#the roman ritual

[illustratus]

The Sacred Grove of the Druids, set design from Vincenzo Bellini's Opera ''Norma''

[sforzesco]

BALAK, PANGAGAD

uhhh conspiracy. can be a courtship dance. ritual. so to speak. & hosting one in your house is an act of service

[happygaytimes]

This is my Roman Empire

[thesilicontribesman]

Roman Child's Lead Coffin, Newport Museum and Galleries, Newport, Wales

[romespulse]

woof woof……

[nastyphoenix]

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Dir. Roman Polanski

[kindaorangey]

waitt okay... piecing things together. armand loved and idolised marius and so when marius was killed by the roman coven, it was obviously deeply traumatising for armand. i think it's very likely that marius was killed for betraying some coven rule, and so in armand's mind the trauma of losing marius and the gospel of the coven are inextricably linked - though it would make more sense for armand to come out the other end of marius' death rejecting the coven and its rules, he has instead come to associate one of the highest points of grief in his life with what happens when you break coven rules - that's why he sticks to the old rituals even as he personally disagrees with them, that's why he enforces coven rules in the theatre des vampires even though it always seems like his heart's not really in it. he's always following a pre-written script because of the twisted grief he feels for marius.

[blueiscoool]

These Bronze Statues Reveal Ancient Healing Rituals

Discovered in a dig at a thermal spring in Tuscany, Italy, the well-preserved items offer a glimpse into medical practices from the Etruscan and Roman eras.

An exhibition that opened Friday at Rome’s Quirinal Palace could be described as a classic rags-to-riches story.

Just ten months ago, many of the bronze statues now on show there — artfully spotlighted and captioned — were submerged in layers of thick mud in what had been a sacred pool of thermo-mineral water roughly halfway between Florence and Rome.

Their rediscovery last fall during an ongoing archaeological excavation in a field just below the Tuscan town of San Casciano dei Bagni made headlines around the world, propelling the bronzes — via a stint in Italy’s main restoration institute — to the rare honor of being exhibited at the presidential palace.

“It’s an extraordinary discovery,” Luigi La Rocca, the culture ministry official responsible for archaeology, fine arts and landscape, told reporters at the palace on Thursday, praising the variety of the bronzes, their quality and their high degree of conservation.

The artifacts — mostly dating from the second century B.C. to the first century A.D. — were votive offerings collected in the sacred pool of the so-called Bagno Grande, or “large bath,” part of a sanctuary that was in use in various forms for more than 700 years.

Lightning struck the building around the first century A.D., and following the Etruscan tradition of burying objects struck by lightning in a sacred place, the statues and other artifacts were concealed under a layer of terra-cotta tiles along with a bronze thunderbolt, a ritual called “fulgur conditum.”

Successive votive offerings, mostly bronze coins and plants, were deposited until Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D. Then, the sanctuary was dismantled, and its offerings were buried once again, which contributed to their remarkable conservation.

The dig that uncovered them began in 2019, but it was only in 2020 that the first artifacts — inscriptions, altars and small bronzes — began to emerge. Last year, the archaeologists dug further down into the sacred pool.

“We thought there could be something here, but nothing like what we found,” said Emanuele Mariotti, the director of the excavation, on a recent hot afternoon as he surveyed the site. “It was like a time capsule waiting to be opened,” he added.

The finds offer insights on ancient medical practices. The waters were considered curative by “Etruscans, Romans, Christians and Pagans,” Mariotti said. “This was a place of healing, meeting of cultures and medical knowledge.”

Many of the bronzes had inscriptions from the territory of Perugia, about 70 kilometers northeast of San Casciano, a considerable distance to travel more than 2,000 years ago. This shows “how complex and nuanced” cultural interaction was at the time, added Jacopo Tabolli, the scientific director of the dig and co-curator of the Quirinal show.

“Gods changed, but the water remained the same,” he added.

Some of the bronzes are still being restored, but many made it to the Quirinal for the exhibition. In one room, bronzes of arms, feet, ears and other body parts are on display, reflecting the various ailments that were treated at the thermal baths.

“These are unique,” Mariotti said, stopping in front of two bronze plaques showing what he said was a “very accurate” depiction of internal organs. Similar terra-cotta examples existed, he said, but bronze versions were hitherto unknown.

Other statues represented gods and goddesses, but also men, women and small children, wrapped in swaddling cloths. Some were sickly and in need of healing. Others appeared to have benefited from the cures.

The thermal springs are still used today for their therapeutic properties, both in the public baths near the archaeological site and at a private resort.

For San Casciano dei Bagni, a picturesque hilltop town, the ancient finds will hopefully bring new economic prospects, especially after the opening of a new museum in the city center.

Earlier this week, at a property deed transfer in Rome attended by various authorities, the culture ministry formally bought a palazzo in San Casciano dei Bagni from local clerics to house the museum (list price 670,000 euros, around $730,000) and Italy’s culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, pledged to contribute “additional resources.”

Massimo Osanna, the director of Italy’s state museums said Thursday that he hoped one section of the museum would be ready next year. “I’m an optimist,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tremendous opportunity,” said Agnese Carletti, the town’s mayor. Following on from previous administrations, Carletti’s council championed and funded the local archaeological excavations that led to the finds, offering room and board to archaeology students participating in the summer digs.

A new excavation begins next week, and Tabolli said that it would concentrate on expanding the archaeological site to better understand the context around the sacred pool. “We’ve reconstructed the structure of the sanctuary, but there is still much more to know about the overall site which must have been monumental,” he said.

Osanna said that more surprises could be in store. “We don’t know what else the sanctuary has to offer,” he said.

By Elisabetta Povoledo.

[eastvillagetripster]

Dead Head

Marble funerary altar of Roman matron, ca. A.D. 90-100, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, New York City.

[attack-on-tbr]

I can't believe Roman's plan to get the girl is to drag her onto early morning runs

[akajustmerry]

@basicallymayah on TikTok: local man is BEGGING to be dicked down #succession

[illustratus]

Pompa Circensis by Julio Borrell Pla

[im-fucking-baalin]

ice giso

[dianasson]

Another lovely Nemoralia; the first time I've celebrated on a blue moon. Clearly I'm a little behind on my posting.

It was lovely to see so many people spending time with the moon that night in their own personal ways.

🌕

🦌

🔥

[thesilicontribesman]

Roman Stamped Tile

When the graves at the Infirmary Field Roman Cemetery, Chester were excavated, some were found to have been covered over with roof tiles. Many of the tiles were stamped with the name of the 20th Legion - LEG XX.

Grosvenor Museum, Chester

[numinous-theo]

Evocatio (ritual)

How the ancient Romans would invite foreign deities into their pantheon

It is a distinguishing feature of Roman religion that it constantly incorporated new gods and goddesses. This was not necessarily the consequence of the Romans perceiving some inadequacy in their existing deities – the consequence of a simple search for a more ‘satisfying’ religious experience. It is better seen as a feature of the flexibility and adaptive capacity of an ‘open polytheism: new deities reflected Rome’s changing social, political and military circumstances; they responded to new manifestations and new interpretations of divine power.

The Ritual and its Significance

The Evocatio was a ritual practice in ancient Roman religion in which the Romans would ceremonially invite or "call out" the gods of an enemy city or territory to abandon their people and join the Roman side.

This practice was often performed during sieges or in the context of war, and it reflected the deep Roman belief in divine intervention in military matters.

By performing an evocatio, the Romans sought to neutralize the protective deities of their enemies, offering these gods a new sanctuary and worship within Rome, thus ensuring their favor in future Roman endeavors.

The evocatio was both a military and religious strategy, used to undermine the spiritual defenses of enemy cities and incorporate their divine protectors into the Roman pantheon.

Ritual Process

The evocatio began with the Roman general addressing the protective deity of the enemy city, often without knowing the specific name of the god. The general would invoke the deity with phrases such as: "Whoever you are, god or goddess who protects this city…" This ensured that the prayer would reach the correct divine figure, even if the Romans were unfamiliar with the precise name or nature of the god.

The general would then promise the deity better worship and offerings if they chose to abandon their current city and join the Roman side. The promise often included the construction of a new temple or altar in Rome where the god would be honored with sacrifices and festivals. This offer reflected the Roman strategy of incorporating foreign deities into their own religious system, granting them prestige and prominence within the Roman state religion.

To conclude the evocatio, a formal sacrifice was made to appease the deity and ensure that the ritual was conducted with proper reverence. The sacrificial act was an essential component of the ritual, as it provided the god with an offering in exchange for their favor and protection.

The process of Roman conquest often involved the Roman assimilation of the gods of the conquered people. One particular ceremony (known as evocatio, literally a ‘summoning away’) attempted to win over to the Roman side the protecting deity of an enemy city before the Romans had conquered. The Roman general would offer the enemy god a cult and temple in Rome – so depriving the enemy of their divine protection, while at the same time incorporating a new deity into the Roman pantheon.

Source:

Beard, M., North, J., & Price, S. (1998). Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook. Cambridge University Press

Chapter 2 | Deities of Rome

2.6 | The Incorporation of New Deities

2.6a | The ‘evocatio’ of Juno of Veii