Ancient Rome and Religion
Religion played a very important role in the daily life of ancient Rome and the Romans
Roman religion was centered around gods and explanations for events usually involved the
gods in some way or another. The Romans believed that gods controlled their lives and
as a result, spent a great deal of their time worshiping them. The most important god was Jupiter. He was the king of gods who ruled with his wife Juno, the goddess of the sky
Other gods were. After the reign of the emperor Augustus, 27 BC to AB 14, the emperor was also considered to be a god and he was worshipped on special occasions
Each god had a special festival day which was usually a public holiday
This holiday gave people the opportunity to visit the temple for whichever god was being celebrated
At this temple, priests would sacrifice animals and offer them to the god
Temples to worship the gods were built throughout the Roman Empire Temples usually always follow the same building pattern The roof was triangular shaped and supported by great pillars
Steps led up to the main doorway that was usually built behind the pillars
The inside of the temple would have been very well decorated and there would have been a statue of the god in it
There would also have been an altar where a priest would have served the god and made sacrifices
People called augurs could also be found in the temples. These people used the entrails of the dead animals to predict the future
The Romans took these predictions very seriously and few ignored the advice of an augur
Each family home would also have a small altar and shrine. The Romans had personal household gods or spirits called lares which were worshipped
every day at home. The shrine contained statues of the Leres and the head of the household led family prayers
around the shrine each day. The service was considered so important that family slaves were also invited
It is believed that most Romans were more keen to please their Leres than the public gods such as Jupiter