As we well know, the Roman people worshiped a multitude of gods who were worshiped in public and private spaces. In fact, the division of these spaces of worship followed the same organizational structure of the deities. At home, the Romans worshiped the spirits and geniuses who interfered with the family's fortunes. In public space, deities with broader powers were revered through huge festivities that were organized by the priestly class of each city.
Starting from this division between public and domestic gods, we see that the Romans developed a curious superstition when they arrived at the door of a house. According to the belief, every time someone is in front of the door of a house, there is contact with the gods who rule that home. With that, the Roman was happy to enunciate magical terms and requests in front of the doors. This was a special opportunity for prayers to be symbolically passed through the door.
However, the prayers that the Romans said in front of the doors were not answered as expected. Thus, instead of blaming the powerful deity, they claimed that the door suffered from some kind of inexplicable deafness. The proof that this excuse existed can be found in the notes of Festus, a Latin writer who lived throughout the fourth century. Thus, if the door were deaf, the person ran the risk of having their wishes ignored.
At first, it seems strange to get used to this kind of belief. However, we see that other religions also use the most varied justifications to explain the behavior of their gods. Currently, being “deaf as a door” has ended up being an expression for someone who can no longer distinguish sound stimuli well. In other cases, stubborn people also end up being given the same expression for their insistence.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Brazil School Team
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Curiosities - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Deaf as a door"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/surdo-como-uma-porta.htm. Accessed on July 27, 2021.