Religion in the Roman World

The Romans had a persisting and voracious appetite for myth, magic, and ritual. They invoked the local gods to rain down punishment on adulterers or thieves. They burned fragrant resin for protecting deities of hearth and home. They sacrificed at temples to bring glory to the divine person of the emperor. And they conducted secret rites of initiation into cults like those devoted to Isis, Cybele, Dionysus, and Mithras. Juliette Harrisson shows ancient Rome to have been a hive of religious experimentation. In this comprehensive survey, she takes readers from the turmoil of the Late Republic to the high point of imperial rule (133 BC-AD 235), exploring the many facets of religiosity in the Roman world. She examines, among other topics, worship of the state-sanctioned Olympian gods and the role of religion in Roman politics; the impact of "mystery cults" focused on Greek, Near Eastern, and Egyptian deities; attitudes towards witchcraft, superstition, and the early monotheists; and evidence for ancient atheism. An epilogue discusses the rise of Christianity in the 3rd and 4th centuries. An essential guide to understanding Roman life during the life of the Empire, Religion in the Roman World provides a compelling look at the belief systems of a culture and a period of history that continues to fascinate readers today.