Parade Axe From Etruscan digging in Trestina This object was used during sacrifices, the central act of ancient religious rites. It was also one of the symbols of royal power, whose memory was kept alive by the Romans even after the end of the monarchy. Such axes formed part of the fasces of the most important republican magistrates, the consuls, as symbols of their coercive power. The dying Attis From Ostia, shrine of Attis, 2nd- 3rd AD When Cybele saw that Attis , a handsome shepherd whom she loved, was attracted to another woman, she caused in him an uncontrollable fury that led him to castrate himself. The young man mutilated himself beneath a pine tree and bled to death, violets sprang from his blood, becoming symbols of the annual renewal of seasons. |
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