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Religions of Rome: Volume 1: A History

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"Religions of Rome, Volume 1: A History" presents a millennium of Roman religion, following the place and practice of religion in Roman society from the primitive village to the Christian capitol, the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD. This is an impressive collaborative effort by Mary Beard, John North, and Simon Pierce. The prose is dense with information but always interesting and articulate. The authors provide a fascinating window on how religion and its place in society adapted over many centuries and, therefore, valuable insight on how religion functions in human societies, not just ancient Rome. They only occasionally quote a primary source, as primary sources are found in "Religions of Rome, Volume 2: A Sourcebook" and are referenced in footnotes by chapter number in bold font, so readers can easily locate the document in Volume 2.

The history is arranged chronologically into eight chapters: Roman religion before the 2nd century BC, changes brought about by Rome's becoming the dominant power in the Mediterranean in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, religion of the late republic in a state of reputed decline, Augustan reforms and the religion of the early Empire, the boundaries of acceptable practice of religion in three centuries of Imperial Rome, alternative cults in the principate, the dissemination of Roman religion outside of Rome in towns with Roman status and without, and the relationship between paganism and Christianity in Rome of the 4th and 5th centuries AD. There are no accounts of Roman religion written before the 1st century BC, so early Roman religion is somewhat conjectural.

The authors don't offer much detail of the particulars of religious ritual. Their focus is on how religion related to Roman society as a whole, the social and political role it played. I found the chapter on acceptable practice particularly insightful, as it describes the ever-changing concepts of what is "religio" versus "superstitio" and religion's role in the evolving view of "Roman-ness", or Roman identity. The co-existence of traditional religion and various foreign cults, including Judaism and Christianity, in the Empire is discussed in some detail and is also especially interesting. The politics surrounding the Christianization of Rome and Christian theological disputes are not treated in detail. Emphasis is on the degrees and ways in which Christianity and paganism co-existed in Christian Rome.

It would be news to the pagans that Christianity was just another pagan cult. They knew it wasn't which is why they persecuted them. Have you read Robert Wilken's The Christians as the Romans Saw Them? I thought not. Next you will argue that Aztecs were Egyptians since they had pyramids.

There is plenty of beef in this book. When one looks at the recent religions of Rome, one can easily overlook the older religions. The newer religions are logical evolutions of the older. Attis and Cybele are obvious models for Jesus and Mary. The older Mithraeums were obvious locations for the newer cathedrals. Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun.