Editing Numa Pompilius (section)

==Agent of the gods==
[[File:Numa Pompilius Moitte Cour Carrée Louvre.jpg|thumb|upright|Numa Pompilius at the [[Louvre]], by [[Jean Guillaume Moitte]]]]
Numa was traditionally celebrated by the Romans for his wisdom and [[piety]]. In addition to the endorsement by Jupiter, he is supposed to have had a direct and personal relationship with a number of deities, most famously the nymph [[Egeria (mythology)|Egeria]], who, according to legend, taught him to be a wise legislator. According to Livy, Numa claimed that he held nightly consultations with Egeria on the proper manner of instituting sacred rites for the city.<ref name="LivyAb_a">[[Livy]], ''[[Ab urbe condita libri|Ab urbe condita]]'', [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 1#19|1:19]]</ref> Numa then appointed the priests for each of the deities. Plutarch suggests that he played on superstition<ref>{{cite Plutarch|Numa|8}}</ref> to give himself an aura of awe and divine allure, in order to cultivate more gentle behaviour among the warlike early Romans: honoring the gods, abiding by law, behaving humanely to enemies, and living proper, respectable lives.

Numa was said to have authored several "sacred books" in which he had written down divine teachings, mostly from Egeria and the [[Muse]]s. [[Plutarch]]<ref name=PlutarchXXXV>{{cite Plutarch|Numa|22}}</ref> (citing [[Valerius Antias]]) and Livy<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab urbe condita libri|Ab urbe condita]]''</ref> record that at his request he was buried along with these "sacred books", preferring that the rules and rituals they prescribed be preserved in the living memory of the state priests, rather than preserved as relics subject to forgetfulness and disuse. About half of these books—Plutarch and Livy differ on their number—were thought to cover the priesthoods he had established or developed, including the ''[[flamen|flamines]]'', ''[[College of Pontiffs|pontifices]]'', ''[[Salii]]'', and ''[[fetial]]es'' and their rituals. The other books dealt with philosophy (''disciplina sapientiae''). According to Plutarch,<ref name=PlutarchXXXV /> these books were recovered some four hundred years later (in reality almost five hundred years, i.e. in 181 BC according to Livy [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 40#29|40:29:3-14]]) at the occasion of a natural accident that exposed the tomb. They were examined by the Senate, deemed to be inappropriate for disclosure to the people, and burned. [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]<ref>As noted by Gerard Walter, editor of Plutarch's ''The parallel lives'', La Pléïade, volume no. 63, 1967.</ref> hints that they were actually kept as a very close secret by the ''pontifices''.

Numa is reputed to have constrained the two minor gods [[Picus]] and [[Faunus]] into delivering some [[prophecy|prophecies]] of things to come.<ref name="PlutarchThe">{{cite Plutarch|Numa|14}} Ovid ''Fasti'' III.</ref>

Numa, supported and prepared by Egeria, reportedly held a battle of wits with Jupiter himself, through an apparition whereby Numa sought to gain a protective ritual against lightning strikes and thunder.<ref name="PlutarchThe" />

Once, when a plague was ravaging the population, [[Ancile|a brass shield]] fell from the sky and was brought to Numa. He declared that Egeria had told him it was a gift from Jupiter, to be used for Rome's protection. He ordered ceremonies to give thanks for the gift, and quickly brought about an end to the plague. The [[Ancile]] became a sacred relic of the Romans<ref name="PlutarchThe_b">{{cite Plutarch|Numa|13}}</ref> and was placed in the care of the [[Salii]].