Throughout history, religion has been a core
pillar of most human societies. This was also true for the ancient Romans. Although the Roman Empire was known as a bastion
of Christianity for the last millennium of its existence, it is better known for the
polytheistic religions that preceded it. From the patricians, to the plebeians and
the lowliest of slaves, the Roman people were deeply religious. They honored many gods and strived to be pious,
so as to appease them and not make their own lives more difficult. Welcome to our series on the evolution of
religion in Roman society, in this first episode, we will cover the archaic origins of Roman
polytheism during the earliest stage of its society. This video is sponsored by Roman, and don’t
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off your first order of ED treatment. As Rome conquered new lands, many different
peoples became part of the state, and their beliefs and customs influenced the Roman religion
itself. Indeed, the most well-known form of the ancient
Roman religion was in itself an amalgamation of mostly the old Roman faith, the Etruscan
religion, and Greek polytheism – most notably the latter. The primeval Roman religion was very different
from the cast of Gods we associate with Rome today, which would be the one influenced by
the Greek’s Olympian pantheon. The point at which the original Roman faith
begins falling under intensive Greek influence and drastically transforming into its recognizable
shape is a matter of scholarly debate. Most historians, however, speculate that the
religion began evolving in that direction at some point during the 4th century BC. At that point, the Romans had conquered most
of their non-Greek neighbors in the Italian peninsula, and without Etruscan and Campanian
influences keeping a certain balance, the Greek religion had become the dominant outside
factor. Most of the information which exists about
the Roman faith before its deep syncretism with the Greek Pantheon was written much later,
by men like the 1st century BC historian Livy. These records are generally unreliable: It
is possible that these Roman writers may have purposefully omitted less than ideal details
about Rome’s cultural past, while alternatively, knowledge of these archaic Roman rites may
have been lost to time by the late Republican era. Direct historical sources on Rome’s earliest
period are scarce, and all that exists from that age are a handful of difficult epigraphical
texts and scant archeological evidence. The origins of the Roman religion are as obscure
as its foundation and early history, but we can glean clues of how it functioned and developed
by observing the archeological record. In Latium in the 10th and 9th centuries BC,
there is no evidence of organized religion, images of gods or even the existence of temples
and priests. Nevertheless, some forms of rituals were present,
as places for sacrifices are commonly found. In those places, looms, ceramic bowls and
other items of everyday use were gathered. Additionally, with the spread of cremation
and urn cultures to Italy, burial grounds and necropolises started appearing in the
sterritory of Rome as well. By the late 7th and early 6th centuries, however,
burials had become increasingly rare, having been replaced by public buildings. As the Iron Age continued, Greeks started
colonizing the Italian peninsula, all the while the Phoenicians and Cypriots started
spreading their trade routes to ever more distant parts of the Mediterranean. The influence of these cultures on Roman religious
practices can be seen as early as the 8th century BC. The aforementioned burials became extravagant,
particularly in so-called princely burials, such as the great tombs of Praeneste outside
of the city of Rome. This early Greek and Phoenician impact on
Roman religion was as much economical as it was cultural. The trade that they had facilitated greatly
increased Rome’s prosperity and led to rising levels of luxury, especially among the ruling
elites. Other major sites that coincide with the expansion
of Greek and Phoenician influence are temple complexes at Satricum and St. Omobono. The religious significance of St. Omobono
can be seen even to this day, as a Christian church is present at the site. Meanwhile, the temple at Satricum was dedicated
to Mater Matuta, the predecessor of the goddess of dawn, Aurora. It is also evident that temples had communicated
with each other, as the one at St. Omobono was dedicated to the goddess Fortuna, the
partner of Mater Matuta. The temple at Satricum is surrounded by large
buildings which archeologists believe to be dining halls. Communal dining spaces adjacent to cultic
sites were present in the Greek world, further indicating the rise of Greek influence in
Rome. As Roman society and politics developed in
the first centuries after its founding, religion also became increasingly complex. Much like the early Roman state and other
aspects of their religion, the gods themselves have mysterious beginnings too. The English historian H.S. Rose states that the Roman gods may have evolved
from more primitive religious views. According to him, supernatural and divine
acts, or a very divine presence, were given the name numen. The direct translation of numen is “that
which is produced by nodding” – in a less literal sense meaning an act that represents
the product or expression of power. Since numen is found in a variety of places,
it is attached to a myriad of phenomena, things and even people. For a large period of time, before the religion
became more organized, the numen was a personal affair for every Roman, rather than possessing
any collective identity. According to H.S. Rose “If they were strong, and especially
if they were regular in their occurrence, the natural conclusion would be that they
were produced by a kind of person who had much numen and was ready to display it for
the benefit of those who approached him in the right manner”. This “person” is believed to have gradually
evolved into one of the many Roman gods and goddesses, however, that evolution was slow. In accordance with this theory, early on,
Jupiter was nothing more than a flint and Mars was represented by a simple spear. As to why the Roman gods started out this
way and were only later given human characteristics, Rose simply states that it was due to a lack
of artistic maturity within Roman culture. Another thing worth mentioning about the early
Roman religion is its apparent lack of an expansive mythology, such as the one that
the Greeks and Indians had created for their gods. Due to lack of evidence, it is difficult to
say whether the mythology was forgotten and lost to time or whether the Romans had simply
never created one in the first place. This is another reason why it is deemed possible
that the Roman gods did not initially possess human characteristics. At the end of the Etruscan period, when the
three Capitoline gods were united in a single temple, it wasn’t even certain that Jupiter
and Juno were even seen as husband and wife. Some of the old Roman gods have received more
detailed mythologies after the Romans started modeling their religion after the Greek one. Nevertheless, several important gods did not
receive the same attention, and their mythologies remain mostly unknown. For example, Quirinus, who is believed to
be the opposite of Mars, is today sometimes even misidentified with him. Though the worship of Quirinus became nearly
extinct by the time of the Empire, the Roman hill named after him, the Quirinal, continued
to be considered one of the most important places in the country. Mars, as an exception to the rule, went through
relatively little change, unlike the majority of the other gods. His role was perpetual and stable, the typical
role of a war god. A goddess whose importance likewise dwindled
as the centuries passed is the aforementioned Mater Matuta. This primordial “mother figure” goddess
held great importance during Rome’s early days. During her feast day, the Matralia, women
that were married for the first time would gather and feast together, after which, they
would ask for blessings for their children and the children of the other women that participated. She is generally believed to be the goddess
of dawn and that she was later made equivalent to Aurora. One myth surrounding her has been recovered
and George Dumezil recounts it in his book “Archaic Roman religion” - “Dawn suckles
or licks the child who either belongs to herself and her sister Night in common or to that
sister alone. Thanks to this care, this child, the Sun,
which has emerged from the womb of Night, arrives at the maturity of day”. One of the things which the archaic and late
Roman religion had in common was that Jupiter was the principal god. Although Rome’s Capitoline triad of gods
consisting of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva is well known, the hierarchy of the gods was
very different in Rome’s early days. The so-called archaic triad consisted of Jupiter,
Mars and Quirinus. Initially, Jupiter is believed to have been
a sky god and the master of the thunderbolt. Unlike his Greek counterpart, Zeus, Jupiter
seems to have been much more down to Earth. Zeus, as the grandson of heaven, remained
fully celestial and retained a connection with the heavenly bodies. On the other hand, in the early Roman religion,
there was little interest in the Sun and moon and virtually none at all in the stars and
the firmament. It is also speculated that Jupiter was the
master of rain, with the ritual of Nudipedalia and the ritual of lapis manalis, both intended
to bring rain, being connected with him. As god of the sky, he was also deeply involved
with the process of augury, something which can be seen from a legend dating to the very
founding of Rome. Before Rome was even founded, Romulus and
Remus could not even agree about the place where they would build the city. Remus proposed the Aventine hill, as it was
easy to defend, while Romulus recommended the much less strategically viable Palatine
hill. Unable to come to an agreement, the two of
them decided to test their skills of augury. While Remus only saw six vultures, Romulus
saw 12 on his side. Therefore, the heart of Rome was built on
the Palatine hill. Another famous legend surrounding Jupiter
and Rome’s early days are the negotiations between the god and Rome’s second King,
Numa Pompilius. In the myth, Jupiter asks for a sacrifice
– “Cut off a head”, to which Numa replies, “an onion”. Jupiter rejoins with “A man’s”, without
mentioning the head again. The King, seeing another opportunity, answers
with “A man’s hair”. Jupiter once again repeats his mistake and
demands, “A life”. Numa, unwavering to the very end, interrupts
with “of a fish”. As a result, Jupiter rewarded Numa for his
shrewdness and did not ask for anything more. This myth also illustrates the attitude of
the Romans in their religious and social life. According to George Dumezil, the Romans strived
“to speak without imprudence, to say nothing and above all to use no formula by which the
god or his human spokesman might benefit at his expense, nothing which would irritate
the god, or which might be misconstrued or misunderstood”. Speaking of the legendary king Numa, the establishment
of most of ancient Rome’s religious institutions are attributed to him. One of the most famous of such institutions
are the Vestal Virgins – priestesses of Vesta, which tended to the fire of Vesta. Vesta was the goddess of the hearth and it
was believed that while her fire burned, Rome would be immortal. In case the fire ever went out, it was forbidden
for it to be relighted with the flames from another fire. Instead, a new fire was created by the Vestal
Virgins. Although Numa may have established the Vestal
Virgins in Rome, the cult itself is believed to be much older. In fact, some sources state that Romulus and
Remus’ mother was a priestess of Vesta in Alba Longa. That being said, she most likely was not a
virgin. The Roman calendar is also believed to have
been established by king Numa. This calendar consisted of 355 days, with
a biennial addition of 22 days. On average, this calendar was extremely precise
for those times. Numa Pompilius is also credited with having
established Rome’s priesthood. The official highest title in the Roman priesthood
was that of rex sacrorum. The rex sacrorum made a sacrifice on the Kalends
of each month, and announced the respective month’s festivals on the Nones. Following the rex sacrorum, the next most
powerful priests were the Flamines Dialis, Martialis and Quirinalis – the high priests
of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. The position of pontifex maximus was only
5th in this religious hierarchy, however, for most of Rome’s existence, it had the
most power. Whether the pontifex maximus was envisioned
to be the most powerful from the very beginning, or whether the position acquired its power
at some point in later centuries, it is not yet known. One interesting topic, which is unfortunately
still relatively unknown, is the relationship between the early Roman state and the many
domestic Lares and Penates. Every home had its own such deities – the
Lares were often envisaged as guardians of Rome, while the Penates were identified with
sacred objects brought to Latium from Troy by Aeneas. Another thing worth mentioning is that the
Etruscan influence on the Roman religion could very well be greater than the Greek influence. It is speculated that during the rule of the
Tarquin kings of Rome, who were of Etruscan origin, the Roman religion adopted many Etruscan
properties. Even the Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno
and Minerva could have been derived from the Etruscan triad of Tinia, Uni and Minrva. However, since the Etruscan religion also
came under heavy Greek influence, this may all be a moot point. Just like every other world religion, the
Roman religion changed and evolved heavily during the course of its existence. Despite the fact that the Greek pantheon had
an overwhelming influence on the Roman one, the two of them were not identical. The Roman people had their own unique beliefs
and the more we uncover about the origins of their faith, the more we can learn about
their history as well. More videos on the evolution of Roman religion
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