O Imaginário Social das Práticas Divinatórias na República Romana pela obra De divinatione de Cícero (I a.C.)

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the social imaginary of divinatory practices in the Roman Republic, based on Cicero's work De divinatione (1st century BC). The study explores how divination, as a social and religious practice, influenced political, social, and military decisions in Rome. Cicero, when debating the validity and function of divination, offers a critical and philosophical view on the subject, reflecting the tensions between tradition and rationality in a period of transformation. The research highlights the duality between popular belief in fortune-tellers (vates) and the growing intellectual distrust towards these practices. In addition, it examines the role of the official divinatios of the Roman state in legitimizing power and maintaining social order. Cicero's work serves as documentation to understand how divination was perceived and used in the context of the crisis of the Republic, revealing the complexities of Roman thought about the supernatural and destiny. We apply a theoretical approach based on the concepts of the social imaginary of Bronislaw Baczko, based on the political and social context of Rome in the final years of the Republic. Through content analysis, Cicero's text allows us to understand the content of power relations and control of divinatory practices. The study concludes that divinatory practices were a central element in the control of the population and consequently of Roman social cohesion.