The dissemination of divination in roman republican times

For impetrative divination, all known practices in the Roman republic found in the
historical sources will be evaluated with regard to the following factors:
• Technique. Here the exact technique is described. It will be mentioned whether it is
focused on intuitive physics, biology or psychology.
• Ritualization. Here it will be treated whether and how the technique is ritualized.
Cases where mistakes or manipulation has taken place will be considered in detail,
since they could be related to the presence/absence of ritualization.
• Direct prestige. Here it will be assessed whether the status of the operators or
interpreters are high or low based on a civic scale. This has consequences for the
credibility of the information
• Indirect prestige. Here the status in the hierarchy of the associated counterintuitive
agent in the Roman pantheon is assessed.
• Subject/credibility value. It will be described for what subjects the technique was
used. It will also be treated whether the decisions made on the basis of the divination
technique entail great actual or potential use of resources. What are the contents –
what can it tell?
• History. Here the probable historical trajectory of the divination form will be traced
• Cultural model. Here the explicit conceptualization is treated, with a special view as
to whether it agrees with the cultural model found among omens.
For oblative divination, it is first of all necessary to evaluate the following factors:
• Cultural model. Is there a cultural model specifying a relation between a
counterintuitive agent and signs related to the current concerns of people? How
widespread was it?
• Salient event. How do events achieve salience and become identified as omens?
• Direct prestige. It is necessary to find out to what degree oblative divination was tied
to direct prestige.
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