Religion, Death and Burial in
Pompeii and Herculaneum
Religion at a GlanceState Religion
Cults
Household Religion
Tombs
State ReligionPompeii
HerculaneumMany references to the Capitoline
Temple, but as yet uncovered.
Temple of the Capitoline Trio
Temple of Apollo Doric Temple in the Triangular Forum
CultsPompeii
Herculaeum
Dionysis/Bacchus templeFrescoes in the Villa of Mysteries
Cult of the Imperial Genius - Shrine of Augustales
Temple of Fortuna AugustaTemple of the Genius Augusti Temple of Isis
Temple of Venus
Temple of Asclepius
Pompeii
Herculaeneum
Temple of the Lares Publici, built after the 62AD Earthquake
Significant evidence for the worship of Lares (household protector spirits) Penates (spirits of the pantry) Genius (spirit of the family) in all large houses in Pompeii as well as shops and public spaces.
Extensive evidence for the worship of the Lares and associated gods in a variety of large houses. No evidence to suggest a significant public space to the Lares as in Pompeii.
“The rituals practiced before the shrine demonstrated the reliance of the familia in its maintanence and continuity. The shrine bound the Roman family to its past, protected its present and provided for its future”. Jashemski
Lararium from the House of Julius Polybius, Pompeii
Kitchen Lararium from the House of the Faun, Pompeii
Freestanding lararium in the peristyle of the House of the Dioscuri, Pompeii
LARARIUM-HOUSEHOLD RELIGIONThe genius, which guaranteed many children for the family was always shown as a priest with covered head and holding a drinking horn
Snakes represented other guardian spirits. They also represent the renewal of the life of the ancestors
“The most sacred, the most hallowed place on earth is the home of each and every citizen. There are his sacred hearth and his household gods, there the very centre of his worship, religion and domestic ritual.” Cicero
The penates protected the food supply and looked just like the lares. Together with Vesta they represented the material prosperity of the household
The Lares or spirit protectors of the house were shown as young dancing men in short tunics, who held a drinking horn(rhyton) in one hand and a plate ( patera ) in another
Necropolis near Porta Nucera
Romans believed that the deceased entered into a shadowy existence in the underworld after death. The dead who were happy were those who had made the successful transition from the land of the living to the land of the dead. They joined the manes, the spirits of the dead
Attitudes to death• In Petronius’s Satyricon
Trimalchio says” Man’s life alas is but a span, so let us live while we can. We’ll be like this when dead ( silver skeleton thrown on the table )
• Romans had no clear concept of life after death but numerous graffiti urge the people to live life to the full.
• “Learn this well: while I am alive, you are my enemy, Death”
Examples of elaborate Tombs
Tomb of Mammia& Altar Tomb of NaevoleiaTyche
Tomb of Vestorius Priscus ( Herculaneum)
Tombs as a reflection of Status• Many of the earlier tombs had a box-like shape, featuring decorative
concrete ornamentation on the outside and elaborate wall paintings and funerary offerings on the inside (Grant 57).
• However, in The Age of Augustus, a different kind of tomb, shaped like a semicircular bench, came into fashion. This style of monument was only built for the very highest social tier of Pompeian society. Many of those that have been found are located within the sacred zone around the perimiter of the city, called the pomerium, an area that the town council only allotted to those people considered to be deserving of great prestige and privilege (Zanker 122-123).
• This new type of tomb fit well with Augustan ideals, as it did not mearly honor the deceased but also provided an amenity for the town.
• Tombs as a reflection of StatusArchaeologists have interpreted the worn steps of these monuments to mean that travelers as well as citizens of Pompeii used these benches often as places to sit and to rest (Zanker 124).