The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden: Religion at the Roman Street Co

Description: The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden by Harriet I. Flower The most pervasive gods in ancient Rome had no traditional mythology attached to them, nor was their worship organized by elites. Throughout the Roman world, neighborhood street corners, farm boundaries, and household hearths featured small shrines to the beloved lares, a pair of cheerful little dancing gods. These shrines were maintained primarily FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description The most pervasive gods in ancient Rome had no traditional mythology attached to them, nor was their worship organized by elites. Throughout the Roman world, neighborhood street corners, farm boundaries, and household hearths featured small shrines to the beloved lares, a pair of cheerful little dancing gods. These shrines were maintained primarily by ordinary Romans, and often by slaves and freedmen, to whom the lares cult provided a unique public leadership role. In this comprehensive and richly illustrated book, the first to focus on the lares, Harriet Flower offers a strikingly original account of these gods and a new way of understanding the lived experience of everyday Roman religion. Weaving together a wide range of evidence, Flower sets forth a new interpretation of the much-disputed nature of the lares. She makes the case that they are not spirits of the dead, as many have argued, but rather benevolent protectors--gods of place, especially the household and the neighborhood, and of travel. She examines the rituals honoring the lares, their cult sites, and their iconography, as well as the meaning of the snakes often depicted alongside lares in paintings of gardens.She also looks at Compitalia, a popular midwinter neighborhood festival in honor of the lares, and describes how its politics played a key role in Romes increasing violence in the 60s and 50s BC, as well as in the efforts of Augustus to reach out to ordinary people living in the citys local neighborhoods. A reconsideration of seemingly humble gods that were central to the religious world of the Romans, this is also the first major account of the full range of lares worship in the homes, neighborhoods, and temples of ancient Rome. Back Cover "Harriet Flowers book is important for understanding the history of ancient Roman religion and the late republic. Above all, it is original and convincing in stressing the ubiquitous and pervading character of the cult of the lares in Rome and a number of other places in the Roman world." --J Author Biography Harriet I. Flower is professor of classics at Princeton University. She is the author of Roman Republics (Princeton), The Art of Forgetting: Disgrace and Oblivion in Roman Political Culture, and Ancestor Masks and Aristocratic Power in Roman Culture. She is also the editor of The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Table of Contents Preface ixI Lar(es) / Genius and Juno / Snake(s) 1i Varro Hesitates . . . 6ii Origins and Early Evidence 18iii A Lar Introduces Himself 31iv Single Lar, Twin Lares 36v Monthly Rituals at the Hearth 40vi Kitchen Gods 46vii A Genius Pours a Libation 53viii Serpent(s) in a Garden 63ix A Painted Landscape of Local Gods 71II Shrines for Lares in Rome 76x The Three Asses of the Bride 78xi Temple: Aedes 86xii Sanctuary: Ara / Fanum / Sacellum / Pomerium 104xiii Crossroads Shrine: Compitum 116xiv Lots of Small Shrines: Compita and Sacella 137xv Pompeii: A Case Study 145xvi Sacred Spaces and Lares Who Live in Them 157III Celebrating Lares 160xvii Compitalia: Who Is My Neighbor? 162xviii Delos: A Case Study 175xix Local Networks: Vicatim 192xx Officers and Associations: (Vico)magistri, Ministri, Collegia 206xxi Magistri and Ministri in Italy 226xxii Politics at Compitalia 234xxiii Religion and Politics at the Crossroads 250IV Augustus and Lares Augusti 255xxiv Augustus and Rome before 7 BC 258xxv The Reform of 7 BC 271xxvi Lares Augusti 284xxvii Genius Augusti? 299xxviii Who Gets the Bull? 311xxix Ara Pacis Augustae: Who Gets the Pig? 320xxx August Gods in the Vici 329xxxi The "New Age" of Augustus: Time and History 336xxxii Augustus and Lares Augusti 346Epilogue 348Appendix 1 References to Lares by Roman Authors: A List 353Appendix 2 Lares in the Calendar at Rome 357Appendix 3 Augustan Time Patterns 359Bibliography 361Index 387Image Credits 391 Review "Winner of a 2018 Charles Goodwin Award of Merit, Society for Classical Studies""Detailed, absorbing and beautifully illustrated . . . this is a book that demands, and deserves, serious engagement."---T. P. Wiseman, Times Literary Supplement"In The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden: Religion at the Roman Street Corner, Harriet I. Flower displays a formidable grasp of historical detail and a taste for scholarly disputes. Her book is superbly produced and richly illustrated in color with maps and photographs."---Marina Warner, New York Review of Books"Not only will this be an indispensable starting pointfor anyone working on any topic connected with the lares, it also constitutes a valuable model for one highly effective way to study religion in a world without religion."---James B. Rives, Bryn Mawr Classical Review"Flower has accomplished a great feat by encapsulating in one invaluable text the many facets of the Lares cults and their relationship with Romans as joyous guardians intended for the benefit of all Roman people."---Candace R. Macintosh, Classical Review"Flowers meticulous investigation of the Roman lares is a formidable undertaking thatreveals these gods as the unsung epicentre of Roman religion. . . . Ultimately, then, what emerges from F.s study is a deeper appreciation of the calculated religious significance of the Augustan brand."---Heidi Wendt, Journal of Roman Studies"Engagingly written and accessible, this book will appeal to a wide range of scholars and students interested in the nexus of religion, social class, and politics and definitely should be read by all who have an interest in Roman religion."---Lora J. Holland, Religious Studies Review Long Description The most pervasive gods in ancient Rome had no traditional mythology attached to them, nor was their worship organized by elites. Throughout the Roman world, neighborhood street corners, farm boundaries, and household hearths featured small shrines to the beloved lares, a pair of cheerful little dancing gods. These shrines were maintained primarily by ordinary Romans, and often by slaves and freedmen, to whom the lares cult provided a unique public leadership role. In this comprehensive and richly illustrated book, the first to focus on the lares, Harriet Flower offers a strikingly original account of these gods and a new way of understanding the lived experience of everyday Roman religion. Weaving together a wide range of evidence, Flower sets forth a new interpretation of the much-disputed nature of the lares. She makes the case that they are not spirits of the dead, as many have argued, but rather benevolent protectors--gods of place, especially the household and the neighborhood, and of travel. She examines the rituals honoring the lares, their cult sites, and their iconography, as well as the meaning of the snakes often depicted alongside lares in paintings of gardens.She also looks at Compitalia, a popular midwinter neighborhood festival in honor of the lares, and describes how its politics played a key role in Romes increasing violence in the 60s and 50s BC, as well as in the efforts of Augustus to reach out to ordinary people living in the citys local neighborhoods. A reconsideration of seemingly humble gods that were central to the religious world of the Romans, this is also the first major account of the full range of lares worship in the homes, neighborhoods, and temples of ancient Rome. Review Quote "Winner of a 2018 Charles Goodwin Award of Merit, Society for Classical Studies" Details ISBN0691175004 Author Harriet I. Flower Publisher Princeton University Press Year 2017 ISBN-10 0691175004 ISBN-13 9780691175003 Format Hardcover Imprint Princeton University Press Subtitle Religion at the Roman Street Corner Place of Publication New Jersey Country of Publication United States DEWEY 292.07 Media Book Publication Date 2017-09-26 Language English Translated from English Illustrations 24 color + 72 b/w illus. Short Title The Dancing Lares and the Serpent in the Garden UK Release Date 2017-09-26 NZ Release Date 2017-09-26 US Release Date 2017-09-26 Audience Tertiary & Higher Education AU Release Date 2017-12-03 Pages 440 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:161690059;

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