1 Earliest Rome
1 Earliest Rome 1 Earliest Rome
7154918; Degrassi (1963) 283 3.7 Calendar from Campania (a.d. 3K 7 ) Campania in southern Italy, but the role of Felix is obscure (he seems to be a junior official directly responsible to the emperor). The calendar shows the variety of purely local rituals and the sanctioning of these (maybe minor) festivals by the authority of the emperor himself. The places mentioned are all in the vicinity of Capua, and the inscription may have been put up in the amphitheatre there. We cannot tell over what region the calendar was valid, whether for the whole province or only for the region of Capua. See further: Vol. 1, 383 n.51; Mommsen, Gesammelte Schriften VTII (1913) 14-24; Peterson (1919) 41-4; Cochrane (1940) 330-1*. During the administration of Romanus Junior priest III Nones Jan. Voter. a calendar of the emperors as follows: Ill Ides Feb. Genial ia. 1 Kal. May Purification at Castlinum by the river." III Ides May Rose festival in the amphitheatre. 3 VIII Kal. Aug. Purification at the river at the road to the temple of Diana. 4 VI Kal. Aug. Procession at road of lake Avernus. 5 Ides of Oct. Harvest of Acerusa. 6 By order of the emperors Felix fulfilled his vow painstakingly 10 days before the Kalends of December when the consuls were Valentinian (for the third time) and Eutropius . 1. These games, held also in Rome, are first attested in the fourth century A.D. They may have been associated with the genius of the Roman People. 2. Lustration of the growing crops. Casilinum (modem Capua) lav on the river Volturnus. 3. For rose festivals see 3.5 n.4 and Salzman (1990) 96-9. 4. Purification marking rbe end of harvest, at the river Volturnus near the temple of Diana Tifatma. 5. Lake Avernus was supposed to lead to the Underworld. Cf. 4.11 n.3. 6. The festival, at nearby Lake Adierusia (Acerusa), was connected with the vintage. 77
4 Religious places 78 This chapter examines the physical context of Roman religious activity. It aims to show that temples, altars, sacred precincts and groves were more than just a 'backdrop' to religious ceremony, but were themselves (in their layout, design, decoration) an important part of religious experience, bearers of religious meaning. To put it at its most simple, a different context meant a different religious experience. The chapter starts with the physical context of traditional Roman civic cult (4.1-5), comparing this with the temples of the cult of Mithras (4.6). It then looks at the wider 'religious geography' of the city of Rome (4.7-8), as well as sanctuary sites in Italian towns and countryside (4.9-11). Finally, after the 'private' religious space of the home (4.12) and tomb (4.13), it considers Jewish synagogues (4.14) and Christian churches (4.15). 4.1 The Roman temple-building In its simplest form a Roman temple-building {aedes) was a 'house' for a statue of a deify. It was not primarily a centre for a congregation or a place of worship. Most ritual associated with the temple (particularly animal sacrifice) took place in the open air - often around an altar, which stood outside the building itself. The aedes (at least in the case of the smaller temples of the city of Rome) may normally have been closed and inaccessible to the public. Sec further: Stambaugh (1978)* and I.M. Barton (1989)*. For the distinction between an aedes and a temphtm, see 4.4. 4. la The temple ofPortunus at Rome The small temple of Portunus (a god connected with the harbour) was founded in the fourth or third century B.C. Its present appearance dates to the late second or first century B.C. (with considerable later restorations, including conversion into a church in the ninth century A. D.). In antiquity it would have looked much less austere than this photograph suggests - with a complete coating of white stucco, as well as a decorative frieze in stucco (showing candelabra and festoons). See further: on the temple of Portunus (once wrongly identified as the
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4 Religious places<br />
78<br />
This chapter examines the physical context of Roman religious activity. It aims<br />
to show that temples, altars, sacred precincts and groves were more than just a<br />
'backdrop' to religious ceremony, but were themselves (in their layout, design,<br />
decoration) an important part of religious experience, bearers of religious<br />
meaning. To put it at its most simple, a different context meant a different religious<br />
experience. The chapter starts with the physical context of traditional<br />
Roman civic cult (4.1-5), comparing this with the temples of the cult of<br />
Mithras (4.6). It then looks at the wider 'religious geography' of the city of<br />
<strong>Rome</strong> (4.7-8), as well as sanctuary sites in Italian towns and countryside<br />
(4.9-11). Finally, after the 'private' religious space of the home (4.12) and<br />
tomb (4.13), it considers Jewish synagogues (4.14) and Christian churches<br />
(4.15).<br />
4.1 The Roman temple-building<br />
In its simplest form a Roman temple-building {aedes) was a 'house' for a statue<br />
of a deify. It was not primarily a centre for a congregation or a place of worship.<br />
Most ritual associated with the temple (particularly animal sacrifice) took place<br />
in the open air - often around an altar, which stood outside the building itself.<br />
The aedes (at least in the case of the smaller temples of the city of <strong>Rome</strong>) may<br />
normally have been closed and inaccessible to the public.<br />
Sec further: Stambaugh (1978)* and I.M. Barton (1989)*. For the distinction<br />
between an aedes and a temphtm, see 4.4.<br />
4. la The temple ofPortunus at <strong>Rome</strong><br />
The small temple of Portunus (a god connected with the harbour) was<br />
founded in the fourth or third century B.C. Its present appearance dates to the<br />
late second or first century B.C. (with considerable later restorations, including<br />
conversion into a church in the ninth century A. D.). In antiquity it would have<br />
looked much less austere than this photograph suggests - with a complete<br />
coating of white stucco, as well as a decorative frieze in stucco (showing candelabra<br />
and festoons).<br />
See further: on the temple of Portunus (once wrongly identified as the
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