Comparing Religion In Pompeii And Herculaneum

Religion in Pompeii and Herculaneum

The provided quote is correct to a certain extent. This quote can be divided into two halves that each hold a different amount depending on which type of religion they are linked to. These religions are household, state, local and foreign religion. The first half of the quote states that the two cities provide a huge amount of sources. This is true for household religion as there are many sources that can be found at both which show examples of household worship. The second half of the quote is partially correct as this only applies to household religion. Although, there are only a few issues regarding state, foreign and local religion in relation to their limitations, reliability and their levels of usefulness.

This part of the quote is partially correct for household religion as there are issues with most of the sources due to the sources being fragmented. This issue of fragmentation will vary from each other. This assignment will assess the truth of the given quote using various archaeological and written sources, primary and secondary.

Household religion:
• House of Menander (Pompeii) – Shrine Pg. 23
• Talk about the household deities – Penates, Genius and Lares
• Rituals
Pompeii and Herculaneum were both a polytheistic society in which many gods were worshipped. Many religious rites were celebrated by citizens in their homes and household shrines are found all over Pompeii and Herculaneum. The area were the family would worship their God is called a Lararium. This could be either a simple wall opening or a miniature temple, painted or built against a wall. They were usually found at the entrance of the home, sometimes near the kitchen and can also be found in the garden. The reason why they had built Lararium's in their household is because it would be shared with spiritual beings as well as themselves. While sharing the household with the spirits, they must be receiving the same love and attention that the family get to protect each household. There were many different gods worshipped in front of the shrine. One of these gods that were worshipped was the Lares. The Lares were believed to observe, protect and influence all that happened within the boundaries of their location or function. The statues of domestic Lares were placed at the table during family meals; their presence, cult and blessing seem to have been required at all important family events. Roman writers sometimes identify or conflate them with ancestor-deities, domestic Penates and the hearth. Because of these associations, Lares are sometimes categorised as household gods but some had much broader domains.
The first part of the quote is absolutely true because in both Pompeii and Herculaneum, many of the households have some form of Lararium and Shrine in them which suggest that the people of these cities worshipped Gods in their own houses. The House of Menander is an example of a Lararium found one of the many houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Concerning the second part of the quote, Household religion has no issue regarding limitations, reliability and usefulness as there are many households in both cities which show the worship of their gods in their houses.
State Religion:
For the Romans, worshipping and being a part of one’s religious duties was important being a citizen of Rome.

All the citizens were expected to be involved in religious rituals as these were believed to be necessary in order to win the favour of the gods. The nature in being a part of worshipping these great gods of the Roman Empire is to ensure world peace, the fertility of humans, animals and crops which would prosper. Reasons as to why the Romans would worship the gods on a daily basis is to ensure that the gods would give them peace, and this was only achieved through prayer, sacrifices and special rituals. The Roman state cult is an example of State religion found in both Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Roman state cult centred on the worship of three different well known Roman gods. Jupiter, the overall protector of the state, Juno, whose special care was only for the women of Rome, and Minerva, the patroness of craftworks. The temple of Jupiter stood in the northern end of the forum on a high platform. Located inside the temple stood a statue of the great god, of now there are only fragments that survive. Just like any Roman city, Pompeii and would have possibly had a temple of these three gods. Although, the same can’t be said for Herculaneum as most of the city has not yet been revealed to us. Though, it is possible that the city must have had these temples for these Capitoline gods where citizens would go to worship and offer

sacrifices.

Foreign religion:
Pompeii and Herculaneum were in contact with a wider world because of the cities being used as a resort destination.

The cities were also vulnerable of influences from Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean. Foreign religions had a special attraction all their own. These mysterious cults promised what Roman religion did not. A closer relationship with the gods and a happy afterlife for those who have already passed on. Women especially found them very redemptive and attractive. Most of these religions were similar to Roman religion, the mystery cults were usually involved by chanting and dancing. These religious gatherings were to make the initiates of the religion undergo a spiritual rebirth through contact with god. The myth behind these religions is that the gods would reward them with resurrection after death if they were to follow and worship accordingly. One of these foreign cults that were brought to Pompeii and Herculaneum was ‘The Cult of Isis’ . The Temple of Isis was founded in in Pompeii before the Romans founded the colony in 80BC. The cult of Isis is an Egyptian goddess which was brought to Pompeii and Herculaneum by Italian merchants. Countless of people were drawn to this cult due to the goddess Isis being known for her powerful magic. There are many indications that this particular cult was popular in Pompeii. Many different people joined the cult such as children, slaves, freemen, traders, soldiers, high and low officials, and women were also drawn to the

cult. Although, little is known about his cult since its ceremonies and initiation rituals were kept secret. It is known though that ceremonies were performed twice a day, at sunrise and at 2pm. Rites were conducted by male priests, but unlike the major Roman cults, women could hold positions within the cult and participate in ceremonies.
There is a range of evidence to support that Isis was worshipped in both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Private shrines to Isis may have existed in a few Pompeian houses. In the House of Loreius Tiburtinus , for example one of the rooms in this household has a painting of a priest of Isis.
Evidence of Christianity and Judaism at Pompeii and Herculaneum is very fragmented, especially Christianity as there is completely no evidence in both cities to support that it was worshipped there. There is evidence to support that Jews were present in a number of towns in the Campania region as there are a few number of graffiti’s that suggests their presence. In Herculaneum a graffito was founded with the Judaic name, David, scribbled on a wall . The cross which is currently being used a symbol to represent Christianity was not used by them until 5th century AD. Early Christians used another symbol to represent their religion, a fish symbol was used to signify Christianity. The fish was a monogram which translated from the first two Greek letters ‘Chi’ and ‘Rho’ combine these two letters and in English they spell Christ. In the end, concerning sources from both Pompeii and Herculaneum, we are definitely faced with issues regarding limitations, reliability and usefulness. Christianity was persecuted in its early stages, this could be the reason why there are not many sources found about this religion as they could have been destroyed by persecutors.