- Title Pages
- Acknowledgments
- Note to the Reader
- Abbreviations
- [UNTITLED]
- Introduction: Religion, Law and Knowledge in Classical Rome
- Introduction to Part I: Historiography and Method
- 1 On Comparison<sup>†</sup>
- 2 Polis-<i>Religion and its Alternatives in the Roman Provinces</i><sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part II: Religious Institutions and Religious Authority
- 3 From Republic to Principate:<sup>†</sup> Priesthood, Religion and Ideology*
- 4 <i>A Feature of Roman Religion</i><sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part II: Ritual and Myth
- 5 <i>The</i> Ludi Saeculares <i>and the</i> Carmen Saeculare<sup>†</sup>
- 6 Cults, Myths, and Politics at the Beginning of the Empire<sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part IV: Theology
- 7 The Theological Efforts of the Roman Upper Classes in the First Century BC<sup>†</sup>
- 8 Hierarchy and Structure in Roman Polytheism: Roman Methods of Conceiving Action<sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part V: Roman and Alien
- 9 Religious Toleration in Republican Rome<sup>†</sup>
- 10 A Religion for the Empire<sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part VI: Space and Time
- 11 Loca Sancta<sup>†</sup>
- 12 A Complex of Times: No More Sheep on Romulus’ Birthday<sup>†</sup><sup>1</sup>
- Introduction to Part VII: Continuity and Change, from Republic to Empire
- 13 Roman State Religion in the Mirror of Augustan and Late Republican Apologetics<sup>†</sup>
- 14 The Historical Development of Roman Religion: An Overview<sup>†</sup>
- Chronology
- Biographical Dictionary
- Glossary
- Guide to Further Reading
- Bibliography
- Index
From Republic to Principate:† Priesthood, Religion and Ideology*
From Republic to Principate:† Priesthood, Religion and Ideology*
- Chapter:
- (p.62) 3 From Republic to Principate:† Priesthood, Religion and Ideology*
- Source:
- Roman Religion
- Author(s):
Richard Gordon
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
Rome's religion is not so much about the objects of worship but the institutions that made possible Rome's greatness, among them the two key sacerdotal colleges, the pontifices, who supervised the sacra, the ensemble of rules and rituals which loosely group under the word ‘religion’, and the augures, who had responsibility for the auspicia, a major axis of communication between men and gods. This emphasis upon the importance of the priestly colleges to the maintenance of Roman religion and so of the Roman state reappears elsewhere in the late Republic and early Empire. In keeping with his basic assumption that, though a God of some sort truly pre-exists, civic religion is a thoroughly human creation, Marcus Terentius Varro devotes the three books after the general introduction to an account of the three major sacerdotal colleges. There follow three books on shrines and sacred places, three on festivals and three on rituals public and private.
Keywords: Rome, religion, colleges, pontifices, sacra, rules, rituals, augures, God, Marcus Terentius Varro
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- Title Pages
- Acknowledgments
- Note to the Reader
- Abbreviations
- [UNTITLED]
- Introduction: Religion, Law and Knowledge in Classical Rome
- Introduction to Part I: Historiography and Method
- 1 On Comparison<sup>†</sup>
- 2 Polis-<i>Religion and its Alternatives in the Roman Provinces</i><sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part II: Religious Institutions and Religious Authority
- 3 From Republic to Principate:<sup>†</sup> Priesthood, Religion and Ideology*
- 4 <i>A Feature of Roman Religion</i><sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part II: Ritual and Myth
- 5 <i>The</i> Ludi Saeculares <i>and the</i> Carmen Saeculare<sup>†</sup>
- 6 Cults, Myths, and Politics at the Beginning of the Empire<sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part IV: Theology
- 7 The Theological Efforts of the Roman Upper Classes in the First Century BC<sup>†</sup>
- 8 Hierarchy and Structure in Roman Polytheism: Roman Methods of Conceiving Action<sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part V: Roman and Alien
- 9 Religious Toleration in Republican Rome<sup>†</sup>
- 10 A Religion for the Empire<sup>†</sup>
- Introduction to Part VI: Space and Time
- 11 Loca Sancta<sup>†</sup>
- 12 A Complex of Times: No More Sheep on Romulus’ Birthday<sup>†</sup><sup>1</sup>
- Introduction to Part VII: Continuity and Change, from Republic to Empire
- 13 Roman State Religion in the Mirror of Augustan and Late Republican Apologetics<sup>†</sup>
- 14 The Historical Development of Roman Religion: An Overview<sup>†</sup>
- Chronology
- Biographical Dictionary
- Glossary
- Guide to Further Reading
- Bibliography
- Index
