ring
is attributed—for the aid of the divinity in securing the king's
victory over the Khetas in one of his Asiatic campaigns. Unquestionably
many of the engraved scarabs set in Egyptian rings had a specifically
religious significance, and the same is true of the engravings on the
chatons of gold rings, as, for example, in the case of that worn by the
priest in charge of the Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu). Some of these have
already been described in the chapter on signets, the essential use of
these rings being for sealing. In many other cases the presence of a
divine name as a component of the royal name, or in a royal title,
probably had not much more of a distinctly religious meaning than the "
Dei Gratia " on the coins of European rulers.
The
rings worn by the high priests of Jupiter (flammes Diales), who had,
ex-officio, the rank of senators, were made hollow and of openwork.
This particular form is said to have been chosen for mystic and
symbolic reasons, as showing that everything indicating hardness or
severity, the restriction of liberty, or arduous labor, was to be held
aloof from this flamen, who, with those of Mars and Quirinus (Romulus),
belonged to the group of greater priests selected from the patrician
order.1 The conjecture that we should seek here the origin
of Christian episcopal rings is very far-fetched, the general symbolism
of the ring as an emblem of eternity, and its bestowal as a mark of
rank, having been probably sufficient determining factors.
No
one, man or woman, was permitted to enter the sanctuary of the "
Mistress " at Lycosura, wearing a ring on any finger; only rings
destined for dedication
1 Pompei Fasti, " De verborum significati!," lib. xx, s. v. Edera, ed. of Ed. Thewrewk de Ponor, Budapest, 1889, p. 58.
