Emperor Worship and Roman Religion (Oxford Classical Monographs) [Hardcover]

Ittai Gradel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0198152752 | ISBN-13: 978-0198152750

This book presents the first study of emperor worship among the Romans themselves, in Rome and its heartland Italy. It argues that emperor worship was indeed perfectly in keeping with Roman religious tradition, which has been generally misunderstood by a posterity imbued in radically different notions of the relationship between man and the divine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gradel's book is essential reading for anyone interested in the religious life of the Roman Empire, particularly for those who deal with ruler cult. His style and conclusions are provocative and, even where they do not convince, they force a serious re-reading of the evidence. Scholia Reviews Gradel offers a highly provocative interpretation of what may be the most distinctive innovation of the Roman Empire. Scholia Reviews Most impressive (and refreshing) is Gradel's ability to identify the biases and suppositions of prior scholarship and to pose alternate questions and practical answers based not on assumptions about beliefs (ancient and modern), but on Roman social and religious practices. While his categories and arguments may not always convince, they will certainly inspire debate, as they reconceive the "imperial cult". Bryn Mawr Classical Review Gradel's work is eminently readable and slyly witty at times. He impressively handles a wide range of evidence, deftly analyzing epigraphic, numismatic and archaeological data alongside literary testimonia. The inclusion of archaeological evidence in particular marks a great step forward. Bryn Mawr Classical Review Because of its approach, Gradel's work is relevant not only to those interested in the "imperial cult" but also to students of Roman religion, society, archaeology and epigraphy. Bryn Mawr Classical Review Ittai Gradel's stimulating work marks an important contribution to the study of emperor worship. Bryn Mawr Classical Review ... an important book on an important topic, which every student and historian of the Roman empire, whether interested in so-called 'religious' or 'political' aspects, ought to read. Scripta Classica Israelica The book is cleverly constructed, written comprehensibly, and well-illustrated. It has a boldly stated thesis, examines long held interpretations of familiar sources critically, and argues its points in a provocative fashion. Scripta Classica Israelica ... excellent volume ... the first detailed study of the phenomenon of the so-called 'imperial cult' that focusses on Rome and the empire's Italian districts. Scripta Classica Israelica Throw away most of your books and all of your notes on imperial cult, and buy Gradel's book. The territory has been redesigned and many of them will no longer fit in ... he marshals a very wide range of evidence across the range of inscriptions, ancient literature, coins: just about anything that has a bearing on his topic. He takes imperial cult by the scruff of the neck and starts with the evidence all over again ... I suspect that Gradel's formulation will become the new orthodoxy and the starting point for future discussions: it certainly should. JACT Review Gradel's book is consistently thoughtful and learned ... Gradel assembles a large quantity of valuable information concerning the imperial cult, erects a thought-provoking interpretative superstructure upon it and points the way to a number of fruitful future topics of research. I commend his book without hesitation as an admirable piece of scholarship which no work on its subject matter can henceforth afford to ignore. Graham Wheeler, Digressus A stimulating and valuable contribution to understanding and debate in a notoriously difficult area. Graham Wheeler, Digressus

About the Author

Ittai Gradel is at the University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198152752
• ISBN-13: 978-0198152750
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,097,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious and Challenging, March 27, 2008

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This review is from: Emperor Worship and Roman Religion (Oxford Classical Monographs) (Paperback)

Following in the footsteps of Simon Price, Gradel undertakes a study of the Roman "imperial cult" on its own terms (i.e. free from the "Christianizing assumptions" that have burdened the subject for much of history). But whereas Price focuses chiefly on the practice of emperor worship in the Greek East, Gradel confines his study to the phenomenon as found in Italy and Rome itself.

Despite long-held assumptions about the essential foreignness of Roman emperor worship, Gradel endeavors to show that the practice is in fact very much in keeping with traditional Roman practice. Moreover, Gradel sees a relationship between certain forms of emperor worship (particularly those analogous to the worship of the paterfamilias in household cult) and the current monarch's public relationship with the Senate and other elites, thereby offering one explanation for why certain practices are associated with "despotic" or "mad" emperors in the histories as written by members of the elite class.

Gradel does make certain statements and assumptions that could use further support or at least further elaboration. And only time will tell to what degree this revisionist view of emperor cult is accepted by classicists in general. But it is a challenging and ambitious work that I hope will encourage further inquiry into the question of emperor worship as a legitimate feature of Roman religion. Highly recommended to anyone interested in this field of study. See also Price's _Ritual & Power_.