Roman religion: 1 definition
Introduction:
Roman religion means something in the history of ancient India. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
India history and geography
Source: archive.org: Journal of the Madras University, vol.28 (history)Roman religion and Greek religion bears striking similarity with the picture drawn of that age by South-Indian Tamil poets of the Sangam age.—In general the ancient Greeks and Romans were worshippers of nature in its various forms and had deified every faculty of man into a god. [...] Two facts in ancient Roman religion strike us as unique. One is the inordinate reverence it paid to ancestors whom they fondly described as the manes, meaning good people. They offered frequent sacrifices to propitiate their departed spirit and always considered them as among the household even in their spiritual state. Students of Roman history would remember the ancient Roman festival called Lemuria which was celebrated wholly in honour of the manes. The second astonishing circumstance is the importance the Romans attached to omens as indication of divine will. A sudden flash of lightning, an eclipse of the sun or the appearance of a comet was enough to determine their course of action and certainly no great undertaking was launched out when the auspices were bad.
When the picture drawn by the Tamil poets of the first three centuries of the Christian era is spread out before us one cannot escape seeing the striking similarity between what we learn of the Greek and Roman conditions and what seems to have actually obtained in South India during the period. [...] Thus if we take for example the description of religion the Sangam poems bring before our mind gods like Muruga, a Tamil war deity residing on the hills, Mayon, the god of pasture and animal husbandry, Balaraman, the god of agriculture and Varuna, the god of rain and goddesses like Kalaimagal, the goddess of learning and wisdom. Even the worship of nature is not jettisoned in this picture where the moon and the sun and the rain are adored and praised verily like gods and goddesses. Respect for omens is equally well seen in these ancient poems. Bad dreams, the falling of comets, indications seen in the direction of bird flights are clearly mentioned as omens in authentic Sangam works like the Puram.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
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Partial matches: Religion, Roman.
Full-text: Greek religion.
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Search found 2 books and stories containing Roman religion; (plurals include: Roman religions). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Significance of the Moon in Ancient Civilizations (by Radhakrishnan. P)
12. Creations of Egyptian Mythology < [Chapter 3 - History of Civilizations and Moon]
Satapatha-brahmana (by Julius Eggeling)
Introduction to volume 1 (kāṇḍa 1-2) < [Introductions]