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Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- Sacrifices
The
fundamental basis of the Ancient
Roman Religion and many of the
ceremonies was based on the belief
that if the Gods and Goddesses were
happy then Rome and the Romans would
receive good fortune. Sacrificial
offerings were therefore made to the
ancient Roman gods. The types of
sacrifices were very specific and
highly ritualised.
The sex of the animal had to correspond
to the sex of the god or goddess to whom it was offered in
sacrifice.
White animals were sacrificed to the gods of the upper world
whereas black animals to the underworld. Outside all of the Roman temples
various traders sold small birds and animals for the Romans
to offer. Public and private sacrifices were made on a daily
basis. Statues of Roman gods
and goddesses were erected at
the corners of the streets, in the market-places and over
the public fountains. For additional facts and information
about Ancient Roman religion and ceremonies also see
Sacrifices at
the Roman Colosseum
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- Magic
The Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
encompassed the primitive beliefs in magic which asserted
human ability to control the natural world including events,
objects, people and physical phenomena through mystical,
paranormal or supernatural means. Ancient Roman religion
used charms, spells, chanting, sacrifices and various
ceremonies in order to control the natural world such as
ceremonies to produce rain.
Religious
festivals such as Saturnalia and Bacchanalia were celebrated
where sacrifices, ribald songs, lewd acts and sexual
promiscuity were also practised.
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- The Rain Ceremony of the Aquaelicium
The ceremony of the
aquaelicium was designed to produce rain
after a long
drought. In ancient times the ceremony consisted in a
procession,
headed by the
Pontifices, which bore the sacred rain-stone
(lapis manalis)
from its
resting-place by the Porta Capena up to the Capitol where
offerings were made to the sky god Jupiter together with a
symbolic ritual of pouring water over the stone.
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- The Rain Ceremony of the Argeorum Sacra
A similar
rain charm and ceremony was practised in the curious ritual
of the Argeorum Sacra which involved throwing puppets of straw into the
River Tiber as a symbolic
wetting of the crops.
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- Crop or Harvest Ceremonies
The success of the harvest
and crops were necessary for the survival of the Ancient
Romans. Crop ceremonies included the ceremony of the Augurium
Canarium during which
a red dog
was sacrificed for the prosperity of the crop. There was
also a symbolic
killing of the red mildew (robigo) and a ceremony practised
in April involving the slaughter of
pregnant cows at the Fordicidia which also related to the
fertility of the
earth.
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- The Worship of Trees and the Spolia Opima
The Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
also incorporated the worship of trees and the spirits which
were believed to inhabit the trees. The sacred oak of
Jupiter on the Capitol, was hung with the 'spolia opima'
following the Triumph of a Roman general. The dedication of
the 'spolia opima' to the spirit of the tree demonstrated
great honor and respect as the 'spolia opima' (or rich
spoils / trophies) refers to the armor, arms and other
effects that an ancient Roman general had stripped from the
body of an opposing commander who had been slain in single,
hand-to-hand combat. It was not only special trees which
were regarded as the home of an Ancient Roman god or
goddess. The tree in general was sacred and it was believed
that any tree might possibly be inhabited by a spirit.
Cato details the words
of a prayer and a sacrifice which was recommended for
farmers to use before making a clearing in a wood:
"Be
thou god or goddess, to whom this grove is sacred, be it
granted to us to make propitiatory sacrifice to thee with a
pig for the clearing of this sacred spot."
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- The Worship of Natural Objects
The Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
also incorporated the worship of natural objects such as
stones. At first the objects were worshipped in their own
sacred right and eventually because of the spirit of the
ancient Roman god which was believed to inhabit such natural
objects. Boundary stones were particularly important
objects. The great sacred boundary-stone of Rome had its own
shrine within the Capitoline temple. According to the
legend, the god Terminus inhabited the stone and refused to
budge even to make room for Jupiter. The sacred stone
(silex) which was preserved in the temple of Jupiter on the
Capitol, played a prominent part in the ceremony of
treaty-making. A group of extremely important Roman priests
called the
Fetials were
involved with various aspects of international relations
including the making of treaties and declarations of war.
The ceremony and ritual involving the making of treaties and
oath taking involved the Fetials reading the treaty aloud
and pronouncing a curse on Rome should the Romans be the
first to break it. The ceremony was concluded by killing a
pig. At the solemn moment of the oath-taking the pater
patratus, who was the representative of the Fetials struck
the sacrificial pig with the silex, saying as he did so:
"Do thou, Diespiter [Diespiter
was another name given to the god Jupiter], strike the Roman
people as I strike this pig here to-day, and strike them the
more, as thou art greater and stronger."
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- The Worship of the Household Gods
The Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
incorporated the worship of the household appears to have
originated from the sense of the sacredness of certain
objects closely bound up with the family life such as the
door which was the protection against the external world by
which the household went out to work in the morning and
returned at evening. The hearth, the giver of warmth and
nourishment and the store-cupboard, in which the food for
the household was preserved for future use. This included
the worship of the Roman gods Janus, Vesta and the Penates
and Lares who were the gods who were supposed to attend to
the welfare and prosperity of the Roman family. Little
statuettes of the Lares and Penates would be fetched from
the shrine (lararium) and placed upon the table in token of
their presence at the meal.
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- The Worship of the Fields
The Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
incorporated the worship of the fields. The life of the
early Roman in the fields, his activities, his hopes and
fears, are reflected in the long list of agricultural
festivals which constitute the greater part of the
celebrations in the Calendar and follow closely the seasons
and occupations of the agricultural year. The Roman
festivals related to the gods of the fields and their
worship divided into:
The Spring, expressive of the
hopes and fears for the growing crops and herds of farm animals *** The Summer, the festivals of
fulfilment, including the celebration of harvest *** The Winter, the festivals of
sowing and of of social rejoicing
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
- The Worship of the State
The Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
importantly incorporated the worship of the state. The
Romans merged state and religion in a belief system. The
religion of the Roman state had its own gods which were the
products of diverse cultures and ancient beliefs. In the
state organisation of the Roman religion a legal conception
of the relation of god to man emerged. When a Roman made a
sacrifice or gave an oath to a god it was a legally binding
agreement.
Ancient Roman Religion and Ceremonies
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