The Gods of Ancient Rome: Religion in Everyday Life from Archaic to Imperial Times 9781474473361

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THE

Gons

OF ANciENT

RoME

Religion in Everyday Life from Archaic to Imperial Times

RoBERT TuRCAN

Translated by Antonia Nevill

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS

English edition first published 2000 by Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22. George Square Edinburgh Scotland Translation (g Edinburgh University Press 2000 Guide to Further Reading ~) ]. E. Reeson 2000 First published J 998 by Hachette Litteratures 74 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris

France

© Hachette

Litteratures 1998

edition with the aid of a translation subvention kindly given by the French Ministry of Culture Typeset in 11 on 13 pt Goudy Old by Hewer Text Ltd, Edinburgh, and

Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne A ClP Record for this book is available from the British

ISBN 0 7486 1389 7 (hardback) ISBN 0 7486 1390 0 The right of Roberr Turcan to be identified as :mthor of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Contents

List of illustrations Abbreviations

1 Introduction: Pietas Romana 2 Religions of the family and the land Daily rituals From the cradle to the grave Special rites, duties and solemn occasions Domestic ceremonies Collective liturgies Cults of the land Gentilitial or 'clan' cults

3 Religions of the city Organisation of the priesthood Periodic rituals Pagan daily ritual The liturgical year The five-year cycle The secular cycle Rituals for special occasions Consulting the auspices Warnings from the gods Keeping the gods on-side Offerings, pledges and triumphs

4 Religions of the Empire Foreign cults

v vi

1 14 15 18 29 29 33 37 43 51 52 58 58 60 82 83 85 85 87 92 99 105 106

THE Gons oF ANciENT RoME Gods of Greece and Great Greece The mother gods of Anatolia Dionysus and Sabazius Gods of the Nile and Africa Cults of the Levant Mithras The Imperial cult The occult, necromancy and strange devotions 5 Conclusion: The impact of Christianity

Bibliography Guide to further reading J.E. Reeson Index

- iv-

107 109 117 120 126 131 134

145 155 167

175 177

List of illustrations

1. Funerary relief. Rome. Palazzo Albani del Drago. Photo: German Archaeological Institute, Rome. 2. Marcus Aurelius sacrificing before the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Rome, Palazzo dei Conservatori. Photo: Alinari. 3. Sacrifice of a bull. Paris, Louvre Museum. Photo: Giraudon. 4. Immolatio of the victim. Rome, Capitoline Museum. 5. Haruspex. Tubingen, University Archaeological Institute. 6. Domestic lararium. Herculanum. Ins. V. 31. 7. Lupercus. Vatican Museum. 8. Augustus as an augur. Florence. Uffizi Museum. Photo: Alinari. 9. Quindecemvir sacris faciundis. Paris, Louvre Museum. 10. Banquet of the Vestals. Rome, Museo Nuovo. 11. Suovetaurilia. Paris, Louvre Museum. 12. Sacrifice to the Moirai. Coin of Domitian, private collection. Photo: 'Monnaies et Medailles', Basle. 13. The emperor dictating a prayer to the matrons. Coin of Domitian. London, British Museum. 14. Priest of Bellona. Rome, Capitoline Museum. 15. Egyptian festival. Rome, National Museum. 16. Jupiter Dolichenus and his companion. Rome, Capitoline Museum. 17. Sacrifice to the Augustan Lares. Rome, Museo Nuovo. 18. Sacrifice to Nemesis. Rome, Museo Nuovo. Photo: German Archaeological Institute, Rome.

-v-

Abbreviations

-REFERENCES TO GREEK AND LATIN AUTHORS-

Ad. sen.

=

Ad senatorem (diatribe in verse against a Christian senator

reverted to paganism, text annexed to the works of St Cyprian) Ambr., Ep. = Ambrose, Letters Amm. = Ammianus Marcellinus Ap. = Apuleius

Apol. = Apologia M = Metamorphoses Socr. = De deo Socratis App. = Appian BC = Bella civilia Pun. = Res Punicae Arn. = Arnobius, Adversus nationes Asc., Mil. = Asconius, commentary on Cicero, Pro Milone Aug. = St Augustine CG = City of God Ep. = Letters Carm. c. pag. = lncerti carmen contra paganos (Poetae Latini minores, ed. Aero. Baehrens, III, Leipzig, 1881, pp. 287-92) Cat., Agr. = Cato, De agricultura Cens. = Censorinus, De die natali Cic. = Cicero Att. = Letters to Atticus Balb. = Pro Balbo Div. = De divinatione Dam. = De domo sua Fin. = De finibus Flacc. = Pro Flacco Har. = De haruspicum responsis Leg. = De legibus -vi-

ABBREVIATIONS

Marc. = Pro Marcello Mil. = Pro Milone Mur. = Pro Murena ND = de natura deorum Phil. = Philippics Quinct. = Pro Quinctio Rep. = De Republica Scaur. = Pro Aemilio Scauro Vat. = In V atinium Verr. = In Verrem actiones Clem. Alex., Protr. = Clement of Alexander, Protreptica Col. = Columella, De re rustica C. Th. = Theodosian code (ed. T. Mommsen-P. Meyer, Berlin, 1905; 19623) DC = Dio Cassius, Roman History DH, AR = Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman antiquities Don., Com. = Donatus, Tractatus de comoedia OS = Diodorus Siculus, The Historical Library Eur., Bacc. = Euripides, Bacchae Eus. = Eusebius of Caesarea HE = Ecclesiastical History VC = Life of Constantine Fest. = Festus, abbreviator ofVerrius Flaccus, De verborum significatione, ed. Lindsay, Leipzig, 1913 (Hildesheim, 19652) Firm. = Firmicus maternus Err. = De errore profanarum religionum Math. = Mathesis Fulg., Serm. = Fabius Planciades Fulgentius, Expositio sermonum antiquorum Front., Ep. M. Caes. = Fronto, Letters to Marcus Aurelius Caesar Gell. = Aulus Gelius, Attic nights Hdn. = Herodian, History of the Roman emperors Hes., W = Hesiod, Works and Days Hipp., Ref. = Hippolytus of Rome, Refutation of all heresies Hor. = Horace Ep. = Letters Epa. = Epodes 0= Odes S = Satries Jambal., VP = Jamblichus, Life of Pythagoras Jer., Ep. = St Jerome, Letters Jos., A] = Flavius Josephus, Judaic Antiquities Jul., Or. = Julian, Speeches -vii-

THE Gons

OF ANciENT

RoME

Just., Apol. = Justin Martyr, Apologia Juv. = Juvenal, Satires Lact. = Lactantius Inst. = Divinae institutiones Mort. = De mortibus persecutorum Lib., Or. = Libanius, Speeches Liv., = Livy, Roman History Per. = Periochae (resumes of lost books) Luc. = Lucan, Pharsalia Luc. Sam., Syr. Lucian of Samosata, The Syrian Goddess Lucr. = Lucretius, De natura rerum Lyd. Mens. = Johannes Lydus, De mensibus Macr., S = Macrobius, Saturnalia Mart., Ep. = Martial, Epigrams Minuc. = Minucius Felix, Octavius Myth. Vat. = Mythographers of the Vatican Non. = Nonius Marcellus, De compendiosa doctrina, ed. los. Mercerius, whose pagination is resumed by ed. Lindsay (Leipzig, 1903) Obseq. = Julius obsequens, Prodigiorum liber (Eng. trs. A. C. Schlesinger, following works of Livy, XIV, call. Loeb, London, 1987) Olympiad. = Olympiodorus, late Greek historian Orig., C. Cels. = Origen, Contra Celsum Ov. =Ovid AA = Ars Amatoria Am.= Amores F = Fasti M = Metamorphoses Pont. = Panties Tr. = Tristia Pers. = Persius, Satires Petr. = Petronius, Satiricon Philost. = Philostorgius, Ecclesiastical History Phot., Bibl. = Photius Biblioteca Pl. = Plautus Aul. = Aulularia Capt. = Captivi Cist. = Cistellaria Cure. = Curculio Ep. = Epidicus Mere. = Mercator Ps. = Pseudolus -viii-

ABBREVIATIONS

Rud.

=

Rudens

Trinum. = Trinumnus Plin., NH = Pliny the Elder, Natural History Plin., Pan. = Pliny the Younger, Panegyric of Trajan Plut. = Plutarch Parallel lives: Aem. = Aemilius Paullus Caes. = Caesar Cam. = Camillus Cor. = Coriolanus Crass. = Crassus Mar. = Marius Marc. = Marcellus Num. = Numa Pomp. = Pompey Rom. = Romulus Sull. = Sulla Moral works: Fort. Rom. = Fortune of the Romans Par. = Greek and Roman parallels QR = Roman Questions Pol. = Polybius, Histories Porph. = Porphyrius Antr. = Cavern of the Nymphs V. Pl. = Life of Plotinus Prop. = Propertius, Elegies Prud. = Prudentius Apoth. = Apotheosis C. Symm. = Against Symmachus Perist. = Peristephanon (Book of crowns) Qunit. = Quintilian Decl. = Declamations (of the pseudo-Quintilian) IO = Institutio Oratoria Ruf., HE = Rufinus, Ecclesiastical History Sal. = Sallustius, Of the gods and the world Sall., Cat. = Sallust, Catilina Sen. = Seneca the Philosopher Clem. = De dementia Const. = De constantia sapientis Ep. = Letters to Lucilius Ir. = De ira - ix-

THE GoDs oF ANCIENT RoME

Oed. = Oedipus Tranq. = De tranquillitate animi VB = De vita beata Serv. = Servilius, commentaries on Virgil: Aen. = on The Aeneid B = on the Bucolics G = on the Georgics Serv. Dan. = ancient glosses added to the text of Servius in the edition of P. Daniel, Paris, 1600 ( = Deutero-Servius) SHA = Scriptores Historiae Augustae A = Aurelianus AP= Antonius Pius AS= Severns Alexander C = Commodus Gall. = Gallieni duo H = Hadrianus Hel. = Heliogabalus MA = Marcus Antoninus S = Severus Tac. = Tacitus Socr., HE = Socrates (Scholasticus), Historia Ecclesiastica Sol. = Solinus, Collectanea rerum memorabilium Suet. = Suetonius, Lives of the twelve Caesars Aug. = Augustus Caes. = Caesar Cal. = Caligula Claud. = Claudius Dam. = Domitian Galb. = Galba Ner. =Nero Oth. = Otho Tib. = Tiberius Vesp. = Vespasian Vit. = Vitellius Symm. = Symmachus Ep. = Letters Rel. = Relationes ad principes T ac. = Tacitus An. =Annals H = Histories T ert. = T ertullian

-x-

ABBREVIATIONS

An. = De anima Apol. = Apologeticum Cor. = De corona Idol. = De idololatria Ieiun. = De ieiunio Mon. = De monogamia Nat. = Ad Nationes Pall. = De pallia Praescr. = De praescriptione haereticorum Spect. = De spectaculis Tib. = Tibullus, Elegies Val. Flacc. = Valerius Flacus, Argonautica Val. Max. = Valerius Maxim us, Memorable deeds and sayings Varr. = Varro LL = De lingua Latina RR = Res rusticae Virg. = Virgil Aen. = Aeneid B = Bucolics G = Georgics Zos. = Zosimus, New History - OTHER ABBREVIATIONS -

ANRW = Aufstieg und Niedergang der romishcen Welt. Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung, Berlin-New York, 1972 ff. BFFAR = Bibliotheque des ecoles franc;,aises d'Athenes et de Rome CCID = Corpus cultus Iovis Dolicheni, by M. Harig and E. Schwertheim (EPRO, 106), Leiden, 1987 CEFR = Collection de l'Ecole fran