Download Household and agricultural gods

Household
and
agricultural
gods
Roman religion in
augustus’ time
• Many people still worshipped original numina,
gods of household and farm
• State cults revived
• Festivals set out in calendar
• Divination still practised
• Gods with human form
accepted
• Myths and legends prominent
in Roman Art
Roman religion in
augustus’ time
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Several schools of philosophy studied
Mystery religions flourishing
Emperor worship gained acceptance
As long as:
– Original gods received
their due
– State was peaceful
People were free to believe
and worship and practice
what they wished AS LONG as they were
INSIDE of the law
Roman Moral values
• Early religion did not require virtuous
behaviour
• Contract to be fulfilled –
prayer and sacrifice
• Romans did not live
immoral lives
– Strict ideas about behaviour
– No need for gods to enforce behaviour
• Pietas – doing one’s duty to the gods, to
state and to one’s family and followers
Private Religion
2 Categories
Regular worship
– Daily offerings
– Annual festivals
– Anniversaries
Special Events
– Births
– Deaths
– Marriages
– Family/business crisis
– journeys
Household
gods
Janus
• 2 faces
• Guardian of doorways/gateways
• God of…
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Beginnings
Departures
Returns
New enterprises
New year
• January
• Janus – doorways
– Defence lay with men
– Male responsibility to worship two faced god
Janus
• Cult – early days
• Popular figure
• Temple dedicated to him
(forum)
– Gates open in times of war
– Closed in peace
• NB. Gates were seldom
closed
– Augustus closed them 3 times
during 45 years
Janus
• Unique to Rome
• Janus Patulcius
= Guard open doors
• Janus Clusivius
= Guard closed doors
VESTA
• Vesta – living flame
– Cult – oldest in Roman religion
– Honoured by women of house
• Used her numen to prepare meals
– Hearth – centre of home
– Duty of flame – unmarried daughters
– Hearth – symbol of home (focus)
Lares
• Little gods of individual households
• Spirits of ancestors of those in the
house
– Single Lar watched over home
• Lar Familiaris – Lar of the family
– Worshipped – annual festival of Compitalia
– Special responsibility
– Worshipped daily
– Offering made on: birth, death, marriage,
coming of age, departure/return, son of house
utters first word
penates
• Penates - cupboard
– Numina
– Preserve and increase food
– Ceres (goddess of corn)
– Pales (protector of flocks)
– Guard home – especially
cupboard where food was
stored
– Food offerings made
(as well as to Vesta)
– ‘Personal gods’
– Little personality
Genius
• Anonymous spirit which
protected head of household
– Honoured on birthday
• Idea spread – every street,
town district…
– Presiding and protecting Genius
(Genii)
• Augustus
– Institute cult of his Genius
• Protector of Rome and Empire
• Called Father of Rome
Genius
• Genius – patron/guardian
– gave man power to
procreate
– Man – Genius
– Woman – Iuno
• Numen of womanhood
– Represented as snake in
some paintings
• Symbol of luck – ground
dwelling – close to mother
earth
Roman Society
• Strongly patriarchal
– Authority over wife, children and slaves
• pater familias
– his genius was included in daily household
– genius domus
• Genius domus
– Honoured on birthday
5 Household gods
• Honoured at main meal
– Members of family ate together
• Incense and small amount of
wine
• Small statues of Lares, Penates
– Placed on table – present at meal
Read Primary Source
#19 – A simple offering
Author:
Summarise:
Find quotes that help back up the ideas of
Private religion
Question:
What does Horace say about
the performing large
sacrifices?
agricultural
gods
Saturn (cronos)
• Old agricultural god =
abundance
• Legend: Once king of Italy
during Golden Age of Peace
and Plenty
– Jupiter drove him out
• Saturn – refuge – site of
Rome
– Taught locals skills and
customs
– Make civilised
Saturn (cronos)
• Festival
• Saturnalia
– Roman
• December
• Week long
Festivity
• Presents given
• Masters and slaves equal
• In memory of Golden Age
Sound familiar?
Faunus
• Faunus (Pan)
– Woodland spirit
– Called Lupercus
– Honoured in Feb. with
Lupercalia
• Important Roman festival
• Purification
• Fertility
• Fauna – female figure
– Associated with Faunus
– Worshipped in mysterious
BONA DEA ceremony
• Men forbidden to attend
Faunus
• Associated with Ops
– Ancient Sabine goddess
• Creative force
• Agricultural fertility
• Confused with Silvanus
– Forest god
– Preside over clearing
of land for pasture
Consus and pales
Consus
– Ancient god
– Preside over sowing crops
– 2 festivals – August and September
– CONSUALIA
Pales
–Protector of flocks and herds
–Guard domestic animals
–Health and fertility
–PARILIA (April 21) – date of
Romes foundation – official
birthday of city
Liber Pater and
Baccuhus
Liber Pater
– Fertility god
– Honoured in March
– Liberalia (festival)
– Female equivalent = Libera
Bacchus
–Associated with
Dionysos
–Worship through
rites of mystery (East)
Tellus Mater
• Mother earth goddess
• Guard soil and seeds in it
• Watch over marriage and procreation
Flora
• Goddess – flowers and spingtime
• Festival – April and May
– Eat, drink, make love
Gods of the
underworld
ideas…
• Original ideas of Romans – vague
• Thought of underworld as dark region
– Spirits of dead
– Manes – friendly
– Lemures – mischevious
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Offerings at feast of dead
No single king of dead
Dis Pater
Associated with Pluto
Orcus
Libitina – goddess of funerals
– Identifed with Proserpina
ideas…
• Eventually Romans took ideas from
Etruscans and Greeks
–Ideas of the underworld became
totally Greek
TASK:
Research the Greek underworld
GODS AND DEMI
GODS
Gods and demi-gods
• Former founder of Rome
– Romulus
– Said to have been taken to
heavens when died
• Aeneas (Trojan)
– Founder of Roman race
– Honoured as minor protective
figure
Gods and demi-gods
• Twins – Castor and Pollux
– Sons of Leda (and Zeus as swan)
– Minor in Greek
– More status in Rome
– 494 BC – miraculously
appeared to help in battle
and then reappeared in
Roman Forum to announce
victory
– Temple built to honour them
on spot they appeared
Gods and demi-gods
• Hercules
– Associated with site of Rome
– Visited on way back from
stealing cattle of Geryon
– Killed a monster – Cacus
• Aesculapius (Asklepios)
– Son of Apollo
– God of healing
– Cult brought to Rome – early 3rd Century
Names
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Fortuna
Bellona
Victoria
Pax
Concordia
Felicitas
Aequitas
Pudicitia
Spes
Libertas
Virtus
Pietas
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Goddess of good luck
Goddess of war
Victory
Peace
Harmony
Happy events
Equity and fairness
Chastity
Hope
Freedom
Courage
Piety