Page "Novensiles" Paragraph 5

Both the Lares and the Manes are " native " gods often regarded in ancient sources as the deified dead.

Servius says that the novensiles are " old gods " who earned numinous status ( dignitatem numinis ) through their virtus, their quality of character.

The early Christian apologist Arnobius notes other authorities who also regarded them as mortals who became gods.

In this light, the novensiles, like the Lares and Manes, may be " concerned with the subterranean world where ancestors were sleeping.