manes

manes (mā`nēz), in Roman religion, spirits of the dead. Originally, they were called di manes, a collective divinity of the dead. Manes could also refer to the realm of the dead and, later, to the individual souls of the dead. Eventually, the Romans placated the manes with offerings at the graves of the dead. In later times, when the family tomb was introduced into burial custom, the di manes were identified with the di parentes, the ancestors of the family, and as such watched over the welfare of the family along with the lares and penates.

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Mani

 or Manes or Manichaeus

(born April 14, 216, southern Babylonia—died 274?, Gundeshapur) Persian founder of Manichaeism. He had his first vision of an angel in his boyhood, and when he was 24 the angel reappeared and called him to preach a new religion. He traveled to India and made converts there. The Persian king Shapur I permitted him to preach in the Persian empire, but, during the reign of Bahram I, Mani was attacked by Zoroastrian priests. After a 26-day trial he was sentenced to prison, where he died.

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manes

spirits of the dead. [Rom. Rel.: Leach, 672]

See : Death