Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119
Roman Questions
Αἴτια ῬωμαϊκάPlutarch's Roman Questions (Aitia Romaika) is a collection of 113 questions about Roman rites, taboos, priesthoods and customs, each followed by one or more possible explanations. They cover marriage and burial, the temples and festivals of Rome (Saturn, Janus, Diana, Hercules, Vesta, the Lupercalia), the Flamen Dialis, auguries, the magistrates' insignia and the education of children. The English numbering follows the questions, as in the Greek text.
Contents · 12 passages
- 1–9Questions 1-9: marriage customs and Diana's temples1907 words
- 10–19Questions 10-19: covered heads, Saturn, Terminus, Matuta, Hercules and January1608 words
- 20–26Questions 20-26: the Good Goddess, the woodpecker, Janus, the calendar and mourning1709 words
- 27–34Questions 27-34: walls and gates, weddings, the Argei and sons at table1366 words
- 35–41Questions 35-41: Laurentia, the Window gate, priests of Jupiter and the double-headed coin1658 words
- 42–53Questions 42-53: the temple of Saturn, Venus, Vulcan, the Lares and the Sardians for sale1865 words
- 54–61Questions 54-61: the Macellum, Carmenta, Rumina, Hercules and Rome's secret guardian god1110 words
- 62–72Questions 62-72: the Feciales, the Rex Sacrorum, the Luperci, lictors and the augurs1605 words
- 73–81Questions 73-81: priests and divination, Fortuna Brevis, the moon on shoes and the triumph1722 words
- 82–93Questions 82-93: the lictors' rods, the Bletonesians, the Roman day, May weddings and vultures2035 words
- 94–103Questions 94-103: Aesculapius, Vestals, the October horse, the censors' geese and Roman boys1806 words
- 104–113Questions 104-113: Liber Pater, Fortuna Primigenia, kin marriages and the taboos of the Flamen Dialis1861 words
More by Plutarch
English translation by Isaac Chauncy (1874). Original text: William W. Goodwin (ed.), Plutarch's Morals, translated from the Greek by several hands, vol. 2, Boston: Little, Brown and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874 (Greek text: Gregorius N. Bernardakis, Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, vol. 2, Leipzig: Teubner, 1889, as digitised by Perseus).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.
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