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THE SPIRITS OF ANCIENT ROME
Jul. 9th, 2022 11:20 amFor the Romans, the world was full of spirits. Because they lived in a numinous world, Numina (spirits) could be found in growing crops or in the act of traveling. Moreover, places and things had their native spirit. In addition, the Romans regarded values such as “victory” as being numinous.
The Spirits of the Place were the Genius Loci. The Lares Compitales presided over crossroads, while the Lares Viales guarded the roads. Where the roads met, Roman erected altars to these Lares. Altars found alongside the road were for their offerings requesting safe travels.
In the home, the Lares Familiaris (Spirits of the Family) guarded the family. Meanwhile, everyone had a Genius (Juno for women) who was their guardian spirit. (The Genius of the Paterfamilias (Head of the Household) took the form of a snake in the home.) The Penates watched over the food stores of the home.
The family endeavored to ensure that the Lares and Penates remained content. A home where They were honored was a family that thrived. If the Lares were ignored, the family suffered. For example, offerings were made to the Penates to keep the pantry full. At the main altar (called the Lararium), the family made twice daily offerings to the Lares. Also, any food that fell on the floor during a meal was given to the Lares.
Since the main door protected the sanctity of the home, several Deities governed its parts. Janus was the God of the Threshold. Cardea governed the hinges, while Forculus watched over the physical door.
The Dead also interacted with the living. The classes of the Dead were di Parentes (the Ancestors), di Manes (the ordinary Dead) and the Lemures (and the Larvae), who were the unquiet Dead. Each group had special festivals when They were honored. February was when the Ancestors and ordinary Dead were given attention and offerings. The Romans wanted to be on good relations with these Dead since They guided the fortunes of the family.
In May, during the Lemuria, the Larvae sought families to haunt. At that time, the head of the household would walk around the home spitting black beans into corners. They did this nine times. Each time, they would chant, “With these beans, I redeem me and mine.” Meanwhile the rest of the family would bang on pots shouting, “Paternal ghosts, get out!”
The Romans sought to keep the Larvae and Lemures away from the family. The black beans were offered as a substitute for souls that the Larvae wanted. Also, the family would leave food offerings on broken dishes at the edge of their property. They did not want to offend the Lemures, but did want Them to leave. The broken dishes were so that the Lemures got the subtle message to leave.
The closest spirit in modern Western society to the Lares would be the Guardian Angel. In fact, Angels are one of the few spiritual entities that modern people still interact with. In the classes of Angels, Guardian Angels are the lowest and are assigned to take care of minor things.
According to Christianity, everyone has a Guardian Angel who has chosen them. This Being watched over a person from birth and kept them from harm. Guardian Angels would guide people in making good moral choices, so that the person could go to heaven. Then the Angels would advocate on their behalf to God so the person could can enter heaven. To honor the Angel, a person would surround themselves with depictions of angels. They would also learn more about the Angel and pray for them. Traditional practices for interacting with Angels would include prayer, fasting or meditating on angel images.
The Saints of Roman Catholicism would be similar to di Parentes. People often pray to Them for help. A person would light candles and ask a Saint to watch over them. Saint Jude is popular since he is the Saint of Lost Causes. Besides praying and lighting candles, people would wear medallions of various Saints for further protection. People would say charms (i.e. spells) to them such as the invocation to St. Apollonia to cure toothaches. Other charms would invoke St. John to heal a child’s burns.
Works Cited:
Adkins, Lesley and Roy Adkins, “Dictionary of Roman Religion.” Oxford University Press: New York. 1996.
Greer, John Michael, “The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.” Llewellyn: Woodbury (MN). 2003.
Lecouteux, Claude, “Demons and Spirits of the Land.” Translated by Jon Graham. Inner Traditions: Rochester (VT). 2015.
—, The Return of the Dead.” Translated by Jon Graham. Inner Traditions: Rochester (VT). 2009.
—, “The Tradition of Household Spirits.” Translated by Jon Graham. Inner Traditions: Rochester (VT). 2013.
Mark, Joshua J. “Roman Household Spirits: Manes, Panes and Lares,” World History Encyclopedia. 28 Oct 2019. Web. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/34/roman-household-spirits-manes-panes-and-lares/, .
Scheid, John, “An Introduction to Roman Religion.” Translated by Janet Lloyd. Indiana University Press: Bloomington. 2003.
Turcan, Robert, “The Gods of Ancient Rome.” Translated by Antonia Neville. Rutledge: New York. 2001.
