The dissemination of divination in roman republican times

objects and 6 made use of animals in the sign production. It still could be partly correct if the
animal techniques were more credible, but out of the six practices with a high credibility
value 3 are object techniques and 3 are animal and out of six practices with low credibility
value 3 were object techniques and 3 were animal. The conclusion must therefore be that the
category used in the sign production has no consequences for the credibility of divination in
Roman republican times. This also reflects back on the experiment. The results may be
culture specific or they may measure something else.
Direct prestige
The direct prestige was stipulated to be of great consequence to the credibility of the
divinatory information. It was stipulated to work directly through the agent associated with
the action, that is, the operator or in case where this differed, the interpreter.
There is an almost perfect correlation between direct prestige and credibility value. The
practices with the highest credibility values (auspices) were also reserved for the most
prestigious individuals, the highest magistrates, and the practices with the lowest were
performed by the least prestigious, often foreigners outside or below the Roman status
system. Even within practices the credibility value was divided. In the auspices the higher
auspices belonged to the higher magistrates, and the lower to the lower magistrates. The
higher overruled the lower. We also see this result in practices that are used privately. For
example we see the haruspices employed by the lowest stratum of society. They were
ridiculed and mocked by the elite. But the haruspices of the elite were employed by the
greatest men of the Republic and their interpretations were well respected and had a high
credibility value.
Indirect prestige
It was also stipulated that the indirect prestige of the counterintuitive agent correlates with the
credibility value. The example of public extispicy however shows that although the public
haruspices would often sacrifice to Jupiter the credibility value of their pronouncement was
not high. Conversely, sometimes in private extispicy the entrails would give messages from
Jupiter. This did not make the credibility value higher. The indirect prestige of the associated
counterintuitive agent is thus secondary to the direct prestige and seems to depend on it.
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