Evocatio deorum: some notes on the Romanization of Etruria

Evocatio deorum is an institution known in antiquity in the Roman and in the Hettite religions. It has therefore been regarded as part of the common Indo-European heritage. It is uncertain towhat extent the Etruscans had inaugurated the evocatio in their world of religious practices. Suggestions that the Etruscans transmitted the institution of the evocatio to Italy and Rome have been taken to prove the Asiatic origin of the Tyrrhenoi. In this context, however, these theories are of little interest. Basically evocatio is a kind of vow. In a trial of strength between two opposing armies, most frequently in the course of a siege, the Roman commander (because evocatio in our sources appears as a Roman institution, the subject, the agent is always a Roman) invokes the assistance of the tutelary god of the besieged, in fact evokes him urging him to desert his people and promising him a sacred precinct, temple, cult and devotion in Rome. Evocatio is a precaution, or a weapon against the enemies of the Roman.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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