In Roman religion, the genius (; plural ''geniī'') is the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing. Much like a

guardian angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...

, the genius would follow each man from the hour of his birth until the day he died. For women, it was the Juno spirit that would accompany each of them.

Nature

Each individual place had a genius ('' genius loci'') and so did powerful objects, such as volcanoes. The concept extended to some specifics: the genius of the theatre, of vineyards, and of festivals, which made performances successful, grapes grow, and celebrations succeed, respectively. It was extremely important in the Roman mind to propitiate the appropriate genii for the major undertakings and events of their lives.

Thus man, following the dictates of his heart, venerated something higher and more divine than he could find in his own limited individuality, and brought to "this great unknown of himself" offerings as a god; thus compensating by veneration for the indistinct knowledge of his divine origin.

The Christian theologian

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...

equated the Christian

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

with the Roman genius, citing

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 attributing the rational powers and abilities of every human being to their genius.

Specific genii

Although the term ''genius'' might apply to any divinity whatsoever, most of the higher-level and state ''genii'' had their own well-established names. Genius applied most often to individual places or people not generally known; that is, to the smallest units of society and settlements, families and their homes. Houses, doors, gates, streets, districts, tribes, each one had its own genius. The supreme hierarchy of the Roman gods, like that of the Greeks, was modelled after a human family. It featured a father,

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 ...

, who was also the supreme divine unity, and a mother, Juno, queen of the gods. These supreme unities were subdivided into genii for each individual family; hence, the genius of each female, representing the female reproductive power, was a Juno. The male power was a Jupiter. The Juno was worshipped under many titles: *''Iugalis'', "of marriage" *''Matronalis'', "of married women" *''Pronuba'', "of brides" *''Virginalis'', "of virginity" ''Genii'' were often viewed as protective spirits, as one would propitiate them for protection. For example, to protect infants one propitiated a number of deities concerned with birth and childrearing: ''Cuba'' ("lying down to sleep"), ''Cunina'' ("of the cradle") and ''Rumina'' ("of breast-feeding"). Certainly, if those ''genii'' did not perform their proper function well, the infant would be in danger. Hundreds of '' lararia'', or family shrines, have been discovered at Pompeii, typically off the ''

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

'', kitchen or garden, where the smoke of burnt offerings could vent through the opening in the roof. Each ''lararium'' features a panel fresco containing the same theme: two peripheral figures (''

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lare ...

'') attend on a central figure (family genius) or two figures (genius and juno) who may or may not be at an altar. In the foreground is one or two serpents crawling toward the genius through a meadow motif.

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and Calabria preserved an ancient practice of keeping a propitious house snake, here linked with the genius. In another, unrelated fresco (

House of the Centenary The House of the Centenary (Italian ''Casa del Centenario'', also known as the House of the Centenarian) was the house of a wealthy resident of Pompeii, preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house was discovered in 1879, and was ...

) the snake-in-meadow appears below a depiction of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

and is labelled ''Agathodaimon'', "good

daimon Daimon or Daemon ( Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy. The wor ...

", where ''daimon'' must be regarded as the Greek equivalent of genius.

History of the concept

Origin

The English term is borrowed from Lat. ''

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 ...

'' m. "household guardian spirit"; earlier, "innate male power of a race or clan", deriving from the

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 ...

root *g̑enh₁-, "give birth, produce", which is also reflected in Lat. ''gignō'' "give birth" and '' gēns, gentis'' f. "tribe, people". The genius appears explicitly in Roman literature as early as

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

, where one character jests that the father of another is so avaricious that he uses cheap Samian ware in sacrifices to his own genius, so as not to tempt the genius to steal it. In this passage, the genius is not identical to the person, as to propitiate oneself would be absurd, and yet the genius also has the avarice of the person; that is, the same character, the implication being, like person, like genius. Horace, writing when the first emperor was introducing the cult of his own genius, describes the genius as "the companion which controls the natal star; the god of human nature, in that he is mortal for each person, with a changing expression, white or black".

Imperial genii

Octavius Caesar 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 ...

on return to Rome after the final victory of the

Roman Civil War This is a list of civil wars and organized civil disorder, revolts and rebellions in ancient Rome (Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire) until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (753 BCE – 476 CE). For the Eastern Roman Empire or B ...

at the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ...

appeared to the Senate to be a man of great power and success, clearly a mark of divinity. In recognition of the prodigy they voted that all banquets should include a libation to his genius. In concession to this sentiment he chose the name

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 ...

, capturing the numinous meaning of English "august." The household cult of the ''Genius Augusti'' dates from this period. It was propitiated at every meal along with the other household ''numina''. Thus began the tradition of the

Roman imperial cult The Roman imperial cult identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority ('' auctoritas'') of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents, and was formulated during the ear ...

, in which Romans worshipped the genius of the emperor rather than the person. GenioLVIIGEM

If the genius of the '' imperator'', or commander of all troops, was to be propitiated, so was that of all the units under his command. The provincial troops expanded the idea of the ''genii'' of state; for example, from Roman Britain have been found altars to the ''genii'' of ''Roma'', ''Roma aeterna'', ''Britannia'', and to every ''

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

'', '' cohors'', '' ala'' and '' centuria'' in Britain, as well as to the '' praetorium'' of every '' castra'' and even to the '' vexillae''. Inscriptional dedications to genius were not confined to the military. From

Gallia Cisalpina Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

under the empire are numerous dedications to the genii of persons of authority and respect; in addition to the emperor's ''genius principis'', were the geniuses of patrons of freedmen, owners of slaves, patrons of guilds, philanthropists, officials, villages, other divinities, relatives and friends. Sometimes the dedication is combined with other words, such as "to the genius and honor" or in the case of couples, "to the genius and Juno." Surviving from the time of the empire hundreds of dedicatory, votive and sepulchral inscriptions ranging over the entire territory testify to a

floruit ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

of genius worship as an official cult. Stock phrases were abbreviated: GPR, ''genio populi Romani'' ("to the genius of the Roman people"); GHL, ''genio huius loci'' ("to the genius of this place"); GDN, ''genio domini nostri'' ("to the genius of our master"), and so on. In 392 AD with the final victory of Christianity

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

declared the worship of the Genii,

and

Penates In ancient Roman religion, the Di Penates () or Penates ( ) were among the ''dii familiares'', or household deities, invoked most often in domestic rituals. When the family had a meal, they threw a bit into the fire on the hearth for the Penates ...

to be treason, ending their official terms. The concept, however, continued in representation and speech under different names or with accepted modifications.

Roman iconography

Coins

The genius of a corporate social body is often a cameo theme on ancient coins: a

denarius The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...

from Spain, 76–75 BC, featuring a bust of the ''GPR'' (''Genius Populi Romani'', "Genius of the Roman People") on the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

; an

aureus The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden', used as a noun) was a gold coin of ancient Rome originally valued at 25 pure silver ''denarii'' (sin. denarius). The ''aureus'' was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th cen ...

of Siscia in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, 270–275 AD, featuring a standing image of the ''GENIUS ILLVR'' (''Genius Exercitus Illyriciani'', "Genius of the Illyrian Army") on the reverse; an

of Rome, 134–138 AD, with an image of a youth holding a cornucopia and patera (sacrificial dish) and the inscription GENIOPR, ''genio populi Romani'', "to the genius of the Roman people," on the reverse.

Modern-era representations

File:Meister des Rosenromans 001.jpg, Genius of love, Meister des Rosenromans, c. 1420–1430 File:Firenze.Palvecchio.500.Michelangelo2.JPG, Genius of victory, Michelangelo, 1532–34 File:Fontana del genio.jpg, Genius of Palermo,

Ignazio Marabitti Ignazio Marabitti (6 September 1719La Sicilia nel secolo XVIII e la poesia satiricoburlesca By Giuseppe Leanti, page 163. in Palermo – 1797 in Palermo) was a Sicilian sculptor of the late Baroque period. He trained in Rome in the studio of Fi ...

, c. 1778 File:Genius of Liberty Dumont July Column.jpg, Genius of liberty,

Augustin Dumont Augustin-Alexandre Dumont, known as Auguste Dumont (4 August 1801, in Paris – 28 January 1884, in Paris) was a French sculptor. Biography He was one of a long line of famous sculptors, the great-grandson of Pierre Dumont, son of Jacques-Edme ...

, 1840 File:Vigée-Lebrun, Marie Louise Elisabeth - The Genius of Alexander.jpg, Genius of Alexander, Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1814 File:Mausoleo del Marqués del Duero 03.jpg, Genius of war, Elías Martín, 19th century File:Paris Arc de Triomphe 03.jpg, Genius of the resistance, Antoine Etex, 1833–36 File:DemGeniusBeethovens.jpg, Genius of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

File:Adolphe Yvon - Genius of America.jpg, Genius of America,

Adolphe Yvon Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893) was a French painter known for his paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Yvon studied under Paul Delaroche, rose to fame during the Second Empire, then finished his career as a teacher. Career Shortly after the end of t ...

, 1858 File:Kreuzbergdenkmal - Prinzessin Charlotte - Mutter Erde fec.jpg, Genius of the Peace of Paris, by Chr. Dan. Rauch File:Genius sculpture by Carl Milles 2009 Stockholm (1).jpg, ''Genius'' by Carl Milles, 1932–40 File:Genius van de schilderkunst.jpg, alt=Genius of painting by Geo Verbanck, 1912, Monument in honour of the Van Eyck brothers - backside, Ghent, Belgium, Genius of painting by Geo Verbanck,1912, Monument in honour of the Van Eyck brothers – backside, Ghent, Belgium

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Ancient Roman religion Roman deities Tutelary deities