In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Tellus Mater or Terra Mater[a] ("Mother Earth") is the personification of the Earth. Although Tellus and Terra are hardly distinguishable during the Imperial era,[1] Tellus was the name of the original earth goddess in the religious practices of the Republic or earlier.[2][3] The scholar Varro (1st century BC) lists Tellus as one of the di selecti, the twenty principal gods of Rome, and one of the twelve agricultural deities.