Page 59 - SYTYGIB: Ancient Rome

With so many gods to keep happy back then, you’d have to be careful not to upset one god by spending too much time worshipping another! Sounds eXhAuStInG. At least you don’t have to sacrifice a cow to please your teacher!
FANCY THAT!
Sometimes animal-shaped cakes were used as offerings to the gods instead of sacrificing an animal. That sound you can hear is a Roman god chomping a sheep-shaped cake. That other sound is a sheep breathing a sigh of relief.
Do you ever wish . . .
you could predict the future?
Wouldn’t it be useful to be able to know when bad or good things were going to happen – like you were about to stand on a Lego brick in the dark, or find a sweet you thought you’d lost a month ago down the back of the sofa?
In ancient Rome, they believed in omens, symbols and magical curses.
After an animal was killed in a sacrifice to the gods, its inner organs were removed so that priests could study them. They would read the gods’ will from the shape of the liver, for example. If it was deformed it was thought to be a bad omen. You can try doing the same thing with a sausage. Straight sausage = good; wonky sausage = bad.
There were other things which suggested a positive or negative response from the gods. The way sacred chickens ate, for example, showed whether or not the gods approved of a plan.
Symbols and superstitions were everywhere in ancient Rome. Good and bad signs included:
oWls – may signal disaster
sound of bells – thought to ease childbirth
bees – sacred messengers of the gods and symbols of good luck
eagles – said to bring thunderstorms
So always be polite to a bee, and if you hear an owl hoot, hide under your bed.
ancient roman gods