The dissemination of divination in roman republican times

There could be no more favorable omen for the Roman people and army". 133 He then placed
the poor pullarius in the front of the army, and even before the battle-shout a chance javelin
killed him. The battle ended with a glorious Roman victory. This story has the opposite
outcome of the former which at first sight is strange. It is important to notice that the ritual
was not performed properly since the pullarius did not answer as he should have. It was his
own intention that determined the pronunciation. Effectively it was therefore not an
auspicium ex tripudio because the action was not ritualized. This does not mean that, had he
given the correct pronunciation it would have went wrong, it means that no answer was
obtained altogether. The death of the pullarius is attributed to his vitium (ritual fault). The
reason that the consul accepted the sign anyway was that the wrongful pronunciation was
instead taken as an omen of the impending victory, that is, an oblative sign (since it was not
impetrative). This is strengthened by the mention of a second omen: just before the battle a
crow was giving a loud and distinct caw. 134
In the first case we can see that the lack of efficacy of auspicium ex tripudio is attributed a
lack of ritualization. In the second case the ritual was performed adequately, but the
individual did not respond to its pronunciation. Both cases reinforce the belief that auspicium
ex tripudio produced true information and that it needed to be produced through ritualized
action. In the third case the ritual was not performed correctly, which resulted in the death of
the assistant, who made the ritual transgression. And since it was not performed properly it
did not answer the question and was merely inconclusive.
Direct prestige As far as can be seen from the sources, the auspicium ex tripudio is only
used in military contexts. Only military commanders use it. They were assisted by an
assistant (pullarius), but his role is subordinate. Since military commanders were generally
from the elite but not always of consular rank, the direct prestige was very high. It is also
worth to notice that in difference to auspicium de caelo or ex avibus, this form was not
restricted to the consuls, but could be used by any commander of an army (Cic.Div.2.74).
Indirect prestige The chickens were explicitly seen as messengers from Jupiter. 135
133 ceterum qui auspicio adest, si quid falsi nuntiat, in semet ipsum religionem recipit; mihi quidem tripudium
nuntiatum, populo Romano exercituique egregium auspicium est (Liv.10.40.11)
134 Ante consulem haec dicentem corvus voce clara occinuit (Liv.10.40.14)
135 Haec suntigitur aves internuntiae Iovis (Cic.Div.2.72)
156