power of love extended even to the realms of death.
Her temple in Rome, which was erected by Servius Tullius, contained all the
requisites for funerals, and these could either be bought or hired there. A
register of all deaths which occurred in the city of Rome was kept in {184}
this temple, and in order to ascertain the rate of mortality, a piece of
money was paid by command of Servius Tullius, on the demise of each person.
LAVERNA.
Laverna was the presiding goddess of thieves, and of all artifice and
fraud. There was an altar erected to her near the Porta Lavernalis, which
was called after her, and she possessed a sacred grove on the Via Salavia.
COMUS.
Comus was the presiding genius of banquets, festive scenes, revelry, and
all joyous pleasures and reckless gaiety.
He is represented as a young man crowned with flowers, his face heated and
flushed with wine, leaning against a post in a half-sleepy and drunken
attitude, with a torch falling from his hand.
THE CAMENÆ.
The Camenæ were prophetic nymphs held in high veneration by the ancient
Italians. They were four in number, the best known of whom are Carmenta and
Egeria.
Carmenta was celebrated as being the mother of Evander, who led an Arcadian
colony into Italy, and founded a town on the river Tiber, which became
afterwards incorporated with the city of Rome. Evander is said to have been
the first who introduced Greek art and civilization into Italy, and also
the worship of Greek divinities.
A temple was erected to Carmenta on the Capitoline Hill, and a festival,
called the Carmentalia, was celebrated in her honour on the 11th of
January.
Egeria is said to have initiated Numa Pompilius in the forms of religious
worship, which he introduced among his people. She was regarded as the
giver of {185} life, and was therefore invoked by women before the birth of
their children.
The Camenæ are frequently identified by Roman writers with the Muses.
GENII.
A comforting and assuring belief existed among the Romans, that each
individual was accompanied through life, from the hour of his birth to that
of his death, by a protecting spirit, called his genius, who prompted him
to good and noble deeds, and acted towards him as a guardian angel,
comforting him in sorrow, and guiding him throughout his earthly career.
In the course of time a second genius was believed to exist, of an evil
nature, who, as the instigator of all wrong-doing, was ever at war with the
beneficent genius; and on the issue of the conflict between these
antagonistic influences, depended the fate of the individual. The genii
were depicted as winged beings, greatly resembling our modern
representations of guardian angels.
Every state, town, or city, (as well as every man), possessed its special
genius. The sacrifices to the genii consisted of wine, cakes, and incense,
which were offered to them on birthdays.
The genius which guided a woman was called, after the queen of heaven,
Juno.
Among the Greeks, beings called Dæmons were regarded as exercising similar
functions to those of the Roman genii. They were believed to be the spirits
of the righteous race which existed in the Golden Age, who watched over
mankind, carrying their prayers to the gods, and the gifts of the gods to
them.
MANES.
LEMURES (LARVÆ) AND LARES.
The Manes were the spirits of the departed, and were of two kinds, viz.,
Lemures (or Larvæ) and Lares. {186}
The Lemures were those Manes who haunted their former abodes on earth as
evil spirits, appearing at night under awful forms and hideous shapes,
greatly to the alarm of their friends and relatives.
They were so feared
that a festival, called the Lemuralia, was celebrated in order to
propitiate them.
It appears extremely probable that the superstitions with regard to ghosts,
haunted houses, &c., which exist even at the present day, owe their origin
to this very ancient pagan source.
The Lares Familiares were a much more pleasing conception. They were the
spirits of the ancestors of each family, who exercised after death a
protecting power over the well-being and prosperity of the family to which
they had in life belonged. The place of honour beside the hearth was
occupied by the statue of the Lar of the house, who was supposed to have
been the founder of the family. This statue was the object of profound
veneration, and was honoured on all occasions by every member of the
family; a portion of each meal was laid before it, and it was believed to
take an active part in all family affairs and domestic events, whether of a
sad or joyful nature. Before starting on any expedition the master of the
house saluted the statue of the Lar, and, on his return, a solemn
thanksgiving was offered to this, the presiding deity of his hearth and
home, in grateful acknowledgment of his protection; whereupon the statue
was crowned with garlands of flowers, these being the favourite offerings
to the Lares on all occasions of especial family rejoicing.
The first act of a bride on entering her new abode was to do homage to the
Lar, in the belief that he would exercise over her a protecting influence
and shield her from evil.
In addition to those above enumerated there were also public Lares, who
were guardians of the state, highroads, country, and sea. Their temples
were always open for any pious worshipper to enter, and on their altars
public sacrifices were offered for the welfare of the state or city. {187}
PENATES.
The Penates were deities selected by each family, and frequently by its
individual members, as a special protector. Various causes led to this
selection. If, for instance, a child were born on the festival of Vesta, it
was thought that that deity would henceforward act as its special guardian.
If a youth possessed great business talents he adopted Mercury as his
tutelary deity; should he, on the other hand, develop a passion for music,
Apollo was selected as his patron god, and so forth.
These became regarded
as the special divinities of the household, small images of them adorned
the surroundings of the hearth, and honours similar to those paid to the
Lares were accorded to them.
Just as there were public Lares so there were public Penates, which were
worshipped by the Roman people under the form of two youthful warriors,
who, in later times, were regarded as identical with Castor and Pollux.
They are generally represented on horseback, with conical caps on their
heads, and bearing long spears in their hands.
{188}
[Illustration]
PUBLIC WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND ROMANS.
TEMPLES.
In very remote times the Greeks had no shrines or sanctuaries devoted to
public worship, but performed their devotions beneath the vast and
boundless canopy of heaven, in the great temple of nature itself. Believing
that their divinities throned above the clouds, pious worshippers naturally
sought the highest available points, in order to place themselves in the
closest communion possible with their gods; hence the summits of high
mountains were selected for devotional purposes, and the more exalted the
rank and importance of the divinity invoked, the more elevated was the site
selected for his or her worship. But the inconvenience attending this mode
of worship gradually suggested the idea of erecting edifices which would
afford means of shelter from the inclemency of the weather.
These structures were, in the first instance, of the most simple form, and
without decoration; but when, with the progress of civilization, the Greeks
became a {189} wealthy and powerful people, temples were built and adorned
with the greatest splendour and magnificence, talent, labour, and wealth
being lavished unsparingly on their erection and decoration; indeed so
massively were they constructed, that some of them have, to a certain
extent, withstood the ravages of time. The city of Athens especially
contains numerous remains of these buildings of antiquity. On the Acropolis
we may still behold, among other monuments of ancient art, the temple of
Athene-Polias, and that of Theseus, the latter of which is the most entire
ancient edifice in the world. In the island of Delos, also, are to be seen
the ruins of the temples of Apollo and Artemis, both of which are in a
wonderful state of preservation. These ruins are most valuable, being
sufficiently complete to enable us to study, by their aid, the plan and
character of the original structure.
Among the Lacedæmonians, however, we find no vestiges of these stately
temples, for they were specially enjoined by a law of Lycurgus to serve the
gods with as little outlay as possible. When the great lawgiver was asked
the reason of this injunction, he replied that the Lacedæmonians, being a
poor nation, might otherwise abstain altogether from the observance of
their religious duties, and wisely added that magnificent edifices and
costly sacrifices were not so pleasing to the gods, as the true piety and
unfeigned devotion of their worshippers.
The most ancient temples known to us served a double purpose: they were not
only consecrated to the service of the gods, but were at the same time
venerable monuments in honour of the dead. Thus, for instance, the temple
of Pallas-Athene, in the tower of the city of Larissa, served as the
sepulchre of Acrisius, and the Acropolis at Athens received the ashes of
Cecrops, founder of the city.
A temple was frequently dedicated to two or more gods, and was always built
after the manner considered most acceptable to the particular divinities to
whom it was consecrated; for just as trees, birds, and animals of {190}
every description were held to be sacred to certain deities, so almost
every god had a form of building peculiar to himself, which was deemed more
acceptable to him than any other. Thus the Doric style of architecture was
sacred to Zeus, Ares, and Heracles; the Ionic to Apollo, Artemis, and
Dionysus; and the Corinthian to Hestia.
In the porch of the temple stood a vessel of stone or brass, containing
holy water (which had been consecrated by putting into it a burning torch,
taken from the altar), with which all those admitted to take part in the
sacrifices were besprinkled. In the inmost recess of the sanctuary was the
most holy place, into which none but the priests were suffered to enter.
Temples in the country were usually surrounded with groves of trees. The
solitude of these shady retreats naturally tended to inspire the worshipper
with awe and reverence, added to which the delightful shade and coolness
afforded by tall leafy trees is peculiarly grateful in hot countries.
Indeed so general did this custom of building temples in groves become,
that all places devoted to sacred purposes, even where no trees existed,
were called groves. That this practice must be of very remote antiquity is
proved by the Biblical injunction, having for its object the separation of
the Jews from all idolatrous practices: "Thou shalt not plant thee a grove
of trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God."
STATUES.
The Greeks worshipped their gods without any visible representations of
them until the time of Cecrops. The most ancient of these representations
consisted of square blocks of stone, upon which the name of the deity
intended to be represented was engraved. The first attempts at sculpture
were rude stocks, with a head at one end and a shapeless trunk at the
other, tapering slightly down to the feet, which, however, were not
divided, the limbs being in no way defined. But the artists of later times
devoted all their genius to the {191} successful production of the highest
ideals of their gods, some of which are preserved to this day, and are
regarded as examples of purest art.
On a pedestal in the centre of the edifice stood the statue of the divinity
to whom the temple was dedicated, surrounded by images of other gods, all
of which were fenced off by rails.
ALTARS.
The altar in a Greek temple, which stood in the centre of the building and
in front of the statue of the presiding deity, was generally of a circular
form, and constructed of stone. It was customary to engrave upon it the
name or distinguishing symbol of the divinity to whom it was dedicated; and
it was held so sacred that if any malefactor fled to it his life was safe
from his pursuers, and it was considered one of the greatest acts of
sacrilege to force him from this asylum.
The most ancient altars were adorned with horns, which in former times were
emblems of power and dignity, as wealth, and consequently importance,
consisted among most primitive nations in flocks and herds.
In addition to those erected in places of public worship, altars were
frequently raised in groves, on highways, or in the market-places of
cities.
The gods of the lower world had no altars whatever, ditches or trenches
being dug for the reception of the blood of the sacrifices offered to them.
PRIESTS.
In ancient times the priests were recognized as a special social caste, and
were distinguished not only by their sacerdotal vestments, but also by
their piety, wisdom, and blameless life. They were the chosen mediators
between gods and men, and offered prayers and sacrifices in the name of the
people, whom they also instructed as to what vows, gifts, and offerings
would be most acceptable to the gods.
{192}
Every deity had a different order of priests consecrated to his worship,
and in every place a high-priest was appointed, whose duty it was to
superintend the rest of his order, and also to carry out the more sacred
rites and religious observances.
Priests and priestesses were permitted to marry, but not a second time;
some, however, voluntarily adopted a life of celibacy.
SACRIFICES.
There is no doubt that a feeling of gratitude to the gods for their
protecting care, and the abundance with which they were believed to bless
mankind, has induced men of all nations and in all countries to feel a
desire to sacrifice to their divinities some portion of the gifts so
generously lavished upon them.
Among the Greeks, sacrifices were of various kinds. They consisted of
_free-will offerings_, _propitiatory offerings_, &c.
_Free-will offerings_ were grateful acknowledgments for benefits received,
and usually consisted of the first-fruits of the field, or the finest of
the flocks and herds, which were required to be without spot or blemish.
_Propitiatory offerings_ were brought with the object of appeasing the
anger of the gods.
In addition to those above enumerated, sacrifices were made, either with a
view of obtaining success in an enterprise about to be undertaken, or in
fulfilment of a vow, or at the command of an oracle.
Every sacrifice was accompanied by salt and also by a libation, which
usually consisted of wine, the cup being always filled to the brim,
indicating that the offering was made without stint.
When sacrificing to
the infernal gods the cup containing the libation was filled with blood.
The animals offered to the Olympian divinities were white, whilst those to
the gods of the lower world were black. When a man offered a special
sacrifice for himself or his family it partook of the nature of his {193}
occupation; thus a shepherd brought a sheep, a vine-grower his grapes, and
so forth. But in the case of public sacrifices, the supposed individuality
of the deity was always consulted. For instance, to Demeter a sow was
offered, because that animal is apt to root up the seed-corn; to Dionysus a
goat, on account of its being destructive to vineyards,
&c.
The value of offerings depended greatly upon the position of the
individual; it being regarded as a contempt of the gods for a rich man to
bring a sordid offering, whilst from a poor man the smallest oblation was
considered acceptable.
Hecatombs consisted of a hundred animals, and were offered by entire
communities, or by wealthy individuals who either desired, or had obtained
some special favour from the gods.
When a sacrifice was to be offered, a fire was kindled on the altar, into
which wine and frankincense were poured, in order to increase the flame. In
very ancient times, the victim was laid upon the altar and burned whole;
but after the time of Prometheus portions only of the shoulders, thighs,
entrails, &c., were sacrificed, the remainder becoming the perquisites of
the priests.
The officiating priests wore a crown composed of the leaves of the tree
sacred to the deity they invoked. Thus when sacrificing to Apollo the
crowns were of laurel; when to Heracles, of poplar. This practice of
wearing crowns was, at a later period, adopted by the general public at
banquets and other festivities.
On occasions of special solemnity the horns of the victim were overlaid
with gold, and the altars decked with flowers and sacred herbs.
The mode of conducting the sacrifices was as follows:--
All things being
prepared, a salt cake, the sacrificial knife, and the crowns, were placed
in a small basket, and carried to the sanctuary by a young maiden,
whereupon the victim was conducted into the temple, frequently to the
accompaniment of music. If a small animal, it was driven loose to the
altar; if a large one, it was led by a {194} long trailing rope, in order
to indicate that it was not an unwilling sacrifice.
When all were assembled, the priest, after walking in solemn state round
the altar, besprinkled it with a mixture of meal and holy water, after
which he also besprinkled the assembled worshippers, and exhorted them to
join with him in prayer. The service being ended, the priest first tasted
the libation, and after causing the congregation to do the like, poured the
remainder between the horns of the victim, after which frankincense was
strewn upon the altar, and a portion of the meal and water poured upon the
animal, which was then killed. If by any chance the victim escaped the
stroke, or became in any way restless, it was regarded as an evil omen; if,
on the contrary, it expired without a struggle, it was considered
auspicious.
At the sacrifices to the aërial divinities music was added, whilst dances
were performed round the altar, and sacred hymns sung.
These hymns were
generally composed in honour of the gods, and contained an account of their
famous actions, their clemency and beneficence, and the gifts conferred by
them on mankind. In conclusion, the gods were invoked for a continuance of
their favour, and when the service was ended a feast was held.
ORACLES.
The desire to penetrate the dark veil of futurity, and thereby to avert, if
possible, threatened danger, has animated mankind in all ages of the world.
Prophetic knowledge was sought by the Greeks at the mouth of oracles, whose
predictions were interpreted to the people by priests, specially appointed
for the purpose.
The most famous of these institutions was the oracle of Apollo at Delphi,
which was held in general repute all over the world.
People flocked from
far and near to consult this wonderful mouth-piece of the gods, one month
in the year being specially set apart for the purpose.
{195}
The priestess who delivered the oracles was called the Pythia, after the
serpent Python, which was killed by Apollo. Having first bathed in the
waters of the Castalian spring, she was conducted into the temple by the
priests, and was seated on a sort of three-legged stool or table, called a
tripod, which was placed over the mouth of a cave whence issued sulphurous
vapours. Here she gradually became affected in a remarkable manner, and
fell into an ecstatic condition, in which she uttered wild and
extraordinary phrases, which were held to be the utterance of Apollo
himself; these the priests interpreted to the people, but in most cases in
so ambiguous a manner that the fulfilment of the prediction could not
easily be disputed. During the ceremony, clouds of incense filled the
temple, and hid the priestess from the view of the uninitiated, and at its
conclusion she was reconducted, in a fainting condition, to her cell.
The following is a striking instance of the ambiguity of oracular
predictions:--Croesus, the rich king of Lydia, before going to war with
Cyrus, king of Persia, consulted an oracle as to the probable success of
the expedition. The reply he received was, that if he crossed a certain
river he would destroy a great empire. Interpreting the response as being
favourable to his design, Croesus crossed the river, and encountered the
Persian king, by whom he was entirely defeated; and his own empire being
destroyed, the prediction of the oracle was said to have been fulfilled.
SOOTHSAYERS (AUGURS).
In addition to the manifestation of the will of the gods by means of
oracles, the Greeks also believed that certain men, called soothsayers,
were gifted with the power of foretelling future events from dreams, from
observing the flight of birds, the entrails of sacrificed animals, and even
the direction of the flames and smoke from the altar,
&c. {196}
AUGURS.
The Roman soothsayers were called augurs, and played an important part in
the history of the Romans, as no enterprise was ever undertaken without
first consulting them with regard to its ultimate success.
FESTIVALS.
Festivals were instituted as seasons of rest, rejoicing, and thanksgiving,
and also as anniversaries to commemorate events of national importance. The
most ancient festivals were those held after the ingathering of the harvest
or vintage, and were celebrated with rejoicings and merry-makings, which
lasted many days, during which time the first-fruits of the fields were
offered to the gods, accompanied by prayers and thanksgiving.
The festivals held in cities in honour of special divinities, or in
commemoration of particular events, were conducted with an elaborate
ceremonial. Gorgeous processions, games, chariot races,
&c