Penātes
With
Vesta and
Lar, the household gods of the Romans; strictly the guardians of the store-room (
penus), which in old Roman houses stood next the atrium; in later times, near
the back of the building (
penetralia). They were two in number, and
presided over the well-being of the house, their blessing being shown in the fulness of the
store-room. This chamber, therefore, as being sacred to them, was holy, and not to be entered
except by chaste and undefiled persons. The hearth of the house was their altar, and on it
were sculptured the figures of the two Penates beside that of the Lar. Often they were
represented dancing and raising a drinking-horn to symbolize a joyful and prosperous life. The
offerings to them were made jointly with those to the Lar. (See
Lares.) There were also Penates belonging to the State. These at first
had their temple in the Velian Quarter, where their statues stood below those of the Dioscuri.
Afterwards it was supposed that the original Penates, brought from Samothrace to Troy, and thence conveyed by Aeneas to Lavinium, were identical with certain
symbols kept with the Palladium in a secret part of the temple of Vesta. The Penates of the
Latin League, which were at first regarded as the Trojan Penates, were enshrined in the
sanctuary at Lavinium. Annual offerings were brought to them by the Roman priests, and also by
consuls, praetors, and dictators on assuming or laying down office, and by generals on their
departure for their provinces.
