o on to find further
illustration of the curious mixture of old and new which the Roman
religion was henceforward to be.

The fortunate survival of large fragments of the records of the
Brotherhood, dating from shortly after the battle of Actium, show that
it continued to work and to flourish down to the reign of Gordian (A.D.
241), and from other sources we know that it was still in existence in
the fourth century.[919] These records have been found on the site of
the sacred grove, at the fifth milestone on the via Campana between Rome
and Ostia, which from the time of this revival onwards was the centre of
the activity of the Fratres.

The brethren were twelve in number, with a _magister_ at their head and
a flamen to assist him; they were chosen from distinguished families by
co-optation, the reigning Emperor being always a member.[920] Their
duties fell into two divisions, which most aptly illustrate respectively
the old and the new ingredients in the religious prescriptions of
Augustus, as they were carried out by his successors. The first of these
is the performance of the yearly rites in honour of the Dea Dia, the
goddess or _numen_ without a substantival name (a form perhaps of Ceres
and Tellus), whose home was in the sacred grove, and who was the special
object of this venerable cult. Secondly, the care of vows, prayers, and
sacrifices for the Emperors and other members of the imperial house. I
must say a few words about each of these divisions of duty.

The worship of the Dea Dia took place in May on three days, with an
interval always of one day between the first and second, according to
the old custom of the calendar.[921] On the first, preliminary rites
were performed at Rome, in the house of the magister; on the second was
the most important part of the whole ceremony, which took place at the
sacred grove. These rites will give a good idea of the old Roman
worship, and of the exactness with which Augustus sought to restore it.
At dawn the magister sacrificed two _porcae piaculares_ to the Dea, and
then a _vacca honoraria_, after which he laid aside the _toga praetexta_
or sacrificial vestment, and rested till noon, when all the brethren
partook of a common meal, of which the _porcae_ formed the chief part.
Then resuming the _praetexta_, and crowned with wreaths of corn-ears,
they proceeded to the altar in the grove, where they sacrificed the
_agna opima_, which was the principal victim in the whole
cere