ProQuest Dissertations - Historia Antigua

affected the city's configuration as well as the ritual calendar.Perhaps mostimportantly, the deities came to be introduced primarily through the generals who werefighting against their influential enemies or through statesmen with connections to thosegenerals. 139Several very important conclusions can be drawn from this trend. First, Romanmagistrates, and therefore the commissioners, were open to the influence of foreign cults;this is seen by the introduction of new deities like Victoria, to whom an aedilician templewas dedicated in 294 BCE. 140This goddess was derived from contact with the late fourthcentury Nike cults in Magna Graecia and awareness of Alexander's conquests. 141Furthermore, the commissioners as former military men were comfortable with the notionthat they could and should found temples to their own tutelary deities. 142This attitudemust have had an effect on their individual contributions to the choices for the first godsof colonies, especially those founded ex novo. Since the commissioners were bothmembers of the senate and often commanders of the army, they were well aware of theability to influence their enemies through religion: the ritual ofevocatio as well as directsenatorial mandate, e.g. the senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus of 186 BCE, attests to138 North (1989), p. 616.139 For example, new temples erected along the Vicus Longus/Alta Semita around the turn of the thirdcentury include, but are not limited to, temples of Salus, Jupiter Victor, Flora, Tres Fortunae, Hora Quirini,and Quirinus. All of these were erected using money from campaigns. Cf. Curti (2000), p. 83. This showsthat the influx of deities influenced by contact with Magna Graecia did not eliminate the construction oftemples to traditional Roman deities, like Quirinus.140 Orlin (1997), p. 127.141 Beard, North, and Price (1998), p. 69. Around this time, other gods also were given the title of Victor orInvictus.142 Muccigrosso (2006), p. 192.141