TWO TYPES OF ROMAN DEVOTIO
BY
H. S. VERSNEL
I. Introduction
Among the many Romans who defended their batyiam paren- tesque, the Decii-father, son and grandson 1), according to some sources-occupy a special place. Others may have become renowned for exceptional feats of arms or remarkable courage, the Decii owe their fame in the first place to the manner of their death, which may rightly be called self-sacrifice, and of which the sacral nature is obvious. At the moment when defeat was imminent, they resorted to the last means to save the situation. Praeeunte pontifice they 'devoted' themselves, together with the enemy troops, to the gods of the underworld. After thus linking the fate of the enemies with their own they rode into the midst of the hostile army to meet a deliberate death. W. W. Fowler stresses the magical nature of the act when he writes 2) : "By the act of self-sacrifice, which is the potent element in the spell, Decius exercises magical power over the legions of the enemy, and devotes them with him- self to death". In Latin this act was called devotio. For many centuries the Decii were considered the typical example of patriotism and self-sacrifice. Even St. Augustine 3) still mentions them with esteem. It is understandable that, when Romans heard the term devotio, they at once were reminded of the most illustrious example. Yet, this is not a matter of course, for there existed another ritual, which, although in important points different from the devotio 1) Although F. Altheim, Forsch. u. Fortschr. 1941, 112-114, tried to defend the historicity of these three devotiones, there is room for scepsis, especially concerning the last devotio of 279 B.C. See G. Sievano, La sup- posta devotio di P. Decio Mure nel 279 A.C., Epigrafica 31 (1951), 3 ff. 3 2) W. W. Fowler, The Religious Experience of the Roman People (London 1933). 208. 3) Civ. Dei 5, 18. 366 described above, nevertheless bore the same name. Here, too, the subject was the rnagistyatus cum imperio, viz. the general; the gods involved were also the same: gods of the underworld, for instance the Di Manes. However, the object of the vow this time is not the general himself, but the enemy territory with all movable and immovable property, including the civil and the military population. This devotio, which I shall henceforward call devotio hostium, was less spectacular than the first, from now on referred to as devotio ducis, but it was practised more frequently if we may believe Macrobius, whose Saturnalia is our primary source, quoting also the formula pronounced with this votum.. In the present article I propose to investigate the relation between these two devotiones. As I shall have to refer repeatedly to the formulae in which they occur, the reader may find it convenient to have the principal texts at hand. The first text gives the formula of the devotio ducis, the second the prayer of the devotio hostium.
Liv. VIII 9, 4 ff. In hac trepidatione Decius consul M. Valerium magna voce inclamat: "Deorum" inquit "ope, M. Valeri, opus est; agedum, pontifex publicus populi Romani, praei verba quibus me pro legionibus devoveam". Pontifex eum togam praetextam sumere iussit et velato capite, manu subter togam ad mentum exserta, super telum subiectum pedibus stantem sic dicere: "lane Iuppiter Mars pater Quirine Bellona Lares Divi Novensiles Di Indigetes Divi quorum est potestas nostrorum hostiumque Dique Manes, vos precor veneror veniam peto oroque* uti populo Romano Quiritium vim victoriam prosperetis, hostesque populi Romani Quiritium terrore formidine morteque adficiatis. Sicut verbis nuncupavi, ita pro re publica populi Romani Quiritium, exercitu legionibus auxiliis populi Romani Quiritium, legiones auxiliaque hostium mecum Deis Manibus Tellurique devoveo". * feroque ms. 0
Macrobius, Sat. III g, 9 ff. Urbes vero exercitusque sic devoventur iam numinibus evocatis, sed dictatores imperatoresque soli possunt devovere his verbis: Dis pater, Veiovis, Manes, sive vos quo alio nomine fas est nominare, ut omnes illam urbem Carthaginem exercitumque quem ego me sentio dicere, fuga formidine terrore compleatis quique adversum