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Mythographia

    Source Verification: Numa Pompilius

    Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

    What the Sources Attest

    What was Numa Pompilius known for?

    Numa was known as the king who gave Rome its religion. Livy says he built up the priesthoods of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus, chose the Vestals and the twelve Salii, and appointed the first pontifex (Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.1-1.20.7). He is also credited with the Janus shrine as a sign of war and peace, and with a calendar of twelve months (Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.2; Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.6).

    Source: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.1-1.20.7

    What happened to Numa Pompilius?

    He died of old age after a reign Livy puts at 43 years (Ab Urbe Condita 1.21). Dionysius says he lived past eighty, died the gentlest of deaths, and was buried on the Janiculum (Roman Antiquities 2.76). In Livy, two stone chests were found there long afterward. The one marked as his tomb was empty, and the other held books, which the senate ordered burned (Ab Urbe Condita 40.29).

    Source: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.76

    Was Numa a good king?

    The sources judge him an excellent king, though they differ on his methods. Livy names the preservation of peace and security through his whole reign as his greatest work (Ab Urbe Condita 1.21). He also says Numa pretended to consult Egeria to make people fear the gods (Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.5). Plutarch says his fame shone brighter after death, because the kings after him met violent or unhappy ends (Life of Numa 22).

    Source: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.21

    Where Accounts Differ

    • whether Numa was a pupil of Pythagoras
    • whether Egeria is real
    • where the sacred shield comes from
    • the books found on the Janiculum
    • Numa is legendary or at best semi-legendary. Livy, Plutarch, Dionysius and Ovid write centuries after the reign they describe, and the 43-year reign is the tradition's figure, not a documented one.
    • Whether Numa studied under Pythagoras is disputed. Livy and Dionysius reject it on chronology (Ab Urbe Condita 1.18.2; Roman Antiquities 2.59), Plutarch leaves the question open (Life of Numa 1), and Ovid tells it as fact (Metamorphoses 15.1-8; Metamorphoses 15.479-484).
    • Who Egeria is, and whether she is real, differs. Livy says Numa pretended to meet her (Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.5). Plutarch weighs a divine marriage against a lawgiver's pretence (Life of Numa 4). Dionysius says some called her a nymph and others one of the Muses (Roman Antiquities 2.60). Ovid treats her as Numa's real wife and counsellor (Fasti 3.259-322; Metamorphoses 15.479-551).
    • The origin of the sacred shields differs. Livy credits Numa with the twelve Salii and the shields but gives no origin (Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.4). Ovid has one shield fall from the sky after Jupiter Elicius is summoned (Fasti 3.359-392). Plutarch has it fall during a plague in Numa's eighth year (Life of Numa 13).
    • The number and content of the books found on the Janiculum differs. Livy has seven Latin books on pontifical law and seven Greek books on philosophy in the chest (Ab Urbe Condita 40.29). Plutarch says Numa himself had them buried with him, and gives twelve pontifical and twelve Greek books only on the authority of Antias (Life of Numa 22).
    • The site of the Janus shrine is left out because the Perseus English of Livy 1.19.2 says the foot of the Aventine, where the Latin has the foot of the Argiletum. Livy 40.29 is cited from the Latin text on The Latin Library, because the Perseus English edition stops at book 10. The Ovid Fasti lines are checked against the Theoi English text, which marks lines at intervals; ranges given here are cut at those markers. Plutarch's and Dionysius's chapters are checked on LacusCurtius, which does not number every section.

    Sources

    Primary sources
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.18.1
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.18.2
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.18
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.19
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.2
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.3
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.4
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.5
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.6
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.19.6-1.19.7
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.1-1.20.2
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.1-1.20.7
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.3
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.4
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.5-1.20.6
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.20.7
    • Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 1.21
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 1
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 3
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 4
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 5
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 6
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 11
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 13
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 21
    • Plutarch, Life of Numa 22
    • Ovid, Fasti 3.259-322
    • Ovid, Fasti 3.323-358
    • Ovid, Fasti 3.359-392
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.1-8
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.60-72
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.479-484
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.479-551
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.58
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.59
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.60
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.61
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.76