Patricia A. Johnson, Attilio Mastrocinque, Sophia Papaioannou (Eds.). “Animals in Greek and Roman Religion and Myth”

Grumentum, the old Roman city known today as Grumento Nova in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy, was the place chosen to hold the symposium “The Role of Animals in Ancient Myth and Religion”. Between the 5 and 7 of June 2013, scholars from diverse backgrounds maintained a dialogue about the different roles that were given to animals during Ancient Greece and Rome. Patricia A. Johnston, Attilio Mastrocinque and Sophia Papaioannou collect in the book Animals in Greek and Roman Religion and Myth the various papers presented during the symposium at Grumento Nova. The chapters of the book are separated into three parts, that were already contemplated in the Call for Papers for the symposium: “Animals and Communication with the Divine”, “The Religious Significance of Individual Animals in Greece and Roma” and “Animals in Greek and Roman Myth”. These three parts represent the different ways in which animals were used in Ancient Greece and Rome: “as a medium between men and gods, as religious symbols, and as poetic symbols” (excerpt is taken from the editors’ Call for Papers). The papers in the first part of the book, “Animals and Communication with the Divine”, deal with the different ways in which animals are used as a means of communication. Humans often sacrifice animals as a way of interacting with their gods: the result of the sacrifice will then be interpreted as an omen from their gods. Dimitrios Mantzilas, in his paper “Sacrificial Animals in Roman Religion: Rules and Exceptions”, writes how sacrifice operated as an act of communication. While the main rule for sacrifices was that each god should be honoured through the sacrifice of an animal of the same sex, this rule was not always followed. Mantzilas explains how these exceptions can only be possible if they “originated from an ancient era before the gods had a specific gender” or if “the sacrifice was made in accordance with Greek sacrificial rules” (35). Humankind in Ancient Rome was not always fond of sacrifice and Lucretius was one of the poets who wrote against it. Giampero Scafoglio explains the views of Lucretius regarding animals and sacrifice in the article “Men and Animals in Lucretius’ De rerum natura”. The poet saw animals as a positive example in contrast to humans, which were considered vile creatures, deprived of dignity because of their ambitions; to regain this dignity; humans should live in accordance with nature, in a way of life that, Scafoglio argues, draws parallels with Epicureanism, even though Lucretius’ fondness for animals was not taken from it. In “Vox Naturae: The Myth of Animal Nature in the Late Roman Republic”, Fabio Tutrone establishes the opposition between humans and animals –nature and culture– and how it is explored in texts by Sallust, Cicero and Lucretius. This debate,