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The Lar Familiaris was a special kind of domestic guardian spirit who cared for the welfare and prosperity of a household. A household's lararium , a shrine to the Lar Familiaris, usually stood near the hearth or in a corner of the atrium. Lararia often had the appearance of a cupboard or niche containing small images, niches painted on a wall, or small freestanding shrines. Sometimes the Genius of the head of the household, pictured as a bearded or crested snake or as a man with the fold of his toga covering his head, is depicted with the Lares.

References to domestic religious practices often pair the Lares and the Penates. Penates, although also domestic guardian spirits, were more specifically protectors of the master of the household and his immediate family. The Lar Familiaris, on the other hand, protected all household members, free or slave, and was associated with a particular place; the lar did not accompany a family which moved.

Tradition holds that a family Lar would generously help those who honored him with devotionals and sacrifice. But the Lar would turn his back to those who would not offer him thanks, or neglected him.

A story about these spirits occurs in the Aulularia of PlautusTitus Maccius Plautus was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. The years of his life are uncertain, but his plays were first produced between about 205 and 184 BCE. Twenty-one plays survive. Plautus' comedies, which are the earliest surviving intact (Lines 1-36). In the tale, a grandfather begs his Lar to hide the family goldFor alternative meanings, see gold (disambiguation Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au ( L. aurum and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, heavy, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold d, so the Lar buries it in the hearth. When the grandfather dies, the Lar did not show the his son where the gold was hidden because the son never remembered to honor the Lar.

The Lar kept the gold hidden until Euclio, the man's grandson, had a daughter who was ready for marriageMarriage is a relationship that plays a key role in the definition of many families. Precise definitions vary historically and between and within cultures, but it has been an important concept as a socially sanctioned bond between people who (usually) are, but he hadn't enough money for a dowryA dowry is a gift of money or valuables given by the bride's family to that of the groom to permit their marriage. In societies where payment of dowry is common, unmarried women are seen to attract stigma and tarnish the household's reputation, so it is i. Euclio, always pious, frequently honored the Lar. So the spirit helped Euclio find the gold and made a wealthy bachelorThis page is about unmarried men; for the television show, see The Bachelor. A bachelor is an unmarried man; some restrict the usage to men who have never been married. In literature during the Victorian era, the term was sometimes used as a euphemism for next door fall in love with the daughter.

Plautus describes the Lar Familiaris as a young, slender figure clad in high boots, short tunicThe tunic was the common masculine garment of Roman Civilization. It was worn by citizens and non-citizens alike; citizens, though, would wear it under the toga, especially at formal occasions. The presence or lack of stripes, as well as the width and orn, and belted undergarment. Garlands adorn his head, and he is lithe, graceful and nimble.