The Matter of the Gods

Description

What did the Romans know about their gods? Why did they perform the rituals of their religion, and what motivated them to change those rituals? To these questions Clifford Ando proposes simple answers: In contrast to ancient Christians, who had faith, Romans had knowledge, and their knowledge was empirical in orientation. In other words, the Romans acquired knowledge of the gods through observation of the world, and their rituals were maintained or modified in light of what they learned. After a preface and opening chapters that lay out this argument about knowledge and place it in context, The Matter of the Gods pursues a variety of themes essential to the study of religion in history. Preface ix Acknowledgments xix Abbreviations xxi 1. Religion, Law, and Knowledge in Classical Rome 1 part one. the limits of orthopraxy 2. Idols and Their Critics 21 3. Interpretatio Romana 43 4. Religion and Ius Publicum 59 part two. gods of the far-flung empire 5. A Religion for the Empire 95 6. Religion and Imperialism at Rome 120 7. The Palladium and the Pentateuch 149 Bibliography 199 General Index 221 Index Locorum 225