आगमे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Spirits with no rigid shape

Sources: sentona97
System of beliefs centered around family and life after death was called “the religion of Numa”. In its essence it’s animism – spirits (numina) were connected with all things, beings and acts of people.
In Roman animism every being, thing, activity or idea had their divine character and meaning. The forces of nature, therefore, weren’t personified in human or any other physical shape. Roman king Numa ordered that gods shouldn’t be represented as statues. That means that genius of the house, penates, lares, manes and lemures are forces not personified and the well-being of the family depends on them. Things that happen in nature are also divine because they are unseen, made by the gods or are gods themselves.
Romans had a practical and animistic view on religion which was shown through many deities who would change themselves or their attributes depending on the situation. This is something we see also with, for example, the Etruscans whose deities change attributes very often, depending on the situation they are in. That’s how they can change genders and their meanings, because in the early stages they didn’t have a human form.
Romans would also deify different human feelings and acts. For example loyalty (Fides) or fear (Pavor/Pallor). With the development of the state and political life abstract things like hope, victory and the state itself became deified.
So, old Roman deities were abstract and not personified. That’s why in the early stages there weren’t temples or statues of gods and the rituals were made with such accuracy to make the forces work in their benefit. The religion of this time was much more strict.

Ancestor cult

When we talk about animism the phenomenon of death has to be mentioned, too. In the consciousness of our ancestors, death wasn’t considered as something devastating because the spirit of the deceased stayed around the living centered around hearth, their grave or nature.
The concept of death is different than in Abrahamic religions were the souls go in another world – in Roman religion, and other pagan religions, dead stay in this world. Living would give things to the dead such as food and drink, a custom which is present even today.
The spirits of the ancestors would also care about their living descendants and their community. That’s why the living were obliged to ensure the continuation of the family line, so the ancestors can be revived. Therefore, the fear of dying was almost unknown.

Heroes

This is something very much common in the ancient world and is seen very well among the warriors who would go in the battle with honor and bravery. Warriors were celebrated and almost deified, there were the ones in the close contact with death itself.
Romans awarded their warriors with triumph where men would become close to the aspect of kings and gods. The man who celebrated it would be called “vir triumphalis” for the rest of his life, alongside with many honors in the community.
After the death of the men who celebrated the triumphs, on every funeral of his descendants there would be an actor dressed in triumphal toga who also wore his postmortal mask. That is the clear representation of deified ancestors who were remembered because of their honor.
Roman animism was mostly preserved in the ancestral cult and sometimes in abstract points concerning state and human behaviour. Because it was so deeply connected to the ancestors, it remained mostly pure and unchanged unlike the paganism of Roman state and their officials.