Indiges

Overview

An Indiges (plural Indigetes) was a type of deity in Rome and Latium whose function and origins remain largely mysterious. Sometimes viewed in antiquity as native or indigenous deities (and thus distinct from newer deities), today most scholars understand the Indigetes as “invoked deities” (from the Latin verb indigitare), similar to the Indigitamenta.

One important site associated with the Indigetes was the River Numicus, near Lavinium, where we know of cults to Jupiter Indiges and Sol Indiges. The hero Aeneas was also worshipped at this site, as either Pater Indiges or Jupiter Indiges. 

In Rome itself, there was a temple to Sol Indiges on the Quirinal (one of the seven hills of Rome). Deities called Indigetes are also attested in the Latin cities of Praeneste and Arpinum.^[1]