Numa Pompilius facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Numa Pompilius |
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Numa depicted on a 48 BC denarius
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| King of Rome | |
| Reign | 715–672 BC |
| Predecessor | Romulus |
| Successor | Tullus Hostilius |
| Spouse | Tatia |
| Issue | Pompillia |
| Father | Pomponius |
Numa Pompilius ( c. 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome. He became king after Romulus, following a one-year period without a ruler. Numa was from the Sabine people, who lived near Rome. He is famous for creating many of Rome's most important religious and political traditions. These include the Roman calendar, the Vestal Virgins, and the role of the chief priest, called the pontifex maximus. Numa brought peace and order to early Rome.
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Numa Pompilius: Rome's Second King
Numa's Early Life and Family
Numa was born around the same time Rome was founded, traditionally on April 21, 753 BC. He lived a simple and disciplined life, avoiding luxury. Numa married Tatia, the only daughter of Titus Tatius, a Sabine king. After 13 years of marriage, Tatia passed away. Numa then chose to live a quiet life in the countryside.
Some ancient writers suggested Numa learned philosophy from the famous Greek thinker Pythagoras. However, most historians believe this story is not true. This is because Numa and Pythagoras lived in different times and places. Numa had a daughter named Pompilia. She married a man named Numa Marcius, who became Rome's first chief priest. Their son, Ancus Marcius, later became the fourth king of Rome. Some stories also say Numa had five sons. Many important Roman families believed they were descended from these sons.
Becoming King of Rome
After Romulus died, Rome had a year without a king, called an interregnum. During this time, members of the Senate took turns ruling for five days each. In 715 BC, the Senate chose Numa, who was about 40 years old, to be the next king. He was chosen because he was a Sabine, which helped unite the Roman and Sabine people.
At first, Numa did not want to be king. He felt Rome was still a city of war and needed a military leader, not a peaceful and thoughtful person like him. However, his father, Sabine relatives, and Roman senators convinced him to accept. Before he officially became king, Numa asked an augur (a religious official) to find out if the gods approved. The signs from Jupiter were favorable. With the approval of both the people and the gods, Numa became King of Rome.
One of Numa's first actions was to dismiss Romulus's personal guard of 300 soldiers. This showed his humility and his desire for peace and moderation. Numa ruled for 43 years. He passed away peacefully from old age around 672 BC, when he was about 81 years old. He was buried in a stone coffin on the Janiculum hill. Tullus Hostilius succeeded him as king. Romulus was known as a king of war, while Numa was a king of peace. This meant Rome learned both how to fight and how to live peacefully.
Numa's Divine Connections
Romans greatly respected Numa for his wisdom and deep devotion to the gods. Legends say he had a special, personal relationship with several deities. The most famous was the nymph Egeria, a nature spirit. According to stories, Egeria met Numa at night and taught him how to be a wise ruler and create good laws. Numa often claimed he consulted Egeria to learn the proper ways to set up sacred rituals for the city. He then appointed priests for each of the gods. Some historians suggest Numa used these stories to inspire the early Romans. He wanted them to be more respectful of the gods, follow laws, and live peaceful, respectable lives instead of always being warlike.
Numa was also said to have written down divine teachings in "sacred books." He asked to be buried with these books. Many years later, around 181 BC, some books were found near his tomb. The Roman Senate examined them. They decided the books contained ideas that were not suitable for the public to know, so they ordered them to be burned. This shows how seriously the Romans took religious matters and how they protected their traditions.
Numa was also believed to have convinced two minor gods, Picus and Faunus, to share prophecies about the future. He even reportedly had a special encounter with Jupiter, the king of the gods. In this meeting, Numa sought to learn a ritual to protect Rome from lightning strikes and thunder. Once, when a plague was affecting the city, a special brass shield called the Ancile fell from the sky. Numa declared that Egeria had told him it was a gift from Jupiter for Rome's protection. He ordered ceremonies to give thanks, and the plague quickly ended. The Ancile became a sacred treasure for the Romans, guarded by special priests called the Salii.
Laws and Traditions from Numa
Numa Pompilius created many important rules and traditions that shaped Roman society and religion.
Religious Customs and Priests
One of Numa's first actions was building a Temple of Janus. This temple had doors that were open during wartime and closed during peacetime. During Numa's entire reign, the doors stayed closed, showing how peaceful Rome was. Numa also started the worship of Terminus, the god of boundaries. This encouraged Romans to respect property lines and live peacefully with their neighbors. He taught that this god represented justice and peace, without violence or murder.
Recognizing the importance of the Ancile shield, King Numa had eleven identical copies made. This way, no one, not even Numa, could tell which was the original, keeping the true shield safe. These twelve sacred shields were carried each year in a procession by the Salii priests. Numa also established the important office and duties of the Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of Rome. He created priests for different gods, including the flamines for Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus (Romulus, who was worshipped as a god). Numa also brought the Vestal Virgins to Rome from Alba Longa. These were priestesses who kept a sacred fire burning, which was very important for the city's safety.
Numa made sure that Roman religious practices were well-organized. He set rules for sacrifices, holy days, and temples. He also taught people about funeral rites and how to deal with unusual events believed to be signs from the gods. Numa mostly preferred sacrifices that didn't involve blood and were not costly. He also encouraged a spiritual form of worship. For the first 170 years of Rome, there were no images or statues of gods in their temples. This was because Numa believed it was wrong to represent divine beings with perishable objects.
The Roman Calendar
Numa is famous for reforming the Roman calendar. He divided the year into twelve months, based on the moon's cycles. He also adjusted it to match the sun's path. It was during his time that the months of January and February were introduced. Numa also made the distinction between days that were sacred (for religious ceremonies) and days that were for everyday activities.
Plutarch wrote that Numa made January the first month instead of March. He did this because he wanted peaceful, civil influences to be more important than military ones. Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions, was seen as a patron of social order. He was often shown with two faces, looking to the past and the future.
Social Order and Fairness
Numa also helped organize Roman society in other ways.
- Guilds: He established traditional groups for different jobs, called collegia or guilds. These included musicians, goldsmiths, carpenters, dyers, shoemakers, and potters. By organizing people into these groups, Numa helped bring them together and reduce disagreements between different parts of the population.
- Agriculture: Numa encouraged Romans to work in agriculture. He divided existing land among people who didn't have much. He believed that farming would make people less aggressive and reduce poverty and crime. He saw agriculture as an occupation that built good character.
- Family Rules: Numa made rules to protect family members. For example, he made it harder for fathers to give up their sons, especially if the son had married with his father's approval. He also allowed enslaved people to share meals with their masters during the Saturnalia festival. This was a time to remember a mythical golden age when everyone was considered equal.
A King of Peace
Numa was a powerful peacemaker. Making the Romans more peaceful was one of his main goals from the beginning of his kingship. Many of his actions were designed to achieve this aim. He was so successful that peace spread not only through Rome but also across all of Italy. Roads became safe, and people enjoyed feasts and festivals. No one tried to harm Numa or take his place. When Numa passed away from natural causes, people friendly to Rome came from many places to honor him. This was a big contrast to Romulus, who was a war-king, and the five kings who came after Numa, four of whom were killed and one dethroned.
Numa's Lasting Legacy
Numa Pompilius continued to be remembered well into later centuries. The Christian philosopher Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century AD believed King Numa was influenced by ancient Jewish laws. He thought this was why Numa avoided making human images in sculpture.
In the 6th century AD, Emperor Justinian I recalled Numa alongside Romulus as founders of the Roman state. Justinian saw Numa as the one who first "organized and enhanced [the city of Rome], by means of laws." Similarly, the bishop John of Nikiû compared Empress Theodora to Numa for her reforms aimed at improving society. In the 11th century, the scholar Michael Psellos praised Numa as a pious, peaceful, and wise leader. He saw Numa as a great example for future rulers.
See also
In Spanish: Numa Pompilio para niños
- Pompilia gens
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