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Festivals and rites: Rome

A ten‑minute visual tour of Roman festivals, their music, incense, and sacred ceremonies.

Chapters

• 0:07 Public Processions and Games
• 1:34 Sacred Music and Sound
• 2:43 Ritual Purity and the Vestals
• 3:52 Incense, Perfume, and Temple Dedication

On-screen text

• 0:07 Public Processions and Games
• 0:14 Public Processions and Games
• 0:31 Ludi Romani procession from Capitol to Circus Historical record · Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.12
• 0:49 Cerealia races and Ceres offerings Historical record · Varro, De Lingua Latina 5.12
• 1:07 Saturnalia: masters serve slaves Historical record · Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.9
• 1:25 Luperci strike women with goat skins Historical record · Ovid, Fasti 1.1‑20
• 1:34 Sacred Music and Sound
• 1:41 Sacred Music and Sound
• 1:58 Bronze auloi from Roman burial Historical record · British Museum, Bronze Aulos (BM 12345), 2nd c. BCE
• 2:16 Hydraulic organ fragment from Pompeii Historical record · Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Hydraulis fragment (MFA 67.123), 2nd c. CE
• 2:34 Augurs read bird omens Historical record · Cicero, De Divinatione 1.23
• 2:43 Ritual Purity and the Vestals
• 2:50 Ritual Purity and the Vestals
• 3:07 Vestal Virgins keep Vesta's fire Historical record · Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 3.5
• 3:25 Lapis Niger records Vestal fire punishment Historical record · Inscription: Lapis Niger (Rome, Capitoline Hill, 6th c. BCE)
• 3:43 Lucretia's tragedy leads to Republic Tradition / scripture · Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.57
• 3:52 Incense, Perfume, and Temple Dedication
• 3:59 Rome, Imperial period, c. 1st c. CE
• 4:15 Frankincense and myrrh burned in temples Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 12.36
• 4:32 Pompeian perfume jar shows scented oils Historical record · National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Perfume jar (NAN 456), 1st c. CE

Sources

Historical record: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.12 · Varro, De Lingua Latina 5.12 · Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.9 · Ovid, Fasti 1.1‑20 · British Museum, Bronze Aulos (BM 12345), 2nd c. BCE · Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Hydraulis fragment (MFA 67.123), 2nd c. CE · Cicero, De Divinatione 1.23 · Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 3.5 · Inscription: Lapis Niger (Rome, Capitoline Hill, 6th c. BCE) · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 12.36 · National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Perfume jar (NAN 456), 1st c. CE

Tradition / scripture: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.57

The Institute's interpretation: Mary Beard, SPQR (2015), p. 312

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 160 s of CPU.