Lararium (Nova Roma)

Revision as of 02:58, 31 December 2007

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The Lararium (pl. lararia) is the sacred place of the home where offerings and prayers are made to the Gods.

Making a Lararium

The easiest way to set up a lararium is to reserve a small one-tier wall shelf, or a table or cabinet as an altar. A trip to a hardware store, a department store or an antique shop will usually yield something workable. A lararium may be decorated to taste in classical style if one wishes, but it need not be any special style or color.

One doesn't really need a lot of surface space. A square foot of space or so is about the average, as long as there is room for a candle, incense, and an offering dish. Space for statuary or wall space to hang pictures on is nice but not critical.

It is well if one can place the lararium in a front room or near the kitchen area as was done in antiquity, but this is not essential. The important thing is that the lararium be placed somewhere that isn't so remote that it will be ignored or forgotten, or in a place so obtrusive it gets bumped into and knocked about during the course of the day.

The lararium should be kept clean. The acerra, the salinum and the gutus can be stored near or under your lararium depending on it's design, and need only be present before the gods during the rites.

Examples

The popular lararium plaque seen in several Nova Roma lararia is available from Sacred Source, a Macellum vendor.

Click on an image to see it at full size.

Error creating thumbnail: /home/public/webhost/www.novaroma.org/http/vici/bin/ulimit4.sh: line 4: /usr/bin/convert: No such file or directory Lararium of Marcus Octavius Gracchus	Lararium of Marca Hortensia Maior
Lararium of Violentilla Galeria Saltatrix	Lararium of Julilla Sempronia Magna
Lararium of Lucius Cassius Cornutus	Lararium of Annia Minucia Marcella

Virtual Lararia

Lararium of the Vitellii - Visit the Gens Vitellia Virtual Lararium.

See also

• Lararium