Phenomena and traditions that we take for granted today as something long-established and original, in fact often do not have a very long history at all, sometimes they are even made up. Among Swedish traditions, mention can be made of the Lucia celebration, which in its modern guise became popular at the end of the 19th century, but which is cherished by many Swedes as something ancient. The Midsummer celebration, whose origins indeed can be found in a pre-Christian holiday but about which we actually know very little, has been the subject of integration attempts with the Christian calendar after the Christianisation of the Nordic countries in the form of assimilation with the Nativity of John the Baptist, something that has been even more successful in Denmark and Norway (Sankthans). Although the modern Midsummer celebration is more related to St. John’s Day than to anything else, many Swedes are convinced they are celebrating an ancient, pagan holiday. However, the phenomenon of rewriting traditions and filling them with new content is very old.

Augustus strove to revive ancient Roman virtues, customs and practices, but also to create a united Italy. After the Social War between Rome and its peninsular allies (91-87 BC), distinguishing Italy from the provinces seems to have become more important than asserting the identity of the various Italic peoples against each other. From Augustus’ claim that all Italy swore allegiance to him comes the modern concept of Tota Italia. Rome, in a way, created a united Italy, but an Italy ruled by Rome.

Haruspices, originally Etruscan soothsayers, eventually became an institutionalised part of the Roman state religion and an ordo of sixty members was instituted in the early imperial period. The purpose here is to study a group in society as a case study; these haruspices‘ part in Augustus’ idea of Tota Italia and the relationship between Italic identity and Roman politics, to better understand Augustus’ ambitions to create an Italo-Roman identity. The relationship of Augustus and the subsequent Julio-Claudian emperors to religious orders in general also falls within the framework of the Tota Italia policy. In what ways did the emperors exploit and use the religious orders to further certain ends?

The theoretical vantage point is taken from sociology and is mainly based on thoughts about collective memory. A group’s ability to remember can be exploited and manipulated by, for example, a state to promote certain purposes. New cultural expressions can be merged into existing ones, but in order to sufficiently accomplish this, the society must convince its members that they already carry these with them, at least partially, or even that they will reproduce a phenomenon which fell into oblivion a long time ago. In the case of Rome, where mos maiorum, the custom of the ancestors, had a major impact on daily life, this seems to have been even more important.