The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic

Downloads: Under 100
Pages: 449

Read PDF online Download Save

About this book

Roman public worship takes shape here through the calendar, with each festival considered in its place in the year. W. Warde Fowler uses the Fasti to organize scattered evidence about the religion of the Republic, beginning with an explanation of how Romans reckoned months and years. Ancient calendar entries, literary references and competing scholarly interpretations make this a study of ritual as well as a reference work.

The discussion of Faunus shows how closely religious belief could follow the concerns of country life. Crops, cattle, woodland voices and local oracles appear beside accounts of public ceremonies and priestly authority. Fowler repeatedly acknowledges gaps in the evidence and difficulties of interpretation. Readers interested in ancient history or the study of religion can follow both the customs he describes and the reasoning by which he tries to explain them.

About the author

W. Warde Fowler

William Warde Fowler (1847-1921) was an English classical historian who spent almost his entire career at Lincoln College, Oxford, elected fellow in 1872, tutor from 1873 to 1910, and sub-rector from 1881 to 1906.