Ancient Roman priest tasked with divination by the observation of birds
Not to be confused with auger (disambiguation) or agar (disambiguation).
This article is about the Roman religious practice. For parallel practices in other cultures, see Ornithomancy.
"Auguries" redirects here. For the 2022 "Westworld" TV episode, see The Auguries (Westworld).
For other uses, see Augur (disambiguation).
Modern depiction of an augur with sacred chicken; he holds a lituus, the curved wand often used as a symbol of augury on Roman coins
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An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined sacred space (templum). The templum corresponded to the heavenly space above. The augur's decisions were based on what he personally saw or heard from within the templum; they included thunder, lightning and any accidental signs such as falling objects, but in particular, birdsigns; whether the birds he saw flew in groups or alone, what noises they made as they flew, the direction of flight, what kind of birds they were, how many there were, or how they fed. This practice was known as "taking the auspices". As circumstance did not always favour the convenient appearance of wild birds or weather phenomena, domesticated chickens kept for the purpose were sometimes released into the templum, where their behaviour, particularly how they fed, could be studied by the augur.[1]
The augural ceremony and function of the augur was central to any major undertaking in Roman society – public or private – including matters of war, commerce, and religion. Augurs sought the divine will regarding any proposed course of action which might affect Rome's pax, fortuna, and salus (peace, good fortune, and well-being).[2]
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods...
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behavior of birds, to receive omens. When the individual, known as the augur, read these signs, it was referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices"...
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John Augur Holabird (1886–1945) was an American architect based in Chicago. John Augur Holabird was born in Evanston, Illinois on May 4, 1886, the son...
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