The mythology of Greece and Rome, with special reference to its use in art

by Otto Seemann

IV.—ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY.

Before passing to the heroic legends, some remarks are necessary concerning the inferior deities, who played such an important part in the domestic worship of the Romans. We have already incidentally remarked that the people of Italy generally passed by the greater gods of the heaven and earth in anxious awe. Their invocation and adoration was left to public worship, whilst, in their less important domestic concerns, men had recourse to certain inferior deities, whom they thought nearer to them; just as in the present day, in Italy, the common people prefer to communicate their prayers and wishes to their patron saints rather than to the Almighty himself.

1. The Penates.—The Penates were the kindly domestic deities of the Romans—the guardians of the household, who especially provided for its daily wants. Of their name, number, and sex nothing is known—not because the facts have been lost to us, but because the Romans themselves were content with this indefinite conception. Similar good spirits, exerting an active influence in the household, were recognised by popular German superstition, without experiencing any necessity of having distinct names for them. The shrine of the Penates consisted of the hearth, the central point of the house, which not only served for the preparation of meals, but was also especially dedicated to religious purposes. It stood in the “atrium,” the only large room in the Roman house, where the family met for meals and received visitors. On the hearth, a fire was continually kept burning in honour of Vesta and the Penates. Around it, after the introduction of images of the gods, were placed the statues of the Penates. These were generally small and puppet-like, and, among the poorer classes, were only roughly cut out of wood. There was no domestic occurrence, either of joy or mourning, in which the Penates did not take part. Like the Lares, of whom we shall speak presently, they participated in the daily meal, portions being set on certain plates for that purpose before the images. There were also State Penates, the ancients regarding the state as nothing but an extended family. The temple of Vesta was to the state what the hearth was to the household. Here was the seat of their worship, and here it was that the Roman Pontifex Maximus brought those offerings which, in private households, were the part of the head of the family. In the innermost sanctuary of the temple of Vesta there were statues of these Penates, of great sanctity, since Æneas was reported to have brought them with him from Troy. We have no trustworthy information as to their number or appearance, for, with the exception of the Pontifex and the Vestal Virgins, none ever entered the holy place. It is scarcely necessary to add that they were believed to exercise an especial influence on the welfare and prosperity of the state and people of Rome.

2. The Lares.—The Lares, like the Penates, were the tutelary deities of the house and family, and on that account often confounded with them. They were commonly supposed to be the glorified spirits of ancestors, who, as guardian deities, strove to promote the welfare of the family. The seat of their worship was also the family hearth in the atrium, where their images of wood or wax were generally preserved in a separate shrine of their own (Lararium). The Lares received an especial degree of veneration on the first day of every month; but, like the Penates, they took part in all the domestic occurrences, whether of joy or sorrow. Like the Penates, they also received their share at every meal on particular dishes, and were crowned with garlands on the occasion of every family rejoicing. When a son assumed the toga virilis (came of age), he dedicated his bulla[^[5]] to the Lares, amid prayers and libations and burning of incense. When the father of the house started on a journey or returned in safety, the Lares were again addressed, and their statues crowned with wreaths, flowers and garlands being their favourite offerings.

[5]. A gold or silver ornament, like a medal, which was worn round the neck during childhood.

The same conception which pervades the domestic Lares may be perceived in a more extensive form in the Lares of the Gens, the city, and the state itself. The Lares do not appear, in fact, to have differed in many respects from the heroes worshipped by the Greeks. At all events, Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of the city, were regarded as its Lares, and, in the time of Augustus, the genius of the emperor was associated with them.

3. Larvæ, Lemures, and Manes.—Just as the Lares were regarded as the good and happy spirits of ancestors, the souls of others were supposed to wander about in the guise of evil demons and spectres, giving rise to weird terrors, and casting bad spells on the senses of those whom they met. Such was especially believed to be the fate of those who had not received burial, or in whose case the prescribed ceremonies had been neglected, and who being, in consequence, unable to find rest, were doomed to flit about the earth. Such spirits were called Larvæ, or Lemures. The propitiatory festival of the Lemuria, or Lemuralia, which was said to have been instituted in memory of the murdered Remus, was celebrated annually in their honour on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May. Every paterfamilias was supposed during these days to perform certain midnight ceremonies, and to repeat certain forms, which had the effect of banishing any evil spirits.

In contrast to the Lares and Larvæ, the souls of the dead were also commonly venerated as Manes, or good spirits. These were believed after burial to have been converted into beings of a higher order, who dwelt, indeed, in the interior of the earth, but exercised, notwithstanding, a considerable influence on the affairs of the upper world. It was possible to summon them from the lower world by means of sacrifices. A general festival of the dead took place in February, when the Manes were propitiated with offerings and libations. These offerings were placed on the tombs of the deceased, and, of course, varied extremely, according to the means of the donors.