Temple of Zeus at Olympia Flashcards
(16 cards)
Describe the Cult statue of Zeus at Olympia?
13 meters high
Designed by Phidias
Chryselephantine
Describe the role of Roman priests?
Similarity - They are the ones who uphold the relationship, not interested in well being, not there to spread word of god, Job you do along side your normal job,
The only purpose of Roman priests was to uphold the pax deorum = Peace of the Gods (Keeping them on are side)
Do ut des – I give so that you might give back
They are not assigned to a specific god, temple, sanctuary
When they perform rituals they put abit of their toga on their head like a hood
Being a priest helped you climb the political ladder, getting your name know etc
Name the 3 colleges of roman priests?
Pontifices – (15) biggest most significant . Pontifex maximus – chief priest – Life long position
Augurs -
Vestal Virgins -
What is the role of pontifices?
They protect the temples , regulate burials, Regulate inheritance, manage religious calendar – there role goes beyond religion and is felt by everybody in Rome, as they decided when festivals were which is when Roman people stopped working
What do aurgurs do?
Take the Auspices (read flight of birds)
Also, interprtate the behavior of animals more generally,
Lituus - staff used by Roman augurs
The flight of birds is so difficult to interpretate, It is also therefore open to corruption, bribery
There is no science behind what they are talking about, its hard to trust
What happens if the Vestal virgins let the fire go out?
Priestess of vesta
They tend to the fire of Vesta, if it ever goes out the Roman empire will fall , in the temple of vesta
Where is the vestal virgins fire kept?
Centre forum
how many vestal virgins are there?
6
what kind of familes were vestal virgins?
elite rich families
What makes you eligible to be a vestal virgin?
the Pontifix maximus chooses who the next vestial virgin is (When a space was opened up)
The girls had to be 6- 10 years old, have the highest status in Rome, figure out which ones were healthy and had 2 living parents
When they agree they sign up for 30 years
apart from tending to the fire what else do they do?
They are keepers of important documents e.g. wills of senators and state documents ,
They make something called mola salsa – mixture of salt and flour used during Roman and animal sacrifices,
What happens to your social status if you are a family member or if you are a vestal virgin §
Status goes through the roof if you are or a member of your family is one. VIP seats at games front row seats at the ampheatre
in what way are vestal virgins independent?
They can do things that normal women in Rome cant do like create there own will, sort of independent women
what would happen if the fire went out?
If the fire went out or they did something wrong the vestal virgins were publicly whipped and if they broke there vow of chastity she is buried alive and the man is beaten to death
what is a hasurspice?
– Roman priests who reads omens from entrails of sacrificial animals
Depending on where there is excessive blood would mean something
Looks at the way an animal falls, does it die quickly,
Once there burning the animal the Haruspex would watch how it goes up , to look for signs from the Gods
