Here's an interesting factoid that suggests how much real attention was paid to religious festivals in Roman times.
There are between 900 and 1000 surviving letters of Cicero. None suggests he ever celebrated any religious festival at all. James Morton
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I think the Romans were less pious than the ancient Greeks when it came to the pantheon of Gods, but more religious with respect to their own household gods.
re: Anon, that is true. However, as for the original post, this hardly means Cicero didn't observe or participate in any such holidays or festivals. It could merely mean that he didn't think they were particularly noteworthy or perhaps they were mentioned in the numerous Cicero writings that no doubt did NOT survive to our era.
3 comments:
I think the Romans were less pious than the ancient Greeks when it came to the pantheon of Gods, but more religious with respect to their own household gods.
re: Anon, that is true. However, as for the original post, this hardly means Cicero didn't observe or participate in any such holidays or festivals. It could merely mean that he didn't think they were particularly noteworthy or perhaps they were mentioned in the numerous Cicero writings that no doubt did NOT survive to our era.
Good point -- I dont bother writing much about New Years but that doesnt mean it doesn't happen
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