Lituus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The word lituus originally meant a curved staff ("crozier") or trumpet in the ancient Latin language, and is used with several meanings in English:

The lituus is asymptotic to the line θ=0.
The lituus is asymptotic to the line θ=0.

[edit] Mathematics

A lituus is a spiral in which the angle is inversely proportional to the square of the radius (as expressed in polar coordinates).

A lituus (reverse, right, over the patera) as cult instrument, in this coin celebrating the pietas of the Roman Emperor Herennius Etruscus.
A lituus (reverse, right, over the patera) as cult instrument, in this coin celebrating the pietas of the Roman Emperor Herennius Etruscus.

[edit] Roman ritual

The lituus was a cult instrument in Roman religion, used by augurs to mark out a ritual space in the sky (a templum). The passage of birds through this templum indicated divine favor or disfavor for a given undertaking.

The lituus was also used as a symbol of office for the college of the augurs to mark them out as a priestly group.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../l/i/t/Lituus.html"
In other languages