The Deities of the Home and the Hearth

Lares, Penates and Genius

The Romans were a people who took pride in their observance of religious rites. In one of his speeches about a religious dispute concering his home the famous orator Cicero elaborates on this aspect of Roman culture with his rhetorical flourish:

Let us think as highly of ourselves as we wish, Senators, but nevertheless we are not superior to the Spaniard…