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