a surname or epithet given to the several divinities at Rome, that were worshipped in the Penetrale, or the central part of the house, such as Jupiter, Vesta, the Penates, &c. (Senec. Oed. 265; Fest. s. v. Herceus; comp. PENATES.)
[L.S]A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890