ARTISTIC EVIDENCE FOR THE ROMAN DOMESTIC CULT

We have been moving around within a Roman house, have looked at the painted walls and the mosaic floors, have been admiring the garden sculpture and the art collection of the dominus, and have been drinking out of silver cups teaching us mythology, while some dim light was shed by relief-decorated lamps; but so far we have left aside one kind of straightforward evidence for domestic religion, namely the household gods and their shrines. For a first impression we can again go back to Petronius. When Encolpius and Ascyltos entered Trimalchio’s house, they “saw a large cupboard containing silver Lares and a marble image of Venus” (Petronius 29.8). Later on, after a few courses, the statuettes of the Lares – certainly the ones mentioned before – were put on the table and a bowl of wine was carried round, followed by the blessing dii propitii (“May the gods be gracious unto us!”) (Petronius 60.8–9). While this last scene probably does not correspond to daily practice – other authors speak of the daily sacrifice to be performed near the fireplace (Fröhlich 1991: 22–7) – the archaeological evidence confirms the existence of household shrines and gives an insight into various other aspects of religious activity in the house, especially in the case of the cities buried by Vesuvius (Boyce 1937; Orr 1978; Fröhlich 1991).

The media closely related to the domestic cult were paintings and statuettes. There is a marked difference in attitude and pretension between the mythological paintings in the rooms open to visitors and lararium paintings installed in service areas, although they were often done by the same painters (Fröhlich 1991: 93–106; Wallace-Hadrill 1994: 38–44). Lararium paintings often follow a rather strict pattern with a defined number and type of elements, as is shown for instance at the House of the Vettii (VI 15.1): the central figure of the togate Genius, the living spirit of the pater familias, is framed by the Lares, two dancing youths holding each a rhyton of wine; below there is a huge serpent to which most likely a protecting and evil-averting function was attributed (Boyce 1937: 54 no. 211; Fröhlich 1991: 279 L70). Thus, the scene is not at all tied up with traditional mythology but is entirely Roman: the Genius takes on the type of a Roman priest whereas the Lares seem to be a genuine Roman invention, influenced by neo-Attic types like the calathiscos dancers.

The main features of the imperial domestic cult go back to the reform of the cult of the Compitales initiated by Augustus in 7 bc. Each of the 265 city districts (vici) was allotted a Compital shrine for which members of the collegia compitalicia were held responsible, slaves acting as ministri and freedmen as magistri. The central cult figures were statuettes of the Lares and the Genius, as is documented on several official monuments in Rome; at the same time, they referred to the emperor himself by transmitting the idea of the imperial cult and thus ensured loyalty toward the emperor (Hölscher 1988: 390–400; Zanker 1987: 132–40).

An equally important role was assigned to slaves on the domestic level inasmuch as they had their own household shrines centered on the Lares and the Genius. Still, in the Vesuvian cities interesting differentiations according to social levels can be observed, as Thomas Fröhlich pointed out (Fröhlich 1991: 28–48). In the servants’ quarters the domestic shrine consisted, as in the House of the Vettii, of a painted representation of the Lares and the Genius, eventually enlarged with some cult assistants, whereas in the area of the dominus the main focus was on three-dimensional figures of the Lares, the Genius, and other gods, called Penates, according to his own preferences.

While the servants’ household shrines all appear to be restricted to the Lares and the Genius, there seem to be hardly any rules as far as the lararia in the reception rooms are concerned. Thus, for instance, in the so-called House of a Priest (V 4.3) the household shrine of the dominus installed in the atrium consisted of a niche framed by eight painted gods – Bacchus, Venus Pompeiana with Cupid, Fortuna, Jupiter, Mercury, Victoria, Hercules, and Minerva – while the statuettes originally put up in the niche were, at the moment of the volcanic eruption, being stored away in a cupboard of the adjoining room. There were a pair of Lares, a Genius (all three of bronze), a marble Venus, and three amber figurines: Cupid, a seated woman, and a hippopotamus (Boyce 1937: 39–40, no. 118; Adamo Muscettola 1984: 26; Fröhlich 1991: 271–2, L 52; Kaufmann-Heinimann 1998: 218, GFV 23). Of course, we do not know whether all the components of this inventory had really been placed in the aedicula, but it is not the only case where items which to our understanding do not have any religious connotation are to be found in such a context. In any case we must not forget the whole field of amulets and superstition undoubtedly present in the house, too.

Some slightly different evidence is preserved in the House of the Red Walls (VIII 5.37), where, on the rear wall of the aedicula installed in the atrium, the Genius and the Lares are painted, whereas six bronze statuettes were set up: a pair of Lares, two different statuettes of Mercury, Apollo, and Hercules (Boyce 1937: 77 no. 371; Adamo Muscettola 1984: 15–20; Fröhlich 1991: 291–2 L 96; Kaufmann-Heinimann 1998: 222 GFV 37; fig. 14.5). The group illustrates some features common to many other lararium groups: there is no unity of size, style, or number within one specific ensemble. Actually this is not surprising if we take into account that household shrines existed over generations. Old, venerable statuettes were preserved and new ones added, according to the house-owner’s needs and preferences.

If the lararium paintings displayed in the servants’ quarters always refer to their religious function, things are different with regard to sculptural works like statuettes. A statuette could be of value as a work of art – if we remember for instance Novius Vindex and his art collection – and as a cult object. Moreover, the fact that smallscale sculpture was movable must not be underestimated; several authors mention the talisman-like function of statuettes (Plut. Sulla 29.6; Amm. 22.13.3; Apul. Apol. 63.2).

It is not surprising that, when looking for evidence of the domestic cult outside the Vesuvian cities, hardly any in situ evidence is to be found. Still, isolated imported statuettes found in early Roman camps, and groups of statuettes often preserved in the latest destruction layers of a Roman provincial town, suggest that the domestic cult was brought by the Roman army to the provinces and spread through local society. However, the social differentiation met with in Pompeii has not been found outside Italy so far; this may be due to the generally rather poor state of preservation of paintings (Kaufmann-Heinimann 1998: 186–95).

The domestic cult in the shape given by Augustus must have been extremely popular mainly during the first century ad, as an enormous quantity of bronze statuettes of the Lares, presumably made at this time, are to be found nearly all over the empire. In the later centuries they maintained their important position within the domestic cult, which explains why a Theodosian edict of ad 392 explicitly prohibited secret veneration of the Lares, the Genius, and the Penates (CTh 16.10.12).

In "A Companion to Roman Religion",  edited by Jörg Rüpke, Blackwell Publishing,USA, 2007, excerpts 197-201. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

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