Penates and Genii

Household shrines were also used as a focal point for the worship of other divinities associated with the well-being of the domus, including the Genius, the ancestral head of the family (fig.1&2). The Penates were considered to be ancient household gods whose primary duty was to ensure a continuing supply of food and to guard food storage areas (fig.3). They were worshiped in connection with the Lares and the goddess Vesta, the guardian of the family hearth. Its flame symbolised the family’s continuing prosperity and the penates were also responsible for protecting and feeding it. Small quantities of salt and flour were thrown onto the fire or offered to their sculptural or pictorial images at meal times.

Typological and iconographic studies have linked the formal characteristic of these guardian spirits to pre-Roman sacral and funerary bas-reliefs, as well as votive altars, thus reinforcing the theme of sanctuary within the house. (For more on the formal and semantic origins of house guardian spirits see Thomas Fröhlich, “Lararien – und Fassadenbilder in den Vesuvstädten. Untersuchungen zur “Volkstümlichen”in Pompejanischen Malerei, Mainz 1991:188).

Originally the Genius, or male life force, signified the transcendental spirit associated with the master of the house, the pater familias. His undisputed sovereignty stemmed from the fact that he was the principal procreator, the Genius or ‘begetter’ of the family, and this gave him virtually omnipotent power over other family members. His quasi-divine status originated in ancient Roman beliefs that valued the supremacy of the sperm-line over the bloodline. [For a revealing comparison of the opposing Roman and Etruscan attitudes towards bloodline lineage see Altheim 1938: 54-61] By late Republican times, the Genius was also increasingly thought of as yet one more apotropaic spirit, who could be called upon to protect and support the household. Quite often the Genius would be depicted between Penates or Lares performing ritual libation or sacrifice. By worshiping the Genius at the lararium, family members were not only reconfirming the hierarchical structure of the house, but also, more importantly, soliciting protection and support from previous Genii.

In addition to tutelary guardian spirits, it was not uncommon to see other divinities such as Fortuna, Apollo and Dionysus represented in various parts of the house, either in the form of small sculptures or wall-paintings. Such was the belief in these patron deities that their effigies, in the form of small figurines or miniature paintings, were used as protection whilst traveling.