Zugl.: Giessen, Univ., Diss., 2004

The ancient Roman domestic cult is often overlooked and marginalized in favor of state sponsored practices, monuments, and temples; yet it can give us insights into daily life, cultural interactions, and personal identity in the Empire. In my dissertation, I recreate a selection of domestic contexts in order to learn more about private cultic practices, thus illuminating those activities and behaviors that may be far removed from what appears in the literary sources or in monumental reliefs and paintings. Furthermore, the era considered is a crucial period in the history of the western world that included the rise of Christianity and dramatic changes in Roman pagan cults. By concentrating on the Roman East, I produce information relating to these changes outside of Italy and study the impact on cross-cultural exchanges and identities formulated by the Roman colonization of these cities. The Roman domestic cult in Italy invoked specific gods to maintain the well-being of the home in small shrines within the house. Material evidence for these practices survives in the form of statuettes and wall paintings of the gods, incense burners, and altars. Other divinities chosen by the head of the household could join or supplant the traditional domestic deities. These additions to private shrines acted as protective patron gods of the household and they reveal a personal relationship between deity and devotee. One barrier to the understanding of the domestic cult in its original context is the nature of multiculturalism in the Roman Empire. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, scholars tended to equate the Roman Empire with the concept of the modern nation-state. The Empire was seen as a cultural juggernaut that disseminated a uniform Roman identity that was sent out from Italy to the provinces. Evidence for "Romanization" was noted in the introduction of the Roman city plan, and Roman habits were seen in new types of public buildings such as baths or amphitheaters, the adoption of Roman coinage, the toga and the Latin language, and the introduction of Roman cults, especially the cult of the emperor. Most scholars today prefer to view the expansion of the Empire as a process that included reciprocal acculturation between natives and their Roman masters. Using this model, I examine religious cross-currents on a domestic scale, thus contributing to the current scholarly discussion. By exploring the cult in the home, we can get a better indication of the interaction between native and Roman in the private sphere. Scholars agree that we can learn more from smaller, regional studies; it cannot be assumed that the same things occurred in all parts of the empire and at all times. The case-study approach has replaced the sweeping and sometimes vague histories of years past. I have chosen three sites from the Roman East since they have an abundance of material evidence that has not been exploited to its full potential: Karanis (modern Egypt), Ephesos (modern Turkey), and Dura-Europos (modern Syria). The significance of my project is three-fold. I present previously unpublished material from important sites in the Roman East. By looking at these three sites, I expand the dialogue from the singular discussion of domestic religion in first-century Italy, thus enriching it substantially. Through the consideration of acculturation between east and west I contribute to the discussion of "Romanization" in the first to fifth centuries CE. By comparing these sites with those better published, such as Pompeii and Ostia (Rome's port, largely abandoned in the second half of the third into the fourth centuries), I can more clearly show the contrast between the two halves of the Empire. My goals will be to determine how (and if) "Romanization" can be seen in these locations, what the impact of local artistic styles and indigenous deities is, and how the reciprocal relationship manifests in daily religious practices within the home. / Art History

The habit of honouring outstanding individuals with statues was common throughout the Roman Empire. Yet after the end of the Severan reign at the beginning of the third century AD, a decrease in honorific statues is generally assumed to have taken place. This thesis aims to evaluate this hypothesis, focusing specifically on the years AD 222-285. The thesis is assessing the contemporaneous imperial remains for the Roman Empire as a whole and the evidence from four exemplary cities that are particularly conspicuous in their statuary production and display, both before and after the time frame under investigation (Leptis Magna, Athens, Ephesus, Aphrodisias). The purpose is to explore the standards, conventions, and limitations of statuary practice in Roman society in a synthetic and comparative analysis and thereby to evaluate its political and social role during a state of internal and external instability, labelled 'the third century crisis'. By providing concrete figures, the practice of the third century can be juxtaposed with both the antecedent and subsequent centuries and this will facilitate a more coherent insight into the overall development and changes in Roman honorific statuary practice. The results suggest that the assumed decline in the number of statuary installations might have to be re-evaluated. It has become apparent that in order to obtain comparable numbers, the inclusion of imperial family members in any statistical evaluation is indispensable, a factor which has previously been disregarded. A gradual decrease cannot be supported and neither can a decrease in the appreciation of honours.

Ziel der Arbeit ist die Bewertung der Glaubwürdigkeit antiker schriftlicher Quellen zur Rekonstruktion der vier Kultbilder des Zeus von Olympia, der Hera von Samos, der Hera von Argos und der Artemis von Ephesos. Entgegen der vielfach praktizierten Methode, literarische Quellen ohne Ansehen ihrer philologischen Herkunft mit dem archäologischen Befund zu vergleichen, konzentriert sich die Dissertation auf eine Bearbeitung der Texte in Abhängigkeit von ihrer literarischen Gattung, um zu überprüfen, ob die schriftlichen Informationen überhaupt sinnvoll zu einer Rekonstruktion herangezogen werden können. / The aim of this work is to explore, weather or not the analyzed ancient literary sources can be used for the reconstruction of four ancient Greek cult images: the Olympian Zeus, the Samian Hera, Hera of Argos and Artemis of Ephesos. Therefor it is not sufficient just to compare the written texts with the archaeological results. The fundamental idea of the dissertation is that moreover it is necessary to concentrate on the literary genre of the texts. Thereby it is easier to find out if the information from the literacy can be used for reconstructions.