Foreign cults in Rome : creating a Roman Empire /
"Religion is a Particularly Rich Field Within Which to Study Roman Self-Definition, for the Romans considered themselves to be the most religious of all peoples and ascribed their imperial success to their religiosity. Building on the observation that the Romans were remarkably open to outside...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford ; New York :
Oxford University Press,
2010.
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| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "Religion is a Particularly Rich Field Within Which to Study Roman Self-Definition, for the Romans considered themselves to be the most religious of all peoples and ascribed their imperial success to their religiosity. Building on the observation that the Romans were remarkably open to outside influences, Foreign Cults in Rome explores how the Romans installed foreign religious elements as part of their own religious system and how that affected their notions of what it meant to be Roman. The inclusion of so many foreign elements posed difficulties for defining a sense of Romanness at the very moment when a territorial definition was becoming obsolete. Using models drawn from anthropology, this book demonstrates that Roman religious activity beginning in the middle Republic (early third century B.C.E.) contributed to redrawing the boundaries of Romanness. The methods by which the Romans absorbed cults and priests and their development of practices in regard to expiations and the celebration of ludi allowed them to recreate a clear sense of identity, one that could include the peoples they had conquered. While this identity faced further challenges during the civil wars of the Late Republic, the book suggests that Roman openness remained a vital part of their religious behavior during this time. The volume concludes with a brief look at the reforms of the first emperor Augustus, whose activity can be understood in light of Republican activity, and whose actions laid the foundation for further adaptation under the Empire."--Jacket. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xi, 248 pages) |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-239) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780199780204 019978020X 9780199866342 0199866341 |