Augury was a Greco-Roman religious practice of observing the behavior of birds, to receive . When the individual, known as the augur, read these signs, it was referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" () means "looking at birds". Auspex, another word for augur, can be translated to "one who looks at birds".[ auspic-, auspec- + (Latin: to look, to observe in order to make a prediction; to see omens; from auspex [genitive form auspicis] avi-, stem of avis, "bird" plus -spex, "observer", from specere).] Depending upon the birds, the auspices from the gods could be favorable or unfavorable ( or inauspicious). Sometimes politically motivated augurs would fabricate unfavorable auspices in order to delay certain state functions, such as elections.[Troxler, Howard, "Electoral Abuse in the Late Roman Republic"
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/ref> Pliny the Elder attributes the invention of auspicy to Tiresias the seer of Thebes.[Gaius Plinius Secundus, Naturalis Historia, 7.203.3.]
Over the development of the Roman empire, the definition of augury broadened to include other forms of divination.
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This type of omen reading was already a millennium old in the time of Classical Greece: in the fourteenth-century BC diplomatic correspondence preserved in Egypt called the Amarna correspondence, the practice was familiar to the king of Alasia in Cyprus who needed an "eagle diviner" to be sent from Egypt.[J.A. Knudtzon, Die El-Amarna Tafeln (1915:no. 35.26) noted in Walter Burkert, The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influences on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age (1992), p. 42.] This earlier, indigenous practice of divining by bird signs, familiar in the figure of Calchas, the bird-diviner to Agamemnon, who led the army ( Iliad I.69), was largely replaced by sacrifice-divination through inspection of the sacrificial victim's liver— haruspices—during the Orientalizing period of archaic Greek culture. Plato notes that hepatoscopy held greater prestige than augury by means of birds.[Walter Burkert 1992:49, noting Plato's Phaedrus 244C.]
One of the most famous auspices is the one which is connected with the founding of Rome. Once the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, arrived at the Palatine Hill, the two argued over where the exact position of the city should be. Romulus was set on building the city upon the Palatine, but Remus wanted to build the city on the strategic and easily fortified Aventine Hill. The two agreed to settle their argument by testing their abilities as augurs and by the will of the gods. Each took a seat on the ground apart from one another, and, according to Plutarch, Remus saw six , after which Romulus saw twelve. The two clashed over whether the preference of the gods was indicated by Remus seeing vultures before Romulus did, or by Romulus seeing twelve vultures while Remus saw six. Vultures were pre-eminent in Roman augury, furnishing the strongest signs an augur could receive from a wild bird. They were subject to protective taboos and also called sacred birds.
History
According to unanimous testimony from ancient sources, the use of auspices as a means to decipher the will of the gods was more ancient than Rome itself. The use of the word is usually associated with Latins as well as the earliest Roman citizens. Though some modern historians link the act of observing Auspices to the Etruscans, Cicero accounts in his text De Divinatione several differences between the auspicial of the Romans and the Etruscan system of interpreting the will of the gods. Cicero also mentions several other nations which, like the Romans, paid attention to the patterns of flying birds as signs of the gods' will but never mentions this practice while discussing the Etruscans.[Cic. de Div. I.41, II.35, 38; de Nat. Deor. II.4.]
Though auspices were prevalent before the Romans, Romans are often linked with auspices because of their connection to Rome's foundation and because Romans established rules for the reading of auspices that helped keep it an essential part of Roman culture. Stoicism, for instance, maintained that if there are gods, they care for men, and that if they care for men they must send them signs of their will.[Cic. de Leg. ii. 13.] Even the Philistines practiced augury as far back as 740 BC and c. 686 BC as declared by Isaiah 2:6 in the Hebrew Bible. Yet augury was first systematized by the Assyrian people according to the Jewish Encyclopedia.
Position of the augur
In ancient Rome, the appointment and inauguration of any magistrate, decisions made within the people's assembly and the advancement of any campaign, always required a positive auspicium. This auspicium was only considered effective for either one day or the period it takes for the action to be completed.[4. Kobori, K. 2013: “An Observation on the Religion of the Romans in Republican Rome – on the concept of Religio,” PhD thesis (Tokyo University).]
During Augustus's first Roman consul in 43 B.C.E., the positive auspicium corresponded to the spotting of twelve vultures, similar to Romulus.[Green, Steven J. "Malevolent Gods and Promethean Birds: Contesting Augury in Augustus’s Rome." Transactions of the American Philological Association, vol. 139, no. 1, The, 2009.] Unlike in Greece where oracles played the role of messenger of the gods, in Rome it was through birds that Jupiter's will was interpreted.["Aves internun-tiae Jovis." Cic. de Divin., ii. 34]["Interpretes Jovis optimi maximi publici augures." Cic. de Leg., ii. 8] Auspices showed Romans what they were to do, or not to do; no explanation for the decision was given except that it was the will of the gods. It would be difficult to execute any public act without consulting the auspices.
It was believed that if an augur committed an error in the interpretation of the signs, or vitia, it was considered offensive to the gods and often was said to have disastrous effects unless corrected.[Potter, David. (1994). Prophets and Emperors, p. 152. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University.] Elections, the passing of laws, and initiation of wars were all put on hold until the people were assured the gods agreed with their actions. The men who interpreted these signs, revealing the will of the gods were called augurs. Similar to records of court precedents, augurs kept books containing records of past signs, the necessary rituals, prayers, and other resources to help other augurs, especially members of the ruling aristocracy, to understand the fundamentals of augury.[Potter, David. (1994). Prophets and Emperors, p. 154. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University.]
Although augurs had the power to interpret the signs, it was ultimately the responsibility of the magistrate to execute consequent decisions, or withhold or debate judgment as to future actions.[spectio, Cic. Phil. 2,81.] The magistrates were also expected to understand the basic interpretations as they were often expected to take the auspices whenever they undertook any public business.[Potter, David. (1994). Prophets and Emperors, p. 153. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University.]
Until 300 BCE only patricians could become augurs. It was believed that the Roman gods were the gods of the patricians only.[1.] As such,Plebeians assemblies were forbidden to take augury and hence had no input as to whether a certain law, war or festival should occur. Cicero, an augur himself, accounts how the monopoly of the patricians created a useful barrier to the encroachment of the populares.[F. Guillaumont. (1984). Philosophe et augure, recherches sur la théorie cicéronienne de la divination, Brills. New Pauly footnote 7 "Augures".] However, in 300 BCE a new law Lex Ogulnia, increased the number of augurs from four to nine and required that five of the nine be plebeians, for the first time granting the ability to interpret the will of the gods to lower classes. With this new power it was not only possible for plebeians to determine the gods' will in their favor but it was also now possible for plebeians to critique unfair interpretations by patricians.
Clothing and equipment of the augur
The augurs typically wore the praetexta. However, in military settings, they would wear the trabea.[
/ref> They carried a lituus—a wand to mark out the templum for augury—and a capis, a clay vessel used for sacrifices.][
/ref> These two items were often depicted in the coins issued by augurs.
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Location of the augury
Auspices needed to be taken on Roman land. If the location was not Roman, it had to be consecrated before being used. On this land, the augur would mark an area in the sky, known as a
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Within Rome, already consecrated sites such as the Auguraculum on the
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Types of auspices
- ex avibus ''from
- Though auspices were typically bird signs, not all birds in the sky were seen as symbols of the will of the gods. There were two classes of birds
the flight of birds
For the Romans, the high flight of birds ( praepes) was an auspicious omen, the low flight was less happy ( infera).
- ex caelo ''from
The observation and interpretation of thunder and lightning are the maximum auspicium sent by Jupiter. Whenever the natural phenomena of lightning and thunder are seen, it indicates that the Roman assemblies, an assembly summoned by a magistrate[
/ref> cannot be held.]
- ex quadrupedibus from
This type of divination is not used in auspices done officially for the state. It is usually practiced in private spaces. The appearance of any quadruped, including dogs, wolves, and horses, in 'a person’s path, or in an unusual place', is taken as an augury.
- ex diris/signis from
This includes any type of augury that is not included within the other four classes. It includes ‘sneezing’, ‘stumbling’, and other types of accidents that disrupt the silence of the temple.[
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Additionally, Ex diris could be used to postpone comitia meetings if a participant suffered from Epilepsy, an epileptic fit.
Signs offered, requested or unsought
There were two classifications of auspices; impetrative ( impetrativa, sought or requested) and oblative ( oblativa, unsought or offered). Impetrativa were signs given in response to the augur's interpretation of the auspice.
See also
Sources
External links
