Religion, Death and
Burial in
Pompeii and
Herculaneum
Pompeii
Herculaneum
Many references to the Capitoline
Temple, but as yet uncovered.
Temple of the Capitoline Trio
Temple of Apollo
Doric Temple in the Triangular
Forum
Pompeii
Temple of Asclepius
Herculaeum
Temple of Fortuna Augusta
Temple of the Genius Augusti
Temple of Venus
Temple of Isis
Dionysis/Bacchus temple
Frescoes in the Villa of
Mysteries
Cult of the Imperial Genius
- Shrine of Augustales
Pompeii
Herculaeneum
Extensive evidence for the
worship of the Lares and
associated gods in a variety of
large houses. No evidence to
suggest a significant public space
to the Lares as in Pompeii.
Temple of the Lares Publici, built
after the 62AD Earthquake
Significant evidence for the worship of Lares
(household protector spirits) Penates (spirits
of the pantry) Genius (spirit of the family) in
all large houses in Pompeii as well as shops
and public spaces.
“The rituals practiced before the shrine
demonstrated the reliance of the familia in its
maintanence and continuity. The shrine bound
the Roman family to its past, protected its
present and provided for its future”.
Jashemski
Kitchen Lararium from the House of the
Faun, Pompeii
Lararium from the
House of Julius
Polybius, Pompeii
Freestanding lararium in the
peristyle of the House of the
Dioscuri, Pompeii
LARARIUM-HOUSEHOLD RELIGION
The genius, which
guaranteed many children
for the family was always
shown as a priest with
covered head and holding a
drinking horn
The Lares or spirit
protectors of the house
were shown as young
dancing men in short
tunics, who held a drinking
horn(rhyton) in one hand
and a plate ( patera ) in
another
The penates protected the
food supply and looked just
like the lares. Together with
Vesta they represented the
material prosperity of the
household
“The most sacred, the most hallowed place
on earth is the home of each and every
citizen. There are his sacred hearth and his
household gods, there the very centre of his
worship, religion and domestic ritual.”
Cicero
Snakes represented other
guardian spirits. They also
represent the renewal of
the life of the ancestors
Necropolis near Porta Nucera
Romans believed that the deceased entered into a shadowy existence in the
underworld after death. The dead who were happy were those who had made
the successful transition from the land of the living to the land of the dead.
They joined the manes, the spirits of the dead
Attitudes to death
• In Petronius’s Satyricon
Trimalchio says” Man’s life alas is
but a span, so let us live while we
can. We’ll be like this when dead (
silver skeleton thrown on the
table )
• Romans had no clear concept of
life after death but numerous
graffiti urge the people to live life
to the full.
• “Learn this well: while I am alive,
you are my enemy, Death”
Examples of elaborate Tombs
Tomb of Mammia& Altar Tomb of
NaevoleiaTyche
Tomb of Vestorius Priscus
( Herculaneum)
Tombs as a reflection of Status
• Many of the earlier tombs had a box-like shape, featuring decorative
concrete ornamentation on the outside and elaborate wall paintings and
funerary offerings on the inside (Grant 57).
• However, in The Age of Augustus, a different kind of tomb, shaped like a
semicircular bench, came into fashion. This style of monument was only
built for the very highest social tier of Pompeian society. Many of those
that have been found are located within the sacred zone around the
perimiter of the city, called the pomerium, an area that the town council
only allotted to those people considered to be deserving of great prestige
and privilege (Zanker 122-123).
• This new type of tomb fit well with Augustan ideals, as it did not mearly
honor the deceased but also provided an amenity for the town.
• Tombs as a reflection of StatusArchaeologists have interpreted the worn
steps of these monuments to mean that travelers as well as citizens of
Pompeii used these benches often as places to sit and to rest (Zanker
124).