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Devotio was the extreme form of the votum (sacrifice, promise or gift to a deity in return for a request), in which the Roman commander promised to devote his life to underground (chthonic) deities in battle with the enemy in return for the victory of their own troops.
Devotio – Lives for the Motherland
Devotio differed from votum in that its object was a human life, and the completion of the vow (that is, the death of the person making the devotio) was before the fulfilment of the expected from the deity favours, consisting also in the annihilation of the life of people (the enemy) whose death was wished by the person taking the oath.
Devotio could have been a form of consecratio, a ritual that involved sacrificing something to a deity. Devotio was sometimes interpreted as sacrificing a human being. The ritual was closely related to the war and expressed the heroic ethics and mysticism of the fight – a heroic gift of one’s life for the state (rei publici) and for victory.
The devotio rite was performed in exceptional circumstances when the battle took a very bad turn. The man who was going to devotio had to do it entirely of his own free will – no one could be forced to sacrifice himself because it was felt that it would not have had the proper effect and would even anger the gods. Usually, devotio was completed by an army commander (magistratus cum imperio). He was responsible for the troops, so he should do everything in his power to ensure victory and prevent defeat. If the legions were headed by a consul, the highest official of the republic, his responsibility was even greater, as he also represented the entire state. The people who devotio were considered heroes and went down in history (like two Decius consuls – Decii).
The most comprehensive description of this ritual is left to us by the historian of the Augustan era – Titus Livius. A Roman historian of the 1st century BCE created during the rule of Octavian Augustus and his religious reforms to replace the old-fashioned and traditional canons of religion. It is certain that devotio was not an invention of Augustus and the rite was preserved in the books of Pontiffs, from where Livius probably drew his knowledge.
Devotio – other forms
It is worth adding that another kind of devotio was sacrificing your own life in exchange for saving another person. This was the case at the end of CE 37 when Emperor Caligula became seriously ill. Apparently, there were people who were ready to give their own lives so that the emperor would recover1.
Interestingly, over time the word devotio also took the form of a magical ritual intended to harm or kill another person. Tacitus uses the term devotiones and refers to the mysterious poisoning Germanicus2.
Another form of votum is also worth mentioning – the so-called evocatio, when by committing certain rituals, attempts were made to win over a foreign deity, e.g. during a city siege. In this way, the Romans persuaded secret beings to go to their side, promising a worthy temple and worship.
What was the devotio ritual like before the battle?
The ritual of sacrifice was strictly defined and was carried out by the accompanying pontifex (priest) army. The person who was to give his life wore a garment called toga praetexta – a white toga with a purple stripe at the hem. Then she stood on a spear placed on the ground and repeated the words of the vow uttered by the priest. They emphasized that human death was to be a sacrifice for the homeland. All major Roman gods were invoked, beginning with Jupiter, Janus, Quirinus and the gods of war Mars and Bellona. Finally, the deities associated with death, the spirits of the underworld, as those who have power over the combatants (including the earth goddess Tellus and the spirits of their deceased ancestors) were addressed. The formula uttered to appease the gods was to be as follows.