1.
Capitoline Triad
–
The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Romes Capitoline Hill. Two distinct Capitoline Triads were worshipped at various times in Romes history, the one most commonly referred to as the Capitoline Triad is the more recent of the two, consisting of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The earlier triad, sometimes referred to in modern scholarship as the Archaic Triad, consisted of Jupiter, Mars, each triad held a central place in the public religion of Rome during its time. The three deities who are most commonly referred to as the Capitoline Triad are a group that supplanted the original Archaic Triad. This group, mirroring the Etruscan divine triad, consisted of Jupiter, the king of the gods, Juno, his wife and sister, and Jupiters daughter Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. Unlike the earlier Archaic Triad, which was typical of a trio of supreme divine beings. It is almost certainly derived from the Etruscan trio of Tinia, the deity, Uni, his wife, and Menrva, their daughter. The earliest known example of a Capitolium outside of Italy was at Emporion in Spain, according to Ovid, Terminus also had a place there, since he had a shrine there before it was built and, as the god of boundary stones, refused to yield. The temple was built under the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, although the temple was shared by Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, each deity had a separate cella, with Juno Regina on the left, Minerva on the right, and Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the middle. It included a podium and a tetrastyle pronaos, another shrine dedicated to Jupiter, Juno Regina and Minerva was the Capitolium Vetus on the Quirinal Hill. It was thought to be older than the famous temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill. The original three deities thus worshipped, now commonly referred to as the Archaic Triad, were Jupiter, Mars. This structure was no longer detectable in later times, and only traces of it could be identified from various literary sources. However Wissowa did not pursue further the analysis of the meaning, however it had disappeared from most societies since prehistoric times, with the notable exception of India. Indra incarnated the military function and the twins Ashvins the function of production, wealth, fertility and pleasure. As recorded by sources and confirmed by archeological data it was devised to lodge the three major deities Iupiter, Mars, and Ops, the deity of agricultural plenty, in three separate rooms. The spolia opima were dedicated by the person who had killed the king or chief of the enemy in battle. They were dedicated to Jupiter in case the Roman was a king or his equivalent, to Mars in case he was an officer and to Quirinus in case he was common soldier
Capitoline Triad
–
Jupiter, the supreme
Roman god of the sky, was the only deity represented in both Capitoline Triads.
Capitoline Triad
–
Capitoline Triad – Museum of
Palestrina
2.
Library of Congress
–
The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States, the Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. it also maintains the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. The Library of Congress claims to be the largest library in the world and its collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages. Two-thirds of the books it acquires each year are in other than English. The Library of Congress moved to Washington in 1800, after sitting for years in the temporary national capitals of New York. John J. Beckley, who became the first Librarian of Congress, was two dollars per day and was required to also serve as the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The small Congressional Library was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s, most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812. To restore its collection in 1815, the bought from former president Thomas Jefferson his entire personal collection of 6,487 books. After a period of growth, another fire struck the Library in its Capitol chambers in 1851, again destroying a large amount of the collection. The Library received the right of transference of all copyrighted works to have two copies deposited of books, maps, illustrations and diagrams printed in the United States. It also began to build its collections of British and other European works and it included several stories built underground of steel and cast iron stacks. Although the Library is open to the public, only high-ranking government officials may check out books, the Library promotes literacy and American literature through projects such as the American Folklife Center, American Memory, Center for the Book, and Poet Laureate. James Madison is credited with the idea for creating a congressional library, part of the legislation appropriated $5,000 for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress. And for fitting up an apartment for containing them. Books were ordered from London and the collection, consisting of 740 books and 3 maps, was housed in the new Capitol, as president, Thomas Jefferson played an important role in establishing the structure of the Library of Congress. The new law also extended to the president and vice president the ability to borrow books and these volumes had been left in the Senate wing of the Capitol. One of the only congressional volumes to have survived was a government account book of receipts and it was taken as a souvenir by a British Commander whose family later returned it to the United States government in 1940. Within a month, former president Jefferson offered to sell his library as a replacement
Library of Congress
–
Construction of the
Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888, to May 15, 1894.
Library of Congress
Library of Congress
–
The West façade of the Library of Congress in 1898
Library of Congress
–
The Library of Congress inside the
U.S. Capitol Building c. 1890
3.
Owl of Minerva
–
In Greek mythology, a little owl traditionally represents or accompanies Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom, or Minerva, her syncretic incarnation in Roman mythology. The reasons behind the association of Athena and the owl are lost in time, owls were commonly reproduced by Athenians in vases, weights and prize amphoras for the Panathenaic Games. The association between the owl and the goddess continued through Minerva in Roman mythology, although the later sometimes simply adopts it as a sacred or favorite bird, philosophy cannot be prescriptive because it understands only in hindsight. Translated by S W Dyde,1896 Glaucus Little owl Nyctimene Roman mythology
Owl of Minerva
–
Silver
tetradrachm coin at the
Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon depicting the owl of Athena (circa 480–420 BC). The inscription "ΑΘΕ" is an abbreviation of ΑΘΗΝΑΙΩΝ, which may be translated as "of the Athenians". In daily use the
Athenian drachmas were called glaukes (γλαῦκες, owls).
Owl of Minerva
–
Athena holding a helmet and a spear, with an owl. Attributed to the
Brygos Painter (circa 490–480 BC). The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
4.
Jupiter (mythology)
–
Jupiter, also Jove, is the god of sky and thunder and king of the gods in Ancient Roman religion and mythology. Jupiter was the deity of Roman state religion throughout the Republican and Imperial eras. In Roman mythology, he negotiates with Numa Pompilius, the king of Rome, to establish principles of Roman religion such as offering. Jupiter is usually thought to have originated as a sky god, the two emblems were often combined to represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt, frequently seen on Greek and Roman coins. As the sky-god, he was a witness to oaths. Many of his functions were focused on the Capitoline Hill, where the citadel was located and he was the chief deity of the early Capitoline Triad with Mars and Quirinus. In the later Capitoline Triad, he was the guardian of the state with Juno. His sacred tree was the oak, the Romans regarded Jupiter as the equivalent of the Greek Zeus, and in Latin literature and Roman art, the myths and iconography of Zeus are adapted under the name Iuppiter. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Jupiter was the brother of Neptune, each presided over one of the three realms of the universe, sky, the waters, and the underworld. The Italic Diespiter was also a sky god who manifested himself in the daylight, usually, Tinia is usually regarded as his Etruscan counterpart. The Romans believed that Jupiter granted them supremacy because they had honoured him more than any other people had, Jupiter was the fount of the auspices upon which the relationship of the city with the gods rested. He personified the divine authority of Romes highest offices, internal organization and his image in the Republican and Imperial Capitol bore regalia associated with Romes ancient kings and the highest consular and Imperial honours. The consuls swore their oath of office in Jupiters name, to thank him for his help, they offered him a white ox with gilded horns. A similar offering was made by generals, who surrendered the tokens of their victory at the feet of Jupiters statue in the Capitol. Some scholars have viewed the triumphator as embodying Jupiter in the triumphal procession, Jupiters association with kingship and sovereignty was reinterpreted as Romes form of government changed. Originally, Rome was ruled by kings, after the monarchy was abolished and the Republic established, religious prerogatives were transferred to the patres, nostalgia for the kingship was considered treasonous. Those suspected of harbouring monarchical ambitions were punished, regardless of their service to the state, in the 5th century BC, the triumphator Camillus was sent into exile after he drove a chariot with a team of four white horses —an honour reserved for Jupiter himself. His house on the Capitoline Hill was razed, and it was decreed that no patrician should ever be allowed to live there, during the Conflict of the Orders, Romes plebeians demanded the right to hold political and religious office
Jupiter (mythology)
–
A marble statue of Jupiter from c. 200 AD
Jupiter (mythology)
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
–
Triumphator in his four-horse chariot, from the
Arch of Titus
Jupiter (mythology)
–
Detail of
relief from the
Augustan Altar of Peace, showing flamens wearing the pointed
apex
5.
Athena
–
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is the goddess of wisdom, craft, and war in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Minerva is the Roman goddess identified with Athena, Athena is known for her calm temperament, as she moves slowly to anger. She is noted to have fought for just reasons. Athena is portrayed as a companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavour. She is the patroness of Athens. The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her city, Athens. Veneration of Athena was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to cultural changes, in her role as a protector of the city, many people throughout the Greek world worshipped Athena as Athena Polias. While the city of Athens and the goddess Athena essentially bear the same name, Athena is associated with Athens, a plural name, because it was the place where she presided over her sisterhood, the Athenai, in earliest times. Mycenae was the city where the Goddess was called Mykene, at Thebes she was called Thebe, and the city again a plural, Thebae. Similarly, at Athens she was called Athena, and the city Athenae, Athena had a special relationship with Athens, as is shown by the etymological connection of the names of the goddess and the city. According to mythical lore, she competed with Poseidon and she won by creating the olive tree, the Athenians would accept her gift and name the city after her. In history, the citizens of Athens built a statue of Athena as a temple to the goddess, which had piercing eyes, a helmet on her head, attired with an aegis or cuirass, and an extremely long spear. It also had a shield with the head of the Gorgon on it. A large snake accompanied her and she held Nike, the goddess of victory, therefore, Mylonas believes that Athena was a Mycenaean creation. On the other hand, Nilsson claims that she was the goddess of the palace who protected the king, a-ta-no-dju-wa-ja is also found in Linear A Minoan, the final part being regarded as the Linear A Minoan equivalent of the Linear B Mycenaean di-u-ja or di-wi-ja. Divine Athena also was a weaver and the deity of crafts, whether her name is attested in Eteocretan or not will have to wait for decipherment of Linear A. Perhaps, however, the name Theonoe may mean she who knows divine things better than others. Thus for Plato her name was to be derived from Greek Ἀθεονόα, Plato also noted that the citizens of Sais in Egypt worshipped a goddess whose Egyptian name was Neith, and which was identified with Athena. Neith was the war goddess and huntress deity of the Egyptians since the ancient Pre-Dynastic period, in addition, ancient Greek myths reported that Athena had visited many mythological places such as Libyas Triton River in North Africa and the Phlegraean plain
Athena
–
Mattei Athena at
Louvre. Roman copy from the 1st century BC/AD after a Greek original of the 4th century BC, attributed to Cephisodotos or Euphranor.
Athena
–
Athenian
tetradrachm representing the goddess Athena.
Athena
–
A new
peplos was woven for Athena and ceremonially brought to dress her
cult image (
British Museum).
Athena
–
Marble Greek copy signed “Antiokhos”, a 1st-century BC variant of
Phidias ’ 5th-century
Athena Promachos that stood on the
Acropolis.
6.
Menrva
–
Menrva was an Etruscan goddess of war, art, wisdom, and health. She contributed much of her character to Roman Minerva, though she was seen by Hellenized Etruscans as their counterpart to Greek Athena, Menrva has some unique traits that makes it clear that she was not an import from Greece. Etruscan artists under the influence of Greek culture liked to portray Menrva with Gorgoneion, helmet, spear and shield and she is also commonly seen as the protector of Hercle and Pherse. She is often depicted in more essentially Etruscan style as a lightning thrower, unlike Athena, Menrva seems to have been associated with weather phenomena. She was often depicted in the Judgement of Paris, called Elcsntre in Etruscan, Menrva was part of a triple deity with Tinia and Uni, later reflected in the Roman Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva
Menrva
–
Menrva on a
Roman As from
Etruria
7.
Religion in ancient Rome
–
The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, and attributed their success as a world power to their collective piety in maintaining good relations with the gods. According to legends, most of Romes religious institutions could be traced to its founders, particularly Numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king of Rome, who negotiated directly with the gods. This archaic religion was the foundation of the mos maiorum, the way of the ancestors or simply tradition, as Rome came into contact with foreign cultures, and conquered them, foreign religions increasingly attracted devotees among Romans, who increasingly had ancestry from elsewhere in the Empire. The emperors promoted the Imperial cult around the empire, and this, ultimately, Roman polytheism was brought to an end with the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the empire. The priesthoods of public religion were held by members of the elite classes, there was no principle analogous to separation of church and state in ancient Rome. During the Roman Republic, the men who were elected public officials might also serve as augurs. Priests married, raised families, and led politically active lives, Julius Caesar became pontifex maximus before he was elected consul. The augurs read the will of the gods and supervised the marking of boundaries as a reflection of universal order, Roman religion was thus practical and contractual, based on the principle of do ut des, I give that you might give. Even the most skeptical among Romes intellectual elite such as Cicero, for ordinary Romans, religion was a part of daily life. Each home had a shrine at which prayers and libations to the familys domestic deities were offered. Neighborhood shrines and sacred such as springs and groves dotted the city. The Roman calendar was structured around religious observances, women, slaves, and children all participated in a range of religious activities. The Romans are known for the number of deities they honored. The Romans looked for common ground between their major gods and those of the Greeks, adapting Greek myths and iconography for Latin literature, etruscan religion was also a major influence, particularly on the practice of augury. The mysteries, however, involved exclusive oaths and secrecy, conditions that conservative Romans viewed with suspicion as characteristic of magic, conspiratorial, or subversive activity. Sporadic and sometimes brutal attempts were made to suppress religionists who seemed to threaten traditional morality and unity, one way that Rome incorporated diverse peoples was by supporting their religious heritage, building temples to local deities that framed their theology within the hierarchy of Roman religion. Inscriptions throughout the Empire record the worship of local and Roman deities. Because Romans had never been obligated to one god or one cult only
Religion in ancient Rome
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Religion in ancient Rome
–
Relief panel from an altar to
Venus and
Mars depicting Romulus and Remus suckling the she-wolf, and gods representing Roman topography such as the
Tiber river and
Palatine Hill
Religion in ancient Rome
–
Aeneas urged by the Penates to continue his journey to found Rome (4th century AD illustration)
Religion in ancient Rome
–
Twelve principal deities (
Di Consentes) corresponding to those honored at the
lectisternium of 217 BC, represented on a 1st-century altar from
Gabii that is rimmed by the
zodiac
8.
Marcus Aurelius
–
Marcus Aurelius was Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus death in 169, Marcus Aurelius was the last of the so-called Five Good Emperors. He was a practitioner of Stoicism, and his untitled writing, during his reign, the Roman Empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire in the East, Aurelius general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. A revolt in the East led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately, the major sources for the life and rule of Marcus Aurelius are patchy and frequently unreliable. For Marcus life and rule, the biographies of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus and Lucius Verus are largely reliable, a body of correspondence between Marcus tutor Fronto and various Antonine officials survives in a series of patchy manuscripts, covering the period from c.138 to 166. Marcus own Meditations offer a window on his life, but are largely undateable. The main narrative source for the period is Cassius Dio, a Greek senator from Bithynian Nicaea who wrote a history of Rome from its founding to 229 in eighty books. Dio is vital for the history of the period, but his senatorial prejudices. Inscriptions and coin finds supplement the literary sources, Marcus family originated in Ucubi, a small town southeast of Córdoba in Iberian Baetica. Verus elder son—Marcus Aurelius father—Marcus Annius Verus married Domitia Lucilla, Lucilla was the daughter of the patrician P. Calvisius Tullus Ruso and the elder Domitia Lucilla. The elder Domitia Lucilla had inherited a fortune from her maternal grandfather and her paternal grandfather by adoption. Lucilla and Verus had two children, a son, Marcus, born on 26 April 121 AD, and a daughter, Annia Cornificia Faustina, Verus probably died in 124 AD, during his praetorship, when Marcus was only three years old. Though he can hardly have known him, Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations that he had learned modesty and manliness from his memories of his father, Lucilla, following prevailing aristocratic customs, probably did not spend much time with her son. Marcus was in the care of nurses, even so, Marcus credits his mother with teaching him religious piety, simplicity in diet and how to avoid the ways of the rich. In his letters, Marcus makes frequent and affectionate reference to her, he was grateful that, although she was fated to die young, yet she spent her last years with me. After his fathers death, Aurelius was raised by his paternal grandfather Marcus Annius Verus who, technically this was not an adoption, since an adoption would be the legal creation of a new and different patria potestas. Another man, Lucius Catilius Severus, also participated in his upbringing, Severus is described as Marcus maternal great-grandfather, he is probably the stepfather of the elder Lucilla. Marcus was raised in his parents home on the Caelian Hill and it was an upscale region, with few public buildings but many aristocratic villas
Marcus Aurelius
–
Bust of Marcus Aurelius in the
Musée Saint-Raymond,
Toulouse.
Marcus Aurelius
–
The
Statue of Marcus Aurelius (detail) in the
Musei Capitolini in Rome.
Marcus Aurelius
–
Denarius, struck 140 AD with portrait of
Antoninus Pius (obverse) and his adoptive son Marcus Aurelius (reverse).
Marcus Aurelius
–
Statue of young Marcus Aurelius from a private collection housed in the San Antonio Museum of Art
9.
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans and this legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the Western Church. For theonyms, or the names and epithets of gods, see List of Roman deities, for public religious holidays, see Roman festivals. For temples see the List of Ancient Roman temples, individual landmarks of religious topography in ancient Rome are not included in this list, see Roman temple. The verb abominari was a term of augury for an action that rejects or averts an unfavourable omen indicated by a signum, the noun is abominatio, from which English abomination derives. At the taking of formally solicited auspices, the observer was required to acknowledge any potentially bad sign occurring within the templum he was observing, regardless of the interpretation. He might, however, take actions in order to ignore the signa, including avoiding the sight of them. The latter tactic required promptness, wit and skill based on discipline, thus the omen had no validity apart from the observation of it. The aedes was the place of a god. It was thus a structure that housed the image, distinguished from the templum or sacred district. Aedes is one of several Latin words that can be translated as shrine or temple, for instance, the Temple of Vesta, as it is called in English, was in Latin an aedes. See also the diminutive aedicula, a small shrine, in his work On Architecture, Vitruvius always uses the word templum in the technical sense of a space defined through augury, with aedes the usual word for the building itself. The design of an aedes, he writes, should be appropriate to the characteristics of the deity. Thus in theory, though not always in practice, architectural aesthetics had a theological dimension, the word aedilis, a public official, is related by etymology, among the duties of the aediles was the overseeing of public works, including the building and maintenance of temples. The temple of Flora, for instance, was built in 241 BC by two aediles acting on Sibylline oracles, the plebeian aediles had their headquarters at the aedes of Ceres. In religious usage, ager was terrestrial space defined for the purposes of augury in relation to auspicia, there were five kinds of ager, Romanus, Gabinus, peregrinus, hosticus and incertus. The ager Romanus originally included the space outside the pomerium. According to Varro, the ager Gabinus pertained to the circumstances of the oppidum of Gabii
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Ruins of the
aedes of Vesta
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Altar (ara) from
Roman Spain
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Augustus, capite velato
10.
Libation
–
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a god or spirit, or in memory of those who have passed on. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in various cultures today, various substances have been used for libations, most commonly wine or olive oil, and in India, ghee. The vessels used in the ritual, including the patera, often had a significant form which differentiated them from secular vessels, the libation could be poured onto something of religious significance, such as an altar, or into the earth. In East Asia, pouring an offering of rice into a stream, symbolises the unattachment from karma. Libation was part of ancient Egyptian society where it was an offering to honor and please the various divinities, sacred ancestors, humans present and not present. It is suggested that libation originated somewhere in the upper Nile Valley and spread out to other regions of Africa, isaiah uses libation as a metaphor when describing the end of the Suffering Servant figure who poured out his life unto death. Libation was a central and vital aspect of ancient Greek religion and it is one of the basic religious acts that define piety in ancient Greece, dating back to the Bronze Age and even prehistoric Greece. Libations were a part of life, and the pious might perform them every day in the morning and evening. A libation most often consisted of mixed wine and water, but could also be unmixed wine, honey, oil, water, the form of libation called spondē is typically the ritualized pouring of wine from a jug or bowl held in the hand. The most common ritual was to pour the liquid from an oinochoē into a phiale, after wine was poured from the phiale, the remainder of the contents was drunk by the celebrant. A libation is poured any time wine is to be drunk, the etiquette of the symposium required that when the first bowl of wine was served, a libation was made to Zeus and the Olympian gods. Heroes received a libation from the second krater served, and Zeus the Finisher from the third, an alternative was to offer a libation from the first bowl to the Agathos Daimon and from the third bowl to Hermes. An individual at the symposium could also make an invocation of, the Greeks stood when they prayed, either with their arms uplifted, or in the act of libation with the right arm extended to hold the phiale. In conducting animal sacrifice, wine is poured onto the victim as part of its ritual slaughter and preparation and this scene is commonly depicted in Greek art, which also often shows sacrificers or the gods themselves holding the phiale. The Greek verb spendō, pour a libation, also conclude a pact, derives from the Indo-European root *spend-, make an offering, perform a rite, the noun is spondē or spondai, libation. In the middle voice, the verb means enter into an agreement, blood sacrifice was performed to begin a war, spondai marked the conclusion of hostilities, and is often thus used in the sense of armistice, treaty. Libations poured onto the earth are meant for the dead and for the chthonic gods, in the Book of the Dead in the Odyssey, Odysseus digs an offering pit around which he pours in order honey, wine and water. For the form of libation called choē, a vessel is tipped over and emptied onto the ground for the chthonic gods
Libation
–
Ancient Roman bronze statuette of a priest, his
head ritually covered, extending a
patera in a gesture of libation.
Libation
–
Buryat shaman performing a libation.
Libation
–
Apollo pouring a libation from a
phiale onto the
omphalos, with his sister
Artemis attending; a
bucranium hangs above
Libation
–
Scene of sacrifice, with a libation poured from a jug (Pothos Painter,
Attic red-figure krater, 430–420 BC)
11.
Votum
–
In ancient Roman religion, a votum, plural vota, is a vow or promise made to a deity. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb voveo, vovere, vow, promise. As the result of this action, a votum is also that which fulfills a vow, that is, the thing promised, such as offerings. The votum is thus an aspect of the nature of Roman religion. In everyday life, individuals might make votive offerings to a deity for private concerns, vota privata are attested in abundance by inscriptions, particularly for the later Imperial era. These are regularly marked with the letters V. S. L. M, votum solvit libens merito, noting that the person making the dedication He has fulfilled his vow, willingly, as it should. William Warde Fowler found in these expressions of … religious feeling. During the Republican era, the votum was a part of ceremonies conducted at the Capitoline by a general holding imperium before deploying. The triumph with its dedication of spoils and animal sacrifices at the Capitol was in part a fulfillment of such a vow. A general who faced an uncertain outcome in battle might make a votum in the field promising to build an out of gratitude for divine aid in a victory. In 311 BC, Junius Bubulcus became the first plebeian general to vow and oversee the building of a temple, he honored the goddess Salus, a vow would also be made in connection with the ritual of evocatio, negotiations with the enemys tutelary deity to offer superior cult. An extreme form of votum was the devotio, the ritual by which a general sacrificed himself in battle, in the Republic, vota pro salute rei publicae were offered at the beginning of the year, on the day the consuls took office. Under the Empire, the people assembled on January 3 to offer collective vows for the salus of the emperor, offerings were made to Jupiter, Juno, Salus, and sometimes other deities. These vows originated in 30 BC, when the senate decreed vota on behalf of Octavian as princeps, the vota for the state continued on January 1, while those on behalf of the emperor and his family became fixed on January 3. In Rome, these ceremonies were conducted by the consuls and pontiffs, vota publica continued even after Christianity had become the official religion of the Empire, and possibly as late as the 6th century. Because the vows were as much affirmations of political loyalty as religious expressions, they were difficult to abolish without undermining the sacral aura of the emperors authority
Votum
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Votum
–
Votive statue for the god
Silvanus; the inscription ends with the abbreviation V.S.L.M. (votum solvit libens merito)
12.
Roman temple
–
Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain the most obvious symbol of Roman architecture and their construction and maintenance was a major part of ancient Roman religion, and all towns of any importance had at least one main temple, as well as smaller shrines. The main room housed the image of the deity to whom the temple was dedicated. Behind the cella was a room or rooms used by attendants for storage of equipment. The ordinary worshipper rarely entered the cella, and most public ceremonies were performed outside, on the portico, with a crowd gathered in the temple precinct. The most common architectural plan had a rectangular temple raised on a podium, with a clear front with a portico at the top of steps. The sides and rear of the building had much less architectural emphasis, there were also circular plans, generally with columns all round, and outside Italy there were many compromises with traditional local styles. The Roman form of temple developed initially from Etruscan temples, themselves influenced by the Greeks, public religious ceremonies of the official Roman religion took place outdoors, and not within the temple building. Some ceremonies were processions that started at, visited, or ended with a temple or shrine, sacrifices, chiefly of animals, would take place at an open-air altar within the templum. Especially under the Empire, exotic foreign cults gained followers in Rome and these often had very different practices, some preferring underground places of worship, while others, like Early Christians, worshipped in houses. The decline of Roman religion was relatively slow, and the temples themselves were not appropriated by the government until a decree of the Emperor Honorius in 415. Santi Cosma e Damiano, in the Roman Forum, originally the Temple of Romulus, was not dedicated as a church until 527. The best known is the Pantheon, Rome, which is however highly untypical, being a large circular temple with a magnificent concrete roof. The English word temple derives from the Latin templum, which was not the building itself. The Roman architect Vitruvius always uses the word templum to refer to the sacred precinct, the more common Latin words for a temple or shrine were sacellum, aedes, delubrum, and fanum. The Etruscans were a people of northern Italy, whose civilization was at its peak in the seventh century BC, the Etruscans were already influenced by early Greek architecture, so Roman temples were distinctive but with both Etruscan and Greek features. Especially in the periods, further statuary might be placed on the roof. As in the Maison Carrée, columns at the side might be half-columns and these steps were normally only at the front, and typically not the whole width of that
Roman temple
–
The
Maison Carrée in
Nîmes, one of the best preserved Roman temples
Roman temple
–
The
Temple of Hercules Victor, in the
Forum Boarium in Rome (a Greek-style Roman temple)
Roman temple
–
Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek
13.
Roman festivals
–
Festivals in ancient Rome were an important part of Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. Feriae were either public or private, state holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games, such as the Ludi Apollinares, were not technically feriae, although feriae were paid for by the state, ludi were often funded by wealthy individuals. Feriae privatae were holidays celebrated in honor of individuals or by families. Conceptivae were annual holidays that were moveable feasts, the date was announced by the magistrates or priests who were responsible for them, imperativae were holidays held on demand when special celebrations or expiations were called for. One of the most important sources for Roman holidays is Ovids Fasti, varro defined feriae as days instituted for the sake of the gods. Religious rites were performed on the feriae, and public business was suspended, even slaves were supposed to be given some form of rest. Cicero says specifically that people who were free should not engage in lawsuits and quarrels, agricultural writers recognized that some jobs on a farm might still need to be performed, and specified what these were. Some agricultural tasks not otherwise permitted could be carried out if an expiation were made in advance, within the city of Rome, the flamens and the priest known as the Rex sacrorum were not allowed even to see work done. On a practical level, those who inadvertently worked could pay a fine or offer up a piaculum, work considered vital either to the gods or preserving human life was excusable, according to some experts on religious law. Although Romans were required not to work, they were not required to take any action unless they were priests or had family rites to maintain. Following is a month-by-month list of Roman festivals and games that had a place on the calendar. For some, the date on which they were first established is recorded, a deitys festival often marked the anniversary of the founding of a temple, or a rededication after a major renovation. Festivals not named for deities are thought to be among the oldest on the calendar, the first day of the month was the Kalends. Each Kalends was sacred to Juno, and the Regina sacrorum marked the day by presiding over a sacrifice to the goddess. A pontiff and the Rex sacrorum reported the sighting of the new moon, the Ides were sacred to Jupiter. On each Ides, a lamb was led along the Via Sacra to the Capitolium for sacrifice to Jupiter. The list also includes notable public religious events such as sacrifices
Roman festivals
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Roman festivals
–
Piece of the fragmentary
Fasti Praenestini for April, showing the Vinalia (VIN) and Robigalia (ROB)
Roman festivals
–
A rare depiction of Roman men wearing the
toga praetexta and participating in what is probably the Compitalia
14.
Ludi
–
Ludi were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people. Ludi were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the feature of, Roman religious festivals. The earliest ludi were horse races in the circus, animal exhibitions with mock hunts and theatrical performances also became part of the festivals. The singular form ludus, game, sport or play has several meanings in Latin, the plural is used for games in a sense analogous to the Greek festivals of games, such as the Panhellenic Games. The late-antique scholar Isidore of Seville, however, classifies the forms of ludus as gymnicus, circensis, the relation of gladiatorial games to the ludi is complex, see Gladiator. Originally, all seem to have been votive offerings, staged as the fulfillment of a vow to a deity whose favor had been sought. In 366 BC, the Ludi Romani became the first games to be placed on the calendar as an annual event sponsored by the state as a whole. Games in the circus were preceded by a parade featuring the competitors, mounted youths of the Roman nobility, armed dancers, musicians, a satyr chorus, as the product of military victory, ludi were often connected to triumphs. The first recorded venatio was presented in 186 BC by M. Fulvius Nobilior as part of his ludi votivi, for which he paid with booty displayed at his triumph. Although public money was allocated for the staging of ludi, the presiding official increasingly came to augment the splendor of his games from personal funds as a form of public relations. The sponsor was able to advertise his wealth, while declaring that he intended to share it for public benefit, the religious festivals to which the ludi were attached also occasioned public banquets, and often public works such as the refurbishing or building of temples. It was during these ludi, which served as funeral games. In the late Republic, performances were held at the intersections of neighborhoods throughout the city on the same day. During the civil wars of the 80s, these gave rise to often unruly plebeian political expression by the neighborhood organizations. Freedmen played a role, and even slaves participated in the festivities. In 67 BC, the Compitalia had been disrupted by a riot at the ludi, along with some forms of occupational guilds and neighborhood associations, the ludi compitalicii were consequently banned by the senate in 64 BC. An unnamed tribune of the plebs supported efforts to stage the ludi for 61 BC, the consul Calpurnius Piso, father-in-law of Caesar, permitted the games, even though the organizations that ran them were still outlawed. Caesar banned the collegia and ludi again in 46 BC, in 7 BC, Augustus reorganized Rome for administrative purposes into 265 districts which replaced but which were still called vici
Ludi
–
Chariot races, as depicted on this 2nd-century
relief, were among the ludi presented at Roman religious festivals
Ludi
–
Terracotta plaque (1st century) depicting a
venatio, or human-animal
blood sport
Ludi
–
Octavian crowned as Augustus
15.
Roman funerals and burial
–
Roman funerary practices include the Ancient Romans religious rituals concerning funerals, cremations, and burials. They were part of the Tradition, the code from which Romans derived their social norms. Roman cemeteries were located outside the boundary of its cities. They were visited regularly with offerings of food and wine, funeral monuments appear throughout the Roman Empire, and their inscriptions are an important source of information for otherwise unknown individuals and history. A Roman sarcophagus could be an elaborately crafted art work, decorated with sculpture depicting a scene that was allegorical, mythological, or historical. In Greco-Roman antiquity, the bodies of the dead were regarded as polluting, at the same time, loving duty toward ones ancestors was a fundamental part of ancient Roman culture. The care of the dead negotiated these two emotionally opposed attitudes, when a person died at home, family members and intimate friends gathered around the death bed. In accordance with a belief that equated the soul with the breath, the closest relative sealed the passing of spirit from the body with a last kiss, the relatives began lamentations, calling on the deceased by name. The body was placed on the ground, washed. The placing of the body on the ground is a doublet of birth ritual, male citizens were then dressed in a toga, and others in attire appropriate to their station in life. Men who had earned a wreath wore one in death, after the body was prepared, it lay in state in the atrium of the family home, with the feet pointed toward the door. Other circumstances pertained to those who lived, as most Romans did, in apartment buildings, since elite funerals required complex arrangements, the body had to be preserved in the mean time. Charons obol was a coin placed in or on the mouth of the deceased, the coin was rationalized as his payment, the satirist Lucian remarks that in order to avoid death, one should simply not pay the fee. Evidence of Charons obol appears throughout the Western Roman Empire well into the Christian era, although inhumation was practiced regularly in archaic Rome, cremation was the most common burial practice in the Mid- to Late Republic and the Empire into the 1st and 2nd centuries. Crematory images appear in Latin poetry on the theme of the dead, when Propertius describes his dead lover Cynthia visiting him in a dream, the revenants dress is scorched down the side and the fire of the pyre has corroded the familiar ring she wears. The care and cultivation of the dead did not end with the funeral and formal period of mourning, libations were brought to the grave, and some tombs were even equipped with feeding tubes to facilitate delivery. The Romans referred to infants who died in the cradle as arpagi, the Romans did not hold funerals for arpagi. Their bodies were not cremated, or interred, and no monuments or epitaphs were made for them
Roman funerals and burial
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Roman funerals and burial
–
Tomb of the Scipios, in use from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD
Roman funerals and burial
–
Fragment of a relief from a sarcophagus depicting stages of the deceased's life: religious initiation, military service, and wedding (mid-2nd century AD)
Roman funerals and burial
–
Molded mask of a girl with funerary inscription from
Roman Gaul
16.
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
–
The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority of the Roman State. Augustuss reforms transformed Romes Republican system of government to a de facto monarchy, couched in traditional Roman practices, the princeps was expected to balance the interests of the Roman military, Senate and people, and to maintain peace, security and prosperity throughout an ethnically diverse empire. A deceased emperor held worthy of the honor could be voted a state divinity by the Senate, in the development of Imperial rule from Principate to Dominate, the role of the Senate was increasingly marginalised and military loyalty became the key to Imperial authority. The Imperial cult was inseparable from that of Romes official deities, whose cult was essential to Romes survival, Traditional cult was a focus of Imperial revivalist legislation under Decius and Diocletian. Christian apologists and martyrologists saw the cult of the Emperor as a particularly offensive instrument of pagan impiety and it therefore became a focus of theological and political debate during the ascendancy of Christianity under Constantine I. The emperor Julian failed to reverse the declining support for Romes official religious practices, Romes traditional gods and Imperial cult were officially abandoned. However, many of the rites, practices and status distinctions that characterized the cult to emperors were perpetuated in the theology, for five centuries, the Roman Republic did not give worship to any historic figure, or any living man, although surrounded by divine and semi-divine monarchies. Romes legendary kings had been its masters, with their removal, Republican Romans could identify Romulus, similarly, Aeneas was worshipped as Jupiter Indiges. The aristocrats who held almost all Roman magistracies, and thereby occupied almost all of the Senate, among the highest of honors was the triumph. The triumphator rode in a chariot, bearing divine emblems, in a supposed to be inherited from the ancient kings of Rome. Whatever his personal ambitions, his victory and his triumph alike served the Roman Senate, people, in private life, however, tradition required that some human beings be treated as more or less divine, cult was due from familial inferiors to their superiors. A client could call his patron Jupiter on earth, the dead, collectively and individually, were gods of the underworld or afterlife. A prominent clan might claim divine influence and quasi-divine honors for its leader, death masks were made for all notable Romans and were displayed in the atria of their houses, they were used to represent their ghostly presence at family funerals. The mask of Scipio Africanus, Cornelias father and victor over Hannibal, was stored in the temple of Jupiter, a tradition arose in the centuries after his death that Africanus had been inspired by prophetic dreams, and was himself the son of Jupiter. There are several cases of unofficial cult directed at men viewed as saviors and this celebration, in Spain, featured a lavish banquet with local and imported delicacies, and a mechanical statue of Victory to crown Metellus, who wore a triumphators toga picta for the occasion. These festivities were organized by the quaestor Gaius Urbinus, but were not acts of the state, Metellus liked all this, but his older and pious contemporaries thought it arrogant and intolerable. After Gaius Marius defeated the Teutones, private citizens would offer food and drink to him alongside their household gods, when the Romans began to dominate large parts of the Greek world, Romes senior representatives there were given the same divine honours as were Hellenistic rulers. There were similar instances of divine cult to humans in the century, although some rulers, like Agesilaus
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
–
Venus and Mars sculpture group reworked to portray an Imperial couple (created 120–140 AD, reworked 170–175)
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
–
Repoussé pendant of Alexander the Great, horned and diademed like
Zeus Ammon: images of Alexander were worn as magic charms (4th-century Roman).
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
–
Augustus as Jove, holding scepter and orb (first half of 1st century AD)
17.
Greco-Roman mysteries
–
The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders. The most famous mysteries of Greco-Roman antiquity were the Eleusinian Mysteries, the mystery schools flourished in Late Antiquity, Julian the Apostate in the mid 4th century is known to have been initiated into three distinct mystery schools — most notably the mithraists. Because of this element of secrecy, we are ill-informed as to the beliefs and we know that they had a general likeness to one another. They too were embraced by the process of the inculturation of Christianity in its initial phase, the term Mystery derives from Latin mysterium, from Greek mysterion, in this context meaning secret rite or doctrine. The Mysteries were thus schools in all religious functions were closed to the uninitiated. This is also reflected in the division of theology by Varro, in civil theology, natural theology. Mysteries thus supplement rather than compete with civil religion, an individual could easily observe the rites of the state religion, be an initiate in one or several mysteries, and at the same time adhere to a certain philosophical school. In contrast to the rituals of civil religion, participation in which was expected of every member of society. This is important in the context of the persecution of Christians. The mystery schools offered a niche for the preservation of ancient religious ritual and they had, more often than not, come up from a barbarous underworld. The mysteries at Eleusis near Athens lasted for a thousand years, for this reason, what glimpses we do have of the older Greek mysteries have been taken as reflecting certain archaic aspects of common Indo-European religion, with parallels in Indo-Iranian religion. The mystery schools of Greco-Roman antiquity include the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Dionysian Mysteries, the ancient mystery schools were a subject of fascination for 19th and early-20th century German and French classical scholars. This literature had an influence on European culture in the late 19th century. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung borrowed metaphors from this literature to reframe his theories, navigium Isidis Mysticism Notes Further reading Media related to Mysteric religions in ancient world at Wikimedia Commons
Greco-Roman mysteries
–
Hydria by the
Varrese Painter (ca. 340 BC) depicting Eleusinian scenes
18.
College of Pontiffs
–
The College of Pontiffs was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the Pontifex Maximus and the pontifices, the Rex Sacrorum, the fifteen flamens. The College of Pontiffs was one of the four major priestly colleges, the others being of the augurs, the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, and the Epulones. The title pontifex comes from the Latin for bridge builder, an allusion to a very early role in placating the gods and spirits associated with the Tiber River. Also, Varro cites this position as meaning able to do, the pontifex maximus was the most important member of the college. Until 104 BC, the pontifex maximus held the power in appointing members to the other priesthoods in the college. The flamens were priests in charge of fifteen official cults of Roman religion, the three major flamens were the Flamen Dialis, the high priest of Jupiter, the Flamen Martialis, who cultivated Mars, and the Flamen Quirinalis, devoted to Quirinus. The deities cultivated by the flamines minores were Carmenta, Ceres, Falacer, Flora, Furrina, Palatua, Pomona, Portunes, Volcanus, Volturnus. The Vestal Virgins were the female members of the college. They were in charge of guarding Romes sacred hearth, keeping the flame burning inside the Temple of Vesta, around age 6 to 10, girls were chosen for this position and were obligated to perform the rites and obligations, including remaining chaste, for 30 years. Membership in the colleges of priests, including the College of Pontiffs, was usually an honor offered to members of politically powerful or wealthy families. Membership was for life, except for the Vestal Virgins whose term was 30 years, in the early Republic, only patricians could become priests. However, the Lex Ogulnia in 300 BC opened up college to plebeians, until the 3rd century BC, the college elected the pontifex maximus from their own number. The right of the college to elect their own pontifex maximus was returned and this changed again after Sulla, when in response to his reforms, the election of the pontifex maximus was once again placed in the hands of an assembly of seventeen of the twenty-five tribes. However, the college still controlled which candidates the assembly voted on, during the Empire, the office was publicly elected from the candidates of existing pontiffs, until the Emperors began to automatically assume the title, following Julius Caesar’s example. The pontifex maximus was a political position to hold and the candidates for office were often very active political members of the college. Many, such as Julius Caesar, went on to hold consulships during their time as pontifex maximus, one of their most important duties was their guardianship of the libri pontificales. Among these were the acta, indigitamenta, ritualia, commentarii, fasti and these items were under the sole possession of the college of pontiffs and only they were allowed to consult these items when necessary
College of Pontiffs
–
Flamen (250–260 AD)
19.
Augur
–
The augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. This was known as taking the auspices, the ceremony and function of the augur was central to any major undertaking in Roman society—public or private—including matters of war, commerce, and religion. Roman augurs were part of a college of priests who shared the duties and responsibilities of the position, at the foundation of the Republic in 510 BC, the patricians held sole claim to this office, by 300 BC, the office was open to plebeian occupation as well. Senior members of the collegium put forth nominations for any vacancies, in the Regal period tradition holds that there were three augurs at a time, by the time of Sulla, they had reached fifteen in number. Augury sought the divine will regarding any proposed course of action which might affect Romes pax, fortuna, political, military and civil actions were sanctioned by augury, historically performed by priests of the college of augurs and by haruspices on behalf of senior magistrates. The presiding magistrate at an augural rite thus held the “right of augury”, magistracies were therefore religious offices in their own right, and magistrates were directly responsible for the pax, fortuna and salus of Rome and everything that was Roman. The effectiveness of augury could only be judged retrospectively, the divinely ordained condition of peace was an outcome of successful augury and those whose actions had led to divine wrath could not have possessed a true right of augury. Of all the protagonists in the Civil War, only Octavian could have possessed it, lucan, writing during the Principate, described the recent Civil War as unnatural - a mirror to supernatural disturbances in the greater cosmos. His imagery is apt to the principles of augury and its broader interpretation by Stoic apologists of the Imperial cult. In the Stoic cosmology, pax deorum is the expression of natural order in human affairs, according to Cicero, the auctoritas of ius augurum included the right to adjourn and overturn the process of law, consular election could be - and was - rendered invalid by inaugural error. For Cicero, this made the augur the most powerful authority in the Republic, Cicero himself was co-opted into the college only late in his career. In the later Republic, augury came under the supervision of the college of pontifices, the office of pontifex maximus eventually became a de facto consular prerogative. In ancient Rome the auguria were considered to be in equilibrium with the sacra and were not the way by which the gods made their will known. The augures publici concerned themselves only with related to the state. The jus augurale was rigorously secret, therefore very little about the aspects of ceremonies. We have only the names of some auguria, e. g, the first one required the sacrifice of red dogs and took place before wheat grains were shelled but not before they had formed. Of the second we know only the name implies a ritual related to the harvest. Augurium and auspicium are terms used indifferently by the ancient, modern scholars have debated the issue at length but have failed to find a distinctive definition that may hold for all the known cases
Augur
–
Flamen (250–260 AD)
Augur
–
An augur holding a
lituus, the curved wand often used as a symbol of augury on Roman coins
20.
Vestal Virgin
–
In ancient Rome, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and they cultivated the sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. Livy, Plutarch, and Aulus Gellius attribute the creation of the Vestals as a state-supported priestesshood to king Numa Pompilius, according to Livy, Numa introduced the Vestals and assigned them salaries from the public treasury. Livy also says that the priestesshood of Vesta had its origins at Alba Longa, the 2nd century antiquarian Aulus Gellius writes that the first Vestal taken from her parents was led away in hand by Numa. Plutarch attributes the founding of the Temple of Vesta to Numa, ambrose alludes to a seventh in late antiquity. Numa also appointed the pontifex maximus to watch over the Vestals, the first Vestals, according to Varro, were named Gegania, Veneneia, Canuleia, and Tarpeia. In myth, Tarpeia, daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, was portrayed as traitorous, the Vestals became a powerful and influential force in the Roman state. When Sulla included the young Julius Caesar in his proscriptions, the Vestals interceded on Caesars behalf, augustus included the Vestals in all major dedications and ceremonies. They were held in awe, and attributed certain magical powers and this gift was preserved inviolate till the time of the degenerate moneychangers, who diverted the maintenance of sacred chastity into a fund for the payment of base porters. A public famine ensued on this act, and a bad harvest disappointed the hopes of all the provinces and it was sacrilege which rendered the year barren, for it was necessary that all should lose that which they had denied to religion. The College of the Vestals was disbanded and the fire extinguished in 394. Zosimus records how the Christian noblewoman Serena, niece of Theodosius, entered the temple and took from the statue of the goddess a necklace and placed it on her own neck. An old woman appeared, the last of the Vestals, who proceeded to rebuke Serena, according to Zosimus, Serena was then subject to dreadful dreams predicting her own untimely death. The chief Vestal oversaw the efforts of the Vestals, and was present in the College of Pontiffs, the Vestalis Maxima Occia presided over the Vestals for 57 years, according to Tacitus. The last known chief vestal was Coelia Concordia, who stepped down in 394 with the disbanding of the College of the Vestals, the Vestalium Maxima was the most important of Romes high priestesses. The Flaminica Dialis and the regina sacrorum each held unique responsibility for religious rites. According to Plutarch, there were only two Vestal Virgins when Numa began the College of the Vestals and this number later increased to four, and then to six. It has been suggested by some authorities that a seventh was added later, the Vestals were committed to the priestesshood before puberty and sworn to celibacy for a period of 30 years
Vestal Virgin
–
Roman depiction of the Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Vestal Virgin
–
Flamen (250–260 AD)
Vestal Virgin
–
House of the Vestals and Temple of Vesta from the Palatine
Vestal Virgin
–
Early 18th-century depiction of the dedication of a Vestal, by
Alessandro Marchesini
21.
Flamen
–
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores, who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad, the remaining twelve were the flamines minores. Two of the minores cultivated deities whose names are now unknown, during the Imperial era, the cult of a deified emperor also had a flamen. The fifteen Republican flamens were part of the Pontifical College which administered state-sponsored religion, when the office of flamen was vacant, a pontifex could serve as a temporary replacement, although only the Pontifex Maximus is known to have substituted for the Flamen Dialis. The official costume of a flamen, of great antiquity, was a hat called an apex, the laena was a double-thick wool cloak with a fringed edge, and was worn over the flamens toga with a clasp holding it around his throat. The apex was a leather skull-cap with a chin-strap and a point of olive wood on its top, like a spindle, with a little fluff of wool at the base of the spindle. By the time of the reformation of Augustus, the origins and functions of many of the long-neglected gods resident in Rome was confusing even to the Romans themselves. The obscurity of some of the deities assigned a flamen suggests that the office dated back to Archaic Rome, many scholars assume that the flamines existed at least from the time of the early Roman kings, before the establishment of the Republic. The Romans themselves credited the foundation of the priesthood to Numa Pompilius, according to Livy, Numa created the offices of the three flamines maiores and assigned them each a fine robe of office and a curule chair. The flamines were circumscribed by many taboos, the origin of the word flamen is as obscure as are some of the assigned gods. Sophus Bugge suggested in 1879 that flamen is from an older *flădmen, both would be derived from a Proto-Indo-European word *bhlādmen. Indo-Europeanist Georges Dumézil attempted to link it to the Sanskrit word brahman, the three flamines maiores were required to be patricians, The Flamen Dialis oversaw the cult of Jupiter, the sky deity and ruler of the gods. The Flamen Martialis oversaw the cult of Mars, the god of war, the sacred spears of Mars were ritually shaken by the Flamen Martialis when the legions were preparing for war. The Flamen Quirinalis oversaw the cult of Quirinus, who presided over organized Roman social life and was related to the aspect of Mars. The Flamen Quirinalis led public rites on the sacred to Quirinus. A fourth flamen maior was dedicated to Julius Caesar as a divinity of the Roman state, thereafter, any deceased emperor could be made divus by vote of the senate and consent of his successor, and as a divus he would be served by a flamen. The flamens role in relation to living emperors is uncertain, no living emperor is known to have received official divine worship, a flamen could also be represented by a proflamen, or by a member without that title who could act as a substitute for the flamen. The twelve flamines minores could be plebeians, the flamines minores seem mostly connected to agriculture or local cults
Flamen
–
Flamen (250–260 AD)
Flamen
–
Flamines, distinguished by their pointed headdress, as part of a procession on the
Augustan Altar of Peace
Flamen
22.
Fetial
–
A fetial was a type of priest in Ancient Rome. They formed a collegium devoted to Jupiter as the patron of good faith, the duties of the fetials included advising the senate on foreign affairs and international treaties, making formal proclamations of peace and of war, and confirming treaties. They also carried out the functions of traveling heralds or ambassadors, the first mention of the fetials by Livy occurs in the context of the war between Alba Longa and Rome, during which the Roman king Tullus Hostilius appointed M. Valerius as a fetial and Sp. Fusius as pater patratus, for the purpose of binding Rome, according to Livy, the ritual by which the fetials were to declare war, the ritual of rerum repetitio, was introduced to Rome by Ancus Marcius, borrowing on the traditions of the Aequicolae. However he had described the ritual actions of the fetials when recording the wars of Tullus Hostilius. Thus some scholars think the mentions of the Aequi may be a due to a folk etymology connecting Aequi to aequus. On the other ancient sources support the tradition that the priesthood was created under the influence of Aequian king Ferter Resus. The ritual of rerum repetitio, a request of restitution or reparations, if the demands are not met, the pater patratus declares war within 33 days and returns to Rome to await the resolution of the Roman king and senate. Once they have resolved to go to war, a returns to the enemy frontier carrying a javelin with a steel or burnt tip. He declares war on the enemy, and throws the javelin into their territory, the fetial is connected to matters of law and not directly to war, hence in his formulae he never invokes Mars, but Jupiter, Juno and Quirinius. The religious relevance of the collegium or sodalitas lay in ensuring that Rome enjoyed the protection of gods in its relationships with foreign states and this collegium was probably common to other Latin cities as Livy makes reference to the fetials of Alba. According to some scholars, the name derives from the noun root *feti- and it is allied to the basic religious concept of fas, both being rooted in IE *dhs, originally meaning to set, setting. This root has given the verb facere, to do, make by a semantic shift, both fetial and fas preserve the original sense of foundation here, as in Vedic dhaman, dhatu in its religious sense. The implications of this etymology would hint to the fact that outside their own ager Romans felt the need for a religious, a need was felt to go beyond the sphere of human law or right. While juridical justification was acknowledged as necessary Romans wanted to ensure the approval of what founds right and makes it possible and we know the ceremonies and formulae of two circumstances, conclusion of a treaty and request of reparations and declaration of war. Oaths were made by Jupiter Lapis, the flintstone was believed to be a seat of Jupiters because if struck it emitted sparks, thus being analogous to lightning. The ceremony has two known variants, when Rome asked for reparations for an offense or damage, the fetials were sent as ambassadors to the foreign country concerned. The fetials were an institution of the Latins and of other Italic people
Fetial
–
Flamen (250–260 AD)
23.
Epulones
–
The epulones formed one of the four great religious corporations of ancient Roman priests. The two most important colleges were the College of Pontiffs and the augurs, the fourth was the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, the epulones arranged feasts and public banquets at festivals and games, duties that had originally belonged to the pontiffs. Initially there were three epulones, but later their number was increased to seven, hence they were known as the septemviri epulonum. Julius Caesar temporarily expanded the college to ten, but after his death and their college was founded in 196 BC, long after reforms had opened the magistracies and most priesthoods to plebeians, who were thus eligible from the beginning. The necessity for such a college arose as the increasingly elaborate festivals required experts to oversee their organization, the patera was the sacred bowl used by the epulones. It was shallow with a raised center so that when held in the palm, the patera was the special emblem of the epulones. The paten used today by Roman Catholic priests, omits the raised center, lacus Curtius website, Epulones from William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London,1875. Roman Magistrates religio Romana, Patera Epulones
Epulones
–
Flamen (250–260 AD)
24.
Arval Brethren
–
In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide evidence of their oaths, rituals and sacrifices, Roman legend held that the priestly college was originated by Romulus, who took the place of a dead son of his nurse Acca Laurentia, and formed the priesthood with the remaining eleven sons. They were also connected originally with the Sabine priesthood of Sodales Titii who were originally their counterpart among the Sabines. Their task was the worship of Dea Dia, an old fertility goddess, on the three days of her May festival, they offered sacrifices and chanted secretly inside the temple of the goddess at her lucus the Carmen Arvale. The magister of the selected the exact three days of the celebration by an unknown method. The celebration began in Rome on the first day, was transferred to a sacred grove outside the city wall on the second day, Arval Brethren formed a college of twelve priests, although archaeologists have found only up to nine names at a time in the inscriptions. They were appointed for life and did not lose their status even in exile, according to Pliny the Elder, their sign was a white band with the chaplet of sheaves of grain. The Brethren assembled in the Regia and their duties included ritual propitiations or thanksgivings as the Ambarvalia, the sacrifices done at the borders of Rome at the fifth mile of the Via Campana or Salaria. Archaic traits of the rituals included the prohibition of the use of iron, the importance of Arval Brethren apparently dwindled during the Roman Republic, but emperor Augustus revived their practices to enforce his own authority. After Augustus time emperors and senators frequented the festivities, at least two emperors, Marcus Aurelius and Elagabalus, were formally accepted as members of the Brethren. The first full descriptions of their rituals also originate from this time, the last inscriptions about the Arval Brethren date from about 325 AD. They were abolished along with Romes other traditional priesthoods by 400 AD
Arval Brethren
–
Flamen (250–260 AD)
Arval Brethren
–
Portrait of
Lucius Verus as an Arval Brother (ca. 160 AD)
25.
List of Roman deities
–
A vast number of ancient Roman deities are known by name. Some archaic deities have Italic or Etruscan counterparts, as identified both by ancient sources and by modern scholars, throughout the Empire, the deities of peoples in the provinces were given new theological interpretations in light of functions or attributes they shared with Roman deities. An extensive alphabetical list follows a survey of groups as constructed by the Romans themselves. For cult pertaining to deified Roman emperors, see Imperial cult, Jupiter, The mighty king of the gods. Roman god of the sky, thunderstorms, lightning, weather, also god of law, order, justice, governance and strength. Most important god of the Romans and usually had the highest divine authority over other gods, Neptune, One of the brothers of Jupiter, one of the prime gods and ruler of the seas. The patron of sailors and the protector of ships, Juno, Queen of the gods and wife of Jupiter. Mars, God of War, Spring and Justice, patron of the Roman Legions and divine father of Romulus and Remus. Venus, Goddess of Love and consort of Mars, Divine mother of Aeneas, ancestor of the Romans. Bellona, Goddess of War, Conquest and Peace, Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom, Divine Counsel, Useful Arts, Crafts and Later War. Janus, God of Beginnings, Endings, Transition, Doorways and Keys, vesta, Goddess of the Home and the Hearth. Capitoline Triad, Jupiter, Juno, Minerva Plebeian or Aventine Triad, Ceres, Liber, Libera, a lectisternium is a banquet for the gods, at which they appear as images seated on couches, as if present and participating. Varro uses the name Dii Consentes for twelve deities whose gilded images stood in the forum and these were also placed in six male-female pairs. Although individual names are not listed, they are assumed to be the deities of the lectisternium, the Dii Consentes are sometimes seen as the Roman equivalent of the Greek Olympians. The meaning of Consentes is subject to interpretation, but is taken to mean that they form a council or consensus of deities. Of those listed, he writes, several names have their roots in languages, as trees that grow on a property line creep into both fields. Saturn, for instance, can be said to have another origin here, varro makes various claims for Sabine origins throughout his works, some more plausible than others, and his list should not be taken at face value. Varro, however, says that the altars to most of these gods were established at Rome by King Tatius as the result of a vow
List of Roman deities
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
List of Roman deities
–
Di Consentes on an altar
List of Roman deities
–
Livia, wife of
Augustus, dressed as the goddess
Ops
List of Roman deities
–
Roman Isis in black and white marble, from the time of
Apuleius
26.
Dii Consentes
–
The Dii Consentes, also as Di or Dei Consentes, was a list of twelve major deities, six gods and six goddesses, in the pantheon of Ancient Rome. Their gilt statues stood in the Forum, later apparently in the Porticus Deorum Consentium, three of the Dii Consentes formed the Capitoline Triad, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. The grouping of twelve deities has origins older than the Greek or Roman sources, the Greek grouping may have Anatolian, more precisely Lycian origins. A group of twelve Hittite gods is known both from cuneiform texts and from artistic representation, the Hittite Twelve are all male, with no individualizing features. They have a reflex in a Lycian group of twelve gods in the Roman Empire period. By 400 BC, a dedicated to twelve gods existed at the marketplace in Xanthos in Lycia. Herodotus also refers to a group of gods in Egypt. The Greek cult of the Twelve Olympians can be traced to 6th century BC Athens, the altar to the Twelve Olympians at Athens is usually dated to the archonship of the younger Pesistratos, in 522/521 BC. By the 5th century BC there are well-attested cults of the Twelve Olympians in Olympia, the references to twelve Etruscan deities are due to later Roman authors, writing long after the influence of the Greek pantheon had become dominant, and must be regarded with skepticism. Scholarly evaluation of this account is dependent on the hypothesis that the Etruscans originally immigrated to Italy from Anatolia, in this case, the Etruscan Twelve might have been cognate to the Hittite Twelve. It is, however, just as possible that the Etruscan Twelve were simply an adaptation of the Greek Twelve just like the Roman Twelve, Twelve Olympians, the equivalent grouping of the Greek pantheon Long, Charlotte R. The Twelve Gods of Greece and Rome, vol.107 of Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans lEmpire romain
Dii Consentes
–
Although the ritual purpose of this 1st-century BC altar from
Gabii is unclear, the twelve deities depicted correspond to the Dii Consentes
Dii Consentes
27.
Aventine Triad
–
The Aventine Triad is a modern term for the joint cult of the Roman deities Ceres, Liber and Libera. The cult was established ca.493 BC within a district on or near the Aventine Hill. Later accounts describe the building and rites as Greek in style. The Aventine Triad, temple and associated ludi served as a focus of identity, sometimes in opposition to Romes original ruling elite. The Aventine relationship between Ceres, Liber and Libera was probably based first on their functions as agricultural and fertility deities of the plebs as a social group. In keeping with Roman theology, the internal and external equivalence of the Aventine Triad remained speculative, broad, long after its establishment, Cicero rejects the equivalence of Liber and Dionysus and asserts that Ceres is mother to Liber and Libera. The Aventine Triad was established soon after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the famine ended and Romes plebeian citizen-soldiery co-operated in the conquest of the Latins. In 493 BC, a new temple on or near the Aventine hill was dedicated to the Triad and Romes first recorded ludi scaenici were held in honour of Liber. Libers festival, the Liberalia, may date from this time, patrician dominance was manifest in the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus on the Capitoline Hill, at the heart of the city. The Capitoline temple lay within Romes sacred boundary, in most versions of the Roman founding myth, this was the hill on which the unfortunate Remus lost to his brother Romulus in a contest of augury to decide Romes foundation, name and leadership. Some aspects of their cults were still considered morally un-Roman by Romes authorities, thus the Aventine Triad gave the plebs what has been variously described by modern historians as a parallel to the official Capitoline Triad, and its copy and antithesis. Among other religious innovations based on his interests, the emperor Claudius redrew the pomerium to encompass the Aventine. The plebs continued to establish and administer their own laws and held formal assemblies from which patricians were excluded, even so, official Ludi Cereales were not established until as late as 202 BC. Libers festival and the Bacchic or Dionysian aspects of his cult were suppressed under the ferocious Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus of 186 BC, the Liberalia rites were transferred to Cerealia, after a few years they were restored to Liber. Varros complex, investigative Late Republican theology groups Ceres with Tellus and Venus, therefore with Victoria, and Ceres with Libera, evidence is lacking for the earliest priesthoods of the Aventine Triad, whether in joint or individual cult to its deities. The plebeian aediles, named after their service of aedes may have acted as priests for their community and may have served Liber. Ceres was served by a flamen Cerealis, usually a plebeian and his duties included the invocation of her assistant deities and cult service to the earth-goddess Tellus. From ca.205 BC, a joint mystery cult to Ceres and Proserpina was held at the Aventine Triads temple and this ritus graecus cereris recognised Libera as equivalent to Proserpina
Aventine Triad
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
28.
Di inferi
–
For the fictional Inferi of J. K. The di inferi or dii inferi were a collective of ancient Roman deities associated with death. The epithet inferi is also given to the mysterious Manes, a collective of ancestral spirits. The most likely origin of the word Manes is from manus or manis, meaning good or kindly, in general, animal sacrifice to gods of the upper world usually resulted in communal meals, with the cooked victim apportioned to divine and human recipients. Infernal gods, by contrast, received burnt offerings, in which the victims were burnt to ash. Thereafter, he was considered part of the collective Manes, sharing in the made to them. Secret ritual practices characterized as magic were often directed at underworld gods. Di inferi were often invoked in binding spells, which offer personal enemies to them, the infernal gods were also the recipients on the rare occasions when human sacrifice was carried out in Rome. The ritual of devotio, when a general pledged his own life as an offering along with the enemy, was directed at the gods of the underworld under the name Di Manes. Religious sites and rituals for the di inferi were properly outside the pomerium, Romes sacred boundary, the Taurian Games were celebrated specifically to propitiate the di inferi. The rarely raced three-horse chariot was sacred to the di inferi, according to Isidore of Seville, the three horses represented the three stages of a human life, childhood, youth, and old age. The wood of trees, called arbores infelices, had apotropaic powers and was used for burning objects regarded as ill omens. The following list includes deities who were thought to dwell in the underworld and they typically receive nocturnal sacrifices, or dark-colored animals as offerings. Other deities may have had a secondary or disputed chthonic aspect, rituals pertaining to Mars, particularly in a form influenced by Etruscan tradition, suggest a role in the cycle of birth and death. Mercury moves between the realms of upper- and underworld as a psychopomp, the agricultural god Consus had an altar that was underground, like that of Dis and Proserpina. Deities concerned with birth are often cultivated like death deities, with nocturnal offerings that suggest a theological view of birth and death as a cycle, the deities listed below are not to be regarded as collectively forming the di inferi, whose individual identities are obscure
Di inferi
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Di inferi
–
Roman sculpture of
Hecate, based on a Hellenistic original
29.
Indigitamenta
–
In ancient Roman religion, the indigitamenta were lists of deities kept by the College of Pontiffs to assure that the correct divine names were invoked for public prayers. These lists or books probably described the nature of the deities who might be called on under particular circumstances. The earliest indigitamenta, like other aspects of Roman religion, were attributed to Numa Pompilius. The books of the Pontiffs are known only through scattered passages preserved throughout Latin literature, another likely source for the patristic catalogues is the lost work De indigitamentis of Granius Flaccus, Varros contemporary. W. H. Roscher collated the standard modern list of indigitamenta and it is unclear whether the written indigitamenta contained complete prayer formularies, or simply an index of names. If formulas of invocation, the indigitamenta were probably precationum carmina, paulus defines them as incantamenta, incantations, and indicia, signs or intimations. Roscher, however, does not consider Robigus and Maia to have part of the indigitamenta. Many of the indigitamenta are involved in the cycle of conception, birth, several appear in a list of twelve helper gods of Ceres as an agricultural goddess or are named elsewhere as having specialized agricultural functions. Gods not appearing on either of those lists are described briefly here, or are more fully described in their own articles as linked
Indigitamenta
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
30.
Julius Caesar
–
Gaius Julius Caesar, known as Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, general, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed an alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate. Caesars victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Romes territory to the English Channel, Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province, Civil war resulted, and Caesars victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms and he centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed dictator in perpetuity, giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March 44 BC, a new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesars adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began, much of Caesars life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources, Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Caesar was born into a family, the gens Julia. The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by Caesarean section. The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations, that the first Caesar had a head of hair, that he had bright grey eyes. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favored this interpretation of his name, despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their political fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesars father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesars childhood, in 85 BC, Caesars father died suddenly, so Caesar was the head of the family at 16
Julius Caesar
–
The
Tusculum portrait, perhaps the only surviving statue created during Caesar's lifetime.
Julius Caesar
–
Gaius Marius, Caesar's uncle
Julius Caesar
–
Dictator
Lucius Cornelius Sulla stripped Caesar of the priesthood.
Julius Caesar
–
The extent of the Roman Republic in 40 BC after Caesar's conquests.
31.
Augustus
–
Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first Roman emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia and his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesars will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar, following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvate was eventually torn apart by the ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, in reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and it took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis, the resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of peace known as the Pax Romana. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, expanding into Germania, beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. Augustus died in AD14 at the age of 75 and he probably died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Augustus was known by many names throughout his life, At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, upon his adoption, he took Caesars name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. He quickly dropped Octavianus from his name, and his contemporaries referred to him as Caesar during this period, historians. In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference to him from 27 BC until his death in AD14. While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres from Rome and he was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his fathers victory at Thurii over a band of slaves. Due to the nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his fathers home village at Velletri to be raised. Octavius only mentions his fathers equestrian family briefly in his memoirs and his paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War
Augustus
–
The statue known as the
Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century
Augustus
–
The Death of Caesar, by
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1867). On 15 March 44 BC, Octavius's adoptive father Julius Caesar was assassinated by a conspiracy led by
Marcus Junius Brutus and
Gaius Cassius Longinus.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
Augustus
–
A statue of Augustus as a younger Octavian, dated ca. 30 BC
Augustus
–
Bust of Augustus in
Musei Capitolini, Rome
32.
Roman mythology
–
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Romes legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. Roman mythology may also refer to the study of these representations. The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as historical, even when these have miraculous or supernatural elements, the stories are often concerned with politics and morality, and how an individuals personal integrity relates to his or her responsibility to the community or Roman state. When the stories illuminate Roman religious practices, they are concerned with ritual, augury. Romes early myths and legends also have a relationship with Etruscan religion. In particular, the versions of Greek myths in Ovids Metamorphoses, written during the reign of Augustus, because ritual played the central role in Roman religion that myth did for the Greeks, it is sometimes doubted that the Romans had much of a native mythology. This perception is a product of Romanticism and the scholarship of the 19th century. From the Renaissance to the 18th century, however, Roman myths were an inspiration particularly for European painting, the Roman tradition is rich in historical myths, or legends, concerning the foundation and rise of the city. These narratives focus on human actors, with only occasional intervention from deities, in Romes earliest period, history and myth have a mutual and complementary relationship. As T. P. Wiseman notes, The Roman stories still matter, as they mattered to Dante in 1300 and Shakespeare in 1600, what does it take to be a free citizen. Can a superpower still be a republic, how does well-meaning authority turn into murderous tyranny. Major sources for Roman myth include the Aeneid of Vergil and the first few books of Livys history as well as Dionysius s Roman Antiquities. Other important sources are the Fasti of Ovid, a six-book poem structured by the Roman religious calendar, scenes from Roman myth also appear in Roman wall painting, coins, and sculpture, particularly reliefs. The Aeneid and Livys early history are the best extant sources for Romes founding myths, material from Greek heroic legend was grafted onto this native stock at an early date. By extension, the Trojans were adopted as the ancestors of the Roman people. Rape of the Sabine women, explaining the importance of the Sabines in the formation of Roman culture, numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king of Rome who consorted with the nymph Egeria and established many of Romes legal and religious institutions. Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, whose mysterious origins were freely mythologized. The Tarpeian Rock, and why it was used for the execution of traitors, lucretia, whose self-sacrifice prompted the overthrow of the early Roman monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic
Roman mythology
–
Romulus and Remus, the
Lupercal,
Father Tiber, and the
Palatine on a
relief from a pedestal dating to the reign of
Trajan (AD 98–117)
Roman mythology
–
In this wall painting from
Pompeii,
Venus looks on while the physician
Iapyx tends to the wound of her son,
Aeneas; the tearful boy is her grandson
Ascanius, also known as Iulus, legendary ancestor [
citation needed] of
Julius Caesar and the
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Roman mythology
–
Mucius Scaevola in the Presence of Lars Porsenna (early 1640s) by
Matthias Stom
Roman mythology
–
Capitoline Triad
33.
Ancient Greek religion
–
Ancient Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology originating in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or cults in the plural, many ancient Greeks recognized the twelve major gods and goddesses, although philosophies such as Stoicism and some forms of Platonism used language that seems to assume a single transcendent deity. Different cities often worshiped the deities, sometimes with epithets that distinguished them. Greek religion was tempered by Etruscan cult and belief to form much of the later ancient Roman religion, while there were few concepts universal to all the Greek peoples, there were common beliefs shared by many. Ancient Greek theology was polytheistic, based on the assumption there were many gods. There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control all the others. Some deities had dominion over aspects of nature. Other deities ruled over abstract concepts, for instance Aphrodite controlled love, while being immortal, the gods were certainly not all-good or even all-powerful. They had to obey fate, known to Greek mythology as the Moirai, which overrode any of their divine powers or wills. For instance, in mythology, it was Odysseus fate to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, and the gods could only lengthen his journey and make it harder for him, the gods acted like humans, and had human vices. They would interact with humans, sometimes even spawning children with them, at times certain gods would be opposed to others, and they would try to outdo each other. In the Iliad, Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo support the Trojan side in the Trojan War, while Hera, Athena, some gods were specifically associated with a certain city. Athena was associated with the city of Athens, Apollo with Delphi and Delos, Zeus with Olympia, other deities were associated with nations outside of Greece, Poseidon was associated with Ethiopia and Troy, and Ares with Thrace. The Greeks believed in an underworld where the spirits of the dead went after death, one of the most widespread areas of this underworld was ruled over by Hades, a brother of Zeus, and was known as Hades. Other well known realms are Tartarus, a place of torment for the damned, and Elysium, in the early Mycenean religion all the dead went to Hades, but the rise of mystery cults in the Archaic age led to the development of places such as Tartarus and Elysium. Such beliefs are found in the most ancient of Greek sources, such as Homer and this belief remained strong even into the Christian era. For most people at the moment of death there was, however, no hope of anything, some Greeks, such as the philosophers Pythagoras and Plato, also embraced the idea of reincarnation, though this was only accepted by a few. Epicurus taught that the soul was simply atoms which dissolved at death, Greek religion had an extensive mythology
Ancient Greek religion
–
Zeus, the king of the gods, and controller of thunder and the sky.
Ancient Greek religion
–
Aphrodite riding a swan: Attic white-ground red-figured
kylix, ca. 460, found at Kameiros (Rhodes)
Ancient Greek religion
–
Poseidon, the god of the sea, as depicted on a statue in
Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Ancient Greek religion
–
A mosaic depicting the hero
Herakles with
Cerberus, a three-headed dog, who, according to mythology, guarded
Hades.
34.
Etruscan mythology
–
Etruscan religion and mythology were partly incorporated into classical Roman culture, including the Roman pantheon. However, in the last years of the Roman Republic the religion began to fall out of favor and was satirized by such public figures as Marcus Tullius Cicero. The Julio-Claudians, especially Claudius, who claimed a remote Etruscan descent, maintained a knowledge of the language and religion for a time longer. A number of works in the Etruscan language survived until the middle of the first millennium AD, but were destroyed by the ravages of time, decree of the Roman Senate. Around the mun or muni, or tombs, were the man or mani, in iconography after the 5th century BC, the deceased are shown traveling to the underworld. In several instances of Etruscan art, such as in the François Tomb in Vulci, a god was called an ais, which in the plural is aisar. The abode of a god was a fanu or luth, a place, such as a favi. There, one would need to make a fler, or offering, three layers of deities are portrayed in Etruscan art. Ruling over them were higher deities that seem to reflect the Indo-European system, Tin or Tinia, the sky, Uni his wife, and Cel, as a third layer, the Greek gods were adopted by the Etruscan system during the Etruscan Orientalizing Period of 750/700-600 BC. Examples are Aritimi, Menrva, and Pacha, and over time the primary trinity became Tinia, Uni, the Etruscans believed in intimate contact with divinity. They did nothing without proper consultation with the gods and signs from them and these practices were taken over in total by the Romans. The Etruscan scriptures were a corpus of texts termed the Etrusca Disciplina and this name appears in Valerius Maximus, and Marcus Tullius Cicero refers to a disciplina in his writings on the subject. These works did not present prophecies or scriptures in the ordinary sense, the Etruscans appear to have had no systematic ethics or religion and no great visions. The Etruscans accepted the inscrutability of their gods wills and they did not attempt to rationalize or explain divine actions or formulate any doctrines of the gods intentions. These revelations may not be understandable and may not be pleasant or easy. He then quipped, regarding divination from the singing of frogs, and yet they do have by nature some faculty of premonition, clear enough of itself, but too dark for human comprehension. Divinatory inquiries according to discipline were conducted by priests whom the Romans called haruspices or sacerdotes, the Etruscans, as evidenced by the inscriptions, used several words, capen, maru, eisnev, hatrencu. They called the art of haruspicy zich nethsrac, a special magistrate, the cechase, looked after the cecha or rath, sacred things
Etruscan mythology
–
Etruscan mural of
Typhon, from
Tarquinia
Etruscan mythology
–
Reconstruction of an Etruscan temple, Museo di Villa Giulia, Rome, which is heavily influenced by studies of the Temple of Apollo at
Portonaccio (Veio)
Etruscan mythology
–
Rare Etruscan fanu located at
Orvieto.
Etruscan mythology
–
Funerary home at
Banditaccia with couches
35.
Gallo-Roman religion
–
It was the result of selective acculturation. In some cases, Gaulish deity names were used as epithets for Roman deities, in other cases, Roman gods were given Gaulish female partners – for example, Mercury was paired with Rosmerta and Sirona was partnered with Apollo. In at least one case – that of the equine goddess Epona – a native Celtic goddess was also adopted by Romans. The Jupiter Column was a type of religious monument from Roman Gaul and Germania. Eastern mystery religions penetrated Gaul early on and these included the cults of Orpheus, Mithras, Cybele, and Isis. The imperial cult, centred primarily on the numen of Augustus, came to play a prominent role in the religion of Gaul. This gave rise to a characteristic Gallo-Roman fanum, identifiable in archaeology from its concentric shape, Roman Gaul Gallo-Roman culture Interpretatio romana Celtic mythology Burnand, Y. Notes sur le vocabulaire épigraphique de la de la divinité en Gaule romaine in Signa deorum. Debal, J. Vienne-en-Val, divinités et sanctuaires, bulletin de la Société Archéologique et Historique de lOrléanais,42 Deyts, S. A la rencontre des Dieux gaulois, un défi à César, faudet, I. Les temples de tradition celtique en Gaule Romaine. ISBN 2-87772-074-8 Green, M. Gods of the Celts, jufer, N. Luginbühl, T. Répertoire des dieux gaulois. ISBN 2-87772-200-7 Weisgerber, G. Das Pilgerheiligtum des Apollo und der Sirona von Hochscheid im Hunsruck, woolf, G. Becoming Roman, the origins of provincial civilization in Gaul
Gallo-Roman religion
–
Epona from Auxois
36.
Interpretatio graeca
–
It is thus a comparative methodology that looks for equivalencies and shared characteristics. Interpretatio romana is comparative discourse in reference to ancient Roman religion and myth, both the Romans and the Gauls reinterpreted Gallic religious traditions in relation to Roman models, particularly Imperial cult. …The meaning of a deity is his or her character as it unfolded in myths, hymns, rites. This character makes a deity comparable to other deities with similar traits, the similarity of gods makes their names mutually translatable. … The practice of translating the names of the created a concept of similarity. Pliny the Elder expressed the translatability of deities as different names to different peoples and this capacity made possible the religious syncretism of the Hellenistic era and the pre-Christian Roman Empire. Herodotus was one of the earliest authors to engage in this form of interpretation, in his observations regarding the Egyptians, he establishes Greco-Egyptian equivalents that endured into the Hellenistic era, including Amon/Zeus, Osiris/Dionysus, and Ptah/Hephaestus. Some pairs of Greek and Roman gods, such as Zeus and Jupiter, are thought to derive from a common Indo-European archetype, some deities dating to Romes oldest religious stratum, such as Janus and Terminus, had no Greek equivalent. Other Greek divine figures, most notably Apollo, were adopted directly into Roman culture, the phrase interpretatio romana was first used by the Imperial-era historian Tacitus in the Germania. Tacitus reports that in a grove of the Nahanarvali, a priest adorned as a woman presides. Elsewhere, he identifies the god of the Germans as Mercury. Some information about the deities of the ancient Gauls, who left no written literature other than inscriptions, is preserved by Greco-Roman sources under the names of Greek, a large number of Gaulish theonyms or cult titles are preserved, for instance, in association with Mars. As with some Greek and Roman divine counterparts, the similarities between a Gallic and a Roman or Greek deity may reflect a common Indo-European origin. Lugh was identified with Mercury, Nodens with Mars as healer and protector, in some cases, however, a Gallic deity is given an interpretatio romana by means of more than one god, varying among literary texts or inscriptions. These tendencies extended to cross-cultural identifications, in the Eastern empire, the Anatolian storm god with his double-headed axe became Jupiter Dolichenus, a favorite cult figure among soldiers. Roman scholars such as Varro interpreted the monotheistic god of the Jews into Roman terms as Caelus or Jupiter Optimus Maximus, some Greco-Roman authors seem to have understood the Jewish invocation of Yahweh Sabaoth as Sabazius. Interpretatio germanica is the practice by the Germanic peoples of identifying Roman gods with the names of Germanic deities, according to Rudolf Simek, this occurred around the 1st century of the common era, when both cultures came into closer contact. This is also the case with Saturn in some West Germanic languages, such as the English Saturday, the West Frisian Saterdei, the Low German Saterdag and the Dutch zaterdag all meaning Saturns day
Interpretatio graeca
–
The goddess
Isis (seated right) welcoming the
Greek heroine Io into Egypt, as depicted in a Roman wall painting from
Pompeii
Interpretatio graeca
–
Gilt bronze head from the cult statue of Sulis Minerva from the
Temple at Bath
Interpretatio graeca
–
Jupiter Ammon (terracotta of Hellenistic style, 1st century AD)
Interpretatio graeca
–
Worshipper before Zeus-Serapis-
Ohrmazd (Bactria, 3rd century AD)
37.
Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
–
Hellenistic polytheistic traditions survived in pockets of Greece throughout Late Antiquity. The Neoplatonic Academy was shut down by Justinian I in 529, under Roman authority, the various national myths most similar to Rome were adopted by analogue into the overall Roman mythos, further cementing Imperial control. Consequently, the Romans were generally tolerant and accommodating towards new deities, the more philosophical outlook of the Hellenic parts of the Roman empire led to a renaissance of intellectual religious thought around the start of the 2nd century. A more organised form of alatrist henotheistic panentheism emerged in parallel to Hermetism, at least one major meeting place for followers of this neopythagoreanism was built in Rome itself, near Porta Maggiore, to a design similar to later Christian churches, though subterranean. Neoplatonism began to be adopted by prominent scholars such as the Christian theologian Origen, during the rule of Gallienus, the imperial family themselves gave patronage to Plotinus, and encouraged his philosophical activities. Neoplatonism was further developed by Iamblichus, who believed that physical invocations would be able to produce soteriological results, Mithraism wasnt exclusive - it was possible and common to follow Mithraism and other cults simultaneously. From the reign of Septimius Severus, other, less gender-specific and he rode roughshod over other elements of traditional religion, marrying a Vestal Virgin, and moved the most sacred relics of Roman religion to a new temple dedicated exclusively to El-Gabal. Nearly half a century after Elagabalus, Aurelian came to power and he was a reformer, strengthening the position of the sun-god as the main divinity of the Roman pantheon, he even built a brand new temple, in Rome, dedicated to the deity. Lactantius argued that Aurelian would have outlawed all the gods if he had had enough time. Imperial tolerance only extended to religions that did not resist Roman authority, religions that were hostile to the state or any that claimed exclusive rights to religious beliefs and practice were not included and some exclusive Eastern cults were persecuted. Jews were given special privileges owing to their dominance in economy, numbers and dispersal, tolerance of Judaism turned to persecution when collaboration was perceived as ending, see Anti-Judaism in the pre-Christian Roman Empire. The results included massacres of Christian communities and Jewish nationalist groups, the early Christian community was perceived at times to be an intrinsically destabilising influence and threat to the peace of Rome, a religio illicita. The same gods whom the Romans believed had protected and blessed their city, after the initial conflicts between the state and the new emerging religion, Gallienus was the first emperor to issue an edict of toleration for all religious creeds including Christianity. According to Christian polemicists writing after his death, Constantine I was baptized on his deathbed, eusebius, a contemporary Christian historian, also praises him for having some pagan temples torn down. Actual persecution was sporadic and generally the result of local initiative, official orders may have established an understanding that actual persecution would be tolerated, but in the first century of official Christianity did not generally organize it. By the Edict of Milan, Constantine continued the policy of toleration and his legislation against magic and private divination were driven out of a fear that others might gain power through those means. Nonetheless, this did not mean he or other Roman rulers disfavored divination, instead, his belief in Roman divination is confirmed by legislation calling for the consultation of augurs after an amphitheatre had been struck by lightning in the year 320. Constantine explicitly allowed public divination as a practice of State ceremony as well as pagan practices to continue
Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
–
A cult statue of the divinized Augustus, disfigured by a Christian cross carved into the emperor's forehead.
Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
–
Saint Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius,
Anthony van Dyck.
Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
–
Ivory diptych of a priestess of Ceres, in classical style, ca 400: the "idol" was defaced and thrown in a well at
Montier-en-Der (later an abbey) where it was found. (
Musée de Cluny)
38.
Etruscan language
–
The Etruscan language was the spoken and written language of the Etruscan civilization, in Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Campania, Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna. Etruscan influenced Latin, but was eventually superseded by it. Grammatically, the language is agglutinating, with nouns and verbs showing suffixed inflectional endings, nouns show four cases, singular and plural numbers, and masculine and feminine genders. Phonologically, Etruscan appears uncomplicated, with a system and an apparent contrast between aspirated and unaspirated stops. The language shows phonetic change over time, with the loss, Etruscan religion influenced that of the Romans and many of the few surviving Etruscan language artifacts are of votive or religious significance. Etruscan was written in a derived from the Greek alphabet. The Etruscan language is believed to be the source of certain important cultural words of Western Europe such as military and people. Etruscan literacy was widespread over the Mediterranean shores, as evidenced by about 13,000 inscriptions, most fairly short and they date from about 700 BC. The Etruscans had a rich literature, as noted by Latin authors, however, only one book, the Liber Linteus has survived. By AD100, Etruscan had been replaced by Latin, around 180, the Latin author Aulus Gellius mentions Etruscan alongside the Gaulish language in an anecdote. Only a few educated Romans with antiquarian interests, such as Marcus Terentius Varro, plautia Urgulanilla, the emperors first wife, was Etruscan. Livy and Cicero were both aware that highly specialized Etruscan religious rites were codified in several sets of written in Etruscan under the generic Latin title Etrusca Disciplina. The Libri Haruspicini dealt with divination from the entrails of the sacrificed animal, a third set, the Libri Rituales, might have provided a key to Etruscan civilization, its wider scope embraced Etruscan standards of social and political life, as well as ritual practices. The single extant Etruscan book, Liber Linteus, which was written on linen and this range may indicate a maximum Italian homeland where the language was at one time spoken. Outside of mainland Italy inscriptions have been found in North Africa, Corsica, Elba, Gallia Narbonensis, Greece, the Balkans, by far the greatest concentration is in Italy. An inscription found on Lemnos in 1886 is in a similar to that used to write the Etruscan language. A few concepts of word formation have been formulated, modern knowledge of the language is incomplete. Etruscan was traditionally considered to be a language isolate, in the first century BC, the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus stated that the Etruscan language was unlike any other
Etruscan language
–
The Pyrgi Tablets laminated sheets of gold with a treatise both in Etruscan and
Phoenician languages in the Etruscan Museum in Rome
Etruscan language
–
Etruscan
Etruscan language
–
Tumulus on a street at Banditaccia, the main necropolis of
Caere
Etruscan language
–
History
39.
Wisdom
–
Wisdom or sapience is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight. This implies a possession of knowledge, or the seeking of knowledge to apply to the given circumstance and it often requires control of ones emotional reactions so that the universal principle of reason prevails to determine ones action. In short, wisdom is a disposition to find the truth coupled with a judgement as to what actions should be taken. Charles Haddon Spurgeon defined wisdom as the use of knowledge. Robert I. Sutton and Andrew Hargadon defined the attitude of wisdom as acting with knowledge while doubting what one knows as was said by Lucy of the North. The ancient Greeks considered wisdom to be an important virtue of Petross the Great, personified as the goddesses Metis, Athena is said to have sprung from the head of Zeus. She was portrayed as strong, fair, merciful, and chaste, to Socrates and Plato, philosophy was literally the love of Wisdom. Aristotle, in his Metaphysics, defined wisdom as the understanding of causes, i. e. knowing why things are a certain way, the ancient Romans also valued wisdom. It was personified in Minerva, or Pallas and she also represents skillful knowledge and the virtues, especially chastity. Her symbol was the owl which is still a representation of wisdom. She was said to be born from Jupiters forehead, Wisdom is also important within Christianity. Jesus emphasised by Petross the wise, Paul the Apostle, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, argued that there is both secular and divine wisdom, urging Christians to pursue the latter. Prudence, which is related to wisdom, became one of the four cardinal virtues of Catholicism. The Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas considered wisdom to be the father of all virtues, in the Inuit tradition, developing wisdom was one of the aims of teaching. An Inuit Elder said that a person became wise when they could see what needed to be done and do it successfully without being told what to do. In many cultures, the name for third molars, which are the last teeth to grow, is linked with wisdom. Public schools in the US have an approach to character education, eighteenth century philosophers such as Benjamin Franklin, referred to this as training wisdom and virtue. Traditionally, schools share the responsibility to build character and wisdom along with parents and he teaches that new knowledge and technological know-how increase our power to act which, without wisdom, may cause human suffering and death as well as human benefit
Wisdom
–
Personification of wisdom (in
Greek, Σοφία or
Sophia) at the
Celsus Library in
Ephesus,
Turkey.
Wisdom
–
Truth and Wisdom assist History in writing by
Jacob de Wit, 1754
40.
Goddess
–
A goddess is a female deity in polytheistic religions. Goddesses most often have characteristics that are apotheosize in their pure form. However, in some cases goddesses may embody neutral forms personifying both male and female characteristics, or they may even exhibit traits that are associated with the male gender. In some faiths, a female figure holds a central place in religious prayer. For example, Shaktism, the worship of the force that animates the world, is one of the three major sects of Hinduism. Polytheist religions, including Polytheistic reconstructionists, honour multiple goddesses and gods and these deities may be part of a pantheon, or different regions may have tutelary deities. The reconstructionists, like their ancient forebears, honour the deities particular to their country of origin, the noun goddess is a secondary formation, combining the Germanic god with the Latinate -ess suffix. It first appeared in Middle English, from about 1350, the English word follows the linguistic precedent of a number of languages—including Egyptian, Classical Greek, and several Semitic languages—that add a feminine ending to the languages word for god. Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth, a 1988 interview with Bill Moyers, links the image of the Earth or Mother Goddess to symbols of fertility and reproduction. For example, Campbell states that, There have been systems of religion where the mother is the prime parent, and in Egypt you have the Mother Heavens, the Goddess Nut, who is represented as the whole heavenly sphere. Joseph Campbell, Well that was associated primarily with agriculture and the agricultural societies and it has to do with the earth. The human woman gives birth just as the earth gives birth to the plants. so woman magic, and the personification of the energy that gives birth to forms and nourishes forms is properly female. It is in the world of ancient Mesopotamia, the Egyptian Nile. Campbell also argues that the image of the Virgin Mary was derived from the image of Isis and her child Horus, other Mesopotamian goddesses include Ninhursag, Ninlil, Antu, Gaga Goddesses of the Canaanite religion, Baalat Gebal, Astarte, Anat. Cybele, Her Hittite name was Kubaba, but her name changed to Cybele in Phrygian and Roman culture and her effect can be also seen on Artemis as the Lady of Ephesus. Hebat, Mother Goddess of the Hittite pantheon and wife of the sky god. She was the origin of the Hurrian cult, arinniti, Hittite Goddess of the sun. She became patron of the Hittite Empire and monarchy, leto, A mother Goddess figure in Lykia
Goddess
–
Aphrodite is the Ancient Greek goddess of beauty and love.
Goddess
–
The head of an
Egyptian goddess. The gender is suggested by the lack of a beard, and the simple hairstyle points to the divine status of the subject.
Goddess
–
A statue of the Egyptian war goddess
Neith wearing the
Deshret crown of northern (lower) Egypt, which bears the
cobra of
Wadjet.
Goddess
–
Statue of
Ceres, the
Roman goddess of
agriculture
41.
Vulcan (mythology)
–
Vulcan is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. Vulcan is often depicted with a blacksmiths hammer, the Vulcanalia was the annual festival held August 23 in his honor. His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithery, in Etruscan religion, he is identified with Sethlans. The origin of the name is unclear, Roman tradition maintained that it was related to Latin words connected to lightning, which in turn was thought of as related to flames. This interpretation is supported by Walter William Skeat in his dictionary as meaning lustre. It has been supposed that his name was not Latin but related to that of the Cretan god Velchanos, a god of nature, wolfgang Meid has refused this identification as phantastic. More recently this etymology has been taken up by Gérard Capdeville who finds a continuity between Cretan Minoan god Velchanos and Etruscan Velchans, the Minoan gods identity would be that of a young deity, master of fire and companion of the Great Goddess. Christian Guyonvarch has proposed the identification with the Irish name Olcan, vasily Abaev compares it with the Ossetic Wærgon, a variant of the name of Kurdalægon, the smith of the Nart saga. Since the name in its normal form Kurdalægon is stable and has a clear meaning, the Volcanalia sacrifice was offered here to Vulcan, on August 23. Vulcan also had a temple on the Campus Martius, which was in existence by 214 BC, the Romans identified Vulcan with the Greek smith-god Hephaestus. Vulcan became associated like his Greek counterpart with the use of fire in metalworking. A fragment of a Greek pot showing Hephaestus found at the Volcanal has been dated to the 6th century BC, however, Vulcan had a stronger association than Hephaestus with fires destructive capacity, and a major concern of his worshippers was to encourage the god to avert harmful fires. The festival of Vulcan, the Vulcanalia, was celebrated on August 23 each year, during the festival bonfires were created in honour of the god, into which live fish or small animals were thrown as a sacrifice, to be consumed in the place of humans. It is recorded that during the Vulcanalia people used to hang their cloths and this habit might reflect a theological connection between Vulcan and the divinized Sun. Another custom observed on this day required that one should start working by the light of a candle, probably to propitiate a beneficial use of fire by the god. In addition to the Volcanalia of August 23, the date of May 23, a flamen, one of the flamines minores, named flamen Volcanalis was in charge of the cult of the god. The flamen Volcanalis officiated at a sacrifice to the goddess Maia, Vulcan was among the gods placated after the Great Fire of Rome in AD64. In response to the fire, Domitian established a new altar to Vulcan on the Quirinal Hill
Vulcan (mythology)
–
Vulcan, wearing an
exomis (tunic) and
pilos (conical hat), c. 1st century AD.
Vulcan (mythology)
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Vulcan (mythology)
–
Andrea Mantegna: Parnas, Vulcan, god of fire
Vulcan (mythology)
–
The Forge of Vulcan by
Diego Velázquez, (1630).
42.
Poetry
–
Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Early poems evolved from folk songs such as the Chinese Shijing, or from a need to retell oral epics, as with the Sanskrit Vedas, Zoroastrian Gathas, and the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ancient attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotles Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on such as repetition, verse form and rhyme. From the mid-20th century, poetry has sometimes been more generally regarded as a creative act employing language. Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words, devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly figures of such as metaphor, simile and metonymy create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between verses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm. Some poetry types are specific to cultures and genres and respond to characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. Much modern poetry reflects a critique of poetic tradition, playing with and testing, among other things, in todays increasingly globalized world, poets often adapt forms, styles and techniques from diverse cultures and languages. Some scholars believe that the art of poetry may predate literacy, others, however, suggest that poetry did not necessarily predate writing. The oldest surviving poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh, comes from the 3rd millennium BCE in Sumer. An example of Egyptian epic poetry is The Story of Sinuhe, other forms of poetry developed directly from folk songs. The earliest entries in the oldest extant collection of Chinese poetry, the efforts of ancient thinkers to determine what makes poetry distinctive as a form, and what distinguishes good poetry from bad, resulted in poetics—the study of the aesthetics of poetry. Some ancient societies, such as Chinas through her Shijing, developed canons of poetic works that had ritual as well as aesthetic importance, Classical thinkers employed classification as a way to define and assess the quality of poetry. Later aestheticians identified three major genres, epic poetry, lyric poetry, and dramatic poetry, treating comedy and tragedy as subgenres of dramatic poetry, Aristotles work was influential throughout the Middle East during the Islamic Golden Age, as well as in Europe during the Renaissance. English Romantic poet John Keats termed this escape from logic Negative Capability and this romantic approach views form as a key element of successful poetry because form is abstract and distinct from the underlying notional logic
Poetry
–
Aristotle
Poetry
–
Literature
Poetry
–
John Keats
Poetry
–
Archibald MacLeish
43.
Medicine
–
Medicine is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The word medicine is derived from Latin medicus, meaning a physician, Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Medicine has existed for thousands of years, during most of which it was an art frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher. In recent centuries, since the advent of modern science, most medicine has become a combination of art, while stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science. Prescientific forms of medicine are now known as medicine and folk medicine. They remain commonly used with or instead of medicine and are thus called alternative medicine. For example, evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture is variable and inconsistent for any condition, in contrast, treatments outside the bounds of safety and efficacy are termed quackery. Medical availability and clinical practice varies across the world due to differences in culture. In modern clinical practice, physicians personally assess patients in order to diagnose, treat, the doctor-patient relationship typically begins an interaction with an examination of the patients medical history and medical record, followed by a medical interview and a physical examination. Basic diagnostic medical devices are typically used, after examination for signs and interviewing for symptoms, the doctor may order medical tests, take a biopsy, or prescribe pharmaceutical drugs or other therapies. Differential diagnosis methods help to rule out conditions based on the information provided, during the encounter, properly informing the patient of all relevant facts is an important part of the relationship and the development of trust. The medical encounter is then documented in the record, which is a legal document in many jurisdictions. Follow-ups may be shorter but follow the general procedure. The diagnosis and treatment may take only a few minutes or a few weeks depending upon the complexity of the issue, the components of the medical interview and encounter are, Chief complaint, the reason for the current medical visit. They are in the patients own words and are recorded along with the duration of each one, also called chief concern or presenting complaint. History of present illness, the order of events of symptoms. Distinguishable from history of illness, often called past medical history
Medicine
–
Early Medicine Bottles
Medicine
Medicine
–
The Doctor, by
Sir Luke Fildes (1891)
Medicine
–
The Hospital of
Santa Maria della Scala, fresco by
Domenico di Bartolo, 1441–1442
44.
Commerce
–
Commerce is the activity of buying and selling of goods and services, especially on a large scale. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural and technological systems that are in operation in any country or internationally, commerce is derived from the Latin commercium, from cum, together, and merx, merchandise. Some commentators trace the origins of commerce to the start of transaction in prehistoric times. Apart from traditional self-sufficiency, trading became a facility of prehistoric people. Historian Peter Watson and Ramesh Manickam dates the history of commerce from circa 150,000 years ago. In historic times, the introduction of currency as a money, facilitated a wider exchange of goods. Numismatists have collections of these tokens, which include coins from some Ancient World large-scale societies. For example, if a man who makes pots for a living needs a new house, he/she may wish to hire someone to build it for him/her. But he/she cannot make an equivalent number of pots to equal this service done for him/her, because if the builder could build the house. During the Middle Ages, commerce developed in Europe by trading luxury goods at trade fairs, wealth became converted into movable wealth or capital. Banking systems developed where money on account was transferred across national boundaries, hand to hand markets became a feature of town life, and were regulated by town authorities. Today commerce includes as a subset a complex system of companies which try to maximize their profits by offering products and services to the market at the lowest production cost
Commerce
–
The
caduceus has been used today as the symbol of commerce with which
Mercury has traditionally been associated.
45.
Weaving
–
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, felting, and braiding or plaiting, the longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling. The method in which these threads are inter woven affects the characteristics of the cloth, cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth can also be using other methods, including tablet weaving, back-strap. The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave, the majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves, plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven cloth can be plain, or can be woven in decorative or artistic design, in general, weaving involves using a loom to interlace two sets of threads at right angles to each other, the warp which runs longitudinally and the weft that crosses it. One warp thread is called an end and one weft thread is called a pick, the warp threads are held taut and in parallel to each other, typically in a loom. There are many types of looms, Weaving can be summarized as a repetition of these three actions, also called the primary motion of the loom. Beating-up or battening, where the weft is pushed up against the fell of the cloth by the reed. The warp is divided into two overlapping groups, or lines that run in two planes, one another, so the shuttle can be passed between them in a straight motion. Then, the group is lowered by the loom mechanism. Repeating these actions form a fabric mesh but without beating-up, the distance between the adjacent wefts would be irregular and far too large. The warp-beam is a wooden or metal cylinder on the back of the loom on which the warp is delivered, the threads of the warp extend in parallel order from the warp-beam to the front of the loom where they are attached to the cloth-roll. Each thread or group of threads of the passes through an opening in a heddle. The warp threads are separated by the heddles into two or more groups, each controlled and automatically drawn up and down by the motion of the heddles, where a complex design is required, the healds are raised by harness cords attached to a Jacquard machine. Every time the harness moves up or down, an opening is made between the threads of warp, through which the pick is inserted, traditionally the weft thread is inserted by a shuttle. On a conventional loom, the thread is carried on a pirn. A handloom weaver could propel the shuttle by throwing it from side to side with the aid of a picking stick, the picking΅ on a power loom is done by rapidly hitting the shuttle from each side using an overpick or underpick mechanism controlled by cams 80-250 times a minute
Weaving
–
Warp and weft in
plain weaving
Weaving
–
A
satin weave, common for
silk, each warp thread floats over 16 weft threads.
Weaving
–
A woman weaving with a free-standing loom (type of hand loom)
Weaving
–
An Indian weaver preparing his warp on a pegged loom (another type of hand loom)
46.
Craft
–
A craft is a pastime or a profession that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. The traditional terms craftsman and craftswoman are nowadays often replaced by artisan, the beginning of crafts in areas like the Ottoman empire involved the governing bodies requiring members of the city who were skilled at creating goods to open shops in the center of town. These people slowly stopped acting as subsistence farmers and began to represent what we think of a craftsman today, historically, craftsmen tended to concentrate in urban centers and formed guilds. The households of craftsmen were not as self-sufficient as those of people engaged in agricultural work, once an apprentice of a craft had finished his apprenticeship, he would become a journeyman searching for a place to set up his own shop and make a living. After he set up his own shop, he could call himself a master of his craft. But crafts have undergone deep structural changes during and since the era of the Industrial Revolution, thus, they participate in a certain division of labour between industry and craft. There are three aspects to human creativity - Art, Crafts, and Science, roughly determinated, art relies upon intuitive sensing, vision and expression, crafts upon sophisticated technique and science upon knowledge. Handicraft is the main sector of the crafts, it is a type of work where useful. Usually the term is applied to traditional means of making goods, the individual artisanship of the items is a paramount criterion, such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass production or machines are not handicraft goods, handicraft goods are made with craft production processes. Crafts practiced by independent artists working alone or in groups are often referred to as studio craft. Studio craft includes studio pottery, metal work, weaving, wood turning, paper and other forms of working, glass blowing. A craft fair is an event to display and sell crafts. There are craft shops where such goods are sold and craft communities, such as Craftster, a tradesperson is a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft. Economically and socially, a status is considered between a laborer and a professional, with a high degree of both practical and theoretical knowledge of their trade. In cultures where professional careers are highly prized there can be a shortage of skilled manual workers, media related to Crafts at Wikimedia Commons
Craft
–
Woodworking being done in a
workshop
Craft
–
Shoes are repaired by a skilled
shoemaker, here he evaluates a pair of shoes with a
customer watching
Craft
–
Street handicraft: here a skilled
metalsmith in
Agra,
India sits between
scooters in a commercial area making careful observations in the practice of his trade
Craft
–
Mexican craft.
47.
Raised-relief
–
A raised-relief map or terrain model is a three-dimensional representation, usually of terrain, materialized as a physical artifact. When representing terrain, the dimension is usually exaggerated by a factor between five and ten, this facilitates the visual recognition of terrain features. If the account of Sima Qian in his Records of the Grand Historian is proven correct upon the unearthing of Qin Shi Huangs tomb, joseph Needham suggests that certain pottery vessels of the Han dynasty showing artificial mountains as lid decorations may have influenced the raised-relief map. The Han dynasty general Ma Yuan made a map of valleys. Such rice models were expounded on by the Tang dynasty author Jiang Fang in his Essay on the Art of Constructing Mountains with Rice. A raised-relief map made of wood representing all the provinces of the empire, shen Kuo created a raised-relief map using sawdust, wood, beeswax, and wheat paste. The map, made of eight pieces of wood connected by hinges, could be folded up, some later scholars attributed the first raised-relief map to one Paul Dox, who represented the area of Kufstein in his raised-relief map of 1510. Starting with a map, one can cut out successive layers from some sheet material. These may be assembled in a stack to obtain an approximation of the terrain. This method is used as the base for architectural models. For models of landforms, the stack can then be smoothed by filling with some material and this model may be used directly, or for greater durability a mold may be made from it. This mold may then be used to produce a plaster model, a combination of computer numerical control machining a master model, and vacuum forming SAM copies from this, can be been used to rapidly mass-produce raised-relief maps. Another method which is becoming more widespread is the use of 3D printing, with the rapid development of this technology its use is becoming increasingly economic. The Great Polish Map of Scotland is claimed to be the largest terrain relief model, constructed out of brick and concrete in the grounds of a hotel near Peebles and it measures 50 by 40 metres. However, a site in Ningxia province, China was spotted in 2006 using satellite imagery and it measured 900 by 700 metres, had a 3-kilometre perimeter and appeared to be a large scale relief model of Aksai Chin, a disputed territory between China and India. Digital terrain model Hypsometric tints List of Chinese inventions#R Musée des Plans-Reliefs Participatory 3D modelling de Crespigny, a Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms. Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, Anne Walthall, James B, east Asia, A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Science and Civilization in China, Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens, science in Ancient China, Researches and Reflections
Raised-relief
–
Hand-made raised-relief map of the
High Tatras in scale 1: 50 000
48.
Sbeitla
–
Sbeitla is a city in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Roman forum temples in Tunisia and it was the entry point of the Muslim conquest of North Africa. Sbeitla is the capital of the largest delegation in Kasserine Governorate with an area of 1133.5 km2 and it is located in 33 km in the west of the governorate, and 264 km to Tunis. It has a population of 20,253, the oldest traces of civilisation in the zone are Punic megaliths and funereal stelae. The region was inhabited by nomadic tribes until the Legio III Augusta established a camp at Ammaedara, the olive presses found in the ruins of the city further bolster this conclusion. The resulting prosperity made possible the construction of a splendid forum, the city began to decline during the Late Empire, during which the city was surrounded and occupied by Vandals, a fact that is demonstrated by the appearance of temples dedicated to their gods. The arrival of the Byzantines inaugurated a new period of splendor, in 647, the fields before the city were the site of a major battle between the Byzantines and Berbers of Gregory the Patrician and the Rashidun Caliphates governor of Egypt, Abdullah ibn Saad. The Battle of Sufetula ended in a decisive Muslim victory, which shook Byzantine control over the region, the caliph at the time of the battle was Uthman ibn Affan, who set the army under the leadership of Abdullah ibn Saad. At his arrival to Barqa, Uqba ibn Nafi and his troops joined the main army, the battle was long and hard, and Caliph Uthman sent reinforcement under the leadership of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. The three leaders prepared a new plan and they finally succeeded in taking Sufetula. The Muslim conquest marked the end of the diocese of Sufetula, Sbeitla is located in western central Tunisia. By road it is 33 kilometres north-east of Kasserine,246 kilometres south-west of Tunis, the city is known by its semi-arid climate. Thanks to the well preserved archaeological site with its prestigious Roman forum, an annual festival is organised in the forum. The archaeological museum of Sbeitla houses several sculptures and mosaics and it consists of three exhibition rooms, the first one is about the Capsian culture, the second about the rest of Dionysus empire, and the third contains two mosaics. Since 2000, the city holds her Spring International festival each year, it is a celebration where many famous actors like Mahmoud Yacine. The city celebrates also its international festival named also festival abadelah of Sbeitla and it was founded in 2000, and it became international in 2013. The economy of Sbeitla relays on handicraft, agricultural and petroleum production managed by ETAP in the oil field of Douleb, the city is surrounded by a large field of agriculture of olive, almond and animal husbandry. It contains 919 shallow wells,137 deep wells, a mountain lake, the Oil field of Douleb is one of the fields explored by ETAP, since April 12,1968 and it produces 230000 barrels\year
Sbeitla
–
Arch of Diocletian
Sbeitla
Sbeitla
–
Tunisian brnous
49.
Tunisia
–
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa, covering 165,000 square kilometres. Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is the northernmost point on the African continent and it is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisias population was estimated to be just under 11 million in 2014, Tunisias name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, which is located on Tunisias northeast coast. Geographically, Tunisia contains the end of the Atlas Mountains. Much of the rest of the land is fertile soil. Tunisia is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic and it is considered to be the only full democracy in the Arab World. It has a human development index. In addition, Tunisia is also a state of the United Nations. Close relations with Europe – in particular with France and with Italy – have been forged through economic cooperation, privatisation, in ancient times, Tunisia was primarily inhabited by Berbers. Phoenician immigration began in the 12th century BC, these immigrants founded Carthage, a major mercantile power and a military rival of the Roman Republic, Carthage was defeated by the Romans in 146 BC. The Romans, who would occupy Tunisia for most of the eight hundred years, introduced Christianity. After several attempts starting in 647, the Arabs conquered the whole of Tunisia by 697, the Ottomans held sway for over three hundred years. The French colonization of Tunisia occurred in 1881, Tunisia gained independence with Habib Bourguiba and declared the Tunisian Republic in 1957. In 2011, the Tunisian Revolution resulted in the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country voted for parliament again on 26 October 2014, and for President on 23 November 2014. The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis, an urban hub. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, the French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages remained untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с and Spanish Túnez, in this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference. The name Tunis can be attributed to different origins and it is generally associated with the Berber root ⵜⵏⵙ, transcribed tns, which means to lay down or encampment
Tunisia
–
Ancient ruins of a
Roman villa at
Carthage
Tunisia
–
Flag
Tunisia
–
The Roman amphitheater in
El Djem, built during the first half of the 3rd century AD
Tunisia
–
Domes of the
Great Mosque of Kairouan. Founded in 670, it dates in its present form largely from the Aghlabid period (9th century). It is the oldest mosque in the
Maghreb.
50.
Roman Baths (Bath)
–
The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing, the Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features, the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House, the buildings above street level date from the 19th century. The Baths are a major tourist attraction and, together with the Grand Pump Room and it was featured on the 2005 TV program Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the West Country. Visitors can see the Baths and Museum but cannot enter the water, an audio guide is available in 12 languages. The water which bubbles up from the ground at Bath falls as rain on the nearby Mendip Hills and it percolates down through limestone aquifers to a depth of between 2,700 and 4,300 metres where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 69 and 96 °C. Under pressure, the water rises to the surface along fissures. This process is similar to a one known as Enhanced Geothermal System which also makes use of the high pressures and temperatures below the Earths crust. Hot water at a temperature of 46 °C rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 litres every day, in 1983 a new spa water bore-hole was sunk, providing a clean and safe supply of spa water for drinking in the Pump Room. The first shrine at the site of the hot springs was built by Celts, and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his largely fictional Historia Regum Britanniae describes how in 836 BC the spring was discovered by the British king Bladud who built the first Moorish baths. The name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, the temple was constructed in 60-70 AD and the bathing complex was gradually built up over the next 300 years. In the 2nd century it was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted building, and included the caldarium, tepidarium, after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the first decade of the 5th century, these fell into disrepair and were eventually lost due to silting up, and flooding. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggests the original Roman baths were destroyed in the 6th century, about 130 curse tablets have been found. Many of the related to thefts of clothes whilst the victim was bathing. The spring is now housed in 18th-century buildings, designed by architects John Wood, the Elder and John Wood, visitors drank the waters in the Grand Pump Room, a neo-classical salon which remains in use, both for taking the waters and for social functions. Victorian expansion of the baths complex followed the tradition established by the Woods. In 1810 the Hot Springs failed and William Smith opened up the Hot Bath Spring to the bottom, Smith restored the water to its original course and the Baths filled in less time than formerly
Roman Baths (Bath)
–
The entrance to the Roman Baths
Roman Baths (Bath)
–
Roman Baths, as without any new architectural elements
Roman Baths (Bath)
–
The statue of King
Bladud overlooking the King's Bath carries the date of 1699, but its inclusion in earlier pictures shows that it is much older than this.
Roman Baths (Bath)
–
The Great Bath — the entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is a later construction.
51.
Pompey
–
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, usually known in English as Pompey /ˈpɒmpiː/ or Pompey the Great, was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and his father had been the first to establish the family among the Roman nobility, Pompeys immense success as a general while still very young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office. His success as a commander in Sullas Second Civil War resulted in Sulla bestowing the nickname Magnus. He was consul three times and celebrated three triumphs, after the deaths of Julia and Crassus, Pompey sided with the optimates, the conservative faction of the Roman Senate. Pompey and Caesar then contended for the leadership of the Roman state, when Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, he sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated. His career and defeat are significant in Romes subsequent transformation from Republic to Empire, Pompeys family first gained the position of Consul in 141 BC. Pompeys father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, was an equestrian from Picenum. He fought the Social War against Romes Italian allies and he supported Sulla, who belonged to the optimates, the pro-aristocracy faction, against Marius, who belonged to the populares, in Sullas first civil war. He died during the siege of Rome by the Marians in 87 BC, either as a casualty of an epidemic and his twenty-year-old son Pompey inherited his estates, and the loyalty of his legions. Pompey had served two years under his fathers command, and had participated in the part of the Social War. When his father died, Pompey was put on due to accusations that his father stole public property. As his father’s heir Pompey could be held to account and he discovered that this was committed by one of his fathers freedmen. Following his preliminary bouts with his accuser, the took a liking to Pompey and offered his daughter. Another civil war broke out between the Marians and Sulla, Cassius Dio added that Pompey had sent a detachment to pursue him, but he outstripped them by crossing the River Phasis. He reached the Maeotis and stayed in the Cimmerian Bosporus and he had his son Machares, who ruled it and gone over to the Romans, killed and recovered that country. Meanwhile, Pompey set up a colony for his soldiers at Nicopolitans in Cappadocia, in Plutarchs account Pompey was invited to invade Armenia by Tigranes’ son, who rebelled against his father. The two men received the submission of several towns, when they got close Artaxata Tigranes, knowing Pompey’s leniency, surrendered and allowed a Roman garrison in his palace. Pompey offered the restitution of the Armenian territories in Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia, Galatia and he demanded an indemnity and ruled that the son should be king of Sophene
Pompey
–
Pompey the Great in middle age,
marble bust in the
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek,
Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Pompey
–
Roman statue of Pompey, at the Villa Arconati a Castellazzo di Bollate (Milan, Italy). It was brought there from Rome in 1627 by Galeazzo Arconati.
Pompey
–
Bust of Pompey in the
Residenz, Munich
Pompey
–
Pompey
52.
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
–
Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major churches of the Roman Catholic Order of Preachers in Rome, Italy. The church is located in Piazza della Minerva one block behind the Pantheon in the Pigna rione of Rome within the ancient district known as the Campus Martius, the present church and disposition of surrounding structures is visible in a detail from the Nolli Map of 1748. While many other churches in Rome have been given Baroque makeovers that cover Gothic structures. The church and adjoining convent served at times throughout its history as the Dominican Orders headquarters. Today the headquarters have been re-established in their location at the Roman convent of Santa Sabina. Details of the temple to Minerva are not known but recent investigations indicate that a small round Minervium once stood a little further to east on the Piazza of the Collegio Romano. In 1665 an Egyptian obelisk was found, buried in the garden of the Dominican cloister adjacent to the church, there are other Roman survivals in the crypt. The structure he commissioned has disappeared, in 1255 Pope Alexander IV established a community of converted women on the site. A decade later this community was transferred to the Roman Church of San Pancrazio thereby allowing the Dominicans to establish a convent of friars, the Friars were on site beginning in 1266 but took official possession of the Church in 1275. The ensemble of buildings that formed around the church and convent came to be known as the insula sapientae or insula dominicana, the Dominicans began building the present Gothic church in 1280 modelling it on their church in Florence Santa Maria Novella. Architectural plans were drawn up during the pontificate of Nicholas III by two Dominican friars, Fra Sisto Fiorentino and Fra Ristoro da Campi. With the help of funds contributed by Boniface VIII and the faithful the side aisles were completed in the 14th century. In 1453 church interior construction was completed when Cardinal Juan Torquemada ordered that the main nave be covered by a vault that reduced the overall projected height of the church. In the same year of 1453 Count Francesco Orsini sponsored the construction of the façade at his own expense, however work on the façade remained incomplete until 1725 when it was finally finished by order of Pope Benedict XIII. In 1431, the Church and the adjacent Convent of the Dominicans was the site of a Papal conclave. The city of Rome was in an uproar upon the death of Pope Martin V, whose family had dominated Roman political life for fifteen years, and enriched themselves on the wealth of the Church. The Sacristy of the Church served as the hall for the fourteen cardinals who attended the Conclave. The dormitory of the monks in the Convent to the north of the Church, served as the living quarters for the cardinals and their refectory
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
–
Santa Maria sopra Minerva façade by
Carlo Maderno
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
–
Santa Maria sopra Minerva interior
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
–
The Pulcino della Minerva, the famous elephant sculpture by
Bernini and
Ercole Ferrata, making the base of one of Rome's eleven Egyptian obelisks.
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
–
Carafa chapel in 2010
53.
Artisan
–
Artisans practice a craft and may through experience and aptitude reach the expressive levels of an artist. The adjective artisanal is sometimes used in describing hand-processing in what is viewed as an industrial process. Thus, artisanal is sometimes used in marketing and advertising as a word to describe or imply some relation with the crafting of handmade food products, such as bread. Many of these have traditionally been handmade, rural or pastoral goods but are now commonly made on a larger scale with automated mechanization in factories. Artisans were the dominant producers of products prior to the Industrial Revolution. In ancient Greece, artisans were drawn to agoras and often built workshops nearby, during the Middle Ages, the term artisan was applied to those who made things or provided services. It did not apply to unskilled manual labourers, Artisans were divided into two distinct groups, those who operated their own businesses and those who did not. Those who owned their businesses were called masters, while the latter were the journeymen, one misunderstanding many people have about this social group is that they picture them as workers in the modern sense, employed by someone. The most influential group among the artisans were the masters, the business owners, the owners enjoyed a higher social status in their communities. Shokunin is a Japanese word for artisan or craftsman, which implies a pride in ones own work. In the words of shokunin Tashio Odate, Shokunin means not only having technical skill, a social obligation to work his best for the general welfare of the people, obligation both material and spiritual. Applied art Artist Arts and Crafts movement Caste — Tarkhan Guild Handicraft The dictionary definition of artisan at Wiktionary History of Artisans
Artisan
–
Glassblowing artisans at work in a
crystal glass workshop
Artisan
–
Craftsman of salt in Salinas Grandes,
Salta province (
Argentina)
Artisan
–
An artist blacksmith and a striker working as one
Artisan
–
Wood carver in Bali
54.
Auloi
–
An aulos or tibia was an ancient Greek wind instrument, depicted often in art and also attested by archaeology. An aulete was the musician who performed on an aulos, the ancient Roman equivalent was the tibicen, from the Latin tibia, pipe, aulos. There were several kinds of aulos, single or double, the most common variety was a reed instrument. Archeological finds, surviving iconography and other evidence indicate that it was double-reeded, like the modern oboe, a single pipe without a reed was called the monaulos. A single pipe held horizontally, as the flute, was the plagiaulos. A pipe with a bag to allow for sound, that is a bagpipe, was the askaulos. Like the Great Highland Bagpipe, the aulos has been used for martial music and it was the standard accompaniment of the passionate elegiac poetry. It also accompanied physical activities such as wrestling matches, the broad jump, plato associates it with the ecstatic cults of Dionysus and the Korybantes, banning it from his Republic but reintroducing it in Laws. It appears that some variants of the instrument were loud, shrill, sometimes a second strap was used over the top of the head to prevent the phorbeiá from slipping down. Aulos players are depicted with puffed cheeks. The playing technique almost certainly made use of breathing, very much like the Sardinian launeddas and Armenian duduk. Nevertheless, such musicians could achieve fame, the Romano-Greek writer Lucian discusses aulos playing in his dialogue Harmonides, in which Alexander the Greats aulete Timotheus discusses fame with his pupil Harmonides. Timotheus advises him to impress the experts within his profession rather than seek popular approval in big public venues, if leading musicians admire him, popular approval will follow. However, Lucian reports that Harmonides died from excessive blowing during practicing, in myth, Marsyas the satyr was supposed to have invented the aulos, or else picked it up after Athena had thrown it away because it caused her cheeks to puff out and ruined her beauty. But Apollo and his lyre beat Marsyas and his aulos, and since the pure lord of Delphis mind worked in different ways from Marsyass, he celebrated his victory by stringing his opponent up from a tree and flaying him alive. King Midas was cursed with donkeys ears for judging Apollo as the lesser player, Marsyass blood and the tears of the Muses formed the river Marsyas in Asia Minor. This tale was a warning against committing the sin of hubris, or overweening pride, some of this is a result of 19th century AD classical interpretation, i. e. Apollo versus Dionysus, or Reason opposed to Madness. In the temple to Apollo at Delphi, there was also a shrine to Dionysus, and his Maenads are shown on drinking cups playing the aulos, so a modern interpretation can be a little more complicated than just simple duality
Auloi
–
Aulos
Auloi
–
Drawing of a plagiaulos.
Auloi
–
The competition between Marsyas and Apollo on a Roman
sarcophagus (290–300)
Auloi
–
Theatrical scene from a
Pompeiian mosaic showing a masked performer with an aulos and two goatskin-wearing actors
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "article name needed". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. See page 1090
The dictionary definition of Minerva at Wiktionary
Media related to Minerva at Wikimedia Commons
