Thread by @polemicarc

ROTOLO n.2 – Lararia in Pompeii and Herculaneum
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#larario #lararium #pompeii #herculaneum #architecture #arquitectura #RomanEmpire

The Lararium is an altar sacred to the Lares, the deities of the ancestors according to the Romans. The word has an Etruscan origin, as 'lar' meant 'father' in their language.

Lararia were mini-shrines, permanently in use, and were worshipped by both the high and low class.
Here, one of the richest ones I’ve ever seen (Herculaneum):

They could have several shapes, from the simplest ones to the most elaborated and rich.
Other objects also served this cult such as incense burners, sacred lamps, food containers.

Lararia could range from a simple shelf to a niche to a miniature temple made of precious materials.
They were mostly located in the Atrium of villas or near the hearth of insulae.

Embodied by little statues of clay, wood, or wax called Sigillum (sign, effigy), Lares were domestic (Familiares) or public gods.
Lares at the 'Villa the of the Mysteries' (Pompeii):

What wrote St. Augustine of Hippo, between 413 and 426 A.D. in his 22-volumes masterpiece:

Public Lari were protectors of crossroads (Compitales, picture), sailors (Permarini), borders (Praestites), travellers (Viales) and, of course, the Emperor (Augusti).

From the book "Guide of Pompeii with appendices over its most interesting parts", written in an archaic Italian:

Descending from a previous animistic religion, Lares were impersonal. Their common "shapes" were youngsters, musicians, dancers, dogs, serpents... often represented in pairs. Reconstruction (not really beautiful, tho):

Lararia for Public Lares in the Forum of Pompeii. The votive columns (limestone) where to place the offerings are visible.
The very accurate masonry construction was carefully plastered and decorated with frescoes.

On the 17th of December the celebration of Saturnalia was held, where relatives swapped their Sigilla, the simulacra of the ancestors, among feasts where slaves could also act as free men.
Link from a very nice guy: tinyurl.com/y5wywrsk
@IntDissidente 😉

@IntDissidente The iconography often shows one or two serpents seizing the offerings, in the lower register of a fresco. Here, Bacchus with a mountain on the background. Do you recognize it?

@IntDissidente You reached the end of my second thread, follow @polemicarc if you found it interesting, and thank you for reading!

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