- Lares Familiares
Lares Familiares ("Family Guardians" in
Latin ) weremythological spirit s of ancientRome . The singular form is Lar Familiaris.The Lar Familiaris was a kind of domestic guardian spirit who cared for the welfare and prosperity of a household. A household's "lararium", a shrine to the Lar Familiaris, usually stood near thehearth or in a corner of the atrium. A lararium often had the appearance of a cupboard or a niche containing a small statue, a niche painted on a wall, or a small freestandingshrine . Sometimes the Genius of the head of the household, pictured as a bearded or crested snake, or as a man with the fold of his toga covering his head, is depicted with the Lar.References to domestic
religious practice often pair the Lares together with thePenates . Penates, although also domestic guardian spirits, were more specifically protectors of the master of the household and his immediatefamily . The Lar Familiaris, on the other hand, protected all household members, free or slave, and was associated with a particular place, thus did not accompany a family who moved. Tradition holds that a family's Lar would generously help those who honored him by devotionals andsacrifice s. But the Lar would turn his back (interestingly, this is physically possible with a statue) to those who would not offer him thanks or neglected him.A story about these spirits occurs in the "
Aulularia " ofPlautus (Lines 1-36). In the tale, a grandfather begs his Lar to hide thefamily gold , so the Lar buries it in thehearth . When the grandfather dies, the Lar did not show the son where the gold was hidden because the son had never remembered to honor the Lar. The Lar kept the gold hidden until Euclio, the man's grandson, had a daughter who was ready formarriage , yet hadn't enough money for adowry . Euclio, a dreadful miser, also neglected the Lar. But his daughter was of a morepious disposition, and had become pregnant by a man whose name she did not know. So the spirit sets in motion a complicated chain of events whereby Euclio finds the gold, but ultimately sees the error of his miserly ways and bestows it on his daughter for a dowry. Plautus describes the Lar Familiaris as a young, slender figure clad in high boots, shorttunic , and a belted undergarment. Garlands adorn his head, and he is lithe, graceful and nimble.ee also
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Lares
*Lares Permarini
*Lares Praestites External links
* [http://www.vroma.org/ VRoma - A Virtual Community for Teaching and Learning Classics]
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