may have belonged to the portico, which was located in the Gardens of Agrippa.
The epithet Bonus, "the Good," is used with other abstract deities such as Bona Fortuna ("Good Fortune"), Bona Mens ("Good Thinking" or "Sound Mind"), and Bona Spes ("Valid Hope," perhaps to be translated as "Optimism"), as well as with the mysterious and multivalent Bona Dea, a goddess whose rites were celebrated by women.
Inscriptional evidence for the god is found at several locations, including in the provinces. In Roman Britain, the mosaic floor of a villa at Woodchester bore the reminder Worship Bonus Eventus duly. A dedication made by a married couple to Bonus Eventus along with Fortuna indicates that the god's sphere of influence had expanded beyond both agriculture and the embodiment of imperial virtues. Images of Bonus Eventus appear regularly on engraved gems, and in a jeweller's hoard from Snettisham, Bonus Eventus was the most frequent device on intaglios, appearing on 25 percent of the 127 found. These usages point to a protective or tutelary function for the god, as well as the existence of a religious community to which the jeweller marketed his wares.
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