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Announcer: This is
a Getty Podcast.

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Host: Do you ever have trouble
getting going in the morning?

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Well today we're getting
ready with a pocket-sized

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Roman demigod called a Lar.

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Welcome to If Objects Could
Talk, a podcast where art

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and artifacts that get to
leave the museum vault and

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tell their side of the story.

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Thanks for joining us as we
bring objects into the light!

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How do you like
to start your day?

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You probably get up,
get dressed, and have

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a little breakfast.

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Maybe you pack up your
backpack and get on the road!

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Well in ancient Rome, mornings
included another important

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step—praying to a small
deity or god, called a Lar.

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Lares were household
gods responsible for

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keeping a family safe.

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Families would place their
Lar statuettes in small home

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shrines and gather there each
day to pray for protection.

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Today’s guest is one such Lar.

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He is a little bronze man
with intricate details, made

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over two thousand years ago.

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Don’t let his size fool
you—he’s pretty powerful

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when he needs to be!

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Lar: Uh, just a moment
I can't seem to find

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my ...oh where is it?!

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Oh [taps microphone] are we on?

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No warning or anything, we
just get straight to it?

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Fine, fine, I don't mind
the element of surprise.

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You’ve got to be prepared
for anything when your

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job is protecting a family
generation after generation.

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Ok, well was your job...I’ve
been retired for some time

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now, but it's important for
you to know that, one: I was a

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pretty big deal in my heyday.

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And two: I am still tired
from watching over the Julius

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Family—no, not that Julius.

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Totally unrelated.

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Right.

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I’d like to get the particulars
out of the way first so I

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can get to the good stuff.

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I am about two thousand
years old and I come

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from the Roman Empire.

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I’m a little over five
inches tall, about the

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length of a candy bar you
would find in a mercatus.

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Oh, I’m sorry, I think you all
might call it a “grocery store?”

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I am made of bronze.

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My arms are outstretched as
if I am about to receive a hug

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from a grateful family member!

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In my right hand I carry a small
offering bowl called a patera.

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In my left arm there should
be a cornucopia, a symbol

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of prosperity and abundance,
but it’s gone missing and

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I can’t find it anywhere!

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Originally, my eyes were inlaid
with a contrasting material,

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like stone or glass, but
they too have gone missing.

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I’m sensing a pattern here.

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Where is my cornucopia
and where are my eyeballs?

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Anyway, should we
discuss fashion?

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Of course, I do think
what I’m wearing is rather

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timeless and says that
I’m a minor god on the go!

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On my head I have a wreath tied
loosely and the ribbons fall

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gracefully over my shoulders.

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I’ve got on a short, belted
tunic with incredible folds,

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a cloak draped over one
shoulder and secured in my

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belt, and open-toed boots.

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My tunic and cloak
make me feel like me.

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I'm sure you can relate, right?

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What’s your favorite
thing to wear?

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What makes you
feel most like you?

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Can you describe it
or draw it out for me?

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While I do love to check
out what the new fashion

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trends are, I always go
back to my tunic and cloak.

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Besides, I couldn’t pull
off a bucket hat if I tried.

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Now, now, I won’t cry.

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I must soldier on!

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Enough about fashion—let’s
discuss my work:

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protecting my family.

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I lived in the home of
a wealthy land owner.

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I am not really sure what Mr.
Julius did outside of that,

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but he was certainly always
busy with the land, the home,

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and with his twin 10-year-old
boys, Adrianus and Atticus.

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Our home was outside of the
city of Rome and my little

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world was the Lararium, or
shrine, near the kitchen.

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I hear home shrines or alters to
gods, goddesses, and ancestors

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are still common and are used
as sites of daily worship

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or for quiet meditation.

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Maybe you have one in your house
or have seen one at a friend’s?

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Well, every morning, the father
would lead a short prayer for

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the family at my Lararium before
everyone went about their day.

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The prayer would express
gratitude to me for

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keeping the family going
and they would present me

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with a little food from
breakfast and sweet incense.

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Most nights I would even
join the family for dinner;

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I'd sit right on the table.

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Even when friends or
business acquaintances would

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come over to dine, I was
always the most delightful

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and well-dressed guest!

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At the end of their morning
ritual they'd ask me to

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watch over them as they
went about their day.

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“Lar help us!” is how they would
end their prayer and I really

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would try, but with two of
the most mischievous twin boys

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ever, I had more than my fair
share of work cut out for me.

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Like some boys of means,
Adrianus and Atticus had

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private tutors who taught
subjects like mathematics,

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poetry, history, and literature.

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They would wake up in the
morning, remove their long

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night tunics and put on their
shorter tunics for the day.

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They would brush their
teeth with frayed sticks

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and a toothpaste made of
finely powdered eggshells.

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They would gather for their
prayers to me with the rest

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of the family and then grab
something to eat before it was

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time for their daily lessons.

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These often included
field trips to sacred

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sites or the marketplace.

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But the twins had a
knack for slipping away,

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making the tutors’ jobs
difficult—and mine, too!

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Sure, it was my duty to
look after them, but why

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did they have to make it
harder by running off!

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You see, Adrianus and Atticus
preferred the school of life

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to math lessons and would often
spend their day chasing hares,

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climbing trees, and daydreaming
about sailing around the world.

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One afternoon, the boys
were sitting in a tree

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enjoying a fine spring
breeze, when they heard a

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booming voice down below.

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It was their father!

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He was out for a walk with
a neighbor and if he looked

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up he was sure to see them!

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They had been caught
skipping lessons once

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before and certainly didn’t
want to get caught again.

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Atticus closed his eyes and
called out to yours truly:

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[whispers] “Lar help us!”

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Well I immediately sprang into
action, leaping from my tidy

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Laraium, but I tripped and fell!

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Lucky for me that I am made
of bronze, a strong and

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forever fashionable metal!

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Now, you’re probably thinking
if I am a statue from the

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Roman Empire, shouldn’t
I be made of marble?

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Common misconception!

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There were as many bronze
sculptures as marble

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sculptures back then!

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But, tragically, many bronze
sculptures were melted

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down and re-purposed—an
issue that persists today!

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I wonder if that's what
happened to my tiny cornucopia?

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Could a tiny bronze
thief be on the loose?!

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I’m sorry, I’m getting
distracted again.

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Where was I?

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Oh yes, I was running!

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I found Adrianus and Atticus
just as their father was

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dangerously close to looking
up to admire the tree’s fruit.

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I knew I needed a quick
distraction and a way

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to complicate their
father’s journey home.

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I began to call his name softly

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and then louder

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and louder.

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He looked all around and
finally walked towards the

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road, just certain another
neighbor was calling out to him.

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With their father’s back to the
tree, Adrianus quickly climbed

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down and Atticus followed.

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Then I began to rustle the
grass in front of their father,

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so that he would look down.

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When he did, Adrianus
and Atticus ran!

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The boys made it home and
immediately lit incense

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at my feet in thanks,
which I appreciated.

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When their father came
home and saw the boys at

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my altar, he simply admired
how dedicated they were

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to tradition and to home.

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[Laughs] Little did he know!

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Well, those boys are lucky
that although I am but a

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small home-based deity, my
power and protection extended

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within the boundaries of
the land their father owned.

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If they'd been any further
out they would have to pray

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to the sea and the sky!

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So like I said, I was
a pretty big deal!

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Oh, are these flowers for me?

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Host: Yes.

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Lar: They look just like the
garlands of flowers I used

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to get for Compitalia, the
annual festival of the Lares!

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I can’t wait to decorate
the museum vault with these.

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The next time you hear from
me, I’ll tell you what happened

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at my first Compitalia.

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Host: I hope you enjoyed
learning about Lares and daily

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routines in Ancient Rome.

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Join us next week when
a water jug shares some

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water cooler gossip.

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To see photographs of the
statuette and learn more,

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visit our website at Getty
dot edu slash podcasts.

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This episode was written
by Tocarra Elise and

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produced by Zoe Goldman.

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Timmy Morgan voiced the Lar.

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Theme music, mixing and sound
design by Alexandra Kalinowski.

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Christopher Sprinkle
is executive producer.

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Special thanks to curators
Ken Lapatin, Judith

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Barr, and Hana Sugioka.

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Catch you next time!