CLAS 203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Gemma Augustea, Roman Senate, Greco-Roman Mysteries
4 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
Saturn: very old italian deity and was equated with cronos at an early stage for the greeks. Represents chaos, the absence of civilization, the era be- fore the olympian gods arrived. Saturnalia among the romans was interpreted as the golden age of saturn. Vesta: associated with hestia but her cult was italian and very old. Thought to be an arti- fact protecting roman communities: vestal virgins named after vesta. Were priestesses in charge of the cult of vesta. Main task was to tend after the secret fire that had to stay alight at all times. The fire guaranteed rome"s existence so their beauty was thought essential for the security of the roman state and to maintain the peace of the gods. Take a vow of chastity and that vow was to be taken very seriously. Vesta and hestia both dieities connected to the hearth. But in rome, the cult of vesta is more important than in the greek world.
