| Religion in ancient Rome |
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Inancient Roman religion, avotum (pluralvota; from Latin voveo, vovere 'vow, promise') is avow orpromise made toa deity. As the result of this verbal action, avotum is also that which fulfills a vow, that is, the thing promised, such asofferings, a statue, or even atemple building. Thevotum is thus an aspect of the contractual nature of Roman religion, a bargaining expressed bydo ut des, "I give that you might give."[1]
In everyday life, individuals might makevotive offerings to a deity for private concerns.Votaprivata are attested in abundance byinscriptions, particularly for the laterImperial era. These are regularly marked with the letters V.S.L.M.,votum solvit libens merito, noting that the person making the dedication "He has fulfilled his vow, willingly, as it should."William Warde Fowler found in these offerings "expressions of … religious feeling" and a gratitude for blessings received that go deeper than contractual formalism.[2]
During theRepublican era, thevotum was a regular part of ceremonies conducted at theCapitoline by a general holdingimperium before deploying.[3] Thetriumph with its dedication of spoils and animal sacrifices at the Capitol was in part a fulfillment of such a vow.[4] A general who faced an uncertain outcome in battle might make avotum in the field promising to build a temple out of gratitude for divine aid in a victory. In 311 BC,Junius Bubulcus became the firstplebeian general to vow and oversee the building of a temple; he honored the goddess Salus, "Salvation".[5] A vow would also be made in connection with the ritual ofevocatio, negotiations with the enemy'stutelary deity to offer superiorcult. An extreme form ofvotum was thedevotio, the ritual by which a general sacrificed himself in battle and asked thechthonic deities to take the enemy as offerings along with him.[6]
In the Republic, publicvota (vota publica) orvota pro salute rei publicae ("vows for the well-being of the republic") were offered on the day theconsuls took office, eventually fixed on 1 January (Kal.Ian.).[7] These were joined byvota forCaesar (vota pro Caesare orpro salute Caesaris) in 44 BC.[8]
Under the Empire, theSenate decreedvota on behalf of Octavian (laterAugustus) asprinceps in 30 BC.[9][8] These vows for the well-being of theemperor (vota pro salute imperatoris,principis,[10] orAugusti)[11] were moved to 3 January—the usual date of theCompitalia—underCaligula in AD 38.[8]Vota for the state continued to be held on January 1st, while the vows for the emperor came to include his family as well.
During these public vows, offerings were made toJupiter,Juno,Salus, and sometimesother deities.[12] In Rome, these ceremonies were conducted by the consuls andpontiffs, and in theprovinces probably bygovernors and local priests and officials.[13] For thevota for the emperor and his family,the people of the capital were assembled to offer collective vows;[14] it was refusal to take part in these events and similar rituals that sometimes led topersecution ofChristians.
Subsequently, theanniversary day of each emperor's acclamation (dies imperii) were celebrated with similar rituals; larger rituals marked the5 year (quinquennalia) and10 year anniversaries (decennalia). Incomplete records have led scholars to debate whether particularquinquennalia anddecennalia were celebrated at the beginning of the year, on thedies imperii, or at some other time for specific reasons in each case.
Vota publica continued in Rome even after Christianity had become the official religion of the Empire, possibly as late as the 6th century.[15] Because the vows were as much affirmations of political loyalty as religious expressions, they were difficult to abolish without undermining the sacral aura of the emperor's authority.[16]
In theEastern Roman Empire, this festival was known as theVóta (Βότα). The emperorsArcadius andHonorius banned the sacrifices associated with the festival. In 692 theQuinisext Council forbade Christians from celebrating, but it remained on the court calendar at least until the reign ofConstantine VII Porphyrogenitus (r, 905–959).[17]
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