In the Roman religion, a haruspex was a man trained to practice divination by the inspection of the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the livers of sacrificed sheep; and in the interpretation of lightning strikes and other unusual omens. The plural is haruspices.
The practice of haruspicy, the name for this kind of divination, was said to have originated among the ancient Etruscans. A bronze sculpture of a liver, complete with the name of regions marked on it assigned to various gods, was discovered in 1877 near Piacenza, in northern Italy, and has been connected to the practice of haruspicy.
The art of haruspicy was taught in the Libri Tagetici, a collection of texts attributed to Tages, a childlike being who figures in Etruscan mythology, and who was discovered in an open field by Tarchon. Haruspicy continued to be practiced throughout the history of the Roman empire; the emperor Claudius was a student of Etruscan and opened a college to preserve and improve their art, which lasted until the reign of Theodosius I. In 408, the haruspices offered their services when the Goths under Alaric threatened Rome; Pope Innocent I reluctantly agreed to allow them to help so long as the rituals were kept secret.[citation needed]
External link:
- Haruspices, article in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities