Penates The Di Penates, the gods of the storage cupboard.

Like the Lares, the Di Penates were depicted (in the form of bronze statuettes usually) as youths.

See also Genius, Larvae, Di Penates, Manes.

The Roman State had its own Di Penates, called the Penates Publici-guardians of the State's well-being and solvency.

In his hand, Anchises carries a vessel with his ancestors' ashes, on the top of which are two tiny statue of Di Penates, Roman household gods.

They were associated with the Lares, Lemures, Genii, and Di Penates as deities (di) that pertained to domestic, local, and personal cult.

To the Romans, the home was more than just a possession; it was a sacred space protected by the Di Penates (household gods) and was a focus for personal honour.

Among the oldest and most numinous of all Roman gods, the Di Penates were worshipped in every Roman house in conjunction with Vesta (spirit of the hearth) and the Lar Familiaris.

Originally these were the royal Di Penates belonging to the King of Rome; during the Republic, the Penates Publici came to be worshiped as the caretakers of the public storage cupboard-that is, of the State's well-being and solvency.

Drusus had marched her to the shrine in the atrium where the family gods were honored-Vesta of the hearth, the Di Penates of the pantry, and the Lar Familiaris-and made her swear a terrible oath that she would do as he had told her.