Pullularius

The pullarius was the keeper of chickens used in alectryomancy, a form of public augury in ancient Rome. It was the job of the pullarius to throw food for the chickens, and shake the basket they were in, if need be, to get them to emerge.¹ The behavior of the cockerels was interpreted by the pullarius and used by military leaders as a predictor of fortune in battle.²

References

Plutarch. [Lives of] Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, c. 17. In: Waterfield, Robin. Plutarch, Roman Lives, pp. 96, 453 (note to p. 96) ISBN 978-0-19-282502-5
The Chicken Book By Page Smith, Charles Daniel

[1] Plutarch. [Lives of] Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, c. 17. In: Waterfield, Robin. Plutarch, Roman Lives, pp. 96, 453 (note to p. 96) ISBN 978-0-19-282502-5

[2] The Chicken Book By Page Smith, Charles Daniel

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