DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61617#0145
104
POMPEII
the master of the house was worshipped at the family shrine,
so his Genius should receive honor together with the Lares
of the different cities; thus in each city the emperor was to
be looked upon as a father, the head of the common house-
hold. As the house had its shrine for the Lares, so also had
the city; that in Rome was near the spot on which the arch
of Titus was afterwards erected.
Undoubtedly we should recognize in this edifice the sanctuary
of the Lares of the city, Lararium publicum. On the pedestal
Fig. 41. — North side of the sanctuary of the City Lares, restored.
of the shrine in the apse the Genius of Augustus probably
stood, represented by a statue of the emperor himself, with his
toga drawn over the back of his head, offering a libation ; on
his right and on his left were the two Lares, like those repre-
sented in paintings (p. 228) and in the little bronze images so
often found in house shrines.
In connection with the Lares the members of a family hon-
ored other gods, Penates, to whose special protection the head
of the household had committed himself and his interests. As
we shall see later, in house shrines diminutive bronze figures
representing Hercules, Mercury, Fortuna, and other divinities
POMPEII
the master of the house was worshipped at the family shrine,
so his Genius should receive honor together with the Lares
of the different cities; thus in each city the emperor was to
be looked upon as a father, the head of the common house-
hold. As the house had its shrine for the Lares, so also had
the city; that in Rome was near the spot on which the arch
of Titus was afterwards erected.
Undoubtedly we should recognize in this edifice the sanctuary
of the Lares of the city, Lararium publicum. On the pedestal
Fig. 41. — North side of the sanctuary of the City Lares, restored.
of the shrine in the apse the Genius of Augustus probably
stood, represented by a statue of the emperor himself, with his
toga drawn over the back of his head, offering a libation ; on
his right and on his left were the two Lares, like those repre-
sented in paintings (p. 228) and in the little bronze images so
often found in house shrines.
In connection with the Lares the members of a family hon-
ored other gods, Penates, to whose special protection the head
of the household had committed himself and his interests. As
we shall see later, in house shrines diminutive bronze figures
representing Hercules, Mercury, Fortuna, and other divinities