* Religion: temples, household gods, foreign cults, tombs

Ancient

We were in the library on the laptops. The class was given the lesson to answer these five questions: 1. What images were often placed in a lararium and what function did the household shrine serve? (HINT: Find an image of a lararium on google images; what are lares and genius)

Larium In the house of the Vetti, Pompeii, showing the genius between two lares.
The household shrines also known as the “lararia/lararium” with small statues or painted images of the lares, the household gods who protected the home and family. Sometimes, images of the genius, or spirit of the paterfamilias was included.

2.Describe the daily ritual that took place at the lararium
Each day the Paterfamilias would gather his family and slaves around the lararium, making an offering to the lares and saying a prayer for protection and prosperity of the household.

3.Briefly outline the main elements of a Roman funeral. * The Romans maintained a very systematic approach when tending to the dead. * Because the Romans believed that a proper burial was essential for passage to the afterlife * First, relatives would close the deceased's eyes while calling out the name of their dearly departed. * The body was then washed and a coin was placed in the mouth. * The coin was payment to Charon, who carried the dead across the rivers of the underworld. * Social status was an important factor in the Roman funeral. * The dead were put on display: the length of this ancient "wake" depended upon the departed person's position in society * Upper-class individuals, such as the nobility, were often put on display for as long as a week, offering many opportunities for many mourners to pay their final respects. * Lower class members of society, on the other hand,