Religion

Question 1

Fundamental Concepts

Answer 1

Polytheistic
every aspect of life governed by the gods
centrality of rituals - must performed correctly
divine displeasure if performed incorrectly
rituals - vows, offerings, sacrifices, dedications etc

Question 2

Public Religion

Answer 2

always deeply embedded in public life
priesthoods held by social elites
divine approval needed for any political/military action
many gods in public cult - worshiped by state

Question 3

Public Cults

Answer 3

official state worship of deities
sense of community
capitoline triad - capitolium
bringing in of foreign gods eg magna mater
foreign gods retained different status - usually in times of crisis
worship of imperial family in imperial period

Question 4

Priests

Answer 4

drawn from elites
organised into colleges
reinforcement of social structure - only some could be priests
usually from propertied classes
distrusted by other priesthoods (eg druids)
male priests often in key decision making roles
pontifex maximum, vestels, augures

Question 5

the emperor

Answer 5

entwined with public religion
emperor as ultimate priest - pontifex maximus
descendant of gods
eurgetism in form of temple building
ara pacis- link to imperial attitudes
religious buildings links to imperial agenda

Question 6

examples of imperial temples

Answer 6

temple of roma and venus

• vowed by hadrian, finished by antoninus
• first temple to roma in rome
• one of largest temples in rome

pantheon

• originally by marcus agrippa, rebuild by domitian, then again by hadrian
• dedication remained to agrippa
• imperial engagement with the past

Question 7

the imperial cult

Answer 7

parameters unclear - could be narrow or broad
worship of divine spirit of emperor
used at all levels of society for different purposes
development of the hellenistic worship of kings, generals etc
limited to just emperors by augustus

Question 8

army worship of emperor

Answer 8

communal rituals huge part of life
official rituals by generals for overall cohesion
promotion of loyalty to ruling emperor
incorporation into more private worship
mix of communal and unitary acts eg shrines

Question 9

mystery cults

Answer 9

perceived as eastern origins
initiation rights
interest starts increasing from 2nd Century
greater ties with individual identity
easily include Bacchus / Christianity here
embedded into social structure of empire

Question 10

examples of Mystery cults

Answer 10

Serapis - starts in egypt

• composite god - bridge between nations
• fertility/healing

Isis - roman adoption of egyptian deity

• initiation rights
• egyptianising iconography
• appearance of priests etc clear
• spreadsacross roman world - pompeii, london

sanctuary to both on campus martius

Question 11

Mithraism

Answer 11

probably persian origins 
male-only, initiation 
small cavelike temples 
often found in connection to army 
afterlife connotations 
cosmic symbology 
found across empire 
written about in lots of christian sources, highly biased due to similarities

Question 12

provincial religion

Answer 12

adoption and adaption roman culture to suit needs
could be very roman or very local
where a god comes from doesnt dictate who worships them
local gods can still look like roman ones
sacred spaces can look different but have same purpose

Question 13

Curse Tablets

Answer 13

requests for divine manipulation of personal problems
come from greek world
curses - addressed to underworld deities
judicial prayers - victim seen as guilt of a crime rather than simply a rival
lead tablets, pine cones, figures, coins etc

Question 14

Sources

Answer 14

archaeology - temples, curse tablets, dedications etc
art of mystery cults
christian sources on mithraism