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Religion was a vital part of Roman army
life but is also one that is relatively neglected in both the secondary
literature and the Roman military re-enactment scene. Because of this
the Roman Military Research Society, inspired in part by a festival
held by the Quinta Gallorum, decided to construct an altar to Jupiter
Optimus Maximus and to develop a ceremony of worship and propitiation
based on ancient texts and original formulae. It is interesting to
note that the earliest Roman religious ceremonies did not necessarily
rely on the sacrifice of animals but on offerings of wine, incense
and foods such as libum, a wheaten cake, and these are consequently
our preferred offerings. The Signifer and Centurio of the unit officiate
at these ceremonies and, although we take them seriously, participation
does not necessarily imply belief, as indeed was the case in antiquity.
Public involvement was a demonstration of loyalty and commitment to
one's Legion and to Rome. The same applies today |
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Moribus antiquis stet res
Romana. (Ennius)
Roman state religion had always been a vital
part of public life; a means both of securing divine assistance
for the state's endeavours and a way of affirming public loyalty
. This was appreciated very clearly by the Emperor Augustus whose
political 'revival' of the Republic also encompassed a restoration
of ancient religious cults, ceremonies and festivals. The one required
the other.
In fact, this was as true of the newly reconstituted army as it
was of the civil administration. It could, indeed, be argued
that the development of a military religious tradition was even
more significant since Augustus, and every subsequent Princeps,
relied fundamentally on a loyal army for political power. Religious
observance was one crucial way of sustaining that loyalty and power
through a celebration of shared pietas .
This fostering of loyalty to state and Emperor
could operate in a number of different ways: in the annual oath
taken to the Emperor of the day by his loyal soldiery ( something
still done by the modern Legio XIIII GMV) ; in the yearly
dedication of a new altar to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, father of
the Roman state and protector of its soldiery, (as at Maryport
in Cumbria); in offerings to the Imperial genius or numen
or to the Disciplina Augusti or indeed in the numerous
festivals that punctuated the military year.
Yet to regard the cults of the Roman army as
simply a cynical political exercise is to miss the realpoint. Shared
religious observance was a means of developing and strengthening
a vital esprit de corps - as was reverence shown to the standards
which, although not worshipped as such, were the embodiment of the
spirit or genius< of the unit, being kept in an aedes,
or chapel alongside the image of the Emperor and other sacred
objects, and always being treated with due respect and reverence.
To lose one's standard was the worst ignominy that could befall
a military unit, as Crassus and Varus ought to have known.
In the uncertainty of battle, reassurance from
the haruspex ( literally "gut gazer") that the omens were good or
that Jupiter, suitably fed and watered, was watching over you ready
to hurl his thunderbolts at the enemy must have been particularly
welcome to hard pressed squaddies.
Jupiter, of course, was not alone on Mt. Olympus
and no-one would object to a soldier's additional personal devotion
to any of the myriad deities found across the Roman world- the more,
the merrier was a basic philosophy. The more divine insurance a
man had the better and if Jupiter couldn't help, then perhaps
Mars Cocidius or Apollo Cunomaglus or, latterly, Mithras, Sol Invictus,
could.
Traditional Roman religion was essentially contractual
and had very little to do with personal salvation. II you needed
divine assistance, then you prayed to your chosen deity and promised
to make them an offering- an animal sacrifice, perhaps, an altar,
or a sacred object to beautify a temple in return for their help
in achieving the desired end. Then you sat back and waited for your
prayers to be answered. This must have happened frequently as a
large number of inscriptions have survived bearing the traditional
formula "VSLM" . - votum solvit libens merito .. (he or she) "freely
and willingly fulfilled their vow"
This same formula can be found on our altar whilst our prayers reflect
the debt of gratitude owed to Jupiter, Best and Greatest for his
assistance in previous victorious military campaigns and ask that
such help may also be vouchsafed in the future.
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Antonine Wall
distance slab from
Bridgeness showing army religious
ceremony in progress. 2nd cent. AD
(Hunterian Museum), Glasgow) |
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Priests
of the modern Leg XIIII invoke the assistance of the Gods
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Altar of the Vexillatio Legionis XIIII Geminae.
It reads:
"TO JUPITER, BEST AND GREATEST,
A DETACHMENT OF THE FOURTEENTH LEGION, WARLIKE AND VICTORIOUS, FREELY
AND WILLINGLY FULFILLED ITS VOW".
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"Iuppiter Optime Maxime, Conserva Nos"!!
Anatomy of an Altar
Arae vary considerably in size from small personal altars
only several centimetres in height to large and imposing public
structures located outside major temples. Tombstones were also often
produced in the shape of altars.
The vast majority are carved from (often local)
stone and may feature representations of the deity in question as
well as text. They would also, it seems, have been brightly painted.
The top of the altar is known as the 'capital'
and features a circular depression or 'focus' where a fire would
be burned and the offerings made. This is flanked by pulvini or
'bolsters', usually interpreted as bundles of incense as used in
the ceremony.
The main portion of the altar, or shaft, is
normally inscribed with a formulaic dedication, usually involving
the name of the deity and the individual or group responsible for
the dedication. There is considerable evidence that the lettering
was originally picked out in red. The sides of the shaft are also
sometimes decorated with sacificial implements such as the ewers
and axes utilised by the acolytes during the ceremony.
Altars would normally be decorated with garlands
for public
ceremonies and would be located outside any local temple.
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LINKS:
Hunterian Museum, Glasgow
Museum
of Antiquities, Newcastle.
Senhouse
Museum, Maryport
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