The Roman State Cult: Augurs

[Favonius Cornelius]

The major difference between the Augurs and Etruscan Haruspices was the Augurs determined if a particular action was favored by the gods, while the Haruspices' pronouncements provided a glimpse into the future, however both used similar methods for their work.

 

The respect of 'signs' from the gods has become a part of Italian culture throughout its history.

 

Selected quotations:

 

"There shall be three kinds of state priests: one to be in charge of ceremonies and sacred rites (sacra), another to interpret the obscure utterances of soothsayers and prophets, and the state augurs, the interpreters of Jupiter the Best and Greatest who shall foretell the future from signs and auspices, and shall maintain their discipline. And the augurs shall observe the omens in regard to vineyards and orchards and the welfare of the people; those who conduct war or civic matters shall be informed by them beforehand of the auspices and shall obey them; the priests shall foresee the anger of the gods and shall give way to it they shall observe lightning in fixed regions of the sky and shall keep free and demarcated the city, fields and places of observation. Whatever an augur shall declare to be unjust or unlawful, pernicious or ill-omened, shall be null and void." -Cicero, Laws 2.20-1

 

"Our public augurs set out in their discussions that there are five kinds of lands ? Roman lands, Gabine lands, also those that are foreign, lands that are hostile, and uncertain lands (Romanus, Gabinus, peregrinus, hosticus, and incertus). Roman lands they say are from where lies the city of Rome, founded by Romulus, and Gabine lands from the town of Gabii. The Peregrinus are those foreign lands that are peaceful and friendly, that are external to Rome and Gabii, who favor the same method of taking auspices. Peregrinus they say comes from "to proceed," that is "to go out from," as when the Romans traveled outside of their own lands. For which reason Gabine lands might also be considered peregrinus, except that with Rome they share a singular method of taking auspices, from however else they may be distinguished. The hosticus they say are the lands of the enemy, while incertus are those lands extending to the four quarters of the earth of which we are ignorant (Varro De Lingua Latina 5.53)."

 

"Let the boundaries of my templa and the wild lands (tesca) be as I declare them with my words. That tree of whatever kind it is which I deem myself to have named, let it be the boundary of my templum and the wild land to the right. That tree, of whatever kind it is, insofar as I deem myself to have named it, let it be the boundary of my temple and the wild land on the left. Between these points I have established the templa and the wild lands by means of directing (conregione), viewing (conspicione), reflecting (cortumiones) as far as I have been most rightly aware of it within this limit." (Varro: On the Latin Language, VII.8)

 

"When Numa's name was mentioned, though the Roman senators saw that the balance of power would be on the side of the Sabines if the king were chosen from amongst them, still no one ventured to propose a partisan of his own, or any senator, or citizen in preference to him. Accordingly they all to a man decreed that the crown should be offered to Numa Pompilius. He was invited to Rome, and following the precedent set by Romulus, when he obtained his crown through the augury which sanctioned the founding of the City, Numa ordered that in his case also the gods should be consulted. He was solemnly conducted by an augur, who was afterwards honoured by being made a State functionary for life, to the Arx, and took his seat on a stone facing south. The augur seated himself on his left hand, with his head covered, and holding in his right hand a curved staff without any knots, which they called a "lituus." After surveying the prospect over the City and surrounding country, he offered prayers and marked out the heavenly regions by an imaginary line from east to west; the southern he defined as "the right hand," the northern as "the left hand." He then fixed upon an object, as far as he could see, as a corresponding mark, and then transferring the lituus to his left hand, he laid his right upon Numa's head and offered this prayer: 'Father Jupiter, if it be heaven's will that this Numa Pompilius, whose head I hold, should be king of Rome, do thou signify it to us by sure signs within those boundaries which I have traced.' Then he described in the usual formula the augury which he desired should be sent. They were sent, and Numa being by them manifested to be king, came down from the templum." -Livy AUC I.18.617-33

 

"A sonivium tripudium, according to Appius Pulcher, was that named "attentive", being the sound made when the puls fell to the ground out of the mouths of chickens as though they ate like quadrupeds (Festus 297b)." "This augury is like that in the discipline of augurs, what is called a sonivium tripudium, i. e. a sound like that of a tree uprooted by an earth tremor and suddenly falls (Servius Ad Aen. 3.90)."

 

"How the signal to fight was given in the army, the general under whose authority it served (imperium auspicumque) would be seated in the tabernaculum (under a tent in the auguralicum) on his magisterial stool in the presence of the army. The sacred chickens would be released from their coop into the area around his stool ... an announcement from ...the chickens ... a favourable omen seen by each (chicken) eating up grain so greedily that the corn falls from thier beaks to the ground, an announcement of a favourable omen. [Afterwards in silentium he seated himself once more and said, 'The cavalry and the infantry of the Latins and ... dressed for war ... how soever many of you are present so as to have seen the favourable omen, carry the message (to your troops). [The morale of the men was boistered by the fortunate announcement] ... by my imperium and faith ... what he undertakes may be advantageous, they proclaimed with a strong voice. Then the army formed into its battle line, there again the auspices were taken, again the hinderance (?) is attested to as was the customary method used to make ready the army for battle (Ad Aen. 10.241)."

[Pantagathus]

One of the things I love about Livy is that he documented the major omens for a given year...

[Favonius Cornelius]

Heh ya I agree. They were usually an assortment of lightining stuck buildings and malformed animal offspring.

[Pantagathus]

Heh ya I agree. They were usually an assortment of lightining stuck buildings and malformed animal offspring.

 

One that made me laugh out loud was during the 2nd Punic War. Apparently, a child was born that was as large as a four year old (or something like that) so they summoned the Haruspices to make a judgement on the thing...

 

To paraphrase the Haruspices: "Get rid of it, and get rid of it quick! Oh, and don't let that thing even touch the soil or we're all in big trouble..."

 

So they put it in a box, carried it to Ostia, put it on a ship and dumped it overboard

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

Hmm, quite an unusual story I've never heard. Good thing that kid never touched the ground.

[Pertinax]

yes -did they actually say what might happen if it did touch the ground?

[Pantagathus]

yes -did they actually say what might happen if it did touch the ground?

 

As you will see below, they did not say:

 

"No sooner were men's fears allayed by these expiatory rites than a fresh report came, this time from Frusino, to the effect that a child had been born there in size and appearance equal to one four years old, and what was still more startling, like the case at Sinuessa two years previously, it was impossible to say whether it was male or female. The diviners who had been summoned from Etruria said that this was a dreadful portent, and the thing must be banished from Roman soil, kept from any contact with the earth, and buried in the sea. They enclosed it alive in a box, took it out to sea, and dropped it overboard." - Livy 27.37

 

 

If only Hannibal had known to intercept it and let it touch the ground... Maybe he would have won the war? hehehehe

[Pertinax]

Or possibly hurled it by Onager into the Forum. Im sorry thats a little cruel of me.

[Favonius Cornelius]

Hm ancient version of psychological warfare.