Ashleigh Green | Birds in Roman Life and Myth | Paideia Institute Online Lecture

In Roman augury and auspices, birds were among the foremost signs by which the gods communicated their assent or displeasure with a proposed action. Public auspices had to be taken before important events and before a magistrate could exercise his authority, while private auspices could be taken by individuals whenever they wished for guidance. This talk outlines how Romans took auspices from wild birds, which birds were chiefly observed during the ritual, and what each augural bird signified. It then looks at military auspices, the auspicia ex tripudiis, which were taken by observing the feeding patterns of ‘sacred chickens’. Generals had to consult the chickens at many critical junctures in the field, including before they engaged the enemy in battle. By exploring the ‘sacred chickens’ within the wider context of augural birds, we can discover the origin of this strange ritual and explain why and how the Romans used chickens in this way.
Dr Ashleigh Green is a tutor in Classics and Archaeology at The University of Melbourne and the author of the book Birds in Roman Life and Myth. Her research interests include the study of birds in classical antiquity and more generally what human-animal studies can reveal about societies both past and present. In 2021 she was the recipient of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies Early Career Award. In 2022, she was a Virtual Fellow of the Centre for the History of Emotions and the La Trobe Society Fellow at the State Library of Victoria.
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[@creuzasimionatto1838]

Great lecture!

[@erickarnell]

What a wonderful recreation. Great work!

[@PaulS2211]

Optime!

[@maddisonhaywood]

A North-Easterly eagle approves this lecture 🦅