Roman Spiritualism

[Turb0!]

I've seen a lot of literature on the structure and ritual practices of Roman pagan religion, but it seems like there isn't much which talks about the way Romans felt about their religion: how it shaped their morals, how it directed their behavior in everyday life, etc. While it's clear that the old religion was used as a tool of politicians and the state, I don't buy the notion that pre-christian Romans did not experience their religion on a deeply personal level as many people do today. I would like to do some research into this topic over the summer and was wondering if anyone knows of any works, especially primary sources, which approach this subject.

[caldrail]

In broad terms the behaviour of worshippers probably wasn't too dissimilar to modern christianity. People back then may have been very superstitious on the whole, but you would have found those who were too worldly to bother with such things, those who paid lip service, those who kept up appearances, and those who were devout believers. On the other hand, notice that in the sources the writers rarely make references to pagan spiritualism at all. For the Romans to admit that a divine being dictated their lives was to make slaves of them - and that the Romans could not swallow. So therefore they were appealing to these powerful beings to intervene on their behalf, or perhaps not to cause them any woe in the immediate future, thus offering sacrifices to help persuade the gods of their sincerety and need.

 

It was a personal thing for the Romans. You entered a temple and made your prayers/offerings in a quiet commune with whichever god you were seeking favours from. Perhaps that's the biggest difference between Roman pagan and later christian religions - it didn't organise them socially.

[M. Porcius Cato]

I don't buy the notion that pre-christian Romans did not experience their religion on a deeply personal level as many people do today. I would like to do some research into this topic over the summer

 

Can you imagine any facts that would convince you that you were wrong? If not, why go to the bother of summer research on the topic?

[Turb0!]

Thanks caldrail. Of course, I'm sure that the religious lives of Romans were across the board from irreverent to devout, as with people today. This topic came to mind because I found it hard to believe that the majority of Romans only paid lip-service to the gods whenever it benefited them, given the enormous structures built and the elaborate rituals performed in their names. That is one of the reasons I was hoping to see if anyone could direct me to a primary source which might discuss personal feelings towards the gods apart from the desire to gain something from them. Apuleius seems to be the only good example of this I can find, despite it being a work of fiction. Cato the Elder also seems to hint at it, but just barely.

 

Other Cato- Yes, I can imagine facts to the contrary of what I am thinking. If that weren't the case, not only would I not bother researching the subject, I wouldn't have asked for information regarding it. My hypothesis is that at a good deal of Romans experienced their religion on a deep and personal level, apart from seeing it merely as a means of reward, protection, or political advancement. I would be as satisfied with a source that could conclusively deny that as I would with one which could support it.

[caldrail]

the large temples are not as prevalent as you might imagine. Most temples are very small and modest affairs, sometimes with a stall nearby or attached so worshippers can buy whatever religious bits and bobs they need to observe their rituals. The larger temples are civic projects financed by the wealthy to impress the locals with their benificence or to impress Rome with your local towns latin aspirations. It had little to do with spirituality.

 

By nature I don't think the Romans as a society were particularly spiritual, but rather that individual superstition was the driving factor. For instance, there's a tale about August at Perugia during his campaigns to defeat his political rivals. He goes to the walls of the town he wants to conquer and begins to make offerings to the gods for success in his forthcoming assault/siege, only to be interrupted by a troupe of enemy gladiators who make a suprise ambush.

 

The pagan gods represented that uncertainty about the world. Would the weather favour your farm? Is that eagle over there a sign? Otherwise life goes on. Notice that powerful individuals psychologically identified themselves with gods. Julius Caesar claimed ancestory from the gods (deliberately and entirely politically motivated - spirituality had nothing to do with it), Nero with Apollo, and so forth.

 

For the common man, the discovery of clean water from a natural spring was a gift of the gods, whereas drowning in a river the act of angry god upset you hadn't honoured him for permission to wade across. Gods were everywhere, not restricted to temples.

[barca]

... but it seems like there isn't much which talks about the way Romans felt about their religion: how it shaped their morals, how it directed their behavior in everyday life, etc. While it's clear that the old religion was used as a tool of politicians and the state, I don't buy the notion that pre-christian Romans did not experience their religion on a deeply personal level as many people do today.

 

The short answer is that we really don't know for sure. The long answer is that you'll get a lot of diverse perspectives on this issue.

 

For example, the controversial Friedrich Nietzsche praised the Pre-Christian Pagans for their worldly, life-affirming, passionate outlook, which he regarded as superior to the spiritual, life-denying, asceticism of the Christians.

 

[Ursus]

Romans certainly revered their gods and saw their gods in every facet of creation.

 

But if you're looking for deep personal faith, that seems largely alien to native Roman religion, and was reserved for the Graeco-Oriental cults that swept the empire (the Isiac cult described by Apuleius as being the best example).

[Turb0!]

caldrail, barca, and ursus- Thank you for the information! As I said, I'm just as happy with info which could disprove what I was thinking. The Nietzsche link is interesting. I have a professor who likes to quote Nietzsche when talking about the Romans. It seems that if pre-Christian Romans really fit those descriptions, then their relationships with the gods would have been more of a barter system than the kind of spiritual devotion that exists in the Western world today. In the first place it seemed strange to me that the gods could be involved in so many aspects of life without the Romans possessing some sort of deep spirituality, but on the other hand, having grown up in a world dominated by monotheism, it is perhaps just hard for me to wrap my head around the concept of a wide-ranging religion without it affecting anyone on a personal or emotional level as it does today. After all, one of the traditional Roman values was piety. Of course, the way they thought of piety could be completely different from the understanding of modern people.

[barca]

It seems that if pre-Christian Romans really fit those descriptions, then their relationships with the gods would have been more of a barter system than the kind of spiritual devotion that exists in the Western world today.

 

Ethics and spirituality was more prevalent among the philosophers such as the Stoics, who believed in the God of nature; many of them were skeptical of the very existence of pagan gods, but they certainly paid lip service to them. Cicero is credited with the idea of natural law, and probably the first to envision the idea of human rights as we know them today. In reality they didn't put these ideas in practice. They certainly didn't want to pass on these dangerous ideas to the slaves and lower classes. They didn't need another Spartacus.

 

Philosophical spirituality was different than today's religious spirituality in that it was only for the educated. Christianity adopted many of the ideas from Greco-Roman philosophy, digested them and made them more accessible to commoners.

[barca]

Here's a book I found on Amazon that may answer some of your questions:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Gentiles-Greco...ader_0300142080

[Turb0!]

Thanks barca, it seems to be a good book on the subject from what Amazon allowed me to preview.