Graeco-Roman Religion in the Roman Empire: Old Assumptions and New Approaches

Abstract

This article surveys recent trends in research on Graeco-Roman religion, focusing on the first and second centuries CE. In the first half, I assess current views on what I call the old ‘master narrative’ of Graeco-Roman religious history in this period, that is, the assumption that the decline of traditional Graeco-Roman religion left a void filled on the one hand by the purely political phenomenon of imperial cult and on the other by mystery/oriental religions, which met the emotional needs of the populace. In the second half I discuss two areas of interest that have come to the fore in the wake of the old master narrative’s collapse: an approach to interpreting traditional Graeco-Roman religion that some scholars have termed the ‘ polis -religion model’, and a focus on religious life in the provinces of the Roman empire. As an appendix I include a brief survey of available scholarly resources in this field.

St Paul in the early 20th century history of religions. “The mystic of Tarsus” and the pagan mystery cults after the correspondence of Franz Cumont and Alfred Loisy

“…69 Cumont (and many of his contemporaries) -it is now generally agreed upon -gave these cults an interpretation which resulted from a Christianocentric perspective. 70 Christian colleagues wanted to force upon the gentile, Galatian converts. Led by Paul's rejection of Judaic practice, which is also clear in the epistle to the Romans, Cumont thought that Early Christian communities had also considered the possibility that faith sufficed.…”

Recent Study of Greek Religion in the Archaic through Hellenistic Periods

“…At the same time, this essay will be less wide-ranging than Rives’s 2010 contribution on Roman religion in this journal. In the first place, it will not list the numerous bibliographical tools included by Rives (2010: 294-99). In the second, it will say nothing of Minoan or Mycenaean religion, and little about Greek religion under Roman rule.…”

Glocalization and Religious Communication in the Roman Empire: Two Case Studies to Reconsider the Local and the Global in Religious Material Culture

“…The interpretation of how these people experienced religious change, based on material culture and ancient texts, is a difficult task and subject to change. The dominant "grand-narrative" implying that Graeco-Roman religion was in great decline in the first centuries AD has become subject to fierce deconstruction (Rives 2010). In addition, Rives shows that the indigenous traditions of the various peoples who made up the empire, and the way that these developed under Roman rule, has long been a neglected topic in research on religion in the Graeco-Roman world (Rives 2010).…”

“…The dominant "grand-narrative" implying that Graeco-Roman religion was in great decline in the first centuries AD has become subject to fierce deconstruction (Rives 2010). In addition, Rives shows that the indigenous traditions of the various peoples who made up the empire, and the way that these developed under Roman rule, has long been a neglected topic in research on religion in the Graeco-Roman world (Rives 2010). Now, Graeco-Roman religious tradition is attributed a more vigorous and creative role, and "the degree of Roman influences, strength of local traditions and the emergence of mixed forms have all been radically re-assessed" (North and Price 2011, pp.…”