• Ininewcrow@piefed.ca
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    4 days ago

    Would this be like the offering bowl they pass around in a Catholic Church for weekly donations?

    • PugJesus@piefed.socialOPM
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      4 days ago

      Different - traditional Roman religion lacked a formal tithing system. People donated ad hoc to temples, and, especially, the wealthy were expected to maintain the temples and priesthoods at their own expense as part of the implicit social contract that kept the poor from tearing the lot of them to pieces (and, more explicitly, to supposedly keep the gods from tearing the whole polity to pieces).

      Roman offering bowls were used by ordinary worshipers (or, in this case, probably a richer fellow) to pour out a small amount of wine or olive oil onto the ground as an offering to the gods.