Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
TeReligiousPanoramaoftheRomanEmpire
11
AtthetimewhenChristianitywasbornandstillintheprocessofdevelopment,
predominantintheEmpire,whichspannedavastareafromScotlandtotheSaha-
riansands(Sudan)andLusitaniainSpain(Portugal)totheEuphratesofMesopo-
tamia(i.e.,Iraq)andthusencompassedamultiplicityofcommunitiesofdiferent
nationalitiesandethnos,withtheirowncultural,religious,philosophicalandtheo-
sophicalheritage,wastheGreek-Romantraditionandconceptofdivinity.Inherited
fromtheforefathers,suchreligiositywasgroundedinancestry(mosmaiorum),law
(ius)aswellelaborateandcomplexrituals.TermedcultusdeorumbyCicero(religio,
idestcultusdeorum),thereligionwasstate-basedandexpresseditself,toquoteCic-
eroagain,inpublicceremonies(sacrapublica),basedprimarilyonbloodsacrifices,
onauspicesperformedbyofcials,theobservationofsignssentbyJupiterinagiven
stateorofcialafairandtheirinterpretation,ofenwiththehelpofpriestscalled
augurs
5
.Tothiswemayobviouslyaddsacraprivataperformedathome,infamily
circles,foragriculturalgodsandguardiansofthehouse;divinatoryactivitiesunder-
takenbyharuspicesinaccordancewithtechniquescalleddisciplinaEtrusca;seeking
advicefromSibylineBooks,stored,sincethetimeofOctavianAugust,intheTem-
pleofApollononPalatine.Tereligionthuscomprisedawholeseriesofincredibly
complex,specificcultpractices,bloodandbloodlessvictims,prayers,hymns,invo-
cationstodeities,watchedoverbypriestsfromthefourmostimportantpriesthood
collegesandsmallersodalites,aswellasvariousvoluntarycultassociations
6
.Let
mejustmentionthattheEmpirewasobviouslyevenmoreopentonewgods,beit
Egyptian,Syrian,Persian,Arabic(likeDushara)orMinorAsian,thantherepublic,
becausetheemperor)sacceptancewasenoughforforeigngodsandtheirritualcel-
ebrationtoobtainlegitimacyandplaceinpublicrites.Tisissueandtheso-called
interpretatioromana,replacingthenameofaforeigndeitywithaLatinname,aprac-
ticecommonparticularlyintheprovinces
7
,isasymptomaticfeatureoftheRoman
Empire,asignofitscultandculturalidentityandthesubjectofnumerousstudies
sincethelatenineteenthcentury
8
.InPoland,theproblemhasbeenmostthoroughly
pp155-265;H.D.Safrey,LenéoplatonismeaprèsPlotin,Paris2000;G.Shaw,TeurgyandtheSoul.Te
NeoplatonismofIamblichus,UniversityParkPA1995.
5MarekTulliuszCyceron,OnaturzebogówII,3,8;III,2,5-6.
6FortheRomanreligioninthelightofrecentresearch,seeJ.B.Rives,ReligionintheRomanEmpire,
Oxford2007;A.Gillmeister,D.Musiał,WcieniuKapitolu.ReligiastarożytnychRzymian,Kraków2012
[PodręcznaBibliotekaHistoryka,vol.I];seeafundamentalstudybyM.Jaczynowska,Religieświatarzym-
skiego,Warszawa1990.Teseworksarereferredtothroughoutthispaper.
7IwilljustmentionthatthecultsintheprovincesoftheEmpireweresyntheticallystudiedalreadyin
theearlytwentiethcenturybyJ.Toutain,Lescultespaïensdansl)empireRomain,Paris1907,vol.1-3;also
byT.Zieliński,duringtheSecondWorldWar,in1942Religiacesarstwarzymskiego,nowpublished(Toruń
1999),pp45-91,aspartoftheseriesCReligieświataantycznego)
,vol.V
.
8A.vonDomaszewski,DieReligiondesrömischenHeeres,Trewir1895.Hisviewsonthedevastating
resultsoftheintroductionoforientalcultsfortheRomanreligionduringthereignofSeptimiusSeverus
andJuliaDomnahasbeenrejectedrecently(see,e.g.,I.Mundle,“DeaCaelestis)inderReligionspolitikdes
SeptimiusSeverusundderJuliaDomna,“Historia”10(1961),2,pp228-237).
