Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
Much of the evidence for the religious affiliations of pagan aristocrats comes from inscribed dedications—more indeed than most people probably realize. In simpler times it was taken for granted that ...
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Much of the evidence for the religious affiliations of pagan aristocrats comes from inscribed dedications—more indeed than most people probably realize. In simpler times it was taken for granted that inscriptions provided a peculiarly uncomplicated sort of evidence, bare facts not mediated by human art or bias. However, few facts are bare. This chapter examines what sort of monuments these dedications were inscribed on, where they were erected, by whom, and with what purpose. Topics discussed include Roman priesthoods, “oriental” cults, Bloch's thesis that it was oriental rather than state cults that inspired political resistance to Christianity, the taurobolium, and the decline of the priestly colleges.Less
Much of the evidence for the religious affiliations of pagan aristocrats comes from inscribed dedications—more indeed than most people probably realize. In simpler times it was taken for granted that inscriptions provided a peculiarly uncomplicated sort of evidence, bare facts not mediated by human art or bias. However, few facts are bare. This chapter examines what sort of monuments these dedications were inscribed on, where they were erected, by whom, and with what purpose. Topics discussed include Roman priesthoods, “oriental” cults, Bloch's thesis that it was oriental rather than state cults that inspired political resistance to Christianity, the taurobolium, and the decline of the priestly colleges.
Michael Koortbojian
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691195032
- eISBN:
- 9780691197494
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691195032.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This introductory chapter briefly discusses the baffling history of the pomerium. The pomerium, as a fundamental feature of Rome's political topography, was especially confounding for Roman ...
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This introductory chapter briefly discusses the baffling history of the pomerium. The pomerium, as a fundamental feature of Rome's political topography, was especially confounding for Roman antiquarians seeking to study the origins of Rome and its institutions. Its religious role lived on, cultivated by the priesthoods—the augurs and the pontiffs—charged with its related rituals. But the realities that accompanied Rome's growth from the Romulean foundation to the caput mundi rendered much of the surviving lore that surrounded the city's mythic past incommensurate with early imperial life in the urbs. The sheer scale of the city thus challenged one's belief in so many of the stories about its formation and its growth.Less
This introductory chapter briefly discusses the baffling history of the pomerium. The pomerium, as a fundamental feature of Rome's political topography, was especially confounding for Roman antiquarians seeking to study the origins of Rome and its institutions. Its religious role lived on, cultivated by the priesthoods—the augurs and the pontiffs—charged with its related rituals. But the realities that accompanied Rome's growth from the Romulean foundation to the caput mundi rendered much of the surviving lore that surrounded the city's mythic past incommensurate with early imperial life in the urbs. The sheer scale of the city thus challenged one's belief in so many of the stories about its formation and its growth.
Meghan J. DiLuzio
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691169576
- eISBN:
- 9781400883035
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691169576.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
This book illuminates a previously underappreciated dimension of religion in ancient Rome: the role of priestesses in civic cult. Demonstrating that priestesses had a central place in public rituals ...
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This book illuminates a previously underappreciated dimension of religion in ancient Rome: the role of priestesses in civic cult. Demonstrating that priestesses had a central place in public rituals and institutions, the book emphasizes the complex, gender-inclusive nature of Roman priesthood. In ancient Rome, priestly service was a cooperative endeavor, requiring men and women, husbands and wives, and elite Romans and slaves to work together to manage the community's relationship with its gods. Like their male colleagues, priestesses offered sacrifices on behalf of the Roman people, and prayed for the community's well-being. As they carried out their ritual obligations, they were assisted by female cult personnel, many of them slave women. The book explores the central role of the Vestal Virgins and shows that they occupied just one type of priestly office open to women. Some priestesses, including the flaminica Dialis, the regina sacrorum, and the wives of the curial priests, served as part of priestly couples. Others, such as the priestesses of Ceres and Fortuna Muliebris, were largely autonomous. The book offers a fresh understanding of how the women of ancient Rome played a leading role in public cult.Less
This book illuminates a previously underappreciated dimension of religion in ancient Rome: the role of priestesses in civic cult. Demonstrating that priestesses had a central place in public rituals and institutions, the book emphasizes the complex, gender-inclusive nature of Roman priesthood. In ancient Rome, priestly service was a cooperative endeavor, requiring men and women, husbands and wives, and elite Romans and slaves to work together to manage the community's relationship with its gods. Like their male colleagues, priestesses offered sacrifices on behalf of the Roman people, and prayed for the community's well-being. As they carried out their ritual obligations, they were assisted by female cult personnel, many of them slave women. The book explores the central role of the Vestal Virgins and shows that they occupied just one type of priestly office open to women. Some priestesses, including the flaminica Dialis, the regina sacrorum, and the wives of the curial priests, served as part of priestly couples. Others, such as the priestesses of Ceres and Fortuna Muliebris, were largely autonomous. The book offers a fresh understanding of how the women of ancient Rome played a leading role in public cult.
