Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University
Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University
Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University
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CHAPTER 6: AVIANS<br />
Gods and birds shared a mastery of the skies not possessed by humans or other<br />
animals; and it was not surprising that some birds, in their strength or beauty,<br />
should have been regarded as divine. 548<br />
In so far as the power of flight may seem both magical and entrancing, birds have always<br />
inspired awe in ground dwellers. In many mythologies, the sky is held to be the dwelling place<br />
of the gods, and through flight birds seem able to communicate and mingle with divinities. Sky<br />
gods such as the Greek Zeus, Egyptian Ra, Norse Odin, Roman Jupiter, and many more reigned<br />
supreme over their respective pantheons. Given the importance of the sky in ancient<br />
cosmologies, it is not surprising that birds held a special place in Etruscan and Roman religion;<br />
one need only recall that the founding of the city of Rome included an augury contest between<br />
Romulus and Remus. 549<br />
Agreeing to arbitrate their quarrel by [observing] birds of good omen, they took up<br />
positions by themselves. They say six vultures were seen by Remus, and double<br />
that number by Romulus. On the other hand, there are those who say that Remus<br />
truly saw his six, but Romulus lied about his twelve, but when Remus came to<br />
him, Romulus then saw twelve. 550<br />
This is far from the only example of avian omens that appear in Roman history. One prodigy<br />
from Roman “mythical history” can be found in the story of Lucumo’s journey to Rome in which<br />
an eagle snatched and returned his cap while he was on the Janiculum hill. 551 Historians also<br />
record portents during the reign of Augustus, such as the episode of the galinas albas. 552 Thus,<br />
augury was important not only because birds could reveal the will of the gods, but also since the<br />
Romans believed that the practice of augury was used from the earliest days of their history.<br />
548 Bevan 1986, 39.<br />
549 Jannot (2005, 29) notes that the Romans may have borrowed their practice of augury from the Etruscans.<br />
550 Plut. Vit. Rom. IX.5 Greek Text taken from Plutarch Lives: Theseus and Romulus, Lycurgus and Numa, Solon<br />
and Publicola, Loeb Classical Library, Vol. 1, edited by G.P. Goold, Cambridge, MA: Harvard <strong>University</strong> Press,<br />
1998, p. 114. (Translation by Author.)<br />
" ) 3 * X , ( B B b " ?" ,(7 s M 1 vw K 7<br />
& , ( ) 1 ;w" &K M 5 (# - ) . ) ;w A &' ( D 7 T ) . ;<br />
w" & 9 C& ( ) ;w 7 >( 1 ;w" &K M 5 ###<br />
551 Liv. I.XXXIV.8-9. De Grummond (2006c, 42) briefly explores the implications and significance of this episode<br />
in relation to Etruscan prophets.<br />
552 Plin. HN. 15.136-37.<br />
112