Death and Religion Flashcards
What is a Genius
a guardian angel each roman had
What is a Lar
guardian deities associated with a particular place
How are the Genuis depicted in art
along side snakes
What are the Penates
household gods and guardians of the hearth and store cupboard
What are the manes
Good souls of the dead
Why was a proper burial important
so manes didnt turn into lemures which haunted the household
What are Imagines
Funeral masks of a family
How long would the body lie before a funeral
8 days
What happened at a roman funeral
- procession from house to burial ground
- including familia, slaves, clients of deceased
- funerary masks worn (imagines)
Where were poorer people buried
in columbaria where there were cubby holes for urns
Why were there tubes leading out of tombs or urns to the outside
so that during the parentalia they could be fed food and wine
What was everyone buried with
A coin to pay the ferry man to the underworld
Explain what happened at the parentalia
- first 8 days-> purification rituals in the house
- 9th day known as ferralin-> prayers, food and flowers were offered to the manes. families would eat by the tomb stone
Explain what happened at the Lemuria
- paterfamilias woke at midnight washed his hands and walked barefoot through the house hold spitting 9 beans and chanting
- the rest of the household would clash bronze pans expelling the lemures
What was the purpose of the Lemuria
to expell the lumures
What was the purpose of the parentalia
to stop manes turning into lemures
When was the lemuria
the 9th, 11th and 13th of may
Where were tombs located and why
on the sides of roads exiting towns so that the miasma didn’t reach the city and people would pay respects when leaving
