The
Lar Familiaris cared for the welfare and prosperity of a Roman
household. A household's
lararium (plural
lararia), a shrine to the Lar Familiaris and other domestic divinities, usually stood near the dining
hearth or, in a larger dwelling, the semi-public
atrium or reception area of the dwelling. A lararium could be a wall-cupboard with doors, an open niche with small-scale statuary, a projecting tile, a small freestanding
shrine, or simply the painted image of a shrine; most Romans lived in apartment blocks or small-scale rural houses, with minimal indoor facilities. , flank an ancestor-
genius holding a
libation bowl and incense box, his
head covered as if for sacrifice. The snake, associated with the land's fertility and thus prosperity, approaches a low, laden altar. The shrine's
tympanum shows a
patera,
ox-skull and sacrificial knife. The symbolism and meanings conveyed by
lararia and their contents are much disputed. Lararia usually held images of one or more bearded or crested snakes, which are presumed to represent the family
genius, fertility, or generative or procreative power.
Lararia almost always contain the central painted image of a
togate man, head covered by a fold of his toga, as if at worship or fulfilling his domestic priestly duties, carrying or offering a
patera, or sacrificial vessel. This figure is usually said to represent the head of the household, or
paterfamilias. He is symmetrically flanked by two painted or sculpted Lares. The Lar Familiaris is a more-or-less standard image, like other
lares he is young, slender, clad in high boots, a short tunic, and a hitched undergarment. Garlands adorn his head, and he is lithe, graceful, and nimble. He stands on tiptoe, and offers a
rhyton,
patera, or both; or sometimes, a
cornucopia. The Lar's statue could be moved from the
lararium to wherever its presence was needed. It could be placed on a dining table during feasts or be a witness at weddings and other important family events. Brides were expected to give a coin to the
Lares of the crossroads (
Lares Compitalicii) of their new neighbourhood, and one to the
lar of their new home. References to domestic
religious practice often pair the Lares together with the
Penates. Penates, although also domestic guardian spirits, were more specifically protectors of the master of the household and his immediate
family. The Lar Familiaris, on the other hand, protected all household members, free or
slave, and was associated with a particular place. If a family moved out, their Penates went with them, but the Lar stayed. Tradition holds that a family's Lar would generously help those who honored him by
devotionals and
sacrifices, but would turn his back to those who would not offer him thanks or neglected him. The Roman playwright
Plautus offers a moral tale concerning a household and its Lar. In the
Aulularia (lines 1–36) a grandfather begs his Lar to hide the family
gold, so the Lar buries it under the hearth. When the grandfather dies, the Lar does not reveal where the gold is hidden because the son has never remembered to honor the Lar; nor has the grandson, Euclio, a frightful miser. Euclio's daughter is ready to marry, pregnant by an elderly, wealthy neighbour, but has no
dowry. However, she shows a
pious disposition to the Lar and towards her family, so the Lar sets in motion a complicated chain of events whereby Euclio finds the gold. Much of the play is incomplete, but what survives has Euclio seeing the error of his miserly ways. He bestows the gold upon his daughter for a dowry, so that all ends well. ==See also==