Lucretius and Livy Reconstruct Roman Religion

Rome was an empire spread thin, its citizens drawn from many cultures and locations. The city was constructed from scratch by a random conglomeration of Latin peoples who added citizens over the years to grow in population and power. The problem, then, was the meaning of being Roman. Seemingly the only thing that held the city — indeed, the empire — together was shared traditions and beliefs. In short, the religion of the Romans provided a focus for Roman identity. A series of civil wars in the first century BC made it clear that the old traditions were not strong enough to hold the empire together. Lucretius, writing in the midst of this chaos, tried to instate Epicureanism, and Livy, writing in light of the Augustan reforms, tried to construct a new mythic past. Their works served as fresh foundations for Rome, cementing Roman identity by establishing a unified religion.

Lucretius appears to be denouncing the gods and replacing them with an empirical order in his work On the Nature of Things (1), but in the end he is just exchanging one religion for another. The traditions he condemns are those which brought chaos to Rome, and in the past to the Greeks as well. “This so-called religion has produced criminal and unholy actions” (Book I: line 83). In the shadow of Epicurus, a Greek philosopher, he rejects the possibility of a universe governed by the gods, and instead describes a world based on atoms. Starting from these fundamental elements, he builds up to more complex phenomena such as thunder and lunar phases. While this all sounds scientific, Lucretius is no scientist, as we shall see.

Initially, Lucretius invokes Venus as the mother of all Romans and the ultimate architect of nature — “you alone guide the nature of things” (Book I, line 21). He asks for her help in setting Rome in order, quelling the civil wars, but then immediately rejects that help: “for free from all anxiety, free from dangers / powerful in its own resources, having no need of us, / [the nature of the gods] is not won over by the good things we do nor touched by anger” (I: 47-49). For Lucretius, only the (false) ideas behind the gods have power over mortal man.

Epicurus, in freeing man from the fear of the gods, becomes a Prometheus figure for Lucretius. “It was a Greek man who first dared to raise his mortal eyes / against religion, and who first fought back against it” (I: 66-67). On the Nature of Things is written in the form of an epic poem, now with Epicurus as the hero in a battle for the readers’ perceptions. Epicurus’ theory increasingly wrests power from the gods — Lucretius writes 262 lines explaining lightning and thunderbolts, presumably to ‘defeat’ Jupiter. Epicurus himself eventually usurps Venus in the narrative, first as “our father, the discover of how things are,” (III: 9) and finally as “a god [...] who by his scientific method / rescued life from great waves and such great darkness” (V: 8-11).

Lucretius is not trying to rid Rome of religion altogether. He only wants to replace the old religion of Greek gods with a tradition based on the power of mortals. While the gods have no direct control over human lives, the ideas of a mortal man such as Epicurus have the potential to change how people think, feel, and live. The peace that Rome so desperately sought could not be achieved through the worship of distant gods, but by seizing control of their own destiny and following in the footsteps of mortals who had proven themselves great.

Livy, who wrote The Rise of Rome (2) after Augustus ended the civil wars, also constructs a new tradition based on the ‘worship’ of men. His massive history collects and retells the stories of Rome’s past, emphasizing the power of religion to keep the city strong and prosperous. At the same time, his work becomes a creation myth, establishing the very traditions to which Rome must ‘return.’

In Livy’s work, the times of greatest prosperity and success correspond to the times of greatest religious observance. Romulus, founder of Rome, “instituted religious rites in accordance with Alban ritual” (p. 11), and in his dedication of the first Roman temple, “the gods saw to it that these words of the temple’s founder concerning future dedications of the spoils did not go unfulfilled” (p. 15-16). The respect he pays to the gods is seen as securing Rome’s future military success. Numa, another leader of Rome, re-establishes the city based on “proper observances” (p. 24), creating an era of peace. “Since men on their own initiative patterned their conduct after the unique example of their king, even Rome’s neighbors [...] began to respect them so much that they considered it sacrilege to attack a state wholly devoted to the worship of the gods” (p. 26). In addition to gaining the gods’ favor, religion can have a direct effect on the minds of men.

Religion has the power to unify people. Shared enthusiasm for tradition helped Numa establish peace, and Servius’ “constant talk on the subject [of religion] finally led to the agreement that the Latin people would unite with the Romans in building a temple of Diana at Rome” (p. 53). Once again the focus is not on divine fortune, but on the ability of Romans to unite and create a successful community. Romulus, Numa, and Servius were successful because they invoked religion and established new traditions under which people could collaborate, not on force of action or words alone. “Do you think, my brother, that what you have said will make them fight? The gods will make them, by whom they swore” (p. 120).

Livy sometimes questions the direct role of the gods, making the human actors more preeminent. He doubts whether Mars is truly the father of Romulus and Remus, and debunks the myth that they were nursed by a she-wolf. These constructed stories nonetheless serve the fates which “ordained the founding of this great city and the beginning of the world’s mightiest empire, second only to the power of the gods” (p. 8). Romulus claims the right to kingship through augury, and Numa through divine visitation — although Livy disputes the validity of these claims, doubts about their right to rule are cleared away in light of their successes.

The direct correlation between religious observance and prosperity is clearly seen in the Gauls’ sack of Rome. The city has strayed from the traditions set down by Romulus and Numa, and when Marcus Cornelius replaces Gaius Iulius as censor, it is viewed “as a religious transgression because Rome was captured in this lustrum” (p. 316). Even after the Gauls are defeated, the plebs seek to relocate to Veii, leaving great-fated Rome in ruins. Earlier the senators had use entreaties that “frequently mentioned the gods” instead of resorting to force, and because “most people’s religious feelings were touched, [...] the bill was rejected” (p. 315). The dictator Camillus follows this tradition to convince the plebs to stay: “The power of the gods has been so clearly revealed in Rome’s affairs [...] that mankind, I believe, will never again disregard any aspect of their worship” (p. 336). After one final omen, the people are moved to unite under religion once again and rebuild Rome.

The religion Livy creates focuses on the leaders of Rome and their ability to fulfill Rome’s destiny rather than a more abstract worship of gods. The heroes of Roman history, like Hercules, are born mortal yet earn a worship-worthy status through their feats. They keep Rome on course and raise her up to greatness. Success determines the favor of the gods, not the other way around: unification under leaders and the traditions they invoke creates a sense of identity and purpose that leads Rome to triumph again and again in Livy’s mythic history.

Lucretius is not as successful as Livy in establishing a new Roman religion. We know that Rome was never overtaken by Epicureanism. Although he called for men to take control of their own destiny and leave the old gods behind, he replaces the Greek pantheon with an even more foreign Greek philosopher. He calls for Rome to abandon the only tradition binding the empire together, and even gives Epicurus primacy over Venus. Rome, with such a strong religious background, would never be able to unite under Lucretius’ radical departure from tradition.

Livy, on the other hand, speaks right to the proud Roman heart. He makes real figures from Rome’s past into mythic heroes and adapts Rome’s own legends for his purpose. The creation myth he constructs makes great leaders the dominant characters, questioning divine intervention to emphasize their triumphs. Augustus fashioned himself after these founders of Rome, using tradition as a precedent to rebuild and unify Rome after years of devastating wars. Note the parallels with Camillus: both seize power as dictators but by inspiring religious sentiment, unite the citizen body and bring peace and prosperity. While one might grant the gods some credit, Livy chooses to make such great rulers the driving force behind Rome’s fate. He shows the power of religion in uniting the far-flung peoples of the empire and strengthens the Roman identity by giving them a new focus for their worship. In this new religion Rome is at the center, and the binding force of that religion keeps Rome strong for centuries.

Works Cited:

1. Lucretius. On the Nature of Things. Trans. Walter Englert. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing, 2003.

2. Livy. The Rise of Rome: Books 1-5. Trans. T. J. Luce. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1998.