What Was the Effect of Religion on Art in Ancient Rome?
Religion and art always have had a close relationship throughout history. The influence that religion has exerted on art has allowed scholars not only to understand a culture's core beliefs and values, but also helped them understand the spirit of different historical periods. This idea holds true in the case of how religion influenced art in ancient Rome in both the public and private spheres.
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Roman Religion
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Religion in ancient Rome consisted of many different beliefs. However, there was one major set of beliefs that all citizens of the Roman Empire adhered to and that was known generally as the state religion, which was important to all the Romans because adherence to it "ensured and could continue to ensure the preservation and prosperity of the state."
Religion in Roman Society
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The ancient Romans were superstitious, but did not have a specific religious dogma. According to Lesley and Roy Adkins in "The Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome," "they were free to think and believe what they wanted." In both the public and private sphere, the ancient Romans made it a priority to make sure the gods were appeased because they believed devotion ensured prosperity. There were even minor officials called vicomagistri whose responsibilities included civic and religious duties such as keeping watch for fires, crime and making sacrifices to the gods and to the emperor's genius, which was the spiritual power embodied in the emperor.
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The State Religion
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Participation in the state religion was very important because it was "essential to ascertain the will of the gods before any state action." The ancient Romans believed that in order for the state to prosper, they must continually pay homage to the gods through prayers and rituals. These rituals had to be conducted in an exact manner, and any mistake would render the ritual void; it would then have to be done all over again. To the Romans, "religion protected the state, and the state protected religion." Therefore, it was very important that these rituals were performed correctly.
State Religion and Art
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The Ara Pacis Augustae, or Altar of Augustan Peace in Rome, illustrates how the state religion effected art. The Ara Pacis is a small roofless building with an altar inside where religious sacrifices and rituals were performed. On the walls of the Ara Pacis are sculptural reliefs that depict items such as bulls' skulls, sacrificial bowls, scenes of animal sacrifice, mythological figures and a procession of the imperial family from the Julio-Claudian line participating in a religious ceremony to celebrate the peace the emperor Augustus brought upon the Roman Empire. As a whole, the Ara Pacis is a public monument that shows viewers how religion and the piety of the emperor brought prosperity to the state.
Also, sculptures such as the one in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome feature the emperor Augustus dressed as a priest to show his role as the Pontifex Maximus. The Pontifex Maximus was the highest priest and exercised control over the state religion. This shows the importance of how religion influenced art and served to show the emperor's importance in the religious affairs and well-being of the state.
Private Religion and Art
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While the ancient Romans were devout in adherence to the state religion, in the private sphere, Romans prayed to protective household spirits called Lares. Many homes would have had a little shrine called a lararium, where statuettes of these household deities were placed and worshiped. To the ancient Romans, paying homage to the house deities was important because it ensured protection, prosperity and continuation of the family. However, not only did ancient Romans pay homage to the Lares, but they also paid homage to their ancestors. An example from the first century A.D. that is currently in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome shows a man carrying two busts of his ancestors to a funerary ceremony. This was important in society, as Polybius writes in the second century B.C. that showing "these portraits at public sacrifices, they (the descendants) honor them in a spirit of emulation." This shows that not only was devotion to the Lares important, but that devotion and remembrance of ancestors was just as important because the ancestors' deeds and approval of their descendants could serve as an example for their descendants to live by and could also bring good fortune to the home and family.
Piety and Propaganda
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Overall, religion had an important effect on the art of ancient Rome because religion tied into all aspects of life and was thought to have a major effect on events in both the public and private spheres. Therefore, a large amount of art from ancient Rome often merges religious themes with public and private themes and shows mainly two ideas. On one hand, the art shows the importance of piety on behalf of the participant and shows that religion played a major role in both the public and private sphere. On the other hand, the art also served as a form of propaganda to show opponents the power of the Roman people and their perpetual devotion to the gods, ancestors, the emperor and the state.
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