A READER IN COMPARATIVE INDO-EUROPEAN MYTHOLOGY

ITALIC
In sharp contrast to the rich literary and epigraphic sources for the study of the Greek religion,
the early sources on Latin religion are very modest. A few fragments of the ancient cultic
songs, such as the famous Carmen Arvale and the Carmina Saliaria, and a handful of
inscriptions earlier than the 3rd century BC is all that is left before the Hellenistic period,
when the original Roman religion underwent a profound influence of the Greek religion. In
the second century BC, many cults from the Orient spread in Rome, and it took a formal
decision by the Senate to prohibit the orgiastic cult of Dionysus (Senatusconsultum de
Bacchanalibus, the text of which is preserved in full). It was Augustus who sought to restore
the original Roman piety in the late 1st century BC and in the early 1st century AD, and the
literary mythological works of Virgil (The Aeneid) and Ovid (especially The Metamorphoses)
should be viewed in the light of Augustus's refoms. Whatever ancient lore is preserved in
these works, we have to bear in mind that much of the mythology contained in them is an
artificial creation of their authors.
We have a fair idea about the ancient Roman piety from references made by classical authors
to sacrifices, priestly offices, and the organization of the temples; moreover, a number of
authentic prayers have been preserved, including famous Cato's prayer from De re rustica.
We also have a good knowledge about the ancient Roman festivities, especially those that
occurred during the first half of the year, since Ovid was only able to write the first half of his
calender in verses (Fasti) before being banished to the Black Sea by Augustus. There are,
however, no original and integral sacred texts comparable to the Rig-Vedic hymns, but the
practical, down-to-earth nature of Roman religion teaches us that Romans probably never had
anything similar to the Rig-Veda. However, since we know so much about the daily lives of
ordinary Romans, thanks to the abundance of our sources, we also know a lot about their piety
and attitude towards religion: we can easily vividly imagine Horace making an offering to the
source of Bandusia, just as we find numerous references to superstitions and silly customs in
Cicero's letters to his friends. From all this we can easily conclude that the Roman's approach
to religion was practical; Cicero says (De natura deorum, III, 87) that 'Jupiter is called Best
and Greatest because he does not make us just or sober or wise but healthy and rich and
prosperous'. The favour of the gods can be won by careful and regular observance of rites
(disciplina), and this was mostly delegated to priests, organized as flamines and pontifices, as
well as to priestesses (the best known were the Vestal Virgins who were in charge of the
sacred fire in the temple of Vesta). The priests were not a caste, separated from the rest of
society, but rather influential and wealthy citizens; the highest priests were often the most
powerful politicians, so that, for example, Caesar was during his career a pontifex maximus
(the chief priest of Jupiter). Since the pontifices were in charge of public worship, it was a
sensible thing that they were chosen among the rich citizens (unlike contemporary politicians,
who tend to raise taxes as they like, the Roman dignitaries had to provide the money for
public services and festivities from their own pocket). In contrast to the pontifices, the
flamines, devoted to the Capitoline triad (Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus) had little public
influence, since their office was subject to severe taboos. The chief priest of Jupiter, the
flamen Dialis, could not ride a horse and could not spend more than three consecutive nights