well as of gods. These petitions are represented by numerous prayers for cures, pro-
tection, blessing, and aid found in texts of all genres.
The structure of Cato’s petition is typical of Roman prayers of all types. It opens
with an invocation of the god (“Mars”), including honorific epithets (“father”). Here
could be added descriptive phrases to more carefully identify or praise the deity. Next
follows a verb or verb phrase that identifies the objective of the prayer; in this passage
the words “pray and beseech” mark this as a prayer of petition. The primary part of a
petitionary prayer consists of the request itself. Beyond that specific request, petitions
frequently include, usually at the end, a more general appeal for the favor of the
invoked deity, without which no prayer could be effective (“that you may be favor-
able and propitious”). An essential component of any petition was an exhaustive list-
ing of the beneficiaries of the request (“me and my family and household”). Finally,
petitionary prayers commonly make some reference to the reason that the deity should
respond favorably, most often, as here, a reference to present or future offerings.
Cato’s prayer also illustrates the typical style of prayers, which is characterized by
redundancy. Most obvious is the use of synonyms (“prohibit, avert, and ward off ”),
which may reflect anxiety about the use of proper terms, but is more likely simply
a rhetorical device to increase the prayer’s efficacy. A related phenomenon appears
in the listing of the component parts of an object (“produce, grains, vines, and bushes”).
In these metonymic lists and elsewhere, there is a tendency to use alliteration
(“shepherds and sheep”), another form of repetition. The speaker also repeats entire
statements (“be honored with the sacrifice of this suckling pig, sheep, and bull”).
Over all, the various lexical, syntactic, and rhythmic patterns would have facilitated
memorization and correct recitation. More importantly, however, the repetitive
patterns of sound and rhythm gave persuasive power to the ritual words.Vo w
In addition to the simple petitionary prayer, a common variant is the vow, a peti-
tion expressed in the form of a condition, promising a gift to the deity if the request
is granted. Myriad inscriptions referring to the fulfillment of vows testify to the com-
monness of this practice, particularly in public cult. One well-preserved inscription
of the Acts of the Arval Priesthood represents the annual vow taken on January 3
for the health and safety of the emperor and his household. In the yearad 81, the
Arval priests prayed:Jupiter Optimus Maximus, if the emperor Vespasian...and his son Domitian..., whom
we intend to name, live and their household will be unharmed until the third day of
January which will be next for the Roman people of the Quirites, the state of the Roman
people of the Quirites, and if you will have kept that day and them safe from dangers,
if there are or will be any dangers before that day and if you will have granted a favor-
able outcome as we intend to say and if you will have preserved them in that condi-
tion in which they are now or in a better one, and if you have accomplished these requests
thus, then we vow in the name of the college of the Arval Priesthood that we will offer
you two oxen with gilded horns. (CIL6.32363.45–52 =CFA48)240 Frances Hickson Hahn