The Roman household gods that protected the pantry were called the Penates. Their name is traditionally connected with the Latin penus, the inner storage area of a house where food and other provisions were kept. They therefore guarded supplies such as grain, wine, oil, and other essentials that sustained the family.
The Penates were part of the household’s domestic religious world alongside the Lares, Vesta, and the Genius of the pater familias. During meals, a family might offer a small portion of food to the household gods by placing it on the hearth. This ritual linked the Penates not only with a pantry but with the continuing life and prosperity of the household.
The Penates were not the same as the Lares. Lares were associated with household members, ancestors, or particular places, while the Penates were especially tied to provisions and the family’s inner domestic welfare. Rome also had public Penates. One tradition said that Aeneas carried these sacred objects from Troy to Italy, making them symbols of Rome’s continuity and Trojan ancestry.