Cultus deorum Romanorum

The religion of the Romans, the Cultus Deorum Romanorum, cannot be approached by inserting Roman deity names into Greek religion or any other system, for it is a unique product of the culture that created it. It demands steadfastness and devotion to duty. It involves working in harmony with the eternal gods and with universal order, for the benefit not only of ourselves but also the world around us. With right action and attitudes towards the gods, both the State and the individual will prosper. Yet the cultus Deorum involves more than pious action and worldly power; there are also mystery traditions which focus on inner spiritual growth.

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The Cultus Deorum Romanorum is the pre-Christian religion of Rome. It began as the practices of the farmers of the village of Rome.

"I am quite certain that Romulus by instituting auspices, and Numa ritual, laid the foundations of our state, which would never have been able to be so great had not the immortal gods been placated to the utmost extent." -- Cicero "On the Nature of the Gods"

Influenced by their Etruscan (and later, Greek) neighbors, the Romans developed a complex state religion that emphasised duty to the gods and serving them through exactly prescribed rituals.

• Numa tradition
• Lararium
• Household worship

Sometimes called "Roman Paganism", the modern practice of the Cultus Deorum is an attempt to reconstruct the ancient religion of the Romans as closely as possible, making as few concessions to modern sensibilities as possible. As with other forms of historical reconstructionist paganism, every attempt is made to rely on actual historical and archaeological evidence, and interpolations are made only when the primary sources are silent, and then we strive to be consistent with them. When gaps in the evidence, or the realities of modern life, make it necessary to create something new it should be:

• as consistent as possible with what we do know about the classical-era Romans and their legacy.
• clearly presented as a recent innovation. We frown on attempts to advertise something modern and invented as ancient and historical in order to give it an authority (and marketability!) it does not deserve.

Starting with the Cultus Deorum today

Because of the principles of reconstructionism, almost everything that can be said about the historical Cultus is also true about the modern Cultus.

• declaration
• Priests and Priesthoods
• Rites and Rituals
• Roman Calendar
• Comitia Curiata

Magna Mater Project

The ultimate goal is the restoration of the Palatine temple of Magna Mater. There is a full description of the project.

Wiki projects