Lararia of Pompeii by Italian painter, illustrator, and watercolorist Luigi Bazzani (1836-1927)Larar

Lararia of Pompeii by Italian painter, illustrator, and watercolorist Luigi Bazzani (1836-1927)Lararia (also called sacella [singular: sacellum] and aediculae [singular: aedicula]) are shrines to the household gods found in many Roman houses. They were located in atria, gardens, courtyards, and/or kitchens. Depending on the wealth of a household, the lararium could be a free-standing shrine, a wall niche, a cabinet, or a fresco. They sometimes accomodated statuettes of the Lars (protectors of the household), the genius (guardian spirit) of the paterfamilias, the juno (guardian spirit) of the materfamilias, and deities with special meaning for the family. Lararia also served as repositories for offerings made by members of the household. When children came of age, they offered their protective amulets and toys to the Lares, signifying their new status as adults (and possibly in thanksgiving for the Lares’ protection in helping them to have reached adulthood). Brides customarily offered a coin to the Lares of their childhood at the family’s lararium after the wedding had taken place, and offered another coin to the Lares of their husband’s family at the lararium after arriving at their new home.Useful information about lararia:Orr, David.G. “Roman Domestic Religion: A Study of the Roman Lararia .” Master’s thesis, University of Maryland, 1969.  https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/20495/1187729.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=ySharpe, Heather F. ”Bronze Statuettes of Lares from Ancient Greece.”   https://www.academia.edu/38180604/Sharpe_Lares_in_Greece.pdfLearn about a wood sacellum from Herculaneum that survived the eruption of Vesuvius here.See also my #Lararium tag for more about lararia, the Lares, Roman domestic worship, and and making/buying a lararium for your own use.Image credits below the cut (because this post is long enough):Source for all above images: Mharrsch via WIkimedia Commons Image license for all above images: Public Domain (author’s life plus 70 years, published before 1925)Top Left: Lararium of the House of Dioscuri at Pompeii by Luigi Bazzani, 1902. (X) Collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Top right: Columned lararium in Pompeii by Luigi Bazzani. (X)  Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, LondonMiddle Left: Lararium of House IX 1, 7, in Pompeii by Luigi Bazzani, 1903. (X) Collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Middle Right: Columned lararium in Pompeii, watercolor by Luigi Bazzani. Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.  (X) Bottom: Frescoed lararium in Pompeii, watercolor by Luigi Bazzani. (X)  Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. -- source link

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