In a prayer recorded by Livy, Decius commits himself and the enemy to the dii Manes and Tellus, charges alone and headlong into the enemy ranks, and is killed; his action cleanses the sacrificial offering. The Di Selecti were considered the 20 main gods, while the Di Consentes comprised the 12 principal deities at the heart of the Roman Pantheon. gentes). [47], A sacrifice might be made in thanksgiving or as an expiation of a sacrilege or potential sacrilege (piaculum);[49] The members generally knew the stories were pure legend, but they provided a model for their followers to obey. [75], Priesthood was a costly honour: in traditional Roman practice, a priest drew no stipend. Augustus, the first Roman emperor, justified the novelty of one-man rule with a vast program of religious revivalism and reform. All sacrifices and offerings required an accompanying prayer to be effective. Otherwise, the haruspex tells him, the sacrifice is entirely acceptable to the gods. "This meant an official recognition of their importance in the religious world of the Roman empire, although one of the tetrarchs, Maximinus Daia, still oppressed Christians in his part of the empire up to 313. There was no principle analogous to separation of church and state in ancient Rome. In Latin, the word sacrificium means the performance of an act that renders something sacer, sacred. [80] Unlike male priests, Vestals were freed of the traditional obligations of marrying and producing children, and were required to take a vow of chastity that was strictly enforced: a Vestal polluted by the loss of her chastity while in office was buried alive. Jupiter, the most powerful of all gods and "the fount of the auspices upon which the relationship of the city with the gods rested", consistently personified the divine authority of Rome's highest offices, internal organization and external relations. After Numa's death, the doors to the Temple of Janus were supposed to have remained open until the reign of Augustus. Perhaps the most famous is the Egyptian Sun-god Ra, who was the lord of time. [71], Official cults were state funded as a "matter of public interest" (res publica). They celebrated Rome's official festivals in absentia, and had the official triads appropriate to their function – in the Empire, Jupiter, Victoria and Concordia were typical. Inscribed dedications were an expensive public declaration, one to be expected within the Graeco-Roman cultural ambit but by no means universal. Roman Paganism. [56] The exta were exposed for litatio (divine approval) as part of Roman liturgy, but were "read" in the context of the disciplina Etrusca. As a divus, he could receive much the same honours as any other state deity – libations of wine, garlands, incense, hymns and sacrificial oxen at games and festivals. The Senate appointed Camillus as dictator to handle the emergency; he negotiated a settlement, and sanctified it by the dedication of a temple to Concordia. Others appeal for divine redress of wrongs, in terms familiar to any Roman magistrate, and promise a portion of the value (usually small) of lost or stolen property in return for its restoration. Chthonic deities functioned at the margins of Rome's divine and human communities; although sometimes the recipients of public rites, these were conducted outside the sacred boundary of the pomerium. According to Ovid, Mars was son of Juno alone, as his mother sought to restore balance after Jupiter usurped her role as mother by giving birth to Minerva from his head. Roman gods fulfilled different functions corresponding to various aspects of life. [200][201] At Constantine's death, he was honored as a Christian and as an Imperial "divus". Those who acknowledged Rome's hegemony retained their own cult and religious calendars, independent of Roman religious law. In Cicero's time, the better-off sacrificed a sow at the funeral pyre before cremation. Augustus' principate established peace and subtly transformed Rome's religious life – or, in the new ideology of Empire, restored it (see below). Upon entering her office, a Vestal was emancipated from her father's authority. Household cults had state counterparts. These bonds were generated due to the fact that most of these cults regularly practiced common meals among members, dances, ceremonies and rituals, and the aforementioned initiations. What is considered correct, or preferred terminology, may vary by region, group, or individual person. [52], Extraordinary circumstances called for extraordinary sacrifice: in one of the many crises of the Second Punic War, Jupiter Capitolinus was promised every animal born that spring (see ver sacrum), to be rendered after five more years of protection from Hannibal and his allies. See Henrik Mouritsen, Plebs and Politics in the Late Roman Republic (Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge University Press, 2001), 32ff. What Do pagan and heathen Really Mean? [209] His attempt to restore an Augustan form of principate, with himself as primus inter pares ended with his death in 363 in Persia, after which his reforms were reversed or abandoned. These objects were believed in historical times to remain in the keeping of the Vestals, Rome's female priesthood. Less than a quarter of adult males had voting rights; far fewer could actually exercise them. [165] Colonial and later Imperial provincial dedications to Rome's Capitoline Triad were a logical choice, not a centralised legal requirement. "[36] Prayer by itself, however, had independent power. See Andringa, in Rüpke (ed), 89. The concept of Hellenistic religion as the late form of Ancient Greek religion covers any of the various systems of beliefs and practices of the people who lived under the influence of ancient Greek culture during the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire ( c. 300 BCE to 300 CE). Once elected, a priest held permanent religious authority from the eternal divine, which offered him lifetime influence, privilege and immunity. Emperors postceding Augustus subsequently held the office of Chief Priest (pontifex maximus) combining both political and religious supremacy under one title. [8], According to mythology, Rome had a semi-divine ancestor in the Trojan refugee Aeneas, son of Venus, who was said to have established the nucleus of Roman religion when he brought the Palladium, Lares and Penates from Troy to Italy. [147] Under the principate, such opportunities were limited by law; priestly and political power were consolidated in the person of the princeps ("first citizen"). [62] Political or military executions were sometimes conducted in such a way that they evoked human sacrifice, whether deliberately or in the perception of witnesses; Marcus Marius Gratidianus was a gruesome example. IN THIS video I look at some pagan temples and statues and mosaics of pagan gods to get an idea of what pagan practice was actually like in Ancient Rome. [98] Religious restitution is proved only by Rome's victory. According to scholar Peter Brown of Princeton University, "Hellene" was initially utilized in place of "paganism". For a summary of Jupiter's complex development from the Regal to Republican eras, see Beard. Thus, the Christians could very well be unpopular, and they often were. In some cases and in some places the edicts were strictly enforced: some Christians resisted and were imprisoned or martyred. Ceres is the daughter of Saturn and Ops. And others can be adapted to any gender. Astrologers and magicians were officially expelled from Rome at various times, notably in 139 BC and 33 BC. See Beard. Other deities were simply local to a specific locality, and are mentioned in both Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic texts, in the latter of which they are described as being "the land spirits that live in this land". The near ubiquitous legionary shrines to Mithras of the later Imperial era were not part of official cult until Mithras was absorbed into Solar and Stoic Monism as a focus of military concordia and Imperial loyalty.[115][116][117]. On the eighth day of mourning, the family offered further sacrifice, this time on the ground; the shade of the departed was assumed to have passed entirely into the underworld. The exta of bovine victims were usually stewed in a pot (olla or aula), while those of sheep or pigs were grilled on skewers. The Name Jesus/Iesus doesn't … Had he failed to die, his sacrificial offering would have been tainted and therefore void, with possibly disastrous consequences. [60] The gladiator munus was never explicitly acknowledged as a human sacrifice, probably because death was not its inevitable outcome or purpose. If an unfavourable sign was given, the magistrate could repeat the sacrifice until favourable signs were seen, consult with his augural colleagues, or abandon the project. Discover Witch decor collection [89], Haruspicy was also used in public cult, under the supervision of the augur or presiding magistrate. This was the context for Rome's conflict with Christianity, which Romans variously regarded as a form of atheism and novel superstitio, while Christians considered Roman religion to be paganism. He had little or no civil authority. To some Diana was also considered to be goddess of lower classes, especially slaves, for whom her festival on the Ides of August in Rome and Aricia was also a holiday. Roman religion was practical and contractual, based on the principle of do ut des, "I give that you might give". In the mid-to-late Republican era, and probably much earlier, many of Rome's leading clans acknowledged a divine or semi-divine ancestor and laid personal claim to their favour and cult, along with a share of their divinity. Public religious ritual had to be enacted by specialists and professionals faultlessly; a mistake might require that the action, or even the entire festival, be repeated from the start. Towards the end of his life, he cautiously allowed cult to his numen. The Romans looked for common ground between their major gods and those of the Greeks (interpretatio graeca), adapting Greek myths and iconography for Latin literature and Roman art, as the Etruscans had. The priesthoods of public religion were held by members of the elite classes. The priesthoods of public religion were held by members of the elite classes. The rite was apparently repeated in 113 BC, preparatory to an invasion of Gaul. The Romans also combined Greek deities with its own corresponding gods. [134] The barrier between private religious practices and "magic" is permeable, and Ovid gives a vivid account of rites at the fringes of the public Feralia festival that are indistinguishable from magic: an old woman squats among a circle of younger women, sews up a fish-head, smears it with pitch, then pierces and roasts it to "bind hostile tongues to silence". Queen of the gods. Emperors before him had attempted to guarantee traditional cults as the core of Roman identity and well-being; refusal of cult undermined the state and was treasonous. As princeps (first citizen) he must respect traditional Republican mores; given virtually monarchic powers, he must restrain them. [164] Romanisation offered distinct political and practical advantages, especially to local elites. He was the Venus’ lover in adultery and the father of Romulus — founder of Rome and Remus. The Western emperor Gratian refused the office of pontifex maximus, and against the protests of the Senate, removed the altar of Victory from the Senate house and began the disestablishment of the Vestals. 5 Unsung Heroes of the Anti-Slavery Campaign in Britain. Greek allies had their own traditional cults to rulers as divine benefactors, and offered similar cult to Caesar's successor, Augustus, who accepted with the cautious proviso that expatriate Roman citizens refrain from such worship; it might prove fatal. 1. Around 250 defixiones have been recovered just from Roman Britain, in both urban and rural settings. The military-political adventurers of the Later Republic introduced the Phrygian goddess Ma (identified with the Roman Bellona, the Egyptian mystery-goddess Isis and the Persian Mithras.). Di superi with strong connections to the earth, such as Mars, Janus, Neptune and various genii – including the Emperor's – were offered fertile victims. [112], Roman camps followed a standard pattern for defense and religious ritual; in effect they were Rome in miniature. For a freedman or slave, promotion as one of the Compitalia seviri offered a high local profile, and opportunities in local politics; and therefore business. Apollo was god of music, healing, light and truth.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'historyhit_com-leader-3','ezslot_15',147,'0','0'])); Apollo is one of only a few Roman gods who kept the same name as his Greek counterpart. At different times and in different places, the sphere of influence, character and functions of a divine being could expand, overlap with those of others, and be redefined as Roman. In the middle Republican era, even Scipio's tentative hints that he might be Jupiter's special protege sat ill with his colleagues. 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. Aeneas, according to classical authors, had been given refuge by King Evander, a Greek exile from Arcadia, to whom were attributed other religious foundations: he established the Ara Maxima, "Greatest Altar", to Hercules at the site that would become the Forum Boarium, and, so the legend went, he was the first to celebrate the Lupercalia, an archaic festival in February that was celebrated as late as the 5th century of the Christian era.[9]. As the Romans extended their dominance throughout the Mediterranean world, their policy in general was to absorb the deities and cults of other peoples rather than try to eradicate them,[4] since they believed that preserving tradition promoted social stability. Traders, legions and other travellers brought home cults originating from Egypt, Greece, Iberia, India and Persia. Most of the members of the priestly colleges in Augustus’ time continued to be aristocrats, but the real power and control over religion and the calendar now flowed from professional experts, such as the polymath Varro, because they had the power of knowledge. Hidden in the base of a volcano he learnt his trade. Two centuries later, when Decius and Diocletian required universal sacrifice to Roman gods as a test of loyalty, any traditional gods served the purpose: loyal compliance with Imperial dictat made them Roman. Judaism was a superstitio to Cicero, but the Church Father Tertullian described it as religio licita (an officially permitted religion) in contrast to Christianity. [135], Rome's government, politics and religion were dominated by an educated, male, landowning military aristocracy. A date of 302 is regarded as likely. Constantius was an Arian and his brothers were Nicene Christians. Rome banned it on several occasions under extreme penalty. Constantine successfully balanced his own role as an instrument of the pax deorum with the power of the Christian priesthoods in determining what was (in traditional Roman terms) auspicious – or in Christian terms, what was orthodox. For instance, Roman exposure to Hellenic culture via Greek presence in Italy and the later Roman conquest of the city-states of Macedonia and Greece caused the Romans to adopt many Greek myths. From the 2nd century onward, the Church Fathers had condemned the diverse non-Christian religions practiced throughout the Empire as "pagan". [146] Likewise, political candidates could sponsor temples, priesthoods and the immensely popular, spectacular public ludi and munera whose provision became increasingly indispensable to the factional politics of the Late Republic. Yale University Press. Venus is said to have had two main lovers; Vulcan, her husband and the god of fire, and Mars. [142] During the Punic crisis, popular cult to Dionysus emerged from southern Italy; Dionysus was equated with Father Liber, the inventor of plebeian augury and personification of plebeian freedoms, and with Roman Bacchus. The catholicity of Roman Catholicism is one of the Religious law was collegial and traditional; it informed political decisions, could overturn them, and was difficult to exploit for personal gain. "[197], The conversion of Constantine I ended the Christian persecutions. [176], In Rome, state cult to a living emperor acknowledged his rule as divinely approved and constitutional. The edict of Milan (313) redefined Imperial ideology as one of mutual toleration. The most common version of the twins' story displays several aspects of hero myth. In 217, Venus was brought from Sicily and installed in a temple on the Capitoline hill.[155]. As a successful general, Romulus is also supposed to have founded Rome's first temple to Jupiter Feretrius and offered the spolia opima, the prime spoils taken in war, in the celebration of the first Roman triumph. Robigo (or Robigus) was given red dogs and libations of red wine at the Robigalia for the protection of crops from blight and red mildew. Daughter of Jupiter and Latona and twin of Apollo.eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'historyhit_com-mobile-leaderboard-2','ezslot_19',165,'0','0'])); Diana was goddess of the hunt, the moon and birth. See Beard et al., 34: "The gods would accept as sufficient exactly what they were offered – no more, no less." For Livy's use of prodigies and portents as markers of Roman impiety and military failure, see Feeney, in Rüpke (ed), 138 – 9. A magistrate with ius augurium (the right of augury) could declare the suspension of all official business for the day (obnuntiato) if he deemed the omens unfavourable. The name Jesus is a pagan name given to us by the Greeks/Romans. The empire once again fell under Christian control, this time permanently. Post-regal politics dispersed the civil and religious authority of the kings more or less equitably among the patrician elite: kingship was replaced by two annually elected consular offices. Some are modern, while others claim a long history stretching back to pre-roman times. For ordinary Romans, religion was a part of daily life. [58] Livy avoids the word "sacrifice" in connection with this bloodless human life-offering; Plutarch does not. In Rome, the same Imperial cult role was performed by the Arval Brethren, once an obscure Republican priesthood dedicated to several deities, then co-opted by Augustus as part of his religious reforms. [206][207] Constantine's unique form of Imperial orthodoxy did not outlast him. Metis created commotion by making armour and weapons for her daughter inside of Jupiter, and the god demanded that his head be split open to end the noise. Throughout its history, the concept of numen, an all pervasive divinity or spirituality, pervades Roman religious philosophy. As a rule women did not perform animal sacrifice, the central rite of most major public ceremonies. In the crises leading up to the Dominate, Imperial titles and honours multiplied, reaching a peak under Diocletian. 25 September, 2017. The Emperor used the god as one of his key symbols until his Christian conversion. All due care would be taken of the animals. Graeco-Roman paganism may refer to: Ancient Roman religion; Ancient Greek religion; The polytheistic religious beliefs and practices of the Greco-Roman world; Hellenism (religion) Roman Polytheistic Reconstructionism; Nova Roma [187] A year after its due deadline, the edict expired. Roman women were present at most festivals and cult observances. Famously god of war, Mars was also guardian of agriculture and the embodiment of virility and aggression. She was enshrined in the sacred and perpetually burning fire of the Vestal Virgins (all female and Rome’s only full-time priesthood). [189][190] In another edict, he described Christianity as a threat to Empire – not yet at its heart but close to it, among Rome's equites and Senators. Therefore, civil and religious law limited the number and kind of religious offices allowed an individual and his family. In the early days of Rome's war against Carthage, the commander Publius Claudius Pulcher (consul 249 BC) launched a sea campaign "though the sacred chickens would not eat when he took the auspices". Public vows formerly made for the security of the republic now were directed at the well-being of the emperor. The opposition of the Jews to them led to breaches of the peace. "[34] The Roman architect Vitruvius always uses the word templum to refer to this sacred precinct, and the more common Latin words aedes, delubrum, or fanum for a temple or shrine as a building. By the Augustan era, the city of Rome was home to several thousand Jews. [127][128][129], In the Graeco-Roman world, practitioners of magic were known as magi (singular magus), a "foreign" title of Persian priests. The myth of a Trojan founding with Greek influence was reconciled through an elaborate genealogy (the Latin kings of Alba Longa) with the well-known legend of Rome's founding by Romulus and Remus. This remained a primary religious and social duty of emperors. Jupiter was a son of Saturn; brother to Neptune, Pluto and Juno, to whom he was also husband. [70] The official deities of the state were identified with its lawful offices and institutions, and Romans of every class were expected to honour the beneficence and protection of mortal and divine superiors. [73], In the Regal era, a rex sacrorum (king of the sacred rites) supervised regal and state rites in conjunction with the king (rex) or in his absence, and announced the public festivals. Both were executed for treason; both were Christians. Ceres functioned as an intermediary between the realms of the living and the dead: the deceased had not yet fully passed to the world of the dead and could share a last meal with the living. The triumph of a Roman general was celebrated as the fulfillment of religious vows, though these tended to be overshadowed by the political and social significance of the event. He may have officially ended – or attempted to end – blood sacrifices to the genius of living emperors, though his Imperial iconography and court ceremonial outstripped Diocletian's in their supra-human elevation of the Imperial hierarch. Livy, 27.37.5–15; the hymn was composed by the poet. During the various Imperial crises of the 3rd century, "contemporaries were predisposed to decode any crisis in religious terms", regardless of their allegiance to particular practices or belief systems. The Senate decided whether a reported prodigy was false, or genuine and in the public interest, in which case it was referred to the public priests, augurs and haruspices for ritual expiation. As at Narbonne and Salona. Mercury was a roman psychopomp, tasked with guiding the souls of the dead to the underworld. The mystery cult to Bacchus followed; it was suppressed as subversive and unruly by decree of the Senate in 186 BC. [168], Military settlement within the empire and at its borders broadened the context of Romanitas. In Greek, the word omphalos means "navel" (compare the name of Queen Omphale). [45], The most potent offering was animal sacrifice, typically of domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. Literary sources vary in their depiction of women's religiosity: some represent women as paragons of Roman virtue and devotion, but also inclined by temperament to self-indulgent religious enthusiasms, novelties and the seductions of superstitio. The city had commercial and political treaties with its neighbours; according to tradition, Rome's Etruscan connections established a temple to Minerva on the predominantly plebeian Aventine; she became part of a new Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, installed in a Capitoline temple, built in an Etruscan style and dedicated in a new September festival, Epulum Jovis. The cults of Cybele, Isis, Mithras, and Sol Invictus were particularly important. In 206 BC the Sibylline books commended the introduction of a cult to the aniconic Magna Mater (Great Mother) from Pessinus, installed on the Palatine in 191 BC. The spread of Greek literature, mythology and philosophy offered Roman poets and antiquarians a model for the interpretation of Rome's festivals and rituals, and the embellishment of its mythology. He was not a living divus but father of his country (pater patriae), its pontifex maximus (greatest priest) and at least notionally, its leading Republican. Creating compound names are the one way Pagans pay homage to sacred objects, spirits, and concepts. [87], Divine disapproval could arise through unfit sacrifice, errant rites (vitium) or an unacceptable plan of action. The main room (cella) inside a temple housed the cult image of the deity to whom the temple was dedicated, and often a small altar for incense or libations. [114], From the earliest Imperial era, citizen legionaries and provincial auxiliaries gave cult to the emperor and his familia on Imperial accessions, anniversaries and their renewal of annual vows. Brown explains that when Christianity started making appearances in the eastern communities, "Hellene" was used to differentiate the non-Christians from the Christians. [10], Romulus was credited with several religious institutions. Some rites of the domus (household) were held in public places but were legally defined as privata in part or whole. She was the mother of Juventas, Mars and Vulcan. However, the Roman interpretation had Jupiter (Iapiter, meaning 'Heavenly sky father) as the principle god. [54] In Pompeii, the Genius of the living emperor was offered a bull: presumably a standard practise in Imperial cult, though minor offerings (incense and wine) were also made. Looking for the perfect Pagan or witch name? Before the battle, Decius is granted a prescient dream that reveals his fate. Mystery cults were present and generally accepted throughout much of Rome and provided a unique theological experience for their members. For example, religious disputes helped cause the First Jewish–Roman War and the Bar Kokhba revolt. Deities of the upper heavens required white, infertile victims of their own sex: Juno a white heifer (possibly a white cow); Jupiter a white, castrated ox (bos mas) for the annual oath-taking by the consuls. Julian became Augustus in 361 and actively but fostered a religious and cultural pluralism, attempting a restitution of non-Christian practices and rights. Pagan definition, (no longer in technical use) one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks. Rosenberger, in Rüpke (ed), 295 – 8: the task fell to the haruspex, who set the child to drown in the sea. And paganism was about to get a new face. [160] Augustus obtained the pax deorum, maintained it for the rest of his reign and adopted a successor to ensure its continuation. [108] The customary offers of wine and food to the dead continued; St Augustine (following St Ambrose) feared that this invited the "drunken" practices of Parentalia but commended funeral feasts as a Christian opportunity to give alms of food to the poor. The commander's headquarters stood at the centre; he took the auspices on a dais in front. Though taken from the Greeks, this grouping of 12 gods has pre Hellenic origins, probably in the religions of peoples from the Lycian and Hittite regions of Anatolia.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'historyhit_com-banner-1','ezslot_18',161,'0','0'])); The three main Roman gods, known as the Capitoline Triad, are Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.