Roman Religious Practices and Beliefs: Family, Death, and Priesthood
Theme V: Roman Religious Practices and Beliefs
Family Deities
- Person Founder of Gens: Traced back to a deity or personality of the heroic past.
- Lares: Benefactors. Joint family divinities represented by statuettes were kept in a lararium located at the entrance of the house.
- Penates: Divinities protecting the pantry (penus), home, as well as health and family welfare.
- Manes: Corresponded to the dead souls of the family, represented by statuettes. They were honored with offerings of flowers and food.
The Cult of the Dead
The ritual for the dead denoted the belief in the existence of an afterlife. Social prestige was demonstrated at the funeral and the magnificence of the monument.
Among the patrician families, a funeral rite was followed that included the preparation of the corpse. After, the coffin was displayed in the atrium of the house. A funeral procession was organized that passed through the main thoroughfares. Families accompanied the images of their ancestors. After the eulogy, the procession continued outside the city walls and proceeded to the burial or cremation. A coin was introduced into the deceased’s mouth to pay for the journey.
Normally, they were buried by the roadside. If cremated, ashes were left in a columbarium. Families visited the tombs on identified dates.
The World of the Dead
The belief in life beyond the grave was similar in Greek and Roman culture. They imagined a world of souls. The realm of the dead was known by various names: Hades, Tartarus, Avernus, or Inferno. Souls were conducted by the god Mercury. He accompanied them to the Stygian waters that fed the river Acheron. There, they awaited the boatman Charon, who, with the coin, bore the dead to the other side. The doors of the afterlife were guarded by Cerberus, a three-headed dog.
Within, the souls were judged and located in various places. The Elysian Fields was a place for heroes and good people. It was an idyllic place where the waters of Lethe caused forgetfulness of mortality.
The Organization of the Priesthood
The monitoring and management of the rites were part of the priests’ duties. Priests were grouped into different colleges that specialized in certain cults and duties.
- College of Pontiffs: Directed by the Pontifex Maximus, the Supreme Pontiff. In the Empire, this became a position designated by the emperor. They guarded religious practices, drew up the schedule, supervised the flamines, and chose the Vestal Virgins, the priestesses of the temple of Vesta. The Vestals were in charge of keeping the home fires burning, which always burned inside the temple. They were required to remain virgin for 30 years of service; the punishment for breaking this vow was being buried alive.
- College of the Augurs: Enjoyed great social and political prestige because their divinations were always required before making an important decision. They interpreted the behavior of the birds. The haruspices specialized in knowledge that came through the interpretation of poultry viscera of sacrificed animals.
- College of the Interpreters of Sibylline Books: Organization formed by the Etruscan kings. Their mission was the reading and interpretation of the Sibylline Books. In situations of danger, they interpreted their texts to find some prophecy.
- College of the Epulones: The most recent, it was founded in 196 BC with the task of organizing the sacred banquets held in honor of Jupiter on November 13.
Roman Calendar
The year consisted of 10 months: Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. In 45 BC, the Julian year, established by Julius Caesar, came into effect with the addition of two months at the beginning: Ianuarius and Februarius. The month Quintilis was changed to Iulius and Sextilis to Augustus. The year consisted of 12 months with the addition of one day every four years, originating the leap year.
The cult of the divinities consisted of a ritual written in which there was no lack of prayers, vows, and sacrifices. Outside the camp, an altar was erected where the animal was sacrificed. Sacrifices received different names:
- Holocaust: Etymologically derived from the Greek expression meaning “burnt whole” and refers to the cremation of victims in honor of a divinity to earn their will.
- Hecatomb: Greek word that refers to the sacrifice of “a hundred oxen.”