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household gods Roman Throughout ancient Rome, people believed in a variety of gods that influenced their home lives.

Publié le 26/01/2014

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household gods Roman Throughout ancient Rome, people believed in a variety of gods that influenced their home lives. In their homes were small altars to these gods. They performed small rituals to honor the household gods. In fact, some modern scholars suggest that the Roman cultures maintained familiar rituals from generation to generation without remembering their origins and in later times developed myths to explain these practices. The stories of these lesser gods may have been borrowed from nearby cultures to explain these Roman domestic rituals. The most prominent among the household gods were the Lares and the Penates. Each home had its own Lar, a spirit, originally a revered ancestor, that watched over the house and brought prosperity to the family. Homes typically had small shrines in them which included a statue that represented the A second century B.C. Greek artist sculpted a bust of a man believed to be Homer, and a Roman artist copied the bust in the second century A.D. It stands in the Louvre in Paris. (Photograph by Hay Kranen.) Lar. Family members placed a portion of each meal on this shrine, a token of thanks for the protection the Lar brought. Two Penates dwelled in each home, protecting the storeroom or food cupboard from pests, molds, and thieves. Families recognized a certain spot on the hearth, near the family's fire, where the Penates lived, and believed that these two spirits joined them at their table for every meal. Doorways were particularly important to Roman citizens. The comings and goings of the family and the community represented opportunities for both success and danger. The greatest god of the doorway was Janus, the two-faced god who could see forward and backward, in toward the home and out toward the community. He eventually became a prominent god in Roman society. Janus was joined in his service to the threshold by Limentinus, Lima, Cardea, and Forculus. Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and protector of the fire, like Janus, became a prominent Roman deity. In the home, Vesta watched over baking and food preparation. Here it was the younger daughters' responsibility to watch over the fire. A portion of each meal was also dedicated to Vesta. Even the tools of the household had forces protecting them and watching over their users. Devera, for example, was the goddess of brooms, who was called upon to help clean the home for rituals and for welcoming a new child.

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