The vocabulary of
ancient Roman religion
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule.
The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the
Western Church
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
. This glossary provides explanations of concepts as they were expressed in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
pertaining to
religious practices and beliefs, with links to articles on major topics such as priesthoods, forms of divination, and rituals.
For
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...
s, or the names and
epithets of gods, see
List of Roman deities
The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lite ...
. For public religious holidays, see
Roman festivals
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feriae'' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singula ...
. For temples see the
List of Ancient Roman temples
This is a list of ancient Roman temples, built during antiquity by the people of ancient Rome or peoples belonging to the Roman Empire. Roman temples were dedicated to divinities from the Roman pantheon.
Substantial remains
Most of the b ...
. Individual landmarks of religious
topography in ancient Rome are not included in this list; see
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of ...
.
__NOTOC__
Glossary
A
abominari
The verb ''abominari'' ("to avert an omen", from ''ab-'', "away, off," and ''ominari'', "to pronounce on an omen") was a term of
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
y for an action that rejects or averts an unfavourable omen indicated by a ''
signum'', "sign". The noun is ''abominatio'', from which English "
abomination
Abomination may refer to:
* Abomination (Bible), covering Biblical references
**Abomination (Judaism)
*Abomination (character)
The Abomination is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The original ...
" derives. At the taking of formally solicited auspices (''
auspicia impetrativa''), the observer was required to acknowledge any potentially bad sign occurring within the ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' he was observing, regardless of the interpretation. He might, however, take certain actions in order to ignore the ''signa'', including avoiding the sight of them, and interpreting them as favourable. The latter tactic required promptness, wit and skill based on discipline and learning. Thus the omen had no validity apart from the observation of it.
aedes
The ''aedes'' was the dwelling place of a god. It was thus a structure that housed the deity's image, distinguished from the ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' or sacred district. ''Aedes'' is one of several Latin words that can be translated as "shrine" or "temple"; see also ''
delubrum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' and ''
fanum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''. For instance, the
Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta hou ...
, as it is called in English, was in Latin an ''aedes''. See also the
diminutive ''
aedicula
In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (plural ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, ...
'', a small shrine.
In his work ''
On Architecture'',
Vitruvius
Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...
always uses the word ''templum'' in the technical sense of a space defined through
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
y, with ''aedes'' the usual word for the building itself. The design of a deity's ''aedes'', he writes, should be appropriate to the characteristics of the deity. For a celestial deity such as
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
,
Coelus
''Coelus'' is a genus of beetles in the family Tenebrionidae. They live in coastal dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a ...
,
Sol or
Luna
Luna commonly refers to:
* Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin
* Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon
Luna may also refer to:
Places Philippines
* Luna, Apayao
* Luna, Isabela
* Luna, La Union
* Luna, San Jose
Roma ...
, the building should be open to the sky; an ''aedes'' for a god embodying
''virtus'' (
valour), such as
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...
,
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, or
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
, should be
Doric and without frills; the
Corinthian order is suited for goddesses such as
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
,
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...
,
Proserpina
Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whose ...
and the
Lympha
The Lympha (plural ''Lymphae'') is an ancient Roman deity of fresh water. She is one of twelve agricultural deities listed by Varro as "leaders" (''duces'') of Roman farmers, because "without water all agriculture is dry and poor." The Lymphae ...
e; and the
Ionic is a middle ground between the two for
Juno,
Diana, and
Father Liber. Thus in theory, though not always in practice, architectural aesthetics had a theological dimension.
The word
''aedilis'' (aedile), a
public official, is related by
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
; among the duties of the aediles was the overseeing of
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
, including the building and maintenance of temples. The temple ''(aedes)'' of Flora, for instance, was built in 241 BC by two aediles acting on
Sibylline oracles. The
plebeian aediles had their headquarters at the ''aedes'' of
Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
.
ager
In religious usage, ''ager'' (territory, country, land, region) was terrestrial space defined for the purposes of augury in relation to ''
auspicia''. There were five kinds of ''ager'': ''Romanus, Gabinus, peregrinus, hosticus'' and ''incertus''. The ''
ager Romanus'' originally included the urban space outside the
pomerium
The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
and the surrounding countryside. According to
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, the ''ager Gabinus'' pertained to the special circumstances of the ''
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
'' of
Gabii
Gabii was an ancient city of Latium, located due east of Rome along the Via Praenestina, which was in early times known as the ''Via Gabina''.
It was on the south-eastern perimeter of an extinct volcanic crater lake, approximately circular ...
, which was the first to sign a sacred treaty ''(pax)'' with Rome. The ''ager peregrinus'' was other territory that had been brought under treaty ''(pacatus)''. ''Ager hosticus'' meant foreign territory; ''incertus'', "uncertain" or "undetermined," that is, not falling into one of the four defined categories. The powers and actions of
magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
were based on and constrained by the nature of the ''ager'' on which they stood, and ''ager'' in more general usage meant a territory as defined legally or politically. The ''ager Romanus'' could not be extended outside Italy ''(terra Italia)''.
ara
The focal point of sacrifice was the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
(''ara'', plural ''arae''). Most altars throughout the city of Rome and in the countryside would have been simple, open-air structures; they may have been located within a sacred precinct (''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''), but often without an ''
aedes
''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...
'' housing a cult image. An altar that received food offerings might also be called a ''mensa'', "table."
Perhaps the best-known Roman altar is the elaborate and Greek-influenced
Ara Pacis
The Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin, "Altar of Augustan Peace"; commonly shortened to Ara Pacis) is an altar in Rome dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of Peace. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return o ...
, which has been called "the most representative work of
Augustan art." Other major public altars included the
Ara Maxima.
arbor felix
A tree ''(arbor)'' was categorized as ''
felix'' if it was under the protection of the heavenly gods ''(di superi)''. The adjective ''felix'' here means not only literally "fruitful" but more broadly "auspicious".
Macrobius lists ''arbores felices'' (plural) as the oak (four species thereof), the birch, the hazelnut, the sorbus, the white fig, the pear, the apple, the grape, the plum, the cornus and the lotus. The oak was sacred to
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
, and twigs of oak were used by the
Vestals
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...
to ignite the sacred fire in March every year. Also among the ''felices'' were the olive tree, a twig of which was affixed to the hat of the
Flamen Dialis
In ancient Roman religion, the was the high priest of Jupiter. The term ''Dialis'' is related to ''Diespiter'', an Old Latin form of the name ''Jupiter''. There were 15 '' flamines'', of whom three were ''flamines maiores'', serving the thre ...
, and the laurel and the poplar, which crowned the
Salian priests.
''Arbores infelices'' were those under the protection of
chthonic gods or those gods who had the power of turning away misfortune (''avertentium''). As listed by
Tarquitius Priscus in his lost ''
ostentarium'' on trees, these were
buckthorn,
red cornel,
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
,
black fig, "those that bear a black berry and black fruit,"
holly
''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
,
woodland pear,
butcher's broom,
briar, and
bramble
A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...
s."
attrectare
The verb ''attrectare'' ("to touch, handle, lay hands on") referred in specialized religious usage to touching sacred objects while performing cultic actions. ''Attrectare'' had a positive meaning only in reference to the actions of the ''
sacerdotes populi Romani'' ("priests of the Roman people"). It had the negative meaning of "contaminate" (= ''contaminare)'' or pollute when referring to the handling of sacred objects by those not authorized, ordained, or ritually purified.
augur
An augur (Latin plural ''augures'') was an official and priest who solicited and interpreted the will of the gods regarding a proposed action. The augur ritually defined a ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'', or sacred space, declared the purpose of his consultation, offered sacrifice, and observed the signs that were sent in return, particularly the actions and flight of birds. If the augur received unfavourable signs, he could suspend, postpone or cancel the undertaking (''
obnuntiatio''). "Taking the auspices" was an important part of all major official business, including inaugurations, senatorial debates, legislation, elections and war, and was held to be an ancient prerogative of
Regal and
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
. Under the
Republic, this right was extended to other magistrates. After 300 BC,
plebeians
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
could become augurs.
auguraculum
The
solicitation of formal auspices required the marking out of ritual space (''auguraculum'') from within which the
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s observed the ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'', including the construction of an augural tent or hut (''tabernaculum''). There were three such sites in Rome: on the citadel (''
arx
Arx, ARX, or ArX may refer to:
*ARX (Algorithmic Research Ltd.), a digital security company
*ARX (gene), Aristaless related homeobox
*ARX (operating system), an operating system
*ArX (revision control), revision control software
*Arx (Roman), a Ro ...
''), on the
Quirinal Hill
The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Pala ...
, and on the
Palatine Hill.
Festus said that originally the ''auguraculum'' was in fact the ''arx''. It faced east, situating the north on the augur's left or lucky side. A
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
who was serving as a military commander also took daily auspices, and thus a part of
camp-building while on
campaign
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
* Bl ...
was the creation of a ''tabernaculum augurale''. This augural tent was the center of religious and legal proceedings within the camp.
augurium
''Augurium'' (plural ''auguria'') is an abstract noun that pertains to the
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
. It seems to mean variously: the "sacral investiture" of the augur; the ritual acts and actions of the augurs; augural law ''(ius augurale)''; and recorded signs whose meaning had already been established. The word is rooted in the
IE stem ''*aug-'', "to increase," and possibly an archaic Latin neuter noun ''*augus'', meaning "that which is full of mystic force." As the sign that manifests the divine will,
[Schilling, "Augurs and Augury," ''Roman and European Mythologies'', p. 115.] the ''augurium'' for a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
was valid for a year; a priest's, for his lifetime; for a temple, it was perpetual.
The distinction between ''augurium'' and ''
auspicium'' is often unclear. ''Auspicia'' is the observation of birds as signs of divine will, a practice held to have been established by
Romulus, first
king of Rome, while the institution of augury was attributed to his successor
Numa
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''NUMA1'' gene.
Interactions
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 has been shown to interact with PIM1, Band 4.1, GPSM2
G-protein-signaling modulator 2, also call ...
. For
Servius, an ''augurium'' is the same thing as ''
auspicia impetrativa'', a body of signs sought through prescribed ritual means. Some scholars think ''auspicia'' would belong more broadly to the
magistracies and the ''
patres'' while the ''augurium'' would be limited to the ''
rex sacrorum'' and the major priesthoods.
Ancient sources record three ''auguria'': the ''augurium salutis'' in which every year the gods were asked whether it was ''
fas'' (permissible, right) to ask for the safety of the
Roman people
grc, Ῥωμαῖοι,
, native_name_lang =
, image = Pompeii family feast painting Naples.jpg
, image_caption = 1st century AD wall painting from Pompeii depicting a multigenerational banquet
, languages =
, relig ...
(August 5); the ''augurium canarium'', a dog sacrifice to promote the maturation of grain crops, held in the presence of the
pontiffs
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was late ...
as well as the augurs; and the ''vernisera auguria'' mentioned by
Festus, which should have been a springtime propitiary rite held at the time of the harvest (''auguria messalia'').
auspex
The ''auspex'', plural ''auspices'', is a diviner who reads
omens from the observed flight of birds (''avi-'', from ''avis'', "bird", with ''-spex'', "observer", from ''spicere''). See ''
auspicia'' following and
auspice
Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" ( Latin ''aus ...
.
auspicia
The ''
auspicia'' (''au-'' = ''avis'', "bird"; ''-spic-'', "watch") were originally signs derived from observing the flight of birds within the ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' of the sky. Auspices are taken by an
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
. Originally they were the prerogative of the
patricians
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...
, but the
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
of augurs was opened to
plebeians
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
in 300 BC. Only
magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
were in possession of the ''auspicia publica'', with the right and duty to take the auspices pertaining to the
Roman state
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...
. Favorable auspices marked a time or location as auspicious, and were required for important ceremonies or events, including elections, military campaigns and pitched battles.
According to
Festus, there were five kinds of ''auspicia'' to which augurs paid heed: ''ex caelo'', celestial signs such as thunder and lightning; ''ex avibus'', signs offered by birds; ''ex tripudiis'', signs produced by the actions of certain
sacred chickens; ''ex quadrupedibus'', signs from the behavior of four-legged animals; and ''
ex diris'', threatening portents. In official state augury at Rome, only the auspicia ''ex caelo'' and ''ex avibus'' were employed.
The taking of the auspices required ritual silence ''(silentium)''. Watching for auspices was called ''
spectio'' or ''
servare de caelo''. The appearance of expected signs resulted in ''
nuntiatio'', or if they were unfavourable ''
obnuntiatio''. If unfavourable auspices were observed, the business at hand was stopped by the official observer, who declared ''alio die'' ("on another day").
The practice of observing bird omens was common to many ancient peoples predating and contemporaneous with Rome, including the Greeks, Celts, and Germans.
auspicia impetrativa
''Auspicia impetrativa'' were signs that were solicited under highly regulated ritual conditions (see ''
spectio'' and ''
servare de caelo'') within the ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''.
[Robert Schilling, "Augurs and Augury", ''Roman and European Mythologies'' (University of Chicago Press, 1992, from the French edition of 1981), p. 116.] The type of auspices required for convening public assemblies were ''impetrativa'',
[W. Jeffrey Tatum, ''The Patrician Tribune: Publius Clodius Pulcher'' (University of North Carolina Press, 1999), p. 127.] and
magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
had the "right and duty" to seek these omens actively. These auspices could only be sought from an ''
auguraculum The auguraculum (plural: auguracula), was a roofless temple oriented to the cardinal points, in which the priests of ancient Rome practiced augury and ornithomancy. The priest observer was positioned at the center of the temple, in a tent or a hut, ...
'', a ritually constructed augural tent or "tabernacle" (''tabernaculum''). Contrast ''
auspicia oblativa''.
auspicia maiora
The right of observing the "greater auspices" was conferred on a
Roman magistrate
The Roman magistrates were elected officials in Ancient Rome.
During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate.Abbott, 8 His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgiver, j ...
holding ''
imperium
In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...
'', perhaps by a ''
Lex curiata de imperio
In the constitution of ancient Rome, the ''lex curiata de imperio'' (plural ''leges curiatae'') was the law confirming the rights of higher magistrates to hold power, or '' imperium''. In theory, it was passed by the ''comitia curiata'', which w ...
'', although scholars are not agreed on the finer points of
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
. A
censor had ''
auspicia maxima''. It is also thought that the ''flamines maiores'' were distinguished from the ''minores'' by their right to take the ''auspicia maiora''; see
Flamen
A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...
.
auspicia oblativa
Signs that occurred without deliberately being sought through formal
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
al procedure were ''auspicia oblativa''. These unsolicited signs were regarded as sent by a deity or deities to express either approval or disapproval for a particular undertaking. The prodigy (''
prodigium
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'') was one form of unfavourable ''oblativa''. Contrast ''
auspicia impetrativa''.
auspicia privata
Private and domestic religion was linked to divine signs as state religion was. It was customary in
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
families to take the auspices for any matter of consequence such as marriages, travel, and important business. The scant information about ''auspicia privata'' in ancient authors suggests that the taking of private auspices was not different in essence from that of public auspices: absolute silence was required, and the person taking the auspices could ignore unfavourable or disruptive events by feigning not to have perceived them. In matters pertaining to the family or individual, both lightning and ''
exta
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' (entrails) might yield signs for ''
privati'', private citizens not authorized to take official auspices. Among his other duties, the
Pontifex Maximus advised ''privati'' as well as the official priests about prodigies and their forestalling.
averruncare
In pontifical usage, the verb ''averruncare'', "to avert," denotes a ritual action aimed at averting a misfortune intimated by an omen. Bad omens ''(
portentaque
prodigiaque mala)'' are to be burnt, using trees that are in the
tutelage
Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides ...
of underworld or "averting" gods (see ''
arbores infelices'' above).
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
says that the god who presides over the action of averting is
Averruncus In ancient Roman religion, Averruncus or Auruncus is a god of averting harm. Aulus Gellius says that he is one of the potentially malignant deities who must be propitiated for their power to both inflict and withhold disaster from people and the har ...
.
B
bellum iustum
A "
just war
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war i ...
" was a war considered justifiable by the principles of
fetial law ''(ius fetiale)''. Because war could bring about religious pollution, it was in itself ''
nefas'', "wrong," and could incur the wrath of gods unless ''iustum'', "just". The requirements for a just war were both formal and substantive. As a formal matter, the
war had to be declared according to the procedures of the ''ius fetiale''. On substantive grounds, a war required a "just cause," which might include ''rerum repetitio'', retaliation against another people for pillaging, or a breach of or unilateral recession from a treaty; or necessity, as in the case of repelling an invasion. See also ''
Jus ad bellum
' ( or in the traditional English pronunciation of Latin; Latin for "right to war") is a set of criteria that are to be consulted ''before'' engaging in war in order to determine whether entering into war is permissible, that is, whether it wil ...
''.
C
caerimonia
The English word "ceremony" derives from the Latin ''caerimonia'' or ''caeremonia'', a word of obscure
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
first found in literature and inscriptions from the time of
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
(mid-1st century BC), but thought to be of much greater antiquity. Its meaning varied over time. Cicero used ''caerimonia'' at least 40 times, in three or four different senses: "inviolability" or "sanctity", a usage also of
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
; "punctilious veneration", in company with ''cura'' (carefulness, concern); more commonly in the plural ''caerimoniae'', to mean "ritual prescriptions" or "ritual acts." The plural form is endorsed by Roman grammarians.
Hendrik Wagenvoort
Hendrik Wagenvoort (23 August 1886 – 15 January 1976) was a Dutch classical scholar. He was professor of Latin at the University of Groningen and Utrecht University and published extensively on subjects relating to the Latin language and ...
maintained that ''caerimoniae'' were originally the secret ritual instructions laid down by
Numa
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''NUMA1'' gene.
Interactions
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 has been shown to interact with PIM1, Band 4.1, GPSM2
G-protein-signaling modulator 2, also call ...
, which are described as ''statae et sollemnes'', "established and solemn." These were interpreted and supervised by the
College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...
,
flamen
A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...
s, ''
rex sacrorum'' and the
Vestals
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...
. Later, ''caerimoniae'' might refer also to other rituals, including foreign
cults
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...
. These prescribed rites "unite the inner subject with the external religious object", binding human and divine realms. The historian
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...
makes clear that the ''caerimoniae'' require those performing them to attain a particular mental-spiritual state (''animus'', "intention"), and emphasizes the importance of ''caerimoniae'' in the dedication and first sentence of his work. In Valerius's version of the
Gallic siege of Rome, the Vestals and the
Flamen Quirinalis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen or high priest of the god Quirinus. He was one of the three ''flamines maiores'', third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis and the Flamen Martialis. Like the other two hi ...
rescue Rome's sacred objects (''sacra'') by taking them to
Caere
:
Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, t ...
; thus preserved, the rites take their name from the place. Although this etymology makes a meaningful narrative connection for Valerius, it is unlikely to be correct in terms of modern scientific
linguistics
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
. An
Etruscan origin has sometimes been proposed. Wagenvoort thought that ''caerimonia'' derived from ''caerus'', "dark" in the sense of "hidden", hence meaning "darknesses, secrets."
In his ''
Etymologiae
''Etymologiae'' (Latin for "The Etymologies"), also known as the ''Origines'' ("Origins") and usually abbreviated ''Orig.'', is an etymological encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) towards the end of his life. Isidore was ...
'',
Isidore of Seville says that the Greek equivalent is ''
orgia
In ancient Greek religion, an ''orgion'' (ὄργιον, more commonly in the plural ''orgia'') was an ecstatic form of worship characteristic of some mystery cults. The ''orgion'' is in particular a cult ceremony of Dionysos (or Zagreus), cele ...
'', but derives the word from ''carendo'', "lacking", and says that some think ''caerimoniae'' should be used of
Jewish observances, specifically the
dietary law that requires abstaining from or "lacking" certain foods.
calator
The ''calatores'' were assistants who carried out day-to-day business on behalf of the senior priests of the state such as the ''
flamines maiores''. A ''calator'' was a
public slave.
Festus derives the word from the Greek verb ''kalein'', "to call."
capite velato
At the traditional public rituals of ancient Rome, officiants prayed, sacrificed, offered
libation
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today.
Various substanc ...
s, and practiced
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
y ''capite velato'', "with the head covered" by a fold of the
toga
The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...
drawn up from the back. This covering of the head is a distinctive feature of Roman rite in contrast with
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
practice or ''
ritus graecus'', "Greek rite." In Roman art, the covered head is a symbol of ''
pietas
''Pietas'' (), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distingui ...
'' and the individual's status as a
pontifex
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was la ...
,
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
or other priest.
It has been argued that the Roman expression of piety ''capite velato'' influenced
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
's prohibition against Christians praying with covered heads: "Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head."
carmen
In classical Latin, ''
carmen'' usually means "song, poem, ode." In magico-religious usage, a ''carmen'' (plural ''carmina'') is a chant,
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...
,
spell, or charm. In essence "a verbal utterance sung for ritualistic purposes", the ''carmen'' is characterized by formulaic expression, redundancy, and rhythm. Fragments from two archaic priestly hymns are preserved, the ''
Carmen Arvale
The ''Carmen Arvale'' is the preserved chant of the Arval priests or ''Fratres Arvales'' of ancient Rome.
The Arval priests were devoted to the goddess Dia, and offered sacrifices to her to ensure the fertility of ploughed fields (Latin ''arv ...
'' of the Arval Brethren and the ''
Carmina Saliaria'' of the
Salii
In ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve patrician youths, dressed as archaic warriors: an emb ...
. The ''
Carmen Saeculare'' of
Horace, though self-consciously literary in technique, was also a hymn, performed by a chorus at the
Saecular Games of 17 BC and expressing the Apollonian ideology of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
.
A ''carmen malum'' or ''maleficum'' is a potentially harmful magic spell. A fragment of the
Twelve Tables
The Laws of the Twelve Tables was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornblowe ...
reading ''si malum carmen incantassit'' ("if anyone should chant an evil spell") shows that it was a concern of the law to suppress malevolent magic. A ''carmen sepulchrale'' is a spell that evokes the dead from their tombs; a ''carmen veneficum'', a "poisonous" charm. In magic, the word ''carmen'' comes to mean also the object on which a spell is inscribed, hence a
charm in the physical sense.
castus, castitas
''Castus'' is an adjective meaning morally pure or guiltless (English "chaste"), hence pious or ritually pure in a religious sense. ''Castitas'' is the abstract noun. Various etymologies have been proposed, among them two IE stems: *''k'(e)stos'' meaning "he who conforms to the prescriptions of rite"; or *''kas-'', from which derives the verb ''careo,'' "I defice, am deprived of, have none..." i.e. ''vitia''. In Roman religion, the purity of ritual and those who perform it is paramount: one who is correctly cleansed and ''castus'' in religious preparation and performance is likely to please the gods. Ritual error is a pollutant; it
vitiates the performance and risks the gods' anger. ''Castus'' and ''castitas'' are attributes of the ''
sacerdos'' (priest), but substances and objects can also be ritually ''castus''.
cinctus gabinus
The ''cinctus Gabinus'' ("belting from Gabii") was a way of wearing the toga thought to have originated in the nearby town of
Gabii
Gabii was an ancient city of Latium, located due east of Rome along the Via Praenestina, which was in early times known as the ''Via Gabina''.
It was on the south-eastern perimeter of an extinct volcanic crater lake, approximately circular ...
. A priest or officiant wearing it wore his toga bound around the waist in a way that left both hands free to perform ritual tasks, as the wearing of the toga usually did not.
[ H.H. Scullard, ''A History of the Roman World: 753 to 146 BC'' (Routledge, 1935, 2013), p. 409.] The cincture accompanied the veiling or covering of the head ''(
capite velato
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
)'' with a cowl-like fold of the toga. Like the conical, helmet-like headgear worn by priests such as the
Salii
In ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve patrician youths, dressed as archaic warriors: an emb ...
, the Gabinian cincture was originally associated with warriors, and was worn for a solemn declaration of war. It was also part of Etruscan priestly dress.
clavum figere
''Clavum figere'' ("to nail in, to fasten or fix the nail") was an expression that referred to the fixing or "sealing" of fate. A nail was one of the attributes of the goddess
Necessitas
In ancient Greek religion, Ananke (; grc, Ἀνάγκη), from the common noun , "force, constraint, necessity") is the personification of inevitability, compulsion and necessity. She is customarily depicted as holding a spindle. One of the ...
and of the Etruscan goddess Athrpa (Greek
Atropos
Atropos (; grc, Ἄτροπος "without turn") or Aisa, in Greek mythology, was one of the three Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. Her Roman equivalent was Morta.
Atropos was the oldest of the Three Fates, and was known as "the Infle ...
). According to
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, every year in the temple of
Nortia, the Etruscan counterpart of
Fortuna
Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...
, a nail was driven in to mark the time. In Rome, the senior magistrate on the Ides of September drove a nail called the ''clavus annalis'' ("year-nail") into the wall of the
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, also known as the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus ( la, Aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini; it, Tempio di Giove Ottimo Massimo; ) was the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline ...
. The ceremony occurred on the ''dies natalis'' ("birthday" or anniversary of dedication) of the temple, when a banquet for Jupiter ''(
Epulum Jovis
In ancient Roman religion, the Epulum Jovis (also Epulum Iovis) was a sumptuous ritual feast offered to Jove on the Ides of September (September 13) and a smaller feast on the Ides of November (November 13). It was celebrated during the '' Ludi ...
)'' was also held. The nail-driving ceremony, however, took place in a ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' devoted to
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...
, on the right side of the ''
aedes
''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...
'' of Jupiter, because the concept of "number" was invented by Minerva and the ritual predated the common use of written letters.
The importance of this ritual is lost in obscurity, but in the early Republic it is associated with the appointment of a ''dictator clavi figendi causa'', "
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
for the purpose of driving the nail," one of whom was appointed for the years 363, 331, 313, and 263 BC. Livy attributes this practice to ''
religio'', religious scruple or obligation. It may be that in addition to an annual ritual, there was a "fixing" during times of pestilence or civil discord that served as a ''
piaculum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''. Livy says that in 363, a plague had been ravaging Rome for two years. It was recalled that a plague had once been broken when a dictator drove a ritual nail, and the senate appointed one for that purpose. The ritual of "driving the nail" was among those revived and reformed by Augustus, who in 1 AD transferred it to the new
Temple of Mars Ultor
The Temple of Mars ''Ultor'' was a sanctuary erected in Ancient Rome by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 2 BCE and dedicated to the god Mars in his guise as avenger. The centerpiece of the Forum of Augustus, it was a peripteral style temple, on th ...
. Henceforth a
censor fixed the nail at the end of his term.
collegium
A ''
collegium
A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their rea ...
'' ("joined by law"), plural ''collegia'', was any association with a
legal personality
Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or altogether the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person ...
. The priestly colleges oversaw religious traditions, and until 300 BC only
patricians
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...
were eligible for membership. When
plebeians
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
began to be admitted, the size of the colleges was expanded. By the
Late Republic, three ''collegia'' wielded greater authority than the others, with a fourth coming to prominence during the reign of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
. The four great religious corporations (''quattuor amplissima collegia'') were:
*''Pontifices'', the
College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...
headed by the
Pontifex Maximus;
*''
Augures'';
*''
Quindecimviri sacris faciundis
In ancient Rome, the were the fifteen () members of a college (''collegium'') with priestly duties. They guarded the Sibylline Books, scriptures which they consulted and interpreted at the request of the Senate. This ''collegium'' also oversaw ...
'', the fifteen priests in charge of the
Sibylline Books;
*''
Septemviri epulonum
The (Latin for "feasters"; sing. ''epulo'') arranged feasts and public banquets at festivals and games ''( ludi)''. They constituted one of the four great religious corporations (''quattuor amplissima collegia'') of ancient Roman priests.
Esta ...
'', the board of seven priests who organized public banquets for religious holidays.
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
was a member of all four ''collegia'', but limited membership for any other
senator to one.
In Roman society, a ''collegium'' might also be a trade guild or neighborhood association; see
Collegium (ancient Rome)
A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the '' Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their re ...
.
comitia calata
The ''comitia calata'' ("calate assemblies") were non-voting
assemblies ''(comitia)'' called for religious purposes. The verb ''calare'', originally meaning "to call," was a technical term of pontifical usage, found also in ''calendae'' (
Calends
The calends or kalends ( la, kalendae) is the first day of every month in the Roman calendar. The English word " calendar" is derived from this word.
Use
The Romans called the first day of every month the ''calends'', signifying the start of a ...
) and ''
calator''. According to
Aulus Gellius, these ''comitia'' were held in the presence of the
college of pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...
in order to inaugurate the ''rex'' (the
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
in the
Regal Period or the ''
rex sacrorum'' in the
Republic) or the ''
flamines''. The
pontifex maximus auspiciated and presided; assemblies over which
annually elected magistrates presided are never ''calata'', nor are meetings for secular purposes or other elections even with a pontiff presiding.
The ''comitia calata'' were organized by ''
curia
Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
e'' or ''
centuriae
''Centuria'' (, plural ''centuriae'') is a Latin term (from the stem ''centum'' meaning one hundred) denoting military units originally consisting of 100 men. The size of the century changed over time, and from the first century BC through most ...
''. The people were summoned to ''comitia calata'' to witness the reading of wills, or the oath by which ''sacra'' were renounced (''
detestatio sacrorum''). They took no active role and were only present to observe as witnesses.
Mommsen thought the calendar abbreviation ''QRCF'', given once as ''Q. Rex C. F.'' and taken as ''Quando Rex Comitiavit
Fas'', designated a day when it was religiously permissible for the ''rex'' to "call" for a ''comitium'', hence the ''comitia calata''.
commentarii augurales
The ''Commentaries of the Augurs'' were written collections probably of the ''
decreta'' and ''
responsa'' of the
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
of
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s. Some scholarship, however, maintains that the ''commentarii'' were precisely ''not'' the ''decreta'' and ''responsa''. The commentaries are to be distinguished from the augurs' ''libri reconditi'', texts not for public use. The books are mentioned by
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
,
Festus, and
Servius Danielis
Servius was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian. He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Italy; he authored a set of commentaries on the works of Virgil. These works, ''In tria Vir ...
.
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
includes several examples of the augurs' ''decreta'' and ''responsa'' in his history, presumably taken from the ''commentarii''.
commentarii pontificum
The ''Commentaries of the Pontiffs'' contained a record of decrees and official proceedings of the
College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...
. Priestly literature was one of the earliest written forms of
Latin prose, and included rosters, acts (''acta''), and chronicles kept by the various ''
collegia
A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their ...
'', as well as religious procedure. It was often ''occultum genus litterarum'', an arcane form of literature to which by definition only priests had access. The ''commentarii'', however, may have been available for public consultation, at least by
senators, because the rulings on points of law might be cited as precedent. The public nature of the ''commentarii'' is asserted by
Jerzy Linderski
Jerzy Sever Linderski (born 21 August 1934 in Lwow, Poland, now Lviv) is a contemporary Polish scholar of ancient history and Roman religion and law.
Currently George L. Paddison Professor of Latin ''Emeritus'' at the University of North Carolin ...
in contrast to ''libri reconditi'', the secret priestly books.
The ''commentarii'' survive only through quotation or references in ancient authors. These records are not readily distinguishable from the ''
libri pontificales''; some scholars maintain that the terms ''commentarii'' and ''libri'' for the pontifical writings are interchangeable. Those who make a distinction hold that the ''libri'' were the secret archive containing rules and precepts of the ''ius sacrum'' (holy law), texts of spoken formulae, and instructions on how to perform ritual acts, while the ''commentarii'' were the ''
responsa'' (opinions and arguments) and ''decreta'' (binding explications of doctrine) that were available for consultation. Whether or not the terms can be used to distinguish two types of material, the priestly documents would have been divided into those reserved for internal use by the priests themselves, and those that served as reference works on matters external to the college. Collectively, these titles would have comprised all matters of pontifical law, ritual, and cult maintenance, along with
prayer formularies and temple statutes. See also ''
libri pontificales'' and ''
libri augurales''.
coniectura
''Coniectura'' is the reasoned but speculative interpretation of signs presented unexpectedly, that is, of ''novae res'', "novel information." These "new signs" are omens or portents not previously observed, or not observed under the particular set of circumstances at hand. ''Coniectura'' is thus the kind of interpretation used for ''
ostenta'' and ''
portenta'' as constituting one branch of the "
Etruscan discipline"; contrast ''
observatio'' as applied to the interpretation of ''fulgura'' (thunder and lightning) and ''
exta
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' (entrails). It was considered an ''ars'', a "method" or "art" as distinguished from ''disciplina'', a formal body of teachings which required study or training.
The
origin
Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Comics and manga
* ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002
* ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...
of the Latin word ''coniectura'' suggests the process of making connections, from the verb ''conicio'',
participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
''coniectum'' (''con-'', "with, together", and ''iacio'', "throw, put"). ''Coniectura'' was also a rhetorical term applied to forms of argumentation, including court cases. The English word "
conjecture" derives from ''coniectura''.
consecratio
''Consecratio'' was the ritual act that resulted in the creation of an ''
aedes
''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...
'', a shrine that housed a cult image, or an ''
ara'', an altar.
Jerzy Linderski
Jerzy Sever Linderski (born 21 August 1934 in Lwow, Poland, now Lviv) is a contemporary Polish scholar of ancient history and Roman religion and law.
Currently George L. Paddison Professor of Latin ''Emeritus'' at the University of North Carolin ...
insists that the ''consecratio'' should be distinguished from the ''
inauguratio'', that is, the ritual by which the
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s established a sacred place (''locus'') or ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' (sacred precinct). The consecration was performed by a pontiff reciting a formula from the ''
libri pontificales'', the pontifical books. One component of consecration was the ''dedicatio'', or dedication, a form of ''
ius publicum
''Ius publicum'' is Latin for public law. Public law regulated the relationships of the government to its citizens, including taxation, while ''ius privatum'' ( private law), based upon property and contract, concerned relations between individual ...
'' (public law) carried out by a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
representing the will of the
Roman people
grc, Ῥωμαῖοι,
, native_name_lang =
, image = Pompeii family feast painting Naples.jpg
, image_caption = 1st century AD wall painting from Pompeii depicting a multigenerational banquet
, languages =
, relig ...
. The pontiff was responsible for the consecration proper.
cultus
Cicero defined ''
religio'' as ''cultus deorum'', "the cultivation of the gods." The "cultivation" necessary to maintain a specific deity was that god's ''cultus,'' "cult," and required "the knowledge of giving the gods their due" ''(scientia colendorum deorum)''. The noun ''cultus'' originates from the
past participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
of the verb ''colo, colere, colui, cultus'', "to tend, take care of, cultivate," originally meaning "to dwell in, inhabit" and thus "to tend, cultivate
land ''(ager)''; to practice agriculture," an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized. ''Cultus'' is often translated as "
cult", without the negative connotations the word may have in English, or with the
Anglo-Saxon word "
worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...
", but it implies the necessity of active maintenance beyond passive adoration. ''Cultus'' was expected to matter to the gods as a demonstration of respect, honor, and reverence; it was an aspect of the contractual nature of Roman religion (see ''
do ut des'').
St. Augustine echoes Cicero's formulation when he declares that "''religio'' is nothing other than the ''cultus'' of
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
."
D
decretum
''Decreta'' (plural) were the binding explications of doctrine issued by the official priests on questions of religious practice and interpretation. They were preserved in written form and archived.
Jerzy Linderski
Jerzy Sever Linderski (born 21 August 1934 in Lwow, Poland, now Lviv) is a contemporary Polish scholar of ancient history and Roman religion and law.
Currently George L. Paddison Professor of Latin ''Emeritus'' at the University of North Carolin ...
, "The ''libri reconditi''" ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'' 89 (1985), pp. 218–219. Compare ''
responsum
''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
''.
delubrum
A ''delubrum'' was a shrine.
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
says it was a building that housed the image of a ''deus'', "god", and emphasizes the human role in dedicating the statue. According to Varro, the ''delubrum'' was the oldest form of an ''
aedes
''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...
'', a structure that housed a god. It is an ambiguous term for both the building and the surrounding area ''ubi aqua currit'' ("where water runs"), according to the etymology of the antiquarian
Cincius
Cincius, whose ''praenomen'' was likely Lucius and whose ''cognomen'' goes unrecorded, was an antiquarian writer probably during the time of Augustus. He is frequently confused with the annalist Lucius Cincius Alimentus, who fought in the Second ...
.
Festus gives the etymology of ''delubrum'' as ''fustem delibratum'', "stripped stake," that is, a tree deprived of its bark ''(liber)'' by a lightning bolt, as such trees in archaic times were venerated as gods. The meaning of the term later extended to denote the shrine built to house the stake. Compare ''
aedes
''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...
'', ''
fanum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence o ...
'', and ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''.
Isidore
Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...
connected the ''delubrum'' with the verb ''diluere'', "to wash", describing it as a "spring-shrine", sometimes with annexed pool, where people would wash before entering, thus comparable to a Christian
baptismal font.
detestatio sacrorum
When a person passed from one ''
gens'' to another, as for instance by
adoption, he renounced the religious duties ''(
sacra)'' he had previously held in order to assume those of the family he was entering. The ritual procedure of ''detestatio sacrorum'' was enacted before a
calate assembly.
deus, dea, di, dii
''Deus'', "god"; ''dea'', "goddess", plural ''deae''; ''di'' or ''dii'', "gods", plural, or "deities", of mixed gender. The Greek equivalent is ''
theos'', which the Romans translated with ''deus''.
Servius says that ''deus'' or ''dea'' is a "generic term" ''(generale nomen)'' for all gods. In his lost work ''Antiquitates rerum divinarum'', assumed to have been based on pontifical doctrine,
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
classified ''dii'' as ''certi, incerti, praecipui'' or ''selecti'', i.e. "deities whose function could be ascertained", those whose function was unknown or indeterminate, main or selected gods. Compare ''
divus
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''. For etymological discussion, see
Deus and
Dyeus. See also
List of Roman deities
The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lite ...
.
devotio
The ''
devotio
In ancient Roman religion, the ''devotio'' was an extreme form of '' votum'' in which a Roman general vowed to sacrifice his own life in battle along with the enemy to chthonic gods in exchange for a victory. The most extended description of th ...
'' was an extreme form of ''
votum
In ancient Roman religion, a ''votum'', plural ''vota'', is a vow or promise made to a deity. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb ''voveo, vovere'', "vow, promise". As the result of this verbal action, a ''votum'' is also th ...
'' in which a Roman general vowed to sacrifice his own life in battle along with the enemy to
chthonic deities in exchange for a victory. The most extended description of the ritual is given by
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, regarding the self-sacrifice of
Decius Mus. The English word "
devotion
Devotion or Devotions may refer to:
Religion
* Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept
* Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians
* Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance
* Cat ...
" derives from the Latin. For another ''votum'' that might be made in the field by a general, see ''
evocatio
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''.
dies imperii
A
Roman emperor's ''dies imperii'' was the date on which he assumed ''
imperium
In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...
'', that is, the anniversary of his accession as emperor. The date was observed annually with renewed oaths of loyalty and ''
vota pro salute imperatoris'', vows and offerings for the wellbeing ''(
salus
Salus ( la, salus, "safety", "salvation", "welfare") was the Roman goddess of safety and well-being (welfare, health and prosperity) of both the individual and the state. She is sometimes equated with the Greek goddess Hygieia, though their fu ...
)'' of the emperor. Observances resembled those on January 3, which had replaced the traditional vows made for the ''salus'' of the
republic after the transition to one-man rule under
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
. The ''dies imperii'' was a recognition that succession during the Empire might take place irregularly through the death or overthrow of an emperor, in contrast to the annual magistracies of the Republic when the year was designated by the names of
consuls
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
serving their one-year term.
The ''dies Augusti'' or ''dies Augustus'' was more generally any anniversary pertaining to the imperial family, such as birthdays or weddings, appearing on official calendars as part of
Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...
. References to a ''dies Caesaris'' are also found, but it is unclear whether or how it differed from the ''dies Augusti''.
Nero observed his dies imperii/''decennalia'' - the 10-year anniversary of being emperor on October 13, 64 AD.
dies lustricus
The ''
dies lustricus
In ancient Rome the ''dies lustricus'' ("day of lustration" or "purification day") was a traditional naming ceremony in which an infant was purified and given a '' praenomen'' (given name). This occurred on the eighth day for girls and the ninth ...
'' ("day of purification") was a rite carried out for the newborn on the eighth day of life for girls and the ninth day for boys. Little is known of the ritual procedure, but the child must have received its name on that day; funerary inscriptions for infants who died before their ''dies lustricus'' are nameless. The youngest person found commemorated on a Roman tombstone by name was a male infant nine days old (or 10 days in Roman
inclusive counting
Counting is the process of determining the number of elements of a finite set of objects, i.e., determining the size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter by a unit for every ele ...
). Because of the rate of
infant mortality, perhaps as high as 40 percent, the newborn in its first few days of life was held as in a
liminal phase, vulnerable to malignant forces (see
List of Roman birth and childhood deities
In ancient Roman religion, birth and childhood deities were thought to care for every aspect of conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and child development. Some major deities of Roman religion had a specialized function they contributed to this ...
). Socially, the child did not exist. The ''dies lustricus'' may have been when the child received the ''
bulla'', the protective amulet that was put aside when a
boy passed into adulthood.
dies natalis
A ''dies natalis'' was a birthday ("natal day"; see also ''
dies lustricus
In ancient Rome the ''dies lustricus'' ("day of lustration" or "purification day") was a traditional naming ceremony in which an infant was purified and given a '' praenomen'' (given name). This occurred on the eighth day for girls and the ninth ...
'' above) or more generally the anniversary of a founding event. The Romans celebrated an individual's birthday annually, in contrast to the Greek practice of marking the date each month with a simple
libation
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today.
Various substanc ...
. The Roman ''dies natalis'' was connected with the
cult owed to the
Genius
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...
. A public figure might schedule a major event on his birthday:
Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") waited seven months after he returned from his military campaigns in the East before he staged his
triumph
The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
, so he could celebrate it on his birthday. The coincidence of birthdays and anniversaries could have a positive or negative significance: news of
Decimus Brutus's
victory at Mutina was announced at Rome on his birthday, while
Caesar's assassin Cassius suffered
defeat at Philippi on his birthday and committed suicide.
[Feeney, ''Caesar's Calendar,'' p. 149.] Birthdays were one of the dates on which the dead were commemorated.
The date when a temple was founded, or when it was rededicated after a major renovation or rebuilding, was also a ''dies natalis'', and might be felt as the "birthday" of the deity it housed as well. The date of such ceremonies was therefore chosen by the pontiffs with regard to its position on the religious calendar. The "birthday" or
foundation date of Rome was celebrated April 21, the day of the
Parilia
upright=1.5, ''Festa di Pales, o L'estate'' (1783), a reimagining of the Festival of Pales by Joseph-Benoît Suvée
The Parilia is an ancient Roman festival of rural character performed annually on 21 April, aimed at cleansing both sheep and sh ...
, an archaic pastoral festival. As part of a flurry of religious reforms and restorations in the period from 38 BC to 17 AD, no fewer than fourteen temples had their ''dies natalis'' moved to another date, sometimes with the clear purpose of aligning them with new Imperial theology after the collapse of the Republic.
The birthdays of emperors were observed with public ceremonies as an aspect of
Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...
. The ''
Feriale Duranum'', a military calendar of religious observances, features a large number of imperial birthdays.
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
shared his birthday (September 23) with the anniversary of the Temple of Apollo in the
Campus Martius
The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...
, and elaborated on his connection with
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
in developing his special religious status.
A birthday commemoration was also called a ''natalicium,'' which could take the form of a poem. Early Christian poets such as
Paulinus of Nola
Paulinus of Nola (; la, Paulinus Nolanus; also Anglicized as Pauline of Nola; – 22 June 431) born Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus, was a Roman poet, writer, and senator who attained the ranks of suffect consul () and governor of Campan ...
adopted the ''natalicium'' poem for commemorating saints. The day on which
Christian martyr
In Christianity, a martyr is a person considered to have died because of their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at t ...
s died is regarded as their ''dies natalis''; see
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
.
dies religiosus
According to
Festus, it was wrong ''(
nefas)'' to undertake any action beyond attending to basic necessities on a day that was ''
religiosus'' on the calendar. On these days, there were to be no
marriages
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
, political assemblies, or battles. Soldiers were not to be enlisted, nor journeys started. Nothing new was to be started, and no religious acts ''(
res divinae)'' performed.
Aulus Gellius said that ''dies religiosi'' were to be distinguished from those that were ''
nefasti''.
dies vitiosus
The phrase ''diem vitiare'' ("to vitiate a day") in augural practice meant that the normal activities of public business were prohibited on a given day, presumably by ''
obnuntiatio'', because of observed signs that indicated defect ''(morbus''; see ''
vitium''). Unlike a ''
dies religiosus'' or a ''dies ater'' ("black day," typically the anniversary of a calamity), a particular date did not become permanently ''vitiosus,'' with one exception. Some Roman calendars ''(
fasti
In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...
)'' produced under
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
and up to the time of
Claudius mark January 14 as a ''dies vitiosus'', a day that was inherently "vitiated". January 14 is the only day to be marked annually and officially by decree of the
Roman senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
''(
senatus consultum
A ''senatus consultum'' (Latin: decree of the senate, plural: ''senatus consulta'') is a text emanating from the senate in Ancient Rome. It is used in the modern phrase '' senatus consultum ultimum''.
Translated into French as '' sénatus-consult ...
)'' as ''vitiosus''.
LInderski calls this "a very remarkable innovation." One calendar, the ''Fasti Verulani'' (c. 17–37 AD), explains the designation by noting it was the ''
dies natalis'' of
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...
, which the Greek historian and Roman senator
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
says had been declared ἡμέρα μιαρά ''(hēmera miara)'' (= ''dies vitiosus'') by Augustus. The emperor Claudius, who was the grandson of Antony, rehabilitated the day.
dirae
The adjective ''dirus'' as applied to an omen meant "dire, awful." It often appears in the
feminine plural as a
substantive meaning "evil omens." ''Dirae'' were the worst of the five kinds of signs recognized by the
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s, and were a type of
oblative or unsought sign that foretold disastrous consequences. The ill-fated departure of
Marcus Crassus for the
invasion of Parthia was notably attended by ''dirae'' (see
Ateius Capito). In the interpretive
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of ancient writers, ''dirae'' was thought to derive from ''dei irae'', the grudges or anger of a god, that is,
divine wrath. ''Dirae'' is an
epithet for the
Furies
The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes the ...
, and can also mean curses or imprecations, particularly in the context of
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
and related to ''defixiones'' (
curse tablet
A curse tablet ( la, tabella defixionis, defixio; el, κατάδεσμος, katadesmos) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. Its name originated from the Greek and Latin words for "pierce" and "bind". The tabl ...
s). In explaining why
Claudius felt compelled to ban the religion of the
druids,
Suetonius speaks of it as ''dirus'', alluding to the practice of
human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...
.
disciplina Etrusca
The collective body of knowledge pertaining to the doctrine, ritual practices, laws, and science of
Etruscan religion and
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
was known as the ''
disciplina Etrusca
Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization, heavily influenced by the mythology of ancient Greece, and sharing similarities with concurrent Roman mythology and religion. As the Et ...
''. Divination was a particular feature of the ''disciplina''. The Etruscan texts on the ''disciplina'' that were known to the Romans are of three kinds: the ''libri haruspicini'' (on
haruspicy
In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails ('' exta''—hence also extispicy ...
), the ''libri fulgurales'' (lightning), and the ''libri rituales'' (ritual).
Nigidius Figulus
Publius Nigidius Figulus (c. 98 – 45 BC) was a scholar of the Late Roman Republic and one of the praetors for 58 BC. He was a friend of Cicero, to whom he gave his support at the time of the Catilinarian conspiracy. Nigidius sided with the Optim ...
, the
Late Republican scholar and
praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...
of 58 BC, was noted for his expertise in the ''disciplina''. Extant ancient sources on the ''Etrusca disciplina'' include
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
,
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
,
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
,
Johannes Lydus,
Macrobius and
Festus.
divus
The
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...
''divus'', feminine ''diva'', is usually translated as "divine." As a
substantive, ''divus'' refers to a "deified" or divinized mortal. Both ''
deus'' and ''divus'' derive from
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
''*deywos'',
Old Latin
Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...
''deivos''.
Servius confirms that ''deus'' is used for "perpetual deities" ''(deos perpetuos)'', but ''divus'' for people who become divine ''(divos ex hominibus factos = gods who once were men)''. While this distinction is useful in considering the theological foundations of
Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...
, it sometimes vanishes in practice, particularly in Latin poetry;
Vergil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
, for instance, mostly uses ''deus'' and ''divus'' interchangeably.
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
and Ateius, however, maintained that the definitions should be reversed. See also
Imperial cult: ''Divus, deus'' and the ''numen''.
do ut des
The formula ''do ut des'' ("I give that you might give") expresses the reciprocity of exchange between human being and deity, reflecting the importance of gift-giving as a mutual obligation in ancient society and the contractual nature of Roman religion. The gifts offered by the human being take the form of sacrifice, with the expectation that the god will return something of value, prompting gratitude and further sacrifices in a perpetuating cycle. The ''do ut des'' principle is particularly active in magic and private ritual. ''Do ut des'' was also a judicial concept of
contract law
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
.
In
Pauline theology
Pauline Christianity or Pauline theology (also Paulism or Paulanity), otherwise referred to as Gentile Christianity, is the theology and form of Christianity which developed from the beliefs and doctrines espoused by the Hellenistic-Jewish A ...
, ''do ut des'' was viewed as a reductive form of piety, merely a "business transaction", in contrast to
God's unilateral
grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
(χάρις, ''charis'').
Max Weber, in ''
The Sociology of Religion'', saw it as "a purely formalistic ethic." In ''
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
''The Elementary Forms of Religious Life'' (french: Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse), published by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in 1912, is a book that analyzes religion as a social phenomenon. Durkheim attributes the dev ...
'', however,
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim ( or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science, al ...
regarded the concept as not merely
utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...
, but an expression of "the mechanism of the sacrificial system itself" as "an exchange of mutually invigorating good deeds between the divinity and his faithful."
E
effatio
The verb ''effari'',
past participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
''effatus'', means "to create boundaries ''(
fines Fines may refer to:
* Fines, Andalusia, Spanish municipality
* Fine (penalty)
* Fine, a dated term for a premium on a lease of land, a large sum the tenant pays to commute (lessen) the rent throughout the term
*Fines, ore or other products with a s ...
)'' by means of
fixed verbal formulas." ''Effatio'' is the
abstract noun. It was one of the three parts of the
ceremony inaugurating a ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' (sacred space), preceded by the consulting of
signs and the ''
liberatio'' which "freed" the space from malign or competing spiritual influences and human effects. A site ''liberatus et effatus'' was thus "exorcized and available."
The result was a ''locus inauguratus'' ("inaugurated site"), the most common form of which was the ''templum''. The boundaries had permanent markers (''
cippi
A (plural: ''cippi''; "pointed pole") is a low, round or rectangular pedestal set up by the Ancient Romans for purposes such as a milestone or a boundary post. They were also used for somewhat differing purposes by the Etruscans and Carthaginians ...
'' or ''
termini''), and when these were damaged or removed, their ''effatio'' had to be renewed.
evocatio
The "calling forth" or "summoning away" of a deity was an ''evocatio'', from ''evoco, evocare'', "summon." The ritual was conducted in a military setting either as a threat during a
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
or as a result of surrender, and aimed at diverting the favor of a
tutelary deity
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...
from the opposing city to the Roman side, customarily with a promise of a better-endowed cult or a more lavish temple. As a
tactic of
psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
, ''evocatio'' undermined the enemy's sense of security by threatening the sanctity of its city walls (see
pomerium
The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
) and other forms of divine protection. In practice, ''evocatio'' was a way to mitigate otherwise sacrilegious looting of religious images from shrines.
Recorded examples of evocations include the transferral of
Juno Regina ("Juno the Queen", originally
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
''
Uni'') from
Veii
Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
in 396 BC; the ritual performed by
Scipio Aemilianus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
in 146 BC at the defeat of Carthage, involving
Tanit
Tanit ( Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 ''Tīnīt'') was a Punic goddess. She was the chief deity of Carthage alongside her consort Baal-Hamon.
Tanit is also called Tinnit. The name appears to have originated in Carthage (modern day Tunisia), though it doe ...
(
Juno Caelestis
Juno ( ; Latin ) was an Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state. She was syncretism, equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology. A daughter of Saturn (mythology), Saturn, she ...
); and the dedication of a temple to an unnamed, gender-indeterminate deity at
Isaura Vetus in
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
in 75 BC. Some scholars think that
Vortumnus (Etruscan ''
Voltumna
In Etruscan mythology, Voltumna or Veltha was the chthonic (relating to or inhabiting the underworld) deity, who became the supreme god of the Etruscan pantheon, the ''deus Etruriae princeps'', according to Varro. Voltumna's cult was centered in ...
'') was brought by evocation to Rome in 264 BC as a result of
M. Fulvius Flaccus's defeat of the
Volsinii
Volsinii or Vulsinii ( Etruscan: Velzna or Velusna; Greek: Ouolsinioi, ; ), is the name of two ancient cities of Etruria, one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis (modern Lago di Bolsena), and the other on the Via Clodia, between Clusium ...
. In Roman myth, a similar concept motivates the transferral of the
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...
from
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
to Rome, where it served as one of the ''
pignora imperii'', sacred tokens of Roman sovereignty. Compare ''
invocatio'', the "calling on" of a deity.
Formal evocations are known only during the
Republic. Other forms of religious assimilation appear from the time of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, often in connection with the establishment of the
Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...
in the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
.
''Evocatio'', "
summons", was also a term of
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
without evident reference to its magico-religious sense.
exauguratio
A site that had been inaugurated ''(locus inauguratus)'', that is, marked out through augural procedure, could not have its purpose changed without a ceremony of reversal. Removing a god from the premises required the correct ceremonial invocations. When
Tarquin rebuilt the temple district on the
Capitoline
The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome.
The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. T ...
, a number of deities were dislodged by ''exauguratio'', though
Terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
and
Juventas
Juventas, also known as Iuventus or Juventus
(Greek equivalent: Hebe), was the ancient Roman goddess whose sphere of tutelage was youth and rejuvenation. She was especially the goddess of young men "new to wearing the toga" ''(dea novorum t ...
"refused" and were incorporated into the new structure. A distinction between the ''exauguratio'' of a deity and an ''
evocatio
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' can be unclear. The procedure was in either case rare, and was required only when a deity had to yield place to another, or when the site was secularized. It was not required when a site was upgraded, for instance, if an open-air altar were to be replaced with a temple building to the same god.
The term could also be used for removing someone from a priestly office ''(sacerdotium)''. Compare ''
inauguratio''.
eximius
An
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...
, "choice, select," used to denote the high quality required of sacrificial victims: "Victims ''(#hostia, hostiae)'' are called 'select' ''(eximiae)'' because they are selected ''(eximantur)'' from the herd and designated for sacrifice, or because they are chosen on account of their choice ''(eximia)'' appearance as offerings to divine entities ''(numen, numinibus)''." The adjective here is synonymous with ''egregius'', "chosen from the herd ''(grex, gregis)''."
Macrobius says it is specifically a #sacerdos, sacerdotal term and not a "poetic
epithet" ''(poeticum ἐπίθετον)''.
exta
The ''exta'' were the entrails of a animal sacrifice, sacrificed animal, comprising in
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
's enumeration the gall bladder (''fel''), liver (''iecur''), heart (''cor''), and lungs (''pulmones''). The ''exta'' were exposed for #litatio, litation (divine approval) as part of Roman liturgy, but were "read" in the context of the ''
disciplina Etrusca
Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization, heavily influenced by the mythology of ancient Greece, and sharing similarities with concurrent Roman mythology and religion. As the Et ...
''. As a product of Roman sacrifice, the ''exta'' and blood are reserved for the gods, while the meat ''(viscera)'' is shared among human beings in a communal meal. The ''exta'' of bovine victims were usually stewed in a pot (''Olla (Roman pot), olla'' or ''aula''), while those of sheep or pigs were grilled on skewers. When the deity's portion was cooked, it was sprinkled with ''mola salsa'' (ritually prepared salted flour) and wine, then placed in the fire on the altar for the offering; the technical verb for this action was ''#porricere, porricere''.
F
fanaticus
''Fanaticus'' means "belonging to a ''
fanum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''," a shrine or sacred precinct. ''Fanatici'' as applied to people refers to temple attendants or devotees of a cult, usually one of the Religious ecstasy, ecstatic or
orgia
In ancient Greek religion, an ''orgion'' (ὄργιον, more commonly in the plural ''orgia'') was an ecstatic form of worship characteristic of some mystery cults. The ''orgion'' is in particular a cult ceremony of Dionysos (or Zagreus), cele ...
stic religions such as that of Cybele (in reference to the Galli), Bellona (goddess), Bellona-Ma, or perhaps Silvanus (mythology), Silvanus. Inscriptions indicate that a person making a dedication might label himself ''fanaticus'', in the neutral sense of "devotee".
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
uses ''fanaticus'' to describe the troop of
druids who attended on the Icenian queen Boudica. The word was often used disparagingly by ancient Romans in contrasting these more emotive rites to the highly scripted procedures of public religion, and later by early Christians to deprecate religions other than their own; hence the negative connotation of "wikt:fanatic, fanatic" in English.
Festus says that a tree struck by lightning is called ''fanaticus'', a reference to the Romano-Etruscan belief in lightning as a form of divine sign. The Christianity in Gaul, Gallic Ancient Diocese of Arles, bishop Caesarius of Arles, writing in the 5th century, indicates that such trees retained their sanctity even up to his own time, and urged the Christian faithful to burn down the ''arbores fanatici''. These trees either were located in and marked a ''fanum'' or were themselves considered a ''fanum''. Caesarius is somewhat unclear as to whether the devotees regarded the tree itself as divine or whether they thought its destruction would kill the ''numen'' housed within it. Either way, even scarcity of firewood would not persuade them to use the sacred wood for fuel, a scruple for which he mocked them.
fanum
A ''fanum'' is a plot of consecrated ground, a sanctuary, and from that a temple or shrine built there. A ''fanum'' may be a traditional sacred space such as the Sacred grove, grove (''lucus'') of Diana Nemorensis, or a sacred space or structure for non-Roman religions, such as an Iseum (temple of Isis) or Mithraeum. Cognates such as Oscan language, Oscan ''fíísnú'', Umbrian language, Umbrian ''fesnaf-e'', and Paelignian ''fesn'' indicate that the concept is shared by Ancient peoples of Italy, Italic peoples. The Greek temenos was the same concept. By the
Augustan period, ''fanum'', ''
aedes
''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...
'', ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'', and ''#delubrum, delubrum'' are scarcely distinguishable in usage, but ''fanum'' was a more inclusive and general term.
The '':fr:fanum, fanum'', Romano-Celtic temple, or ambulatory temple of Roman Gaul was often built over an originally Gauls, Celtic religious site, and its plan was influenced by the ritual architecture of earlier Celtic sanctuaries. The masonry temple building of the Gallo-Roman culture, Gallo-Roman period had a central space (''cella'') and a peripheral gallery structure, both square. Romano-Celtic ''fana'' of this type are found also in Roman Britain.
The English word "wikt:profane, profane" ultimately derives from Latin ''pro fano'', "before, i.e. outside, the temple", "In front of the sanctuary," hence not within sacred ground.
fata deorum
''Fata deorum'' or the contracted form ''fata deum'' are the utterances of the gods; that is, prophecies. These were recorded in written form, and conserved by the state priests of Rome for consultation. The ''fata'' are both "fate" as known and determined by the gods, or the expression of the divine will in the form of verbal oracles. ''Fata deum'' is a theme of the ''Aeneid,'' Virgil's national epic of Rome.
The
Sibylline Books ''(Fata Sibyllina'' or ''Libri Fatales)'', composed in Greek hexameters, are an example of written ''fata''. These were not Roman in origin but were believed to have been acquired in only partial form by Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. They were guarded by the priesthood of the ''decemviri sacris faciundis'' "ten men for carrying out sacred rites", later fifteen in number: ''quindecimviri sacris faciundis''. No one read the books in their entirety; they were consulted only when needed. A passage was selected at random and its relevance to the current situation was a matter of expert interpretation. They were thought to contain ''fata rei publicae aeterna'', "prophecies eternally valid for Rome". They continued to be consulted throughout the Imperial period until the time of Christian hegemony.
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
installed the Sibylline books in a special golden storage case under the statue of Apollo in the Temple of Apollo Palatinus. The emperor Aurelian chastised the senate for succumbing to Christian influence and not consulting the books. Julian (emperor), Julian consulted the books regarding his campaign against Persia, but departed before he received the unfavorable response of the college; Julian was killed and the Temple of Apollo Palatinus burned.
fas
''Fas'' is a central concept in Roman religion. Although translated in some contexts as "divine law," ''fas'' is more precisely that which is "religiously legitimate," or an action that is lawful in the eyes of the gods. In public religion, ''fas est'' is declared before announcing an action required or allowed by Roman religious custom and by divine law. ''Fas'' is thus both distinguished from and linked to ''ius'' (plural ''iura''), "law, lawfulness, justice," as indicated by
Vergil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
's often-cited phrase ''fas et iura sinunt'', "''fas'' and ''iura'' allow (it)," which
Servius explains as "divine and human laws permit (it), for ''fas'' pertains to religion, ''iura'' to the human being."
In Roman calendars, days marked ''F'' are ''#fasti, dies fasti'', when it is ''fas'' to attend to the concerns of everyday life. In non-specialized usage, ''fas est'' may mean generally "it is permissible, it is right."
The
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of ''fas'' is debated. It is more commonly associated with the semantic field of the verb ''for, fari'', "to speak," an origin pressed by
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
. In other sources, both ancient and modern, ''fas'' is thought to have its origin in an Indo-European root meaning "to establish," along with ''
fanum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' and ''#feria, feriae''. See also Fasti and
nefas.
fasti
A record or plan of official and religiously sanctioned events. All state and societal business must be transacted on ''dies fasti'', "allowed days". The ''
fasti
In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...
'' were the records of all details pertaining to these events. The word was used alone in a general sense or qualified by an adjective to mean a specific type of record. Closely associated with the ''fasti'' and used to mark time in them were the divisions of the Roman calendar.
The ''Fasti (Ovid), Fasti'' is also the title of a six-book poem by Ovid based on the Roman religious calendar. It is a major source for Roman religious practice, and was translated into English by J. G. Frazer.
felix
In its religious sense, ''felix'' means "blessed, under the protection or favour of the gods; happy." That which is ''felix'' has achieved the ''#pax deorum, pax divom'', a state of harmony or peace with the divine world. It is rooted in Proto-Indo-European language, Indo-European ''*dhe(i)l,'' meaning "happy, fruitful, productive, full of nourishment." Related Latin words include ''femina'', "woman" (a person who provides nourishment or suckles); ''felo'', "to suckle"; and ''filius'', "son" (a person suckled). See also ''Felicitas'', both an abstraction that expressed the quality of being ''felix'' and a deity of Roman state religion.
feria
A ''feria'' on the Roman calendar is a "free day", that is, a day in which no work was done. No court sessions were held, nor was any public business conducted. Employees were entitled to a day off, and even slaves were not obliged to work. These days were codified into a system of legal public holidays, the ''feriae publicae'', which could be
*''stativae'', "stationary, fixed", holidays which recurred on the same date each year;
* ''conceptivae'', recurring holidays for which the date depended on some other factor, usually the agrarian cycle. They included Compitalia, Paganalia, Sementivae and Feriae Latinae, Latinae (compare the moveable Christian holiday of Easter);
* ''imperativae'', one-off holidays ordered to mark a special occasion, established with an act of auctority of a magistrate.
In the Christian Roman Rite, a feria is a day of the week other than Saturday or Sunday. The custom throughout Europe of holding markets on the same day gave rise to the word "fair" (Spanish ''Feria'', Italian ''Fiera'', Catalan ''Fira'').
festus
In the Roman calendar, a ''dies festus'' is a festive or holy day, that is, a day dedicated to a deity or deities. On such days it was forbidden to undertake any profane activity, especially official or public business. All ''dies festi'' were thus ''
nefasti''. Some days, however, were not ''festi'' and yet might not be permissible as business days ''(
fasti
In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...
)'' for other reasons. The days on which profane activities were permitted are ''profesti''.
fetial
The ''fetiales'', or fetial priests.
finis
The ''finis'' (limit, border, boundary), plural ''fines'', was an essential concept in
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
al practice, which was concerned with the definition of the ''
templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''. Establishing ''fines'' was an important part of a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
's duties. Most scholars regard the ''finis'' as having been defined physically by ropes, trees, stones, or other markers, as were fields and property boundaries in general. It was connected with the god
Terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
and his cult.
flamen
The fifteen ''
flamines'' formed part of the
College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...
. Each flamen served as the high priest to one of the official deities of Roman religion, and led the rituals relating to that deity. The ''flamines'' were regarded as the most ancient among the ''sacerdotes'', as many of them were assigned to deities who dated back to the prehistory of Latium and whose significance had already become obscure by classical times.
The archaic nature of the flamens is indicated by their presence among Latins (Italic tribe), Latin tribes. They officiated at ceremonies with their head covered by a ''velum'' and always wore a ''filamen'', thread, in contrast to public rituals conducted by Greek rite ''(
ritus graecus)'' which were established later. Ancient authors derive the word ''flamen'' from the custom of covering the head with the ''filamen'', but it may be cognate to Vedic Sanskrit, Vedic ''brahmin''. The distinctive headgear of the flamen was the ''Apex (headdress), apex''.
Fratres Arvales
The "Brothers of the Field" were a
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
of priests whose duties were concerned with agriculture and farming. They were the most ancient religious ''Sodales, sodalitas'': according to tradition they were created by
Romulus, but probably predated the founding of Rome, foundation of Rome.
G
Gabinus
The adjective ''gabinus'' describes an element of religion that the Romans attributed to practices from
Gabii
Gabii was an ancient city of Latium, located due east of Rome along the Via Praenestina, which was in early times known as the ''Via Gabina''.
It was on the south-eastern perimeter of an extinct volcanic crater lake, approximately circular ...
, a town of Latium with municipium, municipal status about 12 miles from Rome. The incorporation of Gabinian traditions indicates their special status under treaty with Rome. See ''#cinctus gabinus, cinctus gabinus'' and ''#ager, ager gabinus''.
H
hostia
The ''hostia'' was the offering, usually an animal sacrifice, animal, in a sacrifice. The word is used interchangeably with ''#victima, victima'' by Ovid and others, but some ancient authors attempt to distinguish between the two.
[Discussion and citation of ancient sources by Steven J. Green, ''Ovid'', Fasti'' 1: A Commentary'' (Brill, 2004), pp. 159–16]
online.
/ref> Servius says that the ''hostia'' is sacrificed before battle, the ''victima'' afterward, which accords with Ovid's etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
in relating the "host" to the "hostiles" or enemy (''hostis''), and the "victim" to the "victor."
The difference between the ''victima'' and ''hostia'' is elsewhere said to be a matter of size, with the ''hostia'' smaller (''minor''). ''Hostiae'' were also classified by age: ''lactentes'' were young enough to be still taking milk, but had reached the age to be ''purae''; ''bidentes'' had reached two years of age or had the two longer ''(bi-)'' incisor teeth ''(dentes)'' that are an indication of age.
''Hostiae'' could be classified in various ways. A ''hostia consultatoria'' was an offering for the purpose of consulting with a deity, that is, in order to know the will of a deity; the ''hostia animalis'', to increase the force (''mactare'') of the deity.
The victim might also be classified by occasion and timing. The ''hostia praecidanea'' was an "anticipatory offering" made the day before a sacrifice. It was an advance atonement "to implore divine indulgence" should an error be committed on the day of the formal sacrifice. A preliminary pig was offered as a ''praecidanea'' the day before the harvest began. The ''hostia praecidanea'' was offered to Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
a day in advance of a religious festival (''sacrum'', before the beginning of the harvest) in expiation for negligences in the duties of piety towards the deceased. The ''hostia praesentanaea'' was a pig offered to Ceres during a part of the Roman funerals and burial, funeral rites conducted within sight of the deceased, whose family was thereby ritually absolved. A ''hostia succidanea'' was offered at any rite after the first sacrifice had failed owing to a ritual impropriety ('' vitium''). Compare ''piaculum'', an expiatory offering.
''Hostia'' is the origin of the word "host" for the Eucharistic sacrament of the Western Church
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
; see sacramental bread#Catholic Church, Sacramental bread: Catholic Church. See also ''votum'', a dedication or a vow of an offering to a deity as well as that which fulfilled the vow.
I
inauguratio
A rite performed by augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s by which the concerned person received the approval of the gods for his appointment or their investiture. The augur would ask for the appearance of certain signs ''( auspicia impetrativa)'' while standing beside the appointee on the ''auguraculum The auguraculum (plural: auguracula), was a roofless temple oriented to the cardinal points, in which the priests of ancient Rome practiced augury and ornithomancy. The priest observer was positioned at the center of the temple, in a tent or a hut, ...
''. In the Kingdom of Rome, Regal period, ''inauguratio'' concerned the Kings of Rome, king and the major '' sacerdotes''. After the establishment of the Republic, the '' rex sacrorum'', the three '' flamines maiores'', the augurs, and the pontiffs
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was late ...
all had to be inaugurated.
The term may also refer to the ritual establishing of the augural ''templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' and the tracing of the wall of a new city.
indigitamenta
The ''indigitamenta'' were lists of gods maintained by the College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...
to assure that the correct theonym, divine names were invoked for public prayers. It is sometimes unclear whether these names represent distinct minor entities, or epithets pertaining to an aspect of a major deity's sphere of influence, that is, an wikt:indigitation, indigitation, or name intended to "fix" or focalize the local action of the god so invoked. Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
is assumed to have drawn on direct knowledge of the lists in writing his theological books, as evidenced by the catalogues of minor deities mocked by the Church Fathers who used his work as a reference. Another source is likely to have been the non-extant work ''De indigitamentis'' of Granius Flaccus, Varro's contemporary. Not to be confused with the ''di indigetes.''
invocatio
The addressing of a deity in a #prex, prayer or magic spell is the ''invocatio'', from ''invoco, invocare'', "to call upon" the gods or spirits of the dead. The efficacy of the ''invocatio'' depends on the correct naming of the deity, which may include epithets, descriptive phrases, honorifics or titles, and arcane names. The list of names ''(nomina)'' is often extensive, particularly in magic spells; many prayers and hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...
s are composed largely of invocations. The name is invoked in either the vocative or the accusative Grammatical case, case. In specialized usage pertaining to augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
al procedure, ''invocatio'' is a synonym for ''precatio'', but specifically aimed at averting ''mala'', evil occurrences. Compare ''evocatio
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''.
The equivalent term in Religion in ancient Greece, ancient Greek religion is ''epiklesis''. Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias distinguished among the categories of theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...
proper, poetic epithet, the ''epiclesis'' of local cult, and an ''epiclesis'' that might be used universally among the Greeks. ''Epiclesis'' remains in use by some Christian churches for the invocation of the Holy Spirit during the Anaphora (liturgy), Eucharistic prayer.
ius
''Ius'' is the Latin word for justice, right, equity, fairness and all which came to be understood as the sphere of ''law''. It is defined in the opening words of the Digest (Roman law), Digesta with the words of Celsus as "the art of that which is good and fair" and similarly by Paulus as "that which is always just and fair". The polymath Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
and the jurist Gaius (jurist), Gaius consider the distinction between divine and human ''ius'' essential but divine order is the source of all laws, whether natural or human, so the pontifex is considered the final judge (iudex) and arbiter. The jurist Ulpian defines jurisprudence as "the knowledge of human and divine affairs, of what is just and unjust".
ius divinum
"Sacred law" or "divine law," particularly in regard to the gods' rights pertaining to their "property," that which is rightfully theirs. Recognition of the ''ius divinum'' was fundamental to maintaining right relations between human beings and their deities. The concern for law and legal procedure that was characteristic of ancient Roman society was also inherent in Roman religion. See also ''pax deorum''.
L
lectisternium
The ''lectisternium'' was a propitiatory ceremony.
lex
The word ''lex'' (plural ''leges'') derives from the Proto-Indo-European language, Indo-European root ''*leg'', as do the Latin verbs ''lego, legare, ligo, ligare'' ("to appoint, bequeath") and ''lego, legere'' (" to gather, choose, select, discern, read": cf. also Greek verb ''legein'' "to collect, tell, speak"), and the abstract noun '' religio''. Parties to legal proceedings and contracts bound themselves to observance by the offer of sacrifice to witnessing deities.
Even though the word ''lex'' underwent the frequent semantic shift in Latin towards the legal area, its original meaning of set, formulaic words was preserved in some instances. Some cult formulae are ''leges'': an augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
's request for particular signs that would betoken divine approval in an augural rite (#augurium, augurium), or in the inauguration of magistrates and some ''sacerdotes'' is named ''legum dictio''. The formula ''quaqua lege volet'' ("by whatever lex, i.e. wording he wishes") allowed a cult performer discretion in his choice of ritual words. The ''leges templi'' regulated cult actions at various temples.
In civil law, ritualised sets of words and gestures known as ''legis actiones'' were in use as a legal procedure in civil cases; they were regulated by custom and tradition ''(mos maiorum)'' and were thought to involve protection of the performers from malign or occult influences.
libatio
Libation (Latin ''libatio'', Greek ''spondai'') was one of the simplest religious acts, regularly performed in daily life. At home, a Roman who was about to drink wine would pour the first few drops onto the household altar. The drink offering might also be poured on the ground or at a public altar. Milk and honey, water, and oil were also used.
liberatio
The ''liberatio'' (from the verb ''liberare'', "to free") was the "liberating" of a place ''(locus)'' from "all unwanted or hostile spirits and of all human influences," as part of the ceremony inaugurating the ''templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' (sacred space). It was preceded by the consulting of signs and followed by the ''#effatio, effatio'', the creation of boundaries ''(fines Fines may refer to:
* Fines, Andalusia, Spanish municipality
* Fine (penalty)
* Fine, a dated term for a premium on a lease of land, a large sum the tenant pays to commute (lessen) the rent throughout the term
*Fines, ore or other products with a s ...
)''. A site ''liberatus et effatus'' was "exorcized and available" for its sacred purpose.
libri augurales
The augural books (''libri augurales'') represented the collective, core knowledge of the Augur, augural college. Some scholars consider them distinct from the ''#commentarii augurales, commentarii augurum'' (commentaries of the augurs) which recorded the collegial acts of the augurs, including the '' decreta'' and '' responsa''. The books were central to the practice of augury. They have not survived, but Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, who was an augur himself, offers a summary in ''De Legibus'' that represents "precise dispositions based certainly on an official collection edited in a professional fashion."
libri pontificales
The ''libri pontificales'' (pontifical books) are core texts in Roman religion, which survive as fragmentary transcripts and commentaries. They may have been partly annalistic, part priestly; different Roman authors refer to them as ''libri'' and ''commentarii'' (commentaries), described by Livy as incomplete "owing to the long time elapsed and the rare use of writing" and by Quintillian as unintelligibly archaic and obscure. The earliest were credited to Numa
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''NUMA1'' gene.
Interactions
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 has been shown to interact with PIM1, Band 4.1, GPSM2
G-protein-signaling modulator 2, also call ...
, second king of Rome, who was thought to have codified the core texts and principles of Rome's religious and civil law (''ius divinum'' and ''ius civile''). See also ''#commentarii pontificum, commentarii pontificum''.
litatio
In animal sacrifice, the ''litatio'' followed on the opening up of the body cavity for the #exta, inspection of the entrails (''inspicere exta''). ''Litatio'' was not a part of divinatory practice as derived from the Etruscan religion, Etruscans (see extispicy and Liver of Piacenza), but a certification according to Roman liturgy of the gods' approval. If the organs were diseased or defective, the procedure had to be restarted with a new victim (''#hostia, hostia''). The importance of ''litatio'' is illustrated by an incident in 176 BC when the presiding consuls
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
attempted to sacrifice an ox, only to find that its liver had been inexplicably consumed by a wasting disease. After three more oxen failed to pass the test, the Roman senate, senate's instructions were to keep sacrificing bigger victims until ''litatio'' could be obtained. The point was not that those sacrificing had to make sure that the victim was perfect inside and out; rather, the good internal condition of the animal was evidence of divine acceptance of the offering. The need for the deity to approve and accept (''litare'') underscores that the reciprocity of sacrifice (''#do ut des, do ut des'') was not to be taken for granted.
lituus
The distinctively curved staff of an augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
, or a similarly curved war trumpet. On Roman currency, Roman coins, the ''lituus'' is frequently accompanied by a ritual jug or pitcher to indicate that either the moneyer or person honored on the obverse was an augur.
lucus
In religious usage, a ''lucus'' was a sacred grove, grove or small wooded area considered sacred to a divinity. Entrance might be severely restricted: Paulus explains that a ''capitalis lucus'' was protected from human access under penalty of death. ''Leges sacratae'' (laws for the violation of which the offender is outlawed) concerning sacred groves have been found on ''cippi
A (plural: ''cippi''; "pointed pole") is a low, round or rectangular pedestal set up by the Ancient Romans for purposes such as a milestone or a boundary post. They were also used for somewhat differing purposes by the Etruscans and Carthaginians ...
'' at Spoleto in Umbria and Lucera in Apulia. See also ''nemus.''
ludi
''Ludi'' were games held as part of Roman festivals, religious festivals, and some were originally #sacer, sacral in nature. These included chariot racing and the ''venatio'', or staged animal-human blood sport that may have had a animal sacrifice, sacrificial element.
Luperci
The "wolf priests", organized into two collegium, colleges and later three, who participated in the Lupercalia. The most famous person to serve as a ''lupercus'' was Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...
.
lustratio
The lustratio is a ritual of purification that was held every five years under the jurisdiction of censors in Rome. Its original meaning was purifying by washing in water (Lat. ''lustrum'' from verb ''luo'', "I wash in water"). The time elapsing between two subsequent lustrations being of five years the term ''lustrum'' took up the meaning of a period of five year.
M
manubia
''Manubia'' is a technical term of the Etruscan mythology#Etrusca Disciplina, Etruscan discipline, and refers to the power of a deity to wield lightning, represented in divine icons by a lightning bolt in the hand. It may be either a Latinisation (literature), Latinized word from Etruscan language, Etruscan or less likely a formation from ''manus'', "hand," and ''habere'', "to have, hold." It is not apparently related to the more common Latin word ''manubiae'' meaning "booty (taken by a general in war)." Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
uses the term in an extended discussion of lightning. Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
, as interpretatio romana, identified with Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
Tinia, held three types of ''manubiae'' sent from three different celestial regions. Stefan Weinstock describes these as:
# mild, or "perforating" lightning;
# harmful or "crushing" lightning, which is sent on the advice of the twelve Di Consentes and occasionally does some good;
# destructive or "burning" lightning, which is sent on the advice of the ''dii involuti, di superiores et involuti'' (hidden gods of the "higher" sphere) and changes the state of public and private affairs.
Jupiter makes use of the first type of beneficial lightning to persuade or dissuade. Books on how to read lightning were one of the three main forms of Etruscan learning on the subject of divination.
miraculum
One of several words for portent or sign, ''miraculum'' is a non-technical term that places emphasis on the observer's response (''mirum'', "a wonder, marvel"). Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
uses the word ''miraculum'', for instance, to describe the sign visited upon Servius Tullius as a child, when divine flames burst forth from his head and the royal household witnessed the event. Compare ''#monstrum, monstrum'', ''#ostentum, ostentum'', ''#portentum, portentum'', and ''prodigium
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''.
''Miraculum'' is the origin of the English word "miracle." Christian writers later developed a distinction between ''miracula'', the true forms of which were evidence of divine power in the world, and mere ''mirabilia'', things to be marveled at but not resulting from God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
's intervention. "Pagan" marvels were relegated to the category of ''mirabilia'' and attributed to the work of demons.
mola salsa
Flour mixed with salt was sprinkled on the forehead and between the horns of sacrificial victims, as well as on the altar and in the sacred fire. This ''mola salsa'' ('salted flour') was prepared ritually from toasted triticum dicoccum, wheat or emmer, spelt, or barley by the Vestal Virgin, Vestals, who thus contributed to every official sacrifice in Rome. Servius uses the words ''#pius, pius'' and ''#castus, castitas, castus'' to describe the product. The ''mola'' was so fundamental to sacrifice that "to put on the ''mola''" (Latin ''immolare'') came to mean "to sacrifice." Its use was one of the numerous religious traditions ascribed to Numa
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''NUMA1'' gene.
Interactions
Nuclear mitotic apparatus protein 1 has been shown to interact with PIM1, Band 4.1, GPSM2
G-protein-signaling modulator 2, also call ...
, the Sabine second king of Rome.
monstrum
A ''monstrum'' is a sign or portent that disrupts the natural order as evidence of divine displeasure. The word ''monstrum'' is usually assumed to derive, as Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
says, from the verb ''monstro'', "show" (compare English "demonstrate"), but according to Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
it comes from ''moneo'', "warn." Because a sign must be startling or deviant to have an impact, ''monstrum'' came to mean "unnatural event" or "a malfunctioning of nature." Suetonius said that "a ''monstrum'' is contrary to nature (or exceeds the nature) we are familiar with, like a snake with feet or a bird with four wings."[As cited by Wardle, ''Cicero on Divination'', p. 330.] The Greek equivalent was ''Teratology, teras''. The English word "monster" derived from the negative sense of the word. Compare ''#miraculum, miraculum'', ''#ostentum, ostentum'', ''#portentum, portentum'', and ''prodigium
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''.
In one of the most famous uses of the word in Latin literature, the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan poet Horace calls Cleopatra a ''fatale monstrum'', something deadly and outside normal human bounds. Cicero calls Catiline ''monstrum atque prodigium'' and uses the phrase several times to insult various objects of his attacks as depraved and beyond the human pale. For Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
, the ''monstrum'' is, like tragedy, "a visual and horrific revelation of the truth."
mundus
Literally "the world", also a pit supposedly dug and sealed by Romulus as part of Rome's foundation rites. Its interpretation is problematic; it was normally sealed, and was ritually opened only on three occasions during the year. Still, in the most ancient Fasti, these days were marked C(omitiales) (days when the Comitia met) suggesting the idea that the whole ritual was a later Greek import. However Cato the Younger, Cato and Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
as quoted by Macrobius considered them ''#religiosus, religiosi''. When opened, the pit served as a cache for offerings to underworld deities, particularly Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
, goddess of the fruitful earth. It offered a portal between the upper and lower worlds; its shape was said to be an inversion of the dome of the upper heavens.
N
nefandum
An adjective derived from ''nefas'' (following). The gerund of verb ''fari'', to speak, is commonly used to form derivate or inflected forms of ''fas''. See Vergil's ''fandi'' as genitive of ''fas''. This use has been invoked to support the derivation of ''fas'' from IE root *bha, Latin fari.
nefas
Any thing or action contrary to divine law and will is ''nefas'' (in archaic legalese, ''ne'' (not) ... '' fas''). ''Nefas'' forbids a thing as religiously and morally offensive, or indicates a failure to fulfill a religious duty. It might be nuanced as "a religious duty not to", as in Festus' statement that "a man condemned by the people for a heinous action is ''homo sacer, sacer''" — that is, given over to the gods for judgment and disposal — "it is not a religious duty to execute him, but whoever kills him will not be prosecuted".
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
records that the patricians
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...
opposed Lex Canuleia, legislation that would allow a Plebs, plebeian to hold the office of Roman consul, consul on the grounds that it was ''nefas'': a plebeian, they claimed, would lack the arcane knowledge of religious matters that mos maiorum, by tradition was a patrician prerogative. The tribune, plebeian tribune Gaius Canuleius, whose ''#lex, lex'' it was, retorted that it was arcane because the patricians kept it secret.
nefastus
Usually found with ''dies'' (singular or plural), as ''dies nefasti'', days on which official transactions were forbidden on religious grounds. See also nefas, #fasti, fasti and fas.
nemus
''Nemus'', plural ''nemora'', was one of four Latin words that meant "forest, woodland, woods." ''Lucus'' is more strictly a sacred grove, as defined by Servius as "a large number of trees with a #religio, religious significance", and distinguished from the ''silva'', a natural forest; ''saltus'', territory that is wilderness; and a ''nemus'', an arboretum that is not consecrated (but compare Celtic ''nemeton''). In Latin poetry, a ''nemus'' is often a place conducive to poetic inspiration, and particularly in the Augustan period takes on a sacral aura.
Named ''nemora'' include:
* The ''nemus'' of Anna Perenna.
* ''Nemus Caesarum'', dedicated to the memory of Augustus's grandsons Gaius and Lucius.
*The ''nemus Aricinum'' sacred to Diana, Egeria (mythology), Egeria and Virbius.
nuntiatio
The chief responsibility of an augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
was to observe signs ''( observatio)'' and to report the results ''(nuntiatio)''. The announcement was made before an Roman assemblies, assembly. A passage in Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
states that the augur was entitled to report on the signs observed before or during an assembly and that the magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
had the right to watch for signs ''( spectio)'' as well as make the announcement ''(nuntiatio)'' prior to the conducting of public business, but the exact significance of Cicero's distinction is a matter of scholarly debate.
O
obnuntiatio
''Obnuntiatio'' was a declaration of unfavourable signs by an #augur, augur in order to suspend, cancel or postpone a proposed course of action. The procedure could be carried out only by an official who had the right to observe omens ('' spectio''). The only source for the term is Cicero, a conservative politician and himself an augur, who refers to it in several speeches as a religious bulwark against populares, popularist politicians and tribunes. Its details and workings are unknown; it may have derived from a radical intervention into traditional augural law of a civil Lex Aelia et Fufia, Lex Aelia Fufia, proposed by dominant traditionalists in an attempt to block the passing of popular laws and used from around the 130s BC. Legislation by Publius Clodius Pulcher, Clodius as Tribune of the plebs in 58 BC was aimed at ending the practice, or at least curtailing its potential for abuse; ''obnuntiatio'' had been exploited the previous year as an obstructionist tactic by Julius Caesar's Roman consul, consular colleague Bibulus. That the Clodian law had not deprived all augurs or magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
of the privilege is indicated by Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...
's use of ''obnuntatio'' in early 44 BC to halt the consular election.
observatio
''Observatio'' was the interpretation of signs according to the tradition of the " Etruscan discipline", or as preserved in books such as the '' libri augurales''. A haruspex interpreted ''fulgura'' (thunder and lightning) and ''exta
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' (entrails) by ''observatio''. The word has three closely related meanings in augury: the observing of signs by an augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
or other diviner; the process of observing, recording, and establishing the meaning of signs over time; and the codified body of knowledge accumulated by systematic observation, that is, "unbending rules" regarded as objective, or external to an individual's observation on a given occasion. #auspicia impetrativa, Impetrative signs, or those sought by standard augural procedure, were interpreted according to ''observatio''; the observer had little or no latitude in how they might be interpreted. ''Observatio'' might also be applicable to many oblative or unexpected signs. ''Observatio'' was considered a kind of ''scientia'', or "scientific" knowledge, in contrast to ''#coniectura, coniectura'', a more speculative "art" or "method" (''ars'') as required by novel signs.
omen
An omen, plural ''omina'', was a #signum, sign intimating the future, considered less important to the community than a ''prodigium
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' but of great importance to the person who heard or saw it.
Omens could be good or bad. Unlike prodigies, bad omens were never expiated by public rites but could be reinterpreted, redirected or otherwise averted. Some time around 282 BC, a diplomatic insult formally "accepted as omen" was turned against Taranto, Tarentum and helped justify its History of Taranto#Pyrrhic War, conquest. After a thunderclap cost Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Marcellus his very brief consulship (215 BC) he took care to avoid sight of possible bad omens that might affect his plans. Bad omens could be more actively dealt with, by countersigns or spoken formulae. Before his campaign against Perseus of Macedon, the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, L Aemilius Paullus was said to have heard of the death of Perseus, his daughter's puppy. He accepted the omen and defeated King Perseus at the Battle of Pydna (168 BC).
In 217 BC the consul Gaius Flaminius (consul 223 BC), Gaius Flaminius "disregarded his horse's collapse, #auspicia, the chickens, and yet other omens, before his disaster at Lake Trasimene". Marcus Licinius Crassus, Licinius Crassus took ship for Syria despite an ominous call of ''"Cauneas!"'' ("Caunean figs!"), which might be heard as ''"Cave ne eas!''" ("Beware, don't go!")'. He was killed on campaign. Cicero saw these events as merely coincidental; only the credulous could think them ominous. By his time, however, politicians, military magnates and their supporters actively circulated tales of excellent omens that attended their births and careers.
See also #abominari, abominari and #signum, signum.
ostentarium
One form of arcane literature was the ''ostentarium'', a written collection describing and interpreting signs ('' ostenta''). Tarquinius Priscus wrote an ''Ostentarium arborarium'', a book on signs pertaining to trees, and an ''Ostentarium Tuscum'', presumably translations of Etruscan works. Pliny the Elder, Pliny cites his contemporary Umbricius Melior for an ''ostentarium aviarium'', concerning birds. They were consulted until late antiquity; in the 4th century, for instance, the haruspices consulted the books of Tarquinius before the battle that proved fatal to the emperor Julian the Apostate, Julian — according to Ammianus Marcellinus, because he failed to heed them. Fragments of ''ostentaria'' survive as quotations in other literary works.
ostentum
According to Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, an ''ostentum'' is a sign so called because it shows (''ostendit'') something to a person. Suetonius specified that "an ''ostentum'' shows itself to us without possessing a solid body and affects both our eyes and ears, like darkness or a light at night." In his classic work on Roman divination, Auguste Bouché-Leclercq thus tried to distinguish theoretical usage of ''ostenta'' and '' portenta'' as applying to inanimate objects, ''#monstrum, monstra'' to biological signs, and ''Prodigium, prodigia'' for human acts or movements, but in non-technical writing the words tend to be used more loosely as synonyms.
The theory of ''ostenta'', ''portenta'' and ''monstra'' constituted one of the three branches of interpretation within the ''#disciplina Etrusca, disciplina Etrusca'', the other two being the more specific ''fulgura'' (thunder and lightning) and ''exta
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' (entrails). ''Ostenta'' and ''portenta'' are not the signs that augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s are trained to solicit and interpret, but rather "new signs", the meaning of which had to be figured out through ''ratio'' (the application of analytical principles) and ''#coniectura, coniectura'' (more speculative reasoning, in contrast to augural '' observatio'').
ordo sacerdotum
A religious hierarchy implied by the seating arrangements of priests (sacerdotes) at sacrificial banquets. As "the most powerful", the ''#rex sacrorum, rex sacrorum'' was positioned next to the gods, followed by the Flamen Dialis
In ancient Roman religion, the was the high priest of Jupiter. The term ''Dialis'' is related to ''Diespiter'', an Old Latin form of the name ''Jupiter''. There were 15 '' flamines'', of whom three were ''flamines maiores'', serving the thre ...
, then the Flamen Martialis, then the Flamen Quirinalis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen or high priest of the god Quirinus. He was one of the three ''flamines maiores'', third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis and the Flamen Martialis. Like the other two hi ...
and lastly, the Pontifex Maximus. The ''ordo sacerdotum'' observed and preserved ritual distinctions between divine and human power. In the human world, the Pontifex Maximus was the most influential and powerful of all ''sacerdotes''.
P
paludatus
''Paludatus'' (grammatical gender, masculine singular, plural ''paludati'') is an adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...
meaning "wearing the ''paludamentum''," the distinctive attire of the Roman military commander. Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
and Festus say that any military ornament could be called a ''paludamentum'', but other sources indicate that the cloak was primarily meant. According to Festus, ''paludati'' in the #libri augurales, augural books meant "armed and adorned" ''(armati, ornati)''. As the commander crossed from the sacred boundary of Rome ''(pomerium
The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
)'', he was ''paludatus'', adorned with the attire he would wear to lead a battle and for official business. This adornment was thus part of the commander's ritual investiture with ''imperium
In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...
''. It followed upon the sacrifices and #votum, vows the commander offered up on the Capitol, and was concomitant with his possession of the auspices for war.
Festus notes elsewhere that the "Saliae virgines, Salian virgins", whose relation to the Salian priests is unclear, performed their rituals ''paludatae'', dressed in military garb.
pax deorum
''Pax'', though usually translated into English as "peace," was a compact, bargain, or agreement. In religious usage, the harmony or accord between the divine and human was the ''pax deorum'' or ''pax divom'' ("the peace of the gods" or "divine peace"). ''Pax deorum'' was only given in return for correct #religio, religious practice. Religious error ('' vitium'') and impiety led to divine disharmony and ''ira deorum'' (the anger of the gods).
piaculum
A ''piaculum'' is an expiatory sacrifice, or the #victima, victim used in the sacrifice; also, an act requiring expiation.
Because Roman religion was contractual (''#do ut des, do ut des''), a ''piaculum'' might be offered as a sort of advance payment; the Arval Brethren, for instance, offered a ''piaculum'' before entering their sacred grove with an iron implement, which was forbidden, as well as after. The pig was a common victim for a ''piaculum''. The Augustan historian Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
says Publius Decius Mus (consul 340 BC), P. Decius Mus is "like" a ''piaculum'' when he makes his vow to sacrifice himself in battle (see ''#devotio, devotio'').
pius
The origin of the English word "pious", ''pius'' is found in Volscian language, Volscian as ''pihom estu'', Umbrian language, Umbrian as ''pihaz'' (a past participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
equivalent to Latin ''piatum'') and Oscan language, Oscan as ''pehed'', from the Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European root ''*q(u)ei-''. In Latin and other Italic languages, the word seems to have meant "that which is in accord with divine law." Later it was used to designate actions respectful of divine law and even people who acted with respect towards gods and godly rules. The ''pius'' person "strictly conforms his life to the ''#ius divinum, ius divinum''. "Dutiful" is often a better translation of the adjective than "pious." ''Pius'' is a regular epithet of the Roman founding myth, founding hero Aeneas in Vergil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
's ''Aeneid''. See also pietas, the related abstract noun.
pietas
''Pietas'', from which English "piety" derives, was the devotion that bound a person to the gods, to the Roman state, and to his family. It was the outstanding quality of the Roman hero Aeneas, to whom the epithet ''#pius, pius'' is applied regularly throughout the ''Aeneid''.
pollucere
A verb of unknown etymology meaning "to consecrate."
pontifex
The ''pontifex
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was la ...
'' was a priest of the highest-ranking collegium, college. The chief among the ''pontifices'' was the Pontifex Maximus. The word has been considered as related to ''pons'', bridge, either because of the religious meaning of the pons Sublicius and its ritual use (which has a parallel in Thebae and in its ''gephiarioi'') or in the original IE meaning of way. Pontifex in this case would be the "opener of the way" corresponding to the Vedic adharvayu, the only active and moving ''sacerdos'' in the sacrificial group who takes his title from the figurative designation of liturgy as a way.
Another hypothesis considers the word as a loan from the Sabine language, in which it would mean a member of a college of five people, from Osco-Umbrian ''ponte'', five. This explanation takes into account that the college was established by Sabine king Numa Pompilius and the institution is Italic: the expressions ''pontis'' and ''pomperias'' found in the Iguvine Tablets may denote a group or division of five or by five. The pontifex would thus be a member of a sacrificial college known as ''pomperia'' (Latin ''quinio'').
popa
The ''popa'' was one of the lesser-rank officiants at a sacrifice. In depictions of sacrificial processions, he carries a mallet or axe with which to strike the animal #victima, victim. Literary sources in late antiquity say that the ''popa'' was a public slave.[Marietta Horster, "Living on Religion: Professionals and Personnel", in ''A Companion to Roman Religion'', pp. 332–334.] See also ''#victimarius, victimarius''.
porricere
The verb ''porricere'' had the specialized religious meaning "to offer as a sacrifice," especially to offer the sacrificial entrails ''(exta
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
)'' to the gods. Both ''exta porricere'' and ''exta dare'' referred to the process by which the entrails were cooked, cut into pieces, and burnt on the altar. The Arval Brethren used the term ''exta reddere'', "to return the entrails," that is, to render unto the deity what has already been given as due.[Robert Schilling, "Roman Sacrifice," ''Roman and European Mythologies'' (University of Chicago Press, 1992, from the French edition of 1981), p. 7]
online.
/ref>
portentum
A ''portentum'' is a kind of sign interpreted by a haruspex, not an augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
, and by means of ''#coniectura, coniectura'' rather than '' observatio''. ''Portentum'' is a close but not always exact synonym of ''#ostentum, ostentum, prodigium
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'', and ''#monstrum, monstrum''. Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
uses ''portentum'' frequently in his treatise ''De divinatione'', where it seems to be a generic word for prodigies. The word could also refer in non-technical usage to an unnatural occurrence without specific religious significance; for instance, Pliny the Elder, Pliny calls an Egyptian with a pair of non-functional eyes on the back of his head a ''portentum''. Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
derives ''portentum'' from the verb ''portendere'' because it wikt:portend, portends something that is going to happen.
In the schema of :fr:Auguste Bouché-Leclercq, A. Bouché-Leclercq, ''portenta'' and ''ostenta'' are the two types of signs that appear in inanimate nature, as distinguished from the ''monstrum'' (a biological singularity), ''prodigia'' (the unique acts or movements of living beings), and a ''#miraculum, miraculum'', a non-technical term that emphasizes the viewer's reaction. The sense of ''portentum'' has also been distinguished from that of ''ostentum'' by relative duration of time, with the ''ostentum'' of briefer manifestation.
Although the English word "portent" derives from ''portentum'' and may be used to translate it, other Latin terms such as ''ostentum'' and ''prodigium'' will also be found translated as "portent". ''Portentum'' offers an example of an ancient Roman religious term modified for Christian usage; in the Christian theology of miracles, a ''portentum'' occurring by the will of the Christian God could not be regarded as contrary to nature (''contra naturam''), thus Augustine specified that if such a sign appeared to be unnatural, it was only because it was contrary to nature as known (''nota'') by human beings.
precatio
The ''precatio'' was the formal addressing of the deity or deities in a ritual. The word is related by etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
to ''#prex, prex'', "prayer" (plural ''preces''), and usually translated as if synonymous. Pliny the Elder, Pliny says that the slaughter of a #victima, sacrificial victim is ineffectual without ''precatio'', the recitation of the prayer formula. Priestly texts that were collections of prayers were sometimes called ''precationes''.
Two late examples of the ''precatio'' are the ''Precatio Terrae Matris'' ("The Prayer of Mother Earth") and the ''Precatio omnium herbarum'' ("Prayer of All the Herbs"), which are charms or ''#carmen, carmina'' written metrically, the latter attached to the medical writings attributed to Antonius Musa. ''Dirae precationes'' were "Dirus, dire" prayers, that is, imprecations or curses.
In augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
al procedure, ''precatio'' is not a prayer proper, but a form of invocation ''( invocatio)'' recited at the beginning of a ceremony or after accepting an #auspicia oblativa, oblative sign. The ''precatio maxima'' was recited for the ''augurium salutis'', the ritual conducted by the augurs to obtain divine permission to pray for Rome's security (''salus'').
In legal and rhetorical usage, ''precatio'' was a plea or request.
prex
''Prex'', "prayer", usually appears in the plural, ''preces''. Within the tripartite structure that was often characteristic of formal ancient prayer, ''preces'' would be the final expression of what is sought from the deity, following the #invocatio, invocation and a narrative middle. A legitimate request is an example of ''bonae preces'', "good prayer." ''Tacitae preces'' are silent or ''wikt:sotto voce, sotto voce'' prayers as might be used in private ritual or magic; ''preces'' with a negative intent are described with adjectives such as ''Thyesteae'' ("Thyestes, Thyestean"), ''funestae'' ("deadly"), ''infelices'' (aimed at causing unhappiness), ''nefariae'', or ''Dirus, dirae''.
In general usage, ''preces'' could refer to any request or entreaty. The verbal form is ''precor, precari'', "pray, entreat." The Umbrian language, Umbrian cognate is ''persklu'', "supplication." The meaning may be "I try and obtain by uttering appropriate words what is my right to obtain." It is used often in association with ''quaeso'' in expressions such as ''te precor quaesoque'', "I pray and beseech you", or ''prece quaesit'', "he seeks by means of prayer." In Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
of the Roman Empire, Imperial era, ''preces'' referred to a petition addressed to the Roman emperor, emperor by a privatus, private person.
prodigium
''Prodigia'' (plural) were unnatural deviations from the predictable order of the cosmos. A ''prodigium'' signaled divine displeasure at a religious offense and must be expiated to avert more destructive expressions of divine wrath. Compare ''#ostentum, ostentum'' and ''#portentum, portentum'', signs denoting an extraordinary inanimate phenomenon, and ''#monstrum, monstrum'' and ''#miraculum, miraculum'', an unnatural feature in humans.
Prodigies were a type of '' auspicia oblativa''; that is, they were "thrust upon" observers, not deliberately sought. Suspected prodigies were reported as a civic duty. A system of official referrals filtered out those that seemed patently insignificant or false before the rest were reported to the Roman senate, senate, who held further inquiry; this procedure was the ''procuratio prodigiorum''. Prodigies confirmed as genuine were referred to the pontiffs
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was late ...
and augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s for ritual expiation. For particularly serious or difficult cases, the decemviri sacris faciundis could seek guidance and suggestions from the Sibylline Books.
The number of confirmed prodigies rose in troubled times. In 207 BC, during one of the worst crises of the Punic Wars, the senate dealt with an unprecedented number, the expiation of which would have involved "at least twenty days" of dedicated rites. Major prodigies that year included the spontaneous combustion of weapons, the apparent shrinking of the sun's disc, two moons in a daylit sky, a cosmic battle between sun and moon, a rain of red-hot stones, a bloody sweat on statues, and blood in fountains and on ears of corn. These were expiated by the sacrifice of #victima, "greater victims". The minor prodigies were less warlike but equally unnatural; sheep became goats; a hen become a rooster, cock, and vice versa. The minor prodigies were duly expiated with "lesser victims". The discovery of a intersex, hermaphroditic four-year-old child was expiated by drowning and a holy procession of 27 virgins to the temple of Juno (mythology)#Epithets, Juno Regina, singing a hymn to avert disaster; a lightning strike during the hymn rehearsals required further expiation. Religious restitution was proved only by Rome's victory.
The expiatory Sacrificium Romanam, burial of living human victims in the Forum Boarium followed Rome's Battle of Cannae, defeat at Cannae in the same wars. In Livy's account, Rome's victory follows its discharge of religious duties to the gods. Livy remarked the scarcity of prodigies in his own day as a loss of communication between gods and men. In the later Republic and thereafter, the reporting of public prodigies was increasingly displaced by a "new interest in signs and omens associated with the charismatic individual."
profanum
Profanum (literally, 'in front of the shrine'), therefore not within a sacred precinct; not belonging to the gods but to humankind.
propitius; praepetes (aves)
An adjective of augural terminology meaning favourable. From ''pro-'' before and ''petere'' seek, but originally fly. It implies a kind of favourable pattern in the flight of birds, i.e. flying before the person who is taking the auspices. Synonym ''secundus''.
pulvinar
The ''pulvinar'' (plural ''pulvinaria'') was a special couch used for displaying images of the gods, that they might receive offerings at ceremonies such as the ''lectisternium'' or ''supplicatio''. In the famous ''lectisternium'' of 217 BC, on orders of the Sibylline books, six ''pulvinaria'' were arranged, each for a List of Roman deities#Lectisternium of 217 BC, divine male-female pair. By extension, pulvinar can also mean the shrine or platform housing several of these couches and their images. At the Circus Maximus, the couches and images of the gods were placed on an elevated ''pulvinar'' to "watch" the games.
Q
R
regina sacrorum
The regina sacrorum is the wife of the '' rex sacrorum'', who served as a high priestess with her own specific religious duties.
religio
The word ''religio'' originally meant an obligation to the gods, something expected by them from human beings or a matter of particular care or concern as related to the gods. In this sense, ''religio'' might be translated better as "religious scruple" than with the English word "religion". One definition of ''religio'' offered by Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
is ''cultus deorum'', "the proper performance of rites in veneration of the gods."
''Religio'' among the Romans was not based on "faith", but on knowledge, including and especially orthopraxy, correct practice. ''Religio'' (plural ''religiones'') was the pietas, pious practice of Rome's traditional cults, and was a cornerstone of the ''mos maiorum'', the traditional social norms that regulated public, private, and military life. To the Romans, their success was self-evidently due to their practice of proper, respectful ''religio'', which gave the gods #do ut des, what was owed them and which was rewarded with social harmony, peace and prosperity.
Religious law maintained the proprieties of divine honours, sacrifice and ritual. Impure sacrifice and incorrect ritual were ''#vitium, vitia'' (faults, hence "vice," the English derivative); excessive devotion, fearful grovelling to deities, and the improper use or seeking of divine knowledge were ''#superstitio, superstitio''; neglecting the ''religiones'' owed to the traditional gods was atheism, a charge leveled during the Empire at Jews, Christians, and Epicureans. Any of these moral deviations could cause divine anger (''ira deorum'') and therefore harm the State. See Religion in ancient Rome.
religiosus
''Religiosus'' was something pertaining to the gods or marked out by them as theirs, as distinct from ''#sacer, sacer'', which was something or someone given to them by humans. Hence, a graveyard was not primarily defined as ''#sacer, sacer'' but a ''locus religiosus'', because those who lay within its boundaries were considered belonging to the di Manes. Places struck by lightning were taboo because they had been marked as ''religiosus'' by Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
himself. See also #sacer, sacer and Sanctitas, sanctus.
res divinae
''Res divinae'' were "divine affairs," that is, the matters that pertained to the gods and the sphere of the divine in contrast to ''res humanae'', "human affairs." ''Rem divinam facere'', "to do a divine thing," simply meant to do something that pertained to the divine sphere, such as perform a ceremony or rite. The equivalent Etruscan language, Etruscan term is ''ais(u)na''.
The distinction between human and divine ''res'' was explored in the multivolume ''Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum'', one of the chief works of Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
(1st century BC). It survives only in fragments but was a major source of traditional Roman theology for the Church Fathers. Varro devoted 25 books of the ''Antiquitates'' to ''res humanae'' and 16 to ''res divinae''. His proportional emphasis is deliberate, as he treats cult and ritual as human constructs. Varro divides ''res divinae'' into three kinds:
* the mythical theology, mythic theology of the poets, or narrative elaboration;
* the natural theology of the philosophers, or theorizing on divinity among the intellectual elite;
* the political theology, civil theology concerned with the relation of the state to the divine.
The schema is Stoicism, Stoic in origin, though Varro has adapted it for his own purposes.
''Res divinae'' is an example of ancient Roman religious terminology that was appropriated for Christian usage; for St. Augustine, ''res divina'' is a "divine reality" as represented by a ''sacrum signum'' ("sacred sign") such as a sacrament.
responsum
''Responsa'' (plural) were the "responses," that is, the opinions and arguments, of the official priests on questions of religious practice and interpretation. These were preserved in written form and archived. Compare ''#decretum, decretum''.
rex sacrorum
The '' rex sacrorum'' was a senatorial priesthood reserved for patricians
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...
. Although in the historical era the Pontifex Maximus was the head of Religion in ancient Rome, Roman state religion, Festus says that in the #ordo sacerdotum, ranking of priests, the ''rex sacrorum'' was of highest prestige, followed by the ''Flamen, flamines maiores''.
ritus
Although ''ritus'' is the origin of the English word "rite" via ecclesiastical Latin, in classical Latin, classical usage ''ritus'' meant the traditional and correct manner (of performance), that is, "way, custom". Festus defines it as a specific form of ''mos maiorum, mos'': "''Ritus'' is the proven way ''(mos)'' in the performance of sacrifices." The adverb ''rite'' means "in good form, correctly." This original meaning of ''ritus'' may be compared to the concept of ''Rta, ṛtá'' ("visible order", in contrast to ''dharma, dhāman, dhārman'') in Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion, a conceptual pairing analogous to Latin '' fas'' and ''#ius, ius''.
For Latin words meaning "ritual" or "rite", see '' sacra'', ''#caerimonia, caerimoniae'', and ''#religio, religiones''.
ritus graecus
A small number of Roman religious practices and cult innovations were carried out according to "Greek rite" ''(ritus graecus)'', which the Romans characterized as Greek in origin or manner. A priest who conducted ''ritu graeco'' wore a Greek-style fringed tunic, with his head bare ''(capite aperto)'' or laurel wreath, laurel-wreathed. By contrast, in most rites of Roman public religion, an officiant wore the distinctively Roman toga
The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...
, specially folded to cover his head (see ''capite velato''). Otherwise, "Greek rite" seems to have been a somewhat indefinite category, used for prayers uttered in Greek, and Greek methods of sacrifice within otherwise conventionally Roman cult.
Roman writers record elements of ''ritus graecus'' in the cult to Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
at Rome's Ara Maxima, which according to tradition was established by the Greek king Evander of Pallene, Evander even before the city of Rome was founded at the site. It thus represented one of the most ancient Roman cults. "Greek" elements were also found in the Saturnalia held in honor of the Golden Age deity Saturn (mythology), Saturn, and in certain ceremonies of the Ludi saeculares. A Greek rite to Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
(''ritus graecus cereris'') was imported from Magna Graecia and added to her Aventine Triad, existing Aventine cult in accordance with the Sibylline books, ancient oracles written in Greek. Official rites to Apollo are perhaps "the best illustration of the ''Graecus ritus'' in Rome."
The Romans regarded ''ritus graecus'' as part of their own ''mos maiorum'' (ancestral tradition), and not as ''novus aut externus ritus'', novel or foreign rite. The thorough integration and reception of rite labeled "Greek" attests to the complex, multi-ethnic origins of Rome's people and religious life.
S
sacellum
''Sacellum'', a diminutive from ''#sacer, sacer'' ("belonging to a god"), is a shrine. Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
and Verrius Flaccus give explanations that seem contradictory, the former defining a ''sacellum'' in its entirety as equivalent to a ''cella'', which is specifically an enclosed space, and the latter insisting that a ''sacellum'' had no roof. "The ''sacellum''," notes Jörg Rüpke, "was both less complex and less elaborately defined than a temple proper." Each curia
Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
had its own ''sacellum''.
sacer
''Sacer'' describes a thing or person given to the gods, thus "sacred" to them. Human beings had no legal or moral claims on anything ''sacer''. ''Sacer'' could be highly nuanced; Varro associates it with "perfection". Through association with ritual purity, ''sacer'' could also mean "sacred, untouchable, inviolable".
Anything not ''sacer'' was ''#profanum, profanum'': literally, "in front of (or outside) the shrine", therefore not belonging to it or the gods. A thing or person could be made ''sacer'' (consecrated), or could revert from ''sacer'' to ''profanum'' (deconsecrated), only through lawful rites ''(resecratio)'' performed by a pontiff on behalf of the state. Part of the ''ver sacrum'' sacrificial vow of 217 BC stipulated that animals dedicated as ''sacer'' would revert to the condition of ''profanum'' if they died through natural cause or were stolen before the due sacrificial date. Similar conditions attached to sacrifices in archaic Rome. A thing already owned by the gods or actively marked out by them as divine property was distinguished as '' religiosus'', and hence could not be given to them or made ''sacer''.
Persons judged ''sacer'' under Roman law were placed beyond further civil judgment, sentence and protection; their lives, families and properties were forfeit to the gods. A person could be declared ''sacer'' who harmed a Plebeian Tribune, plebeian tribune, failed to bear legal witness, failed to meet his obligations to Patronage in ancient Rome, clients, or illicitly moved the boundary markers of fields. It was not a religious duty ''( fas)'' to execute a ''homo sacer'', but he could be killed with impunity.
''Dies sacri'' ("sacred days") were '' nefasti'', meaning that the ordinary human affairs permitted on ''dies profani'' (or ''#fasti, fasti'') were forbidden.
''Sacer'' was a fundamental principle in Roman and Ancient Italic peoples, Italic religions. In Oscan language, Oscan, related forms are ''sakoro'', "sacred," and ''sakrim'', "sacrificial victim". Oscan ''sakaraklum'' is cognate with Latin ''sacellum'', a small shrine, as Oscan ''sakarater'' is with Latin ''sacratur, consecrare'', "consecrated". The '' sacerdos'' is "one who performs a sacred action" or "renders a thing sacred", that is, a priest.
sacerdos
A ''sacerdos'' (plural ''sacerdotes'', a word of either grammatical gender, masculine or feminine gender) was any priest or priestess, from ''*#sacer, sakro-dho-ts'', "the one who does the sacred act." There was no priestly caste in ancient Rome, and in some sense every citizen was a priest in that he presided over the domestic cult of his household. Roman senate, Senators, magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
, and the Decurion (administrative), decurions of towns performed ritual acts, though they were not ''sacerdotes'' per se. The ''sacerdos'' was one who held the title usually in relation to a specific deity or temple. See also ''#collegium, collegium'' and flamen
A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...
.
sacra
''Sacra'' (grammatical gender, neuter plural of ''#sacer, sacer'') are the traditional cults, either ''publica'' or ''privatus, privata'', both of which were overseen by the College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...
.
The ''sacra publica'' were those performed on behalf of the whole Roman people or its major subdivisions, the Roman tribe, tribes and ''curia
Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
e''. They included the ''sacra pro populo'', "rites on behalf of the Roman people," i.e., all the ''feria, feriae publicae'' of the Roman calendar year and the other feasts that were regarded of public interest, including those pertaining to the hills of Rome, to the ''pagus, pagi'' and ''curiae'', and to the ''sacellum, sacella'', "shrines". The establishment of the ''sacra publica'' is ascribed to king Numa Pompilius, but many are thought to be of earlier origin, even predating the founding of Rome. Thus Numa may be seen as carrying out a reform and a reorganisation of the ''sacra'' in accord with his own views and his education. ''Sacra publica'' were performed at the expense of the state, according to the dispositions left by Numa, and were attended by all the senators and magistrates.
''Sacra privata'' were particular to a '' gens'', to a family, or to an individual, and were carried out at the expense of those concerned. Individuals had ''sacra'' on dates peculiar to them, such as birthdays, the ''dies lustricus
In ancient Rome the ''dies lustricus'' ("day of lustration" or "purification day") was a traditional naming ceremony in which an infant was purified and given a '' praenomen'' (given name). This occurred on the eighth day for girls and the ninth ...
'', and at other times of their life such as funerals and expiations, for instance of fulgurations. Families had their own ''sacra'' in the home or at the tombs of their ancestors, such as those pertaining to the Lares, Manes and Penates of the family, and the Parentalia. These were regarded as necessary and imperishable, and the desire to perpetuate the family's ''sacra'' was among the reasons for Adoption in ancient Rome, adoption in adulthood. In some cases, the state assumed the expenses even of ''sacra privata,'' if they were regarded as important to the maintenance of the Roman religious system as a whole; see #sacra gentilicia, ''sacra gentilicia'' following.
sacra gentilicia
''Sacra gentilicia'' were the private rites (see '' sacra'' above) that were particular to a '' gens'' ("clan"). These rites are related to a belief in the shared ancestry of the members of a ''gens'', since the Romans placed a high value on both family identity and Roman funerals and burial, commemorating the dead. During the Gallic siege of Rome, a member of the ''Fabia gens, gens Fabia'' risked his life to carry out the ''sacra'' of his clan on the Quirinal Hill
The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Pala ...
; the Gauls were so impressed by his courageous piety that they allowed him to pass through their lines. The Fabian ''sacra'' were performed in Gabii, Gabine dress by a member of the ''gens'' who was possibly named a flamen
A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...
. There were ''sacra'' of Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...
in the care of the Nautia gens, Nautii, and rites of Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
that the Iulii oversaw. The Claudia gens, Claudii had recourse to a distinctive "propudial pig" sacrifice ''(propudialis porcus'', "pig of shame") by way of expiation when they neglected any of their religious obligations.
Roman adoption, Roman practices of adoption, including so-called "testamentary adoption" when an adult heir was declared in a will, were aimed at perpetuating the ''sacra gentilicia'' as well as preserving the family name and property. A person adopted into another family usually renounced the ''sacra'' of his birth (see '' detestatio sacrorum'') in order to devote himself to those of his new family.
''Sacra gentilicia'' sometimes acquired public importance, and if the ''gens'' were in danger of dying out, the state might take over their maintenance. One of the myths attached to Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
' time in Italy aition, explained why his cult at the Ara Maxima was in the care of the patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
''Potitia gens, gens Potitia'' and the ''Pinaria gens, gens Pinaria''; the diminution of these families by 312 BC caused the ''sacra'' to be transferred to the keeping of Servus publicus, public slaves and supported with public funding.
sacra municipalia
The ''sacra'' of an Italian town or community ''(municipium)'' might be perpetuated under the supervision of the College of Pontiffs, Roman pontiffs when the locality was brought under Roman rule. Festus defined ''municipalia sacra'' as "those owned originally, before the granting of Roman citizenship; the pontiffs desired that the people continue to observe them and to practice them in the way ''(mos)'' they had been accustomed to from ancient times." These ''sacra'' were regarded as preserving the core religious identity of a particular people.
sacramentum
''Sacramentum'' is an oath or vow that rendered the swearer ''#sacer, sacer'', "given to the gods," in the negative sense if he violated it. ''Sacramentum'' also referred to a thing that was pledged as a sacred wikt:bond, bond, and consequently forfeit if the oath were violated. Both instances imply an underlying ''sacratio'', act of consecration.
In Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
, a thing given as a pledge or bond was a ''sacramentum''. The ''sacramentum legis actio'' was a sum of money deposited in a legal procedure to affirm that both parties to the litigation were acting in good faith. If correct law and procedures had been followed, it could be assumed that the outcome was ''iustum'', right or valid. The losing side had thus in effect committed perjury, and forfeited his ''sacramentum'' as a form of ''piaculum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''; the winner got his deposit back. The forfeited ''sacramentum'' was normally allotted by the state to the funding of ''#sacra, sacra publica''.
The ''sacramentum militare'' (also as ''militum'' or ''militiae'') was the oath taken by soldiers in pledging their loyalty to the consul or emperor. The ''sacramentum'' that renders the soldier ''sacer'' helps explain why he was subjected to harsher penalties, such as execution and corporal punishment, that were considered inappropriate for civilian citizens, at least under the Republic. In effect, he had put his life on deposit, a condition also of the fearsome ''sacramentum'' sworn by gladiators. In the later empire, the oath of loyalty created conflict for Christians serving in the military, and produced a number of military saints, soldier-martyrs. ''Sacramentum'' is the origin of the English word "sacrament", a transition in meaning pointed to by Apuleius's use of the word to refer to mystery religions, religious initiation.
The ''sacramentum'' as pertaining to both the military and the law indicates the religious basis for these institutions. The term differs from ''iusiurandum'', which is more common in legal application, as for instance swearing an oath in court. A ''sacramentum'' establishes a direct relation between the person swearing (or the thing pledged in the swearing of the oath) and the gods; the ''iusiurandum'' is an oath of good faith within the human community that is in accordance with ''#ius, ius'' as witnessed by the gods.
sacrarium
A ''sacrarium'' was a place where sacred objects ''(#sacer, sacra)'' were stored or deposited for safekeeping. The word can overlap in meaning with ''sacellum'', a small enclosed shrine; the ''sacella'' of the Argei are also called ''sacraria''. In Greek writers, the word is ἱεροφυλάκιον ''hierophylakion'' (''hiero-'', "sacred" and ''phylakion'', something that safeguards). See ''sacellum'' for a list of ''sacraria''.
The ''sacrarium'' of a private home lent itself to Christian transformation, as a 4th-century poem by Ausonius demonstrates; in contemporary Christian usage, the sacrarium is a "special sink used for the reverent disposal of sacred substances" (see ''piscina'').
sacrificium
An event or thing dedicated to the gods for their disposal. The offer of sacrifice is fundamental to religio. See also Vocabulary of ancient Roman religion#sacer, Sacer and Sacrificium Romanam, Religion in ancient Rome: Sacrifice.
sacrosanctus
An adjective first introduced to define the inviolability of the function (potestas) of the tribunes of the plebs and of other magistrates sanctioned by law leges Valeriae Horatiae in 449 BC, mentioned by Livy III 55, 1. It seems the sacrality of the function the tribune had already been established in earlier times through a ''religio'' and a ''sacramentum'', however it obliged only the contracting parties. In order to become a rule that obliged everybody it had to be sanctioned through a ''sanctio'' that was not only civil but religious as well: the trespasser was to be declared ''sacer'', his family and property sold. ''Sacer'' would thus design the religious compact, ''sanctus'' the law. According to other passages in Livy, the law was not approved by some jurists of the time who maintained that only those who infringed the commonly recognised divine laws (''id (or Iovi corr. Mueller) sacrum sanciti'') could fall into the category of those to be declared ''sacri''. In fact in other places Livy states that only the ''potestas'' and not the person of the tribune was defined as ''sacrosancta''. The word is used in Livy III 19, 10 by the critics of the law in this way: "These people postulate they themselves should be ''sacrosancti'', they who do not hold even gods for sacred and saint?"
The meaning of the word is given as ''guaranteed by an oath'' by H. Fugier, however Morani thinks it would be more appropriate to understand the first part of the compound as a consequence of the second: ''sanxit tribunum sacrum'' the tribune is sanctioned by the law as ''sacer''. This kind of word composition based on an etymological figure has parallels in other IE languages in archaic constructions.
Salii
The Salii
In ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve patrician youths, dressed as archaic warriors: an emb ...
were the "leaping priests" of Mars.
sancio
A verb meaning to ratify a compact and put it under the protection of a ''sanctio'', penalty, sanction. The formation and original meaning of the verb are debated. Some scholars think it is derived by the IE stem root *sak (the same of sacer) through a more recent way of word formation, i.e. by the insertion of a nasal ''n'' infix and the suffix -yo, such as Lithuanian iung-iu from IE stem *yug. Thence sancio would mean to render something ''sacer'', i.e. belonging to the gods in the sense of having their guarantee and protection. Some think it is a derivation from the theonym Sancus, the god of the ratification of ''foedera'' and protection of good faith, from the root sancu- plus suffix -io as inquio>incio. In such case the verb would mean an act that reflects or conforms to the function of this god, i.e. the ratifying and guaranteeing compacts.
sanctus
''Sanctus'', an adjective formed on the past participle of verb sancio, describes that which is "established as inviolable" or "sacred", most times in a sense different from that of ''#sacer, sacer'' and ''religiosus''. In fact its original meaning would be that which is protected by a sanction (''sanctio''). It is connected to the name of the Osco-Umbrian languages, Umbrian or Sabine founding myth, founder-deity Sancus (in Umbrian Sancius) whose most noted function was the ratifying and protecting of compacts (''foedera''). The Roman jurist Ulpian distinguishes ''sanctus'' as "neither sacred (''sacer'') nor profane (''#profanum, profanum'') ... nor '' religiosus''." Gaius (jurist), Gaius writes that a building dedicated to a god is ''sacrum'', a town's wall and gate are ''res sanctae'' because they belong "in some way" to divine law, and a graveyard is '' religiosus'' because it is relinquished to the di Manes. Thus some scholars think that it should originally be a concept related to space i.e. concerning inaugurated places, because they enjoyed the armed protection (''sanctio'') of the gods. Various deities, objects, places and people – especially senators and magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
– can be ''sanctus''. Claudia Quinta is described as a ''sanctissima femina'' (most virtuous woman) and Cato the Younger as a ''sanctus civis'' (a morally upright citizen). See also sanctuary.
Later the epithet ''sanctus'' is given to many gods including Apollo, Apollo Pythius by Gnaeus Naevius, Naevius, Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
and Tiberinus (god), Tiberinus by Ennius and Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
: Ennius renders the Homeric epics, Homeric ''dia theaoon'' as ''sancta dearum''; in the early Roman Empire, Imperial era, Ovid describes Terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
, the god who sanctifies land boundaries, as ''sanctus'' and equates ''sancta'' with ''augusta'' (august). The original spatial connotation of the word is still reflected in its use as an epithet of the river Tiber and of god Terminus that was certainly ancient: borders are ''sancti'' by definition and rivers used to mark borders. ''Sanctus'' as referred to people thus over time came to share some of the sense of Latin ''#castus, castitas, castus'' (morally pure or guiltless), ''#pius, pius'' (pious), and none of the ambiguous usages attached to ''sacer'' and ''religiosus''.
In ecclesiastical Latin, ''sanctus'' is the word for saint, but even in the Christian era it continues to appear in epitaphs for people who had not converted to Christianity.
servare de caelo
Literally, "to watch (for something) from the sky"; that is, to observe the ''templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
'' of the sky for signs that might be interpreted as auspices. Bad omens resulted in a report of '' obnuntiatio''.
signum
A ''signum'' is a "sign, token or indication". In religious use, ''signum'' provides a collective term for events or things (including signs and symbols) that designate divine identity, activity or communication, including ''Prodigium, prodigia'', '' auspicia'', ''#omen, omina'', '' portenta'' and '' ostenta''.
silentium
Silence was generally required in the performance of every religious ritual. The ritual injunction ''favete linguis'', "be favourable with your tongues," meant "keep silent." In particular, silence assured the ritual correctness and the absence of ''#vitium, vitia'', "faults," in the taking of the auspices. It was also required in the nomination (''dictio'') of the ''dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
''.
sinister
In ancient times, Augur#Ritual, augurs (augures ex caelo) faced south, so the happy orient, where the sun rose, lay at their left. Consequently, the word ''sinister'' (Latin for left) meant well-fated. When, under Greek influence, it became customary for augurs to face north, sinister came to indicate the ill-fated west, where light turned into darkness. It is this latter and later meaning that is attached to the English word sinister.
sodalitas
A ''sodalitas'' was a form of voluntary association or society. Its meaning is not necessarily distinct from ''collegium
A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their rea ...
'' in ancient sources, and is found also in ''sodalicium'', "fraternity." The ''sodalis'' is a member of a ''sodalitas'', which describes the relationship among ''sodales'' rather than an institution. Examples of priestly ''sodalitates'' are the ''#Luperci, Luperci, fetiales'', Arval Brethren, Arval brothers and ''Titii''; these are also called ''collegia'', but that they were a kind of confraternity is suggested by the distinctive Symposium, convivial #carmen, song associated with some. An association of ''sodales'' might also form a burial society, or make religious dedications as a group; epigraphy, inscriptions record donations made by women for the benefit of ''sodales''. Roman Pythagoreanism, Pythagoreans such as Nigidius Figulus
Publius Nigidius Figulus (c. 98 – 45 BC) was a scholar of the Late Roman Republic and one of the praetors for 58 BC. He was a friend of Cicero, to whom he gave his support at the time of the Catilinarian conspiracy. Nigidius sided with the Optim ...
formed ''sodalicia'', with which Ammianus Marcellinus compared the fellowship ''(sodalicia consortia)'' of the druids in Gallo-Roman, Gallo-Roman culture. When the cult of Cybele was imported to Rome, the eunuchism of her priests the ''galli'' discouraged Roman men from forming an official priesthood; instead, they joined ''sodalitates'' to hold banquets and other forms of traditional Roman ''#cultus, cultus'' in her honor.
The ''sodalitates'' are thought to originate as aristocratic brotherhoods with cultic duties, and their existence is attested as early as the late 6th or early 5th century BC. The Twelve Tables
The Laws of the Twelve Tables was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornblowe ...
regulated their potential influence by forbidding them to come in conflict with public law ''(ius publicum
''Ius publicum'' is Latin for public law. Public law regulated the relationships of the government to its citizens, including taxation, while ''ius privatum'' ( private law), based upon property and contract, concerned relations between individual ...
)''. During the 60s BC, certain forms of freedom of association, associations were disbanded by law as politically disruptive, and in Ciceronian usage ''sodalitates'' may refer either to these subversive organizations or in a religious context to the priestly fraternities. See also Sodales Augustales. For the Catholicism, Catholic concept, see Sodality (Catholic Church), sodality.
spectio
''Spectio'' ("watching, sighting, observation") was the seeking of omens through observing the sky, the flight of birds, or the feeding of birds. Originally only patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
magistrates
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
and augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s were entitled to practice ''spectio'', which carried with it the power to regulate assemblies and other aspects of public life, depending on whether the omens were good or bad. See also '' obnuntiatio''.
sponsio
''Sponsio'' is a formal, religiously guaranteed obligation. It can mean both betrothal as pledged by a woman's family, and a magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
's solemn promise in international treaties on behalf of the Roman people
grc, Ῥωμαῖοι,
, native_name_lang =
, image = Pompeii family feast painting Naples.jpg
, image_caption = 1st century AD wall painting from Pompeii depicting a multigenerational banquet
, languages =
, relig ...
.
The Latin word derives from a Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European root meaning a libation
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today.
Various substanc ...
of wine offered to the gods, as does the ancient Greek language, Greek verb ''spendoo'' and the noun ''spondai, spondas'', and Hittite language, Hittite ''spant-''. In Greek it also acquired the meaning "compact, convention, treaty" (compare Latin ''foedus''), as these were sanctioned with a libation to the gods on an altar. In Latin, ''sponsio'' becomes a legal contract between two parties, or sometimes a ''foedus'' between two nations.
In legal Latin the ''sponsio'' implied the existence of a person who acted as a ''sponsor'', a guarantor for the obligation undertaken by somebody else. The verb is ''spondeo, sponsus''. Related words are ''sponsalia'', the ceremony of betrothal; ''sponsa'', fiancée; and ''sponsus'', both the Latin declension, second-declension noun meaning a husband-to-be and the fourth declension abstract meaning suretyship. The ceremonial character of ''sponsio'' suggests that Latin archaic Marriage in ancient Rome, forms of marriage were, like the ''confarreatio'' of Patrician (ancient Rome), Roman patricians, religiously sanctioned. Dumézil proposed that the oldest extant Latin document, the Duenos inscription, could be interpreted in light of ''sponsio''.
superstitio
''Superstitio'' was excessive devotion and enthusiasm in religious observance, in the sense of "doing or believing more than was necessary", or "irregular" religious practice that conflicted with Roman custom. "Religiosity" in its pejorative sense may be a better translation than "superstition", the English word derived from the Latin. Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
defined ''superstitio'' as the "empty fear of the gods" ''(timor inanis deorum)'' in contrast to the properly pious cultivation of the gods that constituted lawful '' religio'', a view that Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
expressed as "''religio'' honours the gods, ''superstitio'' wrongs them." Seneca wrote an entire treatise on ''superstitio,'' known to St. Augustine but no longer extant. Lucretius's famous condemnation of what is often translated as "Superstition" in his Epicureanism, Epicurean didactic epic ''De rerum natura'' is actually directed at ''Religio''.
Before the Christian era, ''superstitio'' was seen as a vice of individuals. Practices characterized as "magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
" could be a form of ''superstitio'' as an excessive and dangerous quest for personal knowledge. By the early 2nd century AD, religions of other peoples that were perceived as resistant to interpretatio romana, religious assimilation began to be labeled by some Latin authors as ''superstitio,'' including druidism, Judaism, and Christianity. Under Christian hegemony, ''religio'' and ''superstitio'' were redefined as a dichotomy between Christianity, viewed as true ''religio,'' and the ''superstitiones'' or false religions of those who declined to convert.
supplicatio
''Supplicationes'' are days of public prayer when the men, women, and children of Rome traveled in procession to religious sites around the city praying for divine aid in times of crisis. A ''suplicatio'' can also be a thanksgiving after the receipt of aid. Supplications might also be ordered in response to prodigies; again, the population as a whole wore wreaths, carried laurel twigs, and attended sacrifices at temple precincts throughout the city.
T
tabernaculum
See ''auguraculum The auguraculum (plural: auguracula), was a roofless temple oriented to the cardinal points, in which the priests of ancient Rome practiced augury and ornithomancy. The priest observer was positioned at the center of the temple, in a tent or a hut, ...
.'' The origin of the English word "tabernacle."
templum
A ''templum'' was the sacred space defined by an #augur, augur for ritual purposes, most importantly the taking of the auspices, a place "cut off" as #sacer, sacred: compare Greek ''temenos'', from ''temnein'' to cut. It could be created as temporary or permanent, depending on the lawful purpose of the #augurium, inauguration. #auspicia, Auspices and Roman senate, senate meetings were unlawful unless held in a ''templum''; if the senate house (Curia) was unavailable, an augur could apply the appropriate religious formulae to provide a lawful alternative.
To create a ''templum'', the augur aligned his zone of observation (''auguraculum The auguraculum (plural: auguracula), was a roofless temple oriented to the cardinal points, in which the priests of ancient Rome practiced augury and ornithomancy. The priest observer was positioned at the center of the temple, in a tent or a hut, ...
'', a square, portable surround) with the cardinal points of heaven and earth. The altar and entrance were sited on the east-west axis: the sacrificer faced east. The precinct was thus "defined and freed" (''#effatio, effatum et #liberatio, liberatum''). In most cases, signs to the augur's left (north) showed divine approval and signs to his right (south), disapproval. Temple buildings of stone followed this ground-plan and were sacred in perpetuity.
Rome itself was a kind of ''templum'', with the ''pomerium
The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
'' as sacred boundary and the ''Capitoline Hill, arx'' (citadel), and Quirinal and Palatine hills as reference points whenever a specially dedicated ''templum'' was created within. Augurs had authority to establish multiple ''templa'' beyond the pomerium
The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
, using the same augural principles.
V
verba certa
''Verba certa'' (also found nearly as often with the word order ''certa verba'') are the "exact words" of a legal or religious formula, that is, the words as "set once and for ever, immutable and unchangeable." Compare ''#precatio, certae precationes'', fixed prayers of #invocatio, invocation, and ''#verba concepta, verba concepta'', which in both Ius civile, Roman civil law and augural law described a verbal formula that could be "conceived" flexibly to suit the circumstances. With their emphasis on exact adherence, the archaic ''verba certa'' are a magico-religious form of prayer. In a ritual context, prayer (''#prex, prex'') was not a form of personal spontaneous expression, but a demonstration that the speaker knew the correct thing to say. Words were regarded as having power; in order to be efficacious, the formula had to be recited accurately, in full, and with the correct pronunciation. To reduce the risk of error ('' vitium''), the magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
or priest who spoke was prompted from the text by an assistant.
verba concepta
In both religious and legal usage, ''verba concepta'' ("preconceived words") were verbal formulas that could be adapted for particular circumstances. Compare ''#verba certa, verba certa'', "fixed words." Collections of ''verba concepta'' would have been part of the #libri augurales, augural archives. Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
preserves an example, albeit textual criticism, textually vexed, of a formula for founding a ''templum
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...
''.
In the legal sense, ''concepta verba'' (the phrase is found with either word order) were the statements crafted by a presiding praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...
for the particulars of a case. Earlier in the Roman legal system, the plaintiff had to state his claim within a narrowly defined set of fixed phrases ''(certa verba)''; in the Roman Republic#Supremacy of the New Nobility (287–133 BC), Mid Republic, more flexible formulas allowed a more accurate description of the particulars of the issue under consideration. But the practice may have originated as a kind of "dodge," since a praetor was liable to religious penalties if he used ''certa verba'' for Roman litigation, legal actions on days marked ''#nefastus, nefastus'' on the calendar.
St. Augustine removed the phrase ''verba concepta'' from its religious and legal context to describe the cognitive process of memory: "When a true narrative of the past is related, the memory produces not the actual events which have passed away but words conceived ''(verba concepta)'' from images of them, which they fixed in the mind like imprints as they passed through the senses." Augustine's conceptualizing of memory as verbal has been used to elucidate the Western tradition of poetry and its shared origins with sacred song and magical incantation (see also ''#carmen, carmen''), and is less a departure from Roman usage than a recognition of the original relation between formula and memory in a pre-literate world. Some scholars see the tradition of stylized, formulaic language as the verbal tradition from which Latin literature develops, with ''concepta verba'' appearing in poems such as ''Carmen'' 34 of Catullus.
ver sacrum
The "ver sacrum, sacred spring" was a ritual migration.
victima
The ''victima'' was the animal sacrifice, animal offering in a sacrifice, or very rarely a human. The victim was subject to an examination (''probatio victimae'') by a lower-rank priest (''pontifex minor'') to determine whether it met the criteria for a particular offering. With some exceptions, male deities received castrated animals. Goddesses were usually offered female victims, though from around the 160s AD the goddess Cybele was given a bull, along with its blood and testicles, in the Taurobolium. Color was also a criterion: white for the upper deities, dark for chthonic, red for Vulcan (god), Vulcan and at the Robigalia. A sacred fiction of sacrifice was that the victim had to consent, usually by a nod of the head perhaps induced by the ''#victimarius, victimarius'' holding the halter. Fear, panic, and agitation in the animal were bad #omen, omens.
The word ''victima'' is used interchangeably with ''#hostia, hostia'' by Ovid and others, but some ancient authors attempt to distinguish between the two. Servius says that the ''hostia'' is sacrificed before battle, the ''victima'' afterward, which accords with Ovid's etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of "victim" as that which has been killed by the right hand of the "victor" (with ''hostia'' related to ''hostis'', "enemy").
The difference between the ''victima'' and ''hostia'' is elsewhere said to be a matter of size, with the ''victima'' larger (''maior'').[Char. 403.38.] See also piaculum and votum
In ancient Roman religion, a ''votum'', plural ''vota'', is a vow or promise made to a deity. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb ''voveo, vovere'', "vow, promise". As the result of this verbal action, a ''votum'' is also th ...
.
victimarius
The ''victimarius'' was an attendant or assistant at a sacrifice who handled the animal. Using a rope, he led the pig, sheep, or bovine that was to serve as the victim to the altar. In depictions of sacrifice, a ''victimarius'' called the ''#popa, popa'' carries a mallet or axe with which to strike the ''#victima, victima''. Multiple ''victimarii'' are sometimes in attendance; one may hold down the victim's head while the other lands the blow. The ''victimarius'' severed the animal's carotid with a ritual knife (''culter''), and according to depictions was offered a hand towel afterwards by another attendant. He is sometimes shown dressed in an apron (''limus''). Inscriptions show that most ''victimarii'' were freedmen, but literary sources in late antiquity say that the ''popa'' was a public slave.
vitium
A mistake made while performing a ritual, or a disruption of augural procedure, including disregarding the auspices, was a ''vitium'' ("defect, imperfection, impediment"). ''Vitia'', plural, could taint the outcome of elections, the validity of laws, and the conducting of military operations. The augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying ...
s issued an opinion on a given ''vitium'', but these were not necessarily binding. In 215 BC the newly elected plebeian consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus, M. Claudius Marcellus resigned when the augurs and the Roman senate, senate decided that a thunderclap expressed divine disapproval of his election. The original meaning of the semantic root in ''vitium'' may have been "hindrance", related to the verb ''vito, vitare'', "to go out of the way"; the adjective form ''vitiosus'' can mean "hindering", that is, "vitiating, faulty."
vitulari
A verb meaning chanting or reciting a formula with a joyful intonation and rhythm. The related noun ''Vitulatio'' was an annual thanksgiving offering carried out by the pontiffs
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was late ...
on 8 July, the day after the ''Caprotinia, Nonae Caprotinae''. These were commemorations of Roman victory in the wake of the Battle of the Allia, Gallic invasion. Macrobius says ''vitulari'' is the equivalent of Greek ''paianizein'' (παιανίζειν), "to sing a paean", a song expressing triumph or thanksgiving.
votum
In a religious context, ''votum'', plural ''vota'', is a vow or promise made to a deity. The word comes from the past participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
of ''voveo, vovere''; as the result of the verbal action "vow, promise", it may refer also to the fulfillment of this vow, that is, the thing promised. The ''votum'' is thus an aspect of the contractual nature of Roman religion, a bargaining expressed by '' do ut des'', "I give that you might give."[John Scheid, "Sacrifices for Gods and Ancestors", in ''A Companion to Roman Religion'' (Blackwell, 2007), p. 270; William Warde Fowler, ''The Religious Experience of the Roman People'' (London, 1922), pp. 200–202.]
See also
* Religion in ancient Rome
* Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
* Roman festivals
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feriae'' ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singula ...
, on religious holidays
* Roman polytheistic reconstructionism
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glossary Of Ancient Roman Religion
Ancient Roman religion
Glossaries of religion
Ancient Rome-related lists