Note 2 — Chapter IV
Reading edition
“Pe-nāˈtēs.” The word is derived from penus, the innermost part of the house, and referred to those divinities who, as exercising providential care over domestic affairs, were considered as the gods of the household. The Penates were also the gods of the state, considered as a family, and as such had a sanctuary near the center of Rome, where sacrifices were made by public men.