The mythology of ancient Rome briefly. Historical significance of Roman literature. Features of ancient Roman mythology. The Origins of Roman Mythology

There are several opinions about the stages of development of Roman mythology. Some historians take as a basis the books of the priests "Indigitamenta", which says that in the world there are only impersonal harmful or beneficial forces - numina, characteristic of individual objects, living beings, actions. Initially, the gods were represented in the form of symbols: Jupiter - stone, Mars - spear, Vesta - fire. Characteristic feature early stage In the development of mythology, there was uncertainty about the gender of deities (Pales), which was reflected in the presence of male and female hypostases in some of them (Faun - Faun, Pomon - Pomona), in referring to the gods as “god or goddess”. According to some historians, myths in Ancient Rome appeared only under the influence of Etruscan and Greek mythology. The Greeks brought their anthropomorphic gods and the myths associated with them to Rome, and taught the Romans to build temples. Some modern researchers have questioned the theory of numina, citing as an argument that the "Indigitaments" were created by priests, and not by the people. Many of the pontiffs were lawyers who were characterized by extreme detail in phenomena. Later, Etruscan and Greek influences began to be given less importance, emphasizing the originality of the Roman religion.

The ancient Roman religion was formed in parallel with the process of synoicism of communities that underlay the emergence of Rome, and the gods of individual communities merged with each other. As clan ties were replaced by neighbors and clans by surnames, the main role began to be played by cults of surnames grouped around Vesta, Lares and Penates. Along with them, there were cults of neighboring communities - curiae, cults of the entire Roman civil community, which, however, were not fenced off from each other. All of them were under the control of the college of pontiffs, which pushed aside the flamenian priests. It was believed that what was done for the benefit of the community also served the benefit of individual citizens, and vice versa. The gods were divided into heavenly, earthly and underground, but could act in all three worlds. The worlds of gods, people and the dead were delimited (the right of the gods, fas, did not mix with the right of man, ius) and at the same time interconnected (people did not start a single important business without knowing how the gods would react to it). Big role At the same time, augurs and haruspices played, explaining the will of the gods by the flight and behavior of birds, the entrails (especially the liver) of sacrificial animals, and lightning strikes. The books of the Sibyl, associated with the cult of Apollo and kept secret by a special college of priests, served the same purpose. In the event of threatening signs, the priests special resolution The Senate looked in the books for instructions on what to do. It was believed that the gods of the enemy could be lured to the side of Rome using a certain formula of evocatio. With the transfer of the gods of the Italian cities to Rome, the images of the Roman gods became more complex. When Rome became the head of the Latin Union, it adopted the cults of its gods Diana of Aricia and Jupiter Latiaris. The center of the cult in Rome, which finally took shape as a single city, became the Capitoline Temple, and the god of Roman power and glory was Jupiter Capitolinus.

On further development Roman mythology was influenced by three factors: the democratization of society due to the victory of the plebs, victorious Roman aggression, and exposure to more advanced cultures and religions. Democratization, which made priestly positions previously occupied only by patricians available to plebeians, did not allow the development of a priestly caste. The highest authority became the civil community itself, which led to the absence of religious dogma. Citizens were obliged to honor the gods, who formed a unique part of their community (hence the later widespread idea of the world as a great city of people and gods), but they had the right to think, say and write anything about them, up to their complete denial. Ethics was determined not by religion, but by the good of the civil community, which rewarded some with honor and punished others with contempt. The aversion revered by the Romans to personal strong power, to people who placed themselves above the people, excluded the cult of kings and heroes, and, if such existed in ancient times(Lara), then it stalled. A kind of justification for the wars of Rome, which cost many victims, was the established myth about Rome as a city founded according to the destiny of the gods, who destined it for power over the world, about the Roman people as chosen by the gods (one of the components of the myth about Rome is the myth about Aeneas).

The borrowing of Greek gods began no later than the end of the 6th - beginning of the 5th century. BC. with the introduction of the cult of Apollo, then the Romans began to get acquainted with Greek myths and mysteries dedicated to Dionysus, with Greek religious and philosophical movements. Interpreting myths statesmen began to claim divine origin (the first was Scipio Africanus), the special protection of the deity (Sulla and Caesar - the patronage of Venus, Anthony - Hercules and Dionysus), the immortality prepared for their souls and a special place in the stellar spheres or fields of the blessed. The cult of generals spread in the provinces. Thus was prepared the imperial cult, which began with the deification of Caesar and Augustus, and then his successors. Emperors identified themselves with gods, their wives with goddesses. With the establishment of the empire, the “Roman myth”, due to the exclusion of the people from participation in state affairs and the loss of Rome’s character as a civil community, began to lose its popularity.

The undoubted merit of Ancient Rome, which had its own mythology, was in the perception, popularization and preservation of Greek mythology, in turning it into Greco-Roman: most of the brilliant works of Greek sculptors can only be seen by humanity thanks to their Roman copies; the poetic creations of the Greek people were preserved for us by Roman poets; many mythological subjects became known thanks to Ovid's poem "Metamorphoses".

Ancient mythology (“antigues” from Latin “ancient”) had a huge influence on the cultural development of many peoples, especially European ones, who were the direct heirs of Hellenic culture. The concept of ancient mythology includes Greek mythology, as well as Roman mythology, which was later formed on its basis. Ancient myths became quite widespread and were subjected to deep study and interpretation, largely due to the fact that they were recorded on Latin, which Europe spoke well (ancient Greek was less common).

In addition, there is not a single type of art that would not be influenced by ancient mythology: many paintings, sculptures, theatrical productions and works of art were created and continue to be created by authors directly based on the subjects of Greek and Roman myths or under the influence of Greco-Roman mythology in general . Greek mythology and Roman mythology carry a powerful charge of philosophical, ethical and aesthetic understanding of life, raising questions for humanity that are still relevant today.

Meanwhile, Greek mythology and Roman mythology have their own specific characteristics. Let's give brief description each.

Greek mythology.

What is typical for any mythological system, Greek mythology strives to understand and comprehend the world, identify the laws of its existence, give an explanation of natural phenomena and answer questions about the origin of the world and man.

The diversity of surrounding life gave rise to the concept of polytheism in the minds of the ancient Greeks. There are the supreme Greek gods who live on Mount Olympus, headed by the formidable and wise Zeus, the holder of lightning. Each god or goddess is the patron of a certain sphere of human activity (there are patron gods of fertility, war, hunting, love, etc.). At the same time, the Greek gods are bearers of many human character traits and passions: manifestations of love, friendship, anger, and hatred are not alien to them; many of them do not hesitate to weave intrigues against each other. Thus, the Greek gods were close to people, and their actions were understandable to man.

The earthly world of the ancient Greeks was inhabited by various mythical creatures, who were also bearers of human qualities. The Greeks believed that dryads and satyrs lived in forests, nymphs and oceanids lived in lakes and seas, and Oreads were the guardians of mountains. Many other fairy tale characters, such as centaurs and harpies, can be found in the vast and diverse natural world. Some of these creatures are evil and negatively disposed towards man, others sympathize with him and try to help.

Ancient Greek myths and legends, with colorful and intriguing plots, tell about the lives of gods and people, poeticize the heroic past and give an ethical and aesthetic charge for understanding life. Some myths are combined into cycles. There are cycles dedicated to the relationship of the gods and the creation of the world and man, cycles about the exploits of heroes and military events.

Roman mythology.

Roman mythology was largely formed on the basis of Greek mythology, but initially the religious beliefs of the ancient Romans were based on animism - the deification and endowment of souls to objects of the natural world. The Roman gods were not close to humans; they rather acted as some formidable and terrible forces, whose favor and support could be earned through worship and special rituals. The Roman did not begin a single business without a prayerful appeal to the gods, but it was sometimes of a formal nature, and was caused by the fear of incurring divine disfavor.

It should be noted that the myths of Ancient Rome are not as poetic as the Greek ones: placing the main emphasis on the plot and event line, Roman myths without any special artistic refinement reflect the religious ideas of the people of that time.

The Roman gods did not have their own Olympus, were not related by ties of kinship and often acted as symbols. For example, the stone symbolized the god Jupiter, fire was associated with the goddess Vesta, Mars was identified with the spear. Under the unspoken patronage of such images-symbols, with which the Roman gods were identified, the entire life of a Roman passed from birth to death. The spirit deities that inhabited nature (forests, mountains, ponds) were also impersonal and abstract. The deities that inhabited the heavenly space, the spirits of death and the underworld, and the deities that were embodied in the moral qualities of a person were distinguished. The last in the degree of veneration among the ancient Romans were heroes and foreign gods.

Around the end of the 6th - beginning of the 5th centuries, Roman mythology began to borrow Greek gods. First of all, the Romans adopted the cult of Apollo and the cult of Dionysus, then there was a gradual assimilation of other religious and philosophical ideas of Greek culture.

Gradually, a myth began to form about the divine origin of the Roman emperor and his power (these ideas were started by Scipio Africanus). It was generally accepted that the emperor was the representative of the divine will on earth and enjoyed special divine protection (Caesar, Anthony, Sulla, etc. were proclaimed as such). After death, the emperors were destined for a special place in the afterlife and eternal bliss. A special attitude was formed towards the generals; they also enjoyed the mercy of the gods. At a time when the people were excluded from participation in state affairs, and moral decay affected the very top of power, the myth of the divinity of the ruler lost its relevance.

The value of Roman mythology, according to scientists, is expressed in the preservation and popularization of the ancient Greek mythological system. It is thanks to the works of Roman poets and sculptors who developed Greek themes that we have the opportunity to get an idea of the original source - the achievements Ancient Greece in the field of culture and art.

There are several opinions about the stages of development of Roman mythology. Some historians take as a basis the books of the priests "Indigitamenta", which says that in the world there are only impersonal harmful or beneficial forces - numina, characteristic of individual objects, living beings, actions. Initially, the gods were represented in the form of symbols: Jupiter - stone, Mars - spear, Vesta - fire. A characteristic feature of the early stage of the development of mythology was the uncertainty of the gender of deities (Pales), reflected in the presence of male and female hypostases in some of them (Faun - Faun, Pomon - Pomona), in addressing the gods as “god or goddess”. According to some historians, myths in Ancient Rome appeared only under the influence of Etruscan and Greek mythology. The Greeks brought their anthropomorphic gods and the myths associated with them to Rome, and taught the Romans to build temples. Some modern researchers have questioned the theory of numina, citing as an argument that the "Indigitaments" were created by priests, and not by the people. Many of the pontiffs were lawyers who were characterized by extreme detail in phenomena. Later, Etruscan and Greek influences began to be given less importance, emphasizing the originality of the Roman religion.

The further development of Roman mythology was influenced by three factors: the democratization of society caused by the victory of the plebs, victorious Roman aggression and acquaintance with more developed cultures and religions. Democratization, which made priestly positions previously occupied only by patricians available to plebeians, did not allow the development of a priestly caste. The highest authority became the civil community itself, which led to the absence of religious dogma. Citizens were obliged to honor the gods, who formed a unique part of their community (hence the later widespread idea of the world as a great city of people and gods), but they had the right to think, say and write anything about them, up to their complete denial. Ethics was determined not by religion, but by the good of the civil community, which rewarded some with honor and punished others with contempt. The aversion revered by the Romans to personal strong power, to people who placed themselves above the people, excluded the cult of kings and heroes, and, if such existed in ancient times (lares), then it died out. A kind of justification for the wars of Rome, which cost many victims, was the established myth about Rome as a city founded according to the destiny of the gods, who destined it for power over the world, about the Roman people as chosen by the gods (one of the components of the myth about Rome is the myth about Aeneas).

The borrowing of Greek gods began no later than the end of the 6th - beginning of the 5th century. BC. with the introduction of the cult of Apollo, then the Romans began to get acquainted with Greek myths and mysteries dedicated to Dionysus, with Greek religious and philosophical movements. Interpreting myths, statesmen began to claim divine origin (the first was Scipio Africanus), the special patronage of a deity (Sulla and Caesar - the patronage of Venus, Anthony - Hercules and Dionysus), the immortality destined for their souls and a special place in the stellar spheres or fields blessed. The cult of generals spread in the provinces. Thus was prepared the imperial cult, which began with the deification of Caesar and Augustus, and then his successors. Emperors identified themselves with gods, their wives with goddesses. With the establishment of the empire, the “Roman myth”, due to the exclusion of the people from participation in state affairs and the loss of Rome’s character as a civil community, began to lose its popularity.

Rome adopted mythology from Greece and the result was Greco-Roman mythology.

Folk mythology (pre-Greek) is difficult to recognize. The most famous “Indigitaments” are ritual books. They list the deities of agriculture (sowing, harvesting), marriage, conception, life processes, even the deity of bringing a child home! These books were compiled by priests, although such a caste did not exist (during the ritual, anyone could be appointed a priest). Roman books were compiled by jurists. During the classical period, the Romans resorted to divination by augurs (diviners by the flight of birds) and haruspices (by the entrails of animals).

For example: birds appear to the right of the capitol - a good sign. On the left is bad.

Cicero wrote that this religion of the augurs was spread to the common people, but the senators no longer believed in such nonsense. But they carried with them sacred chickens, which, if they ate well, the war would be successful. Caesar specifically ordered that caterpillars be caught so that they would eat well. Caesar declared that he "propitiated"

After the Tarquin dynasty (Etruscan dynasty), the Romans feared autocracy like the plague. The ancestors (cult of ancestors) are the Larras, who lived in the hearth or temple of Vesta. Penars (same as Larrs).

The Romans were monstrously God-fearing people, unlike the Greeks, whose gods are humanoid, Roman mythology is an elemental-demonic religion, the gods do not have any appearance, Vesta was embodied in the form of a flame (and only after the influence of Greece, she acquired a human form). The Romans are law-abiding - they conduct worship. Rites are an extremely important ceremony. If someone sneezed during the ritual, everything started all over again; it could not be broken. Sometimes the ceremony was repeated 30 times until everything was done perfectly. They were even afraid to call them, they addressed them “holy deity, man or woman, help me with...”.

Spontaneous demonism and mysticism led to the formation and creation of the word “religion” (“religium” - Lat. - worship of mystical powers; cult. - Lat. - veneration, performance of religious rituals).

“Evocation” is a formula for incorporating foreign gods of captured tribes into Roman mythology.

The Romans were characterized by “Animism” - veneration of nature, trees, springs. The oak is a sacred plant, the sacred animal is the wolf.

Pre-classical times - “vlupercaria” - a rite of worship of wolves. Luperkas are werewolves. Lupa is the priestess of love. Lupanaria - houses of love. Wolf people. Naked young men ran around the temple with a whip and beat those passing by; whoever touched the whip would be rich in offspring. Mark Antony also performed this ritual.

Initially, sacrifices of relatives were made in Rome, then living people were replaced with dolls and fur balls. This is a sacrifice to God on his holiday. The Christmas tree is also a sacrifice

The mother who gave birth to the child had to perform special rituals to please the gods. The Vatican opened his mouth, Hindusa helped him eat, Osipaga watched his bones form, Stopan walked...

Goddess of Fever, goddess of pallor, cough, festival of mice and moths.

St. Augustine: “Everyone in his home has his own one patron. And the Romans divided the hinges and the threshold into different gods.”

Rome sought to host a more established and perfect religion, and all the time they looked to the east, to Greece. And gradually, through trade and other reasons, Greek mythology came to the Romans.

Ceres - A Roman who saw his goddess would fall on his face and be afraid. Ceres is the feeling that a farmer sees in summer when he sees mature ears of corn. Koons, Flora, were responsible for plants, sowing, etc.

Demeter, the goddess who gave people bread, the basis of people’s lives, could grow cereals and survive. She not only gave people agriculture, but also made the Greeks sedentary and patriotic, initially they were nomads. Goddess who bestowed political system. Man's hope for the infinity of life. Hence Persiphone and the afterlife. The most important archetypal moment. With the birth of Persifona, the concept of strong maternal love is born.

When Demeter appeared in Rome, they received her with admiration. Humanoid gods gave birth to myths, and it was on them that literature was based, and it was about them that they wrote. Poets had nothing to write about before the advent of Greek mythology.

Jupiter Latian- light phenomena sky. The Romans were afraid of thunder and lightning. God of thunder and lightning. Became the god of oaths “I swear by Jupiter”, contracts. It becomes a kind of mysterious power, and then statehood. He gave both good and evil according to deserts or according to his whim, and became the patron saint of the Roman people.

The idea of God's chosenness is a Roman idea, which later influenced the Jews.

When the Romans learned about Zeus and recognized him as Jupiter, they accepted him, and then his entire family. Juno (Hera) - patroness Minerva (Athena) - patroness of cities. This is the first trinity of main gods. Iacchus (Dionysus), Flora (Persephone), Ceres (Demeter). Delian trinity: Apollo - the luminous god of reason and the arts, Diana (Artemis) - the huntress, Latonna. Liberal-liber 9female gods-daughters and male).

The Roman patroness of vegetables, Venus, became the personification of the god of love, Aphrodite, and began to patronize love. This example epitomizes the difficulty of transferring Greek mythology to Roman mythology. We had to replace their roles with others and “make them closer.”

Janus is the god of war. One of the primordial gods of Rome. It was difficult for the Romans to describe and find a replacement for it.

Sibylin's books - (priestesses of Apollo) - predictions. Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, becomes one of the Sibyls. Sibyl of Cumae (work by Michelangelo). The Sibyls were immortal until they touched their native Earth.

Roman literature of the period civil wars . (2/2 2nd century BC – ½ 1st century BC)

The Roman Republic begins to come apart at the seams. At the head of the republic was a council of senators of 300 senators. They talked, voted, and made a decision. Messengers from the war came to the Senate, waited for the senators to decide, then returned to the battlefield. And the senatorial republic was already losing its reputation. Then they decided to place two consuls at the head of Rome, who would decide the fate of the republic.

Aeneas is the grandson of Aeneas Yul. - Julius the son of Yul (the interpretation is that Rome is not much younger than Greece. And in general, it regained its lands by conquering Greece, which it lost during the Trojan War). Pantifex Caesar (pantiff is the leader who performs the duties of monitoring the performance of rituals). Caesar, a popular democrat, “bought” votes, had the rabid support of the crowd, and frightened Bibulus (Caesar’s conservative competitor) with his support. They even joked that there were two consuls in Rome - Gaius and Julius (that is, one).

The senators united against Caesar (23 stab wounds were found on his body). Caesar accepted his betrayal as a sacrifice to Rome. This was an immediately signed verdict (read Plutarch!).

When Rome turned from a polis into a huge state, history itself pushed Rome towards autocracy. This time of collapse covers a whole 100 years - the attempts of the Republicans to revive their former greatness and autocracy. There were armed clashes between them to decide the fate of Rome. The Krakhi-half-lists relied on the revival of state tribunes (elected position - representatives of the people, only plebeians). The stands could decide and do whatever they wanted. A very strong mechanism of people's power. Clodius Pulcher, from an aristocratic family, also popular, becomes a tribune for money and expels the senator Cicero, who swore that he was the father of the state, with a “plebeian” voice, Cicero is expelled from Rome.

Mari expelled the Germans (even on pain of death they were afraid to give them wine, otherwise they would get angry, they drank only beer, they called them Germans because of their barbaric cry “Gerrrma!”, they were larger than the Romans). Reforms in Rome.

Dictatorship is a military position; during periods of military-political aggravation, civil or on the borders, senators resigned their powers and gave them to the dictator.

Proscriptions are lists of undesirable persons who had to be eliminated without trial or investigation.

The poor people were fed by the state; after the victory, the Roman generals organized a “Triumph” - a free feast and entertainment for the entire people.

Proconsul - a consul who, after his reign, received a province for 5 years. As a result, instead of ruling the provinces. They robbed them completely.

Guy Caesar takes a poor province, in which he shows his high qualities as a military commander. Begins to fight with Gaul. From his province he extracts a huge strong army, devoted to Julius (he participates in all battles, sleeps and eats with the soldiers). In Luke he joins in the first Triumverate (triple alliance) with Pompey and Krasus. Caesar gave his daughter for Pompey. Krasus dies in the war with the Porthians. After his death, Caesar and Pampey begin to divide Rome between themselves. Pompey loses. But Caesar spent only a year as Dictator. Then he returned to Rome and was betrayed.

Actovianus Augustus, Mark Antony and Mark Lepidus - the second triuviate. The same scenario, in the end Actovian comes to power.

The main writers of this period:

Marcus Tulius Cicero (speeches, treatises and letters. 3 volumes of Cicero’s letters) - the underside of the history of Rome, memoirs, classical prose, an example of eloquence.
Titus Lucretius Carus (great epic poem, philosophical epic
Guy Valery Katul.

We should start talking about the culture of Ancient Rome with its mythology, since it gives the clearest idea of the spiritual world of man at that time. It is also associated with the development of many areas of art (literature, architecture, etc.). In addition, it is directly related to people’s religious beliefs, and the influence of religion on the development of the state and its society is undeniable. It is interesting that it was from the Romans that the word “religion” came and subsequently became widespread - the worship of imaginary supernatural beings and “cult” - in a figurative sense, “to honor”, “to please”, and involves the performance of religious rituals. Parandovsky Ya. Mythology. M., 1971. P. 15

At the initial stage, the beliefs of the Romans were expressed in the observance of traditions and rituals. The rite of the founding of Rome is forever enshrined in legends and tales. On the day of its foundation, Romulus first of all begins the sacrifice. His comrades light a fire and everyone jumps through the flames. The meaning of this ritual is that pure people (purified by sacred fire) should begin to act. The memory of this ritual has survived to this day, and today the Romans celebrate the birth of their city (11 days before the Kalends of May). Paul Guiraud. Private and public life Romans P. 11 Later, traditional beliefs are replaced by the ancient Roman religion.

“The ancient Roman religion reflected the simplicity of hardworking farmers and shepherds, completely absorbed in the daily affairs of their humble lives. Having lowered his head to the furrow that his wooden plow plowed, and to the meadows in which his cattle grazed, the ancient Roman did not feel the desire to turn his gaze to the stars. He did not honor either the sun, or the moon, or all those celestial phenomena that with their mysteries excited the imagination of other Indo-European peoples. He had had enough of the secrets contained in the most mundane, everyday affairs and in his immediate surroundings. If one of the Romans had walked around ancient Italy, he would have seen people praying in groves, altars crowned with flowers, grottoes decorated with greenery, trees decorated with horns and skins of animals whose blood irrigated the ants growing under them, hills surrounded by special veneration , stones anointed with oil.

Everywhere some kind of deity seemed to appear, and it was not for nothing that one of the Latin writers said that in this country it is easier to meet a god than a person.

According to the Roman, human life in all, even the smallest, manifestations was subject to power and was under the tutelage of various gods, so that man at every step depended on some higher power. Along with such gods as Jupiter and Mars, whose power was increasingly increasing, there were an innumerable number of less significant gods, spirits who took care of various actions in life and economy. Their influence concerned only certain aspects in the cultivation of the land, the growth of cereals, raising livestock, beekeeping and human life. The Vatican opened the child's mouth for the first cry, Kunina was the patroness of the cradle, Rumina took care of the baby's food, Potina and Edusa taught the child to drink and eat after weaning, Cuba watched over the transfer of him from the cradle to bed, Ossipago made sure that the child's bones grew together correctly , Statan taught him to stand, and Fabulin taught him to speak, Iterduk and Domiduk led the child when he left the house for the first time.

“All these deities were completely faceless. The Roman did not dare to assert with complete certainty that he knew the real name of the god or that he could distinguish whether it was a god or a goddess. In his prayers, he also maintained the same caution and said: “Jupiter, Most Good, Greatest, or if you wish to be called by some other name.” And when making a sacrifice, he said: “Are you a god or a goddess, are you a man or a woman?” On the Palatine (one of the seven hills on which Ancient Rome was located) there is still an altar on which there is no name, but only an evasive formula: “To God or goddess, husband or woman,” and the gods themselves had to decide who owns the sacrifices made on this altar.

The Roman gods did not descend to earth and did not show themselves to people as willingly as the Greek gods. They stayed away from a person and even if they wanted to warn him about something, they never appeared directly: in the depths of the forests, in the darkness of temples, or in the silence of the fields, sudden mysterious exclamations were heard, with the help of which God gave a warning signal. There has never been any intimacy between God and man.

In ancient Rome, all knowledge about the gods essentially boiled down to how they should be revered and at what moment to ask for their help. A thoroughly and precisely developed system of sacrifices and rituals constituted the entire religious life of the Romans. They imagined the gods to be similar to praetors (Praetor is one of the highest officials in Ancient Rome. Praetors were in charge of judicial affairs.) and were convinced that, like a judge, the one who does not understand official formalities loses the case. Therefore, there were books in which everything was provided and where one could find prayers for all occasions. The rules had to be strictly followed; any violation negated the results of the service.

The Roman was constantly in fear that he had performed the rituals incorrectly. The slightest omission in prayer, some non-prescribed movement, a sudden hitch in a religious dance, damage to the musical instrument during the sacrifice, so that the same ritual is repeated again. There were cases when everyone started over thirty times until the sacrifice was performed flawlessly. When making a prayer containing a request, the priest had to be careful not to omit any expression or pronounce it in an inappropriate place. Therefore, someone read, and the priest repeated after him word for word, the reader was assigned an assistant who monitored whether everything was read correctly. A special servant of the priest ensured that those present remained silent, and at the same time the trumpeter blew the trumpet with all his might so that nothing could be heard except the words of the prayer being said.

Equally carefully and carefully they carried out all kinds of fortune-telling that the Romans had great importance in public and private life. Before each important task, they first learned the will of the gods, manifested in various signs, which priests called augurs were able to observe and explain. Thunder and lightning, a sudden sneeze, the fall of an object in a sacred place, an attack of epilepsy in a public square - all such phenomena, even the most insignificant, but occurring at an unusual or important moment, acquired the significance of a divine omen. The most favorite was fortune telling by the flight of birds. When the Senate or consuls had to make any decision, declare war or proclaim peace, promulgate new laws, they first of all turned to the augurs with the question of whether the time was right for this. The Augur made a sacrifice and prayed, and at midnight he went to the Capitol, the most sacred hill in Rome, and, facing south, looked at the sky. At dawn, birds flew by, and depending on which direction they flew from, what they were like and how they behaved, the augur predicted whether the planned business would succeed or fail. Thus, finicky chickens ruled a powerful republic, and military leaders in the face of the enemy had to obey their whims.

This primitive religion was called the religion of Numa, after the second of the seven Roman kings, who was credited with establishing the most important religious principles. She was very simple, devoid of any pomp, and knew neither statues nor temples. In its pure form it did not last long. The religious ideas of neighboring peoples penetrated into it, and now it is difficult to recreate its appearance, hidden by later layers.

Foreign gods easily took root in Rome, since the Romans had the custom, after conquering a city, to move the vanquished gods to their capital in order to earn their favor and protect themselves from their wrath.

This is how, for example, the Romans invited the Carthaginian gods to come to them. The priest proclaimed a solemn spell: “You are a goddess or a god who extends guardianship over the people or state of the Carthaginians, you who protect this city, I offer prayers to you, I pay homage to you, I ask for your mercy, so that the people and the state of the Carthaginians leave, so that they leave their temples so that they leave them. Come join me in Rome. May our churches and city be more pleasant to you. Be merciful and supportive to me and the Roman people and to our soldiers the way we want it and how we understand it. If you do this, I promise that a temple will be erected for you and games will be established in your honor” 11 German N.Yu. and others. Essays on the culture of Ancient Rome. M., 1990. pp. 53-56.

“Before the Romans came into direct contact with the Greeks, who exercised such an overwhelming influence on their religious ideas, another people, closer geographically, revealed their spiritual superiority to the Romans. These were the Etruscans, a people of unknown origin, whose amazing culture has been preserved to this day in thousands of monuments and speaks to us in an incomprehensible language of inscriptions, unlike any other language in the world. They occupied the northwestern part of Italy, from the Apennines to the sea, a country of fertile valleys and sunny hills, running down to the Tiber, the river that connected them with the Romans. Rich and powerful, the Etruscans, from the heights of their fortified cities, standing on steep and inaccessible mountains, dominated vast expanses of land. Their kings dressed in purple, sat on chairs lined with ivory, and were surrounded by honorary guards armed with bundles of rods with axes stuck in them. The Etruscans had a fleet and for a very long time maintained trade relations with the Greeks in Sicily and southern Italy. From them they borrowed writing and many religious ideas, which, however, they altered in their own way.

Not much can be said about the Etruscan gods. Among the large number of them, a trinity stands out above the others: Tini, the thunder god, like Jupiter, Uni, the queen goddess, like Juno, and the winged goddess Menfra, corresponding to the Latin Minerva. This is, as it were, a prototype of the famous Capitoline Trinity. With superstitious piety, the Etruscans revered the souls of the dead, as cruel creatures thirsting for blood. The Etruscans performed human sacrifices at the graves; gladiator fights, later adopted by the Romans, were initially part of the cult of the dead among the Etruscans. They believed in the existence of a real hell, where Harun, an old man of half-animal appearance, with wings, armed with a heavy hammer, delivers souls. On the painted walls of Etruscan graves there is a whole string of similar demons: Mantus, the king of hell, also winged, with a crown on his head and a torch in his hand; Tukhulkha, a monster with an eagle's beak, donkey ears and snakes on his head instead of hair, and many others. In an ominous line they surround the unfortunate, frightened human souls.

Etruscan legends say that one day in the vicinity of the city of Tarquinii, when peasants were plowing the land, a man with the face and figure of a child, but with gray hair and a beard like an old man, emerged from a wet furrow. His name was Tages. As a crowd gathered around him, he began to preach the rules of fortune telling and religious ceremonies. The king of those places ordered a book to be compiled from the commandments of Tages. Since then, the Etruscans believed that they knew better than other peoples how to interpret divine signs and predictions. Fortune telling was carried out by special priests - haruspices. When an animal was sacrificed, they carefully examined its insides: the shape and position of the heart, liver, lungs - and, according to certain rules, predicted the future. They knew what each lightning meant, and by its color they knew which god it came from. The haruspices turned a huge and complex system of supernatural signs into a whole science, which was later adopted by the Romans.

Further, Greek mythology had its influence on Roman mythology. Dmitrieva N.A. gives the following assessment of this fact: “The original Roman mythology, unlike the Greek, is ugly and prosaic. Rome accepted and assimilated the entire pantheon of Greek deities, giving them only other names: Zeus became Jupiter, Aphrodite - Venus, Ares - Mars, etc. “Captive Greece defeated its uncultured conqueror” (Horace)” 1 Dmitrieva N.A. Short story arts M., 1992. pp. 97-99.

“The further development of Roman mythology was influenced by three factors: the democratization of society caused by the victory of the plebs, victorious Roman aggression and acquaintance with more developed cultures and religions, with which the Romans entered into complex relationships. Democratization, which made priestly positions accessible to plebeians, and the position of the head of the cult - the great pontiff - elective, coupled with the prohibition of donating and bequeathing land to temples, did not allow the development of either the priestly caste or its stronghold - the temple economy. The civil community itself became the highest authority.

The ideological justification for the cohesion of civil society was the veneration of ancestors and gods. Moreover, the relationship with the gods in the new society underwent the same extreme rationalization as the relationship between people. Traditions, the origins of which were the gods, were the most important guideline ensuring the stability of life. Thus, the right of the collective received, as it were, divine sanctification. That is why the Roman imperial power, which arose to maintain order among Roman society, immediately began to self-deify. “The cult of the emperor was supposed to personify the unity of Roman citizens scattered throughout the vast power, while at the same time acting as a guide for stateless provincials. In essence, it was a cult not of a personality, but of the same symbolic sign of social need, which were all the pagan gods” 11 Koptev A.V. Ancient civil society. p. 17. Ancient Christianity was able to replace this cult because it was not associated with the difference between citizens and non-citizens. This happened when all the inhabitants of the empire had equal rights” 1 .

The emergence of early Christianity was due to the fact that Rome was gradually overwhelmed by a wave of all kinds of sectarian teachings, philosophical schools, and mystical cults coming from the East. And the tendency to establish monotheism was very strong. They hoped for a single religion common to the entire empire as a means of preserving the empire and preventing its collapse. However, it was already too late, and even the establishment of a single religion would not have saved the state torn by contradictions.