] In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, a bidental was a sacred

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

erected on the spot where

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

had struck.

Creation

Any remains and scorched earth at the spot were to be burned in a hole at the location by priests called "bidentales". Any person killed by the bolt was to be buried in the earth where the lightning hit, as opposed to traditional cremation. A

puteal A puteal (Latin: from puteus ("well") – : putealiaVenetian Wellheads @ Venipedia
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("wellhead"), one or sometimes more, was then placed on the spot of burned earth. In order to further consecrate the site, the officiant would

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

a two-year-old sheep (called a bidens). Finally, an altar was built, and surrounded by a wall or fence to keep any trespassers away. Occasionally when falling into a state of decay, Bidentals would be repaired or reconstructed.

Significance

Considered sacred space, a bidental was not to be touched, trod upon, or even looked at after completion. Places being struck by lightning were regarded as a terrifying example of divine wrath, and not to be taken lightly. Had a person committed

sacrilege Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical ...

, they were punished severely with frenzy. Primarily, it was believed that these shows of divine power were displayed specifically by

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, Roman god of the sky and thunder as well as king of the gods.

References

"The Divine Thunderbolt." Google Books. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.

"Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle." Google Books. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

* "The Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary and Greek Lexicon." Internet Archive. 1849. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. Ancient Roman religious titles Lightning {{AncientRome-stub