Roman Lararium
Our Lararium is a small temple of the lares that also contains three statuettes of an Etruscan, Roman soldier and Muse of music significant to the household.
The lararium was a shrine to the lares, guardian spirits of the Roman household, where family members performed daily rituals to guarantee their protection. The lares were depicted as two young men in dancing postures, holding drinking horns, either in paintings or as small bronze statuettes. The main guardian spirit was the genius, a fertility spirit responsible for ensuring continuation of the family line (gens), represented as the paterfamilias, whose birthday was the feast day of the genius. Tools used at the lararium include the Acerra incense-container, Salinum salt-container, Gutus wine (or milk) container, Patera offering-dish, Turibulum incense-burner, and Lucerna sacred-lamp.
In his coming-of-age, a boy gave his personal amulet (bulla) to his Lares before he put on his manly toga (toga virilis). Once his first beard had been ritually cut off, it was placed in their keeping. On the night before her wedding, a Roman girl surrendered her dolls, soft balls and breastbands to her family Lares, as a sign she had come of age. On the day of her marriage, she transferred her allegiance to her husband's neighbourhood Lares by paying them a copper coin en route to her new home. She paid another to her new domestic Lares, and one to her husband. If the marriage made her a materfamilias, she took joint responsibility with her husband for aspects of household cult.
The worship of Lares and Penates was banned on the 8 November 392 by the Codex Theodosianus 16.10.12.
In his coming-of-age, a boy gave his personal amulet (bulla) to his Lares before he put on his manly toga (toga virilis). Once his first beard had been ritually cut off, it was placed in their keeping. On the night before her wedding, a Roman girl surrendered her dolls, soft balls and breastbands to her family Lares, as a sign she had come of age. On the day of her marriage, she transferred her allegiance to her husband's neighbourhood Lares by paying them a copper coin en route to her new home. She paid another to her new domestic Lares, and one to her husband. If the marriage made her a materfamilias, she took joint responsibility with her husband for aspects of household cult.
The worship of Lares and Penates was banned on the 8 November 392 by the Codex Theodosianus 16.10.12.
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Roman furniture
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