Etrusca Disciplina: How Was It Possible to Learn about Etruscan Religion in Ancient Rome?

Charles Guittard

Roman education is based on the teaching of grammar, rhetoric and philosophy, on the study of Greek and Latin poets, not on religion, or reli- gious subjects, and not at all on theology; Roman religion does not rest on belief or on a system of the world. Thus, the relationship between “educa- tion” and “religion” is quite a different issue in Antiquity, in ancient Rome, and in our contemporary world. Classical studies dealing with education in ancient Rome are generally not concerned with religious facts. The con- cept of “religious education” is not a Latin concept, except perhaps in the expression Etrusca disciplina. Strictly speaking, religion was not taught in Rome: there were no schools where religion was taught. Etruscan religion, on the contrary, is based on a revelation by prophets like Tages or Vegoia; it is a kind of revealed religion, written down in sacred books, which were not easily accessible and understandable. Etruscan and Roman religion are based on practice, not on theological doctrines that could be taught. An impetus for orthopraxy can be found both in Rome and in the Etrusca disciplina. The contents of Roman religion are also recorded in books: acta, libri, commentarii, and each college had its own books. But these books con- cerned practice, they were not specifically theological. Roman religion is based on practice, not on learning—but this practice needed some learn- ing. For instance, a prayer is read and never learned by heart. The practice of ritual is more important than the theory: it is not necessary to believe in something, the issue at stake is to preserve the pax deorum in the city. The Etruscan science of divination, related to the Roman augural col- lege, was an important part of Etruscan religious education. Such learning was based on writing, the most important medium for the transmission of religious tradition. The discipline was codified in specific books, libri har- uspicini, fulgurales, rituales. Both Etruria and Rome codified their practice in sacred books. The young Roman practiced the familial cult at his father’s side, within the framework of family education, and learned the ritual rules; the priests and the magistrates were educated in the colleges of priests: there was no 64 charles guittard specific place for the teaching of religion. There was no theory, nothing to learn. Ritual practice is fundamental and only the written texts have an authentic value. So, in ancient Rome, it was not necessary to be educated in religious matters. There was no specific education, no particular texts to study or to learn.1 One of the most important questions concerning Roman religion is the influence of Etruscan religion, especially on augury and divination. It was necessary for Roman priests and magistrates to be able to consult the Etruscan haruspices, to understand the Etruscan language, and perhaps to read Etruscan books. These books had to be translated. Adaptations and translations became necessary at the end of the Republic, which led to the survival of the libri Etrusci as an important “Bildungsinhalt,” an item of education and culture. Even as late as the 6th century, an author like John Lydus still continued to use and translate these books. Religion became a matter of antiquarianism. When the Romans asked the opinion of Etruscan priests on a prodigy, the haruspicum responsa were often not understood. How was the reli- gious science of the Etruscans introduced and understood in Rome? This is a question of adaptation and understanding.

1. Etrusca Disciplina, Learning and Science

Etrusca disciplina and the libri Etrusci were in general a type of material difficult to understand for a Roman, even an educated Roman, or a Roman pontiff. We must first consider the meaning of the Latin word disciplina, compared with educatio, to comprehend the meaning and principles of Etrusca disciplina. To denote ‘education’, we can use the Latin word insti- tutio, especially in rhetoric, or rather educatio. The word educatio passed into the Indo-European languages, where it applies to the formation of the mind, to culture, and to the educational system itself. The word edu- catio became widespread and dominant in the Indo-European languages. But we must keep in mind that Latin educatio is a general term, concern- ing not only education of human beings but also the breeding of animals, stock farming, and the cultivation of plants; for human beings, the usual word is rather disciplina.

1 Heurgon 1964; Scullard 1967; Harris 1971; Dumézil 1996.