. Pompeii : its life and art . 7) there is such a chapel in thegarden, a niche for the images being placed in the wall. The Lares are the guardian spirits of the household. Origi-nally but one wasworshipped in eachhouse ; they began tobe honored in plural-ity after the time ofCicero, and at Pom-peii we invariably findthem in pairs. Theyare represented asyouths clad in a shorttunic confined by agirdle (Fig. 122),stepping lightly ordancing, with onehand high uplifted inwhich a drinkinghorn, rhyton, is seen ;from the end of thehorn a jet of winespurts in a gracefulcurve, falling into asmall pail,
. Pompeii : its life and art . 7) there is such a chapel in thegarden, a niche for the images being placed in the wall. The Lares are the guardian spirits of the household. Origi-nally but one wasworshipped in eachhouse ; they began tobe honored in plural-ity after the time ofCicero, and at Pom-peii we invariably findthem in pairs. Theyare represented asyouths clad in a shorttunic confined by agirdle (Fig. 122),stepping lightly ordancing, with onehand high uplifted inwhich a drinkinghorn, rhyton, is seen ;from the end of thehorn a jet of winespurts in a gracefulcurve, falling into asmall pail, situla, orinto a libation saucer,patera, held in theother hand. Simple offeringswere made to thesebeneficent spirits, — fruits, sacrificial cakes, garlands, and incense, — and at everymeal a portion was set aside for them in little dishes. When asacrifice was offered to the Lares, the victim was a pig. With the worship of the Lares was associated that of theGenius, the tutelary divinity of the master of the house. He is. Fig. 121. — Niche for the images of the household gods, in a corner of the kitchen in the house of , a painted serpent represented as about to take offerings from a round altar. In front is a square altar for the domestic worship. 264 POMPEII represented as a standing figure, the face being a portrait of themaster. The toga is drawn over his head, after the manner ofone sacrificing; in the left hand there is usually a cornucopia,sometimes a box of incense, acerra ; with the right hand he poursa drink offering from a patera. Very rarely we find a representation of the Genius of the mis-tress of the house. In one painting she appears with theattributes of Juno; the Genius of a woman was often calledJuno, as in the inscription on the bust stone of Tyche, the slaveof Julia Augusta (p. 410). As a man might swear in the nameof his Genius, so a womans oath might be By my Juno. The Lares and the Genius are often found together both inthe hearth
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishernewyorkmacmillan
