This book (an updated and revised translation from the German) follows a recent trend in scholarship which promotes the importance of examining the religious history of the Mediterranean beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries (Such as J. Brodd and J.L Reed [edd.], Rome and Religion [2011], and A. Collar, Religious Networks in the Roman Empire. The Spread of New Ideas [2013]). R.’s contribution to this discourse stresses the usefulness of viewing Roman ‘pagan’ religion and Christianity together by tracing the development of the ideas of ‘religion’ throughout the Mediterranean basin.
After introducing the problems associated with any study of imperial religion, in particular, how one defines ‘religion’ within this kind of context, the introduction presents the literary texts most commonly used by scholars of religion to define religio (namely Cicero, Varro and Festus). In a change in focus from the German original, which covered the foundational scholarship on the study of religion, R. examines how the Romans themselves presented and discussed religion, which further complicates any study of this kind. He clearly outlines the nature of the evidence, highlighting the change over time in both terminology and genre for religious discussion. The intention of this book, according to R., is not to create a narrative history of the religious developments in the Mediterranean but instead to explore the idea of ‘imperial religion’ through a series of case studies. His chosen case studies present a range of topics, religious traditions and discussion, clearly demonstrating the diverse and often complicated evidence which serves as the basis for the study of religion. The presentation of the case studies is largely consistent, with each chapter presenting an introduction to the text/texts or type of evidence to be discussed, an outline of the main features of that source and a series of questions to be addressed, and an analysis of how this source showcases the development of ideas throughout the Mediterranean basin.
The book itself is organised into three parts. The first, ‘Globalization in a Traditional Form’, addresses how religious ideas found throughout the Mediterranean were integrated into communities (in this case, Rome and her Latin environs) and, in particular, the localised nature of ancient religion even in an empire of such expanse as that of Rome. Some of this work builds on R.’s previously published work, such as the analysis of the religious specialists in Chapter 4, which is based on Fasti Sacerdotum (translated into English in 2008). The second part, ‘Media and Vectors of the Spread of Religion in the Roman Empire’, examines the opposite (although directly related) effect, the spread of religious ideas and practices from Rome to the provincial communities. The final part, ‘The Roman World Changes: Religious Change on a Global Scale’, focuses on the change of religious practices and ideas over time, examining the adoption and adaptation of religious ideas within particular contexts and through particular media. Due to space constraints, I have chosen three case studies to present in more detail, one from each section.
Chapter 3 explores some of the issues addressed in the introductory chapters, specifically the interplay between local and panregional ideas present in Jewish and Christian groups. R.’s choice of a lesser known text, The Shepherd of Hermas, is an excellent one as it introduces scholars and students of Mediterranean religions to an important text which, although widely circulated in the second and third centuries c.e., is largely unknown to non-experts today. He presents three questions which should serve as the basis for any inquiry into the spread of religious ideas: how does a bearer of a religious message make him- or herself heard? How do they make themselves credible? What role do visions play in the communication process within an institutionalised religious community (pp. 55–6)? For R., this text serves as a means to explore the mechanisms underlying the transfer of ideas which, he argues, are directly linked to everyday life and ‘job-related’ activities.
In Chapter 6, R. uses the lex Ursonensis in order to question how Rome exports her religion. He stresses the importance of this document as a means of examining public religion (rather than private). Although he has discussed this material in detail in two previous publications, these are surprisingly absent from the book's bibliography (‘Religion in the lex Ursonensis’ in C. Ando and R. [edd.], Religion and Law in Classical and Christian Rome [2006], and ‘Urban Religion and Imperial Expansion: Priesthoods in the Lex Ursonensis’ in L. de Blois, P. Funke and J. Hahn [edd.], The Impact of Imperial Rome on Religions, Ritual and Religious Life in the Roman Empire [2006]). In this chapter, he focuses on the political importance of such priesthoods as the pontifices and augures, the only priesthoods detailed within the surviving text, and the symbolic links forged with the central power structure through cult dedicated to the Capitoline Triad. Instead of interpreting this text as outlining the exportation of the content of Roman religion, R. concludes that Rome exports the concept of its religion, which is then adopted and adapted to fit the needs of the local communities.
Chapter 11, which is a combination of Chapters 12 and 13 in the original German publication, turns the discussion away from examining the dissemination of religious signs or concepts originating in Rome to knowledge of those concepts, specifically through the polemical representations of Roman religion in Tertullian and Minucius Felix. R. examines how systematic representations of Roman ‘religion’ were perceived outside of Rome. He begins with the later of the three texts in question to demonstrate Minucius Felix's engagement not only with Cicero but with Tertullian as well. His choice of these two Apologists is linked to the influence of both Cicero and Varro on their texts, authors whose works serve as the foundation for much of R.’s discussion throughout this volume. The final concluding section of this chapter is taken from the introductory section of Chapter 13 in the German publication, which sums up the importance of rhetoric and critical analysis of rhetorical argumentation in early Christian writings, largely based on Averil Cameron's Christianity and the Rhetoric of Empire (1991). The discussion that follows in the German text, which analyses the argumentation of the Octavius, is not included in the English volume.
Although R. states that this is an expanded and revised version of Von Jupiter zu Christus, it largely follows the original German publication with only a few exceptions (the introductory chapter and the chapter on apologetic texts discussed above). The notes and bibliography have been updated to include some recent publications, but these largely do not change the overall discussion. The absence of engagement with A. Collar's Religious Networks in the Roman Empire is notable, but it is likely that the 2013 publication date of this work, and the fact that R.’s book is largely a translation of the 2011 work, prevented him from engaging with her analysis more fully. That said, the new translated version is an excellent revised edition with increased usability for students and scholars of religion. Although the book as a whole logically progresses from local to global, the case studies themselves are relatively self-contained, with endnotes provided at the end of each chapter, thereby facilitating the incorporation of particular case studies into one's course readings for teaching. The bibliography also covers a wide range of subjects and will prove helpful for students or researchers new to the topic. In the revised edition, the bibliography provides the English volume references for R.’s works which have been translated from the original German. Thus, the increased usability of R.’s work for an English audience makes it an excellent resource for introducing students to the current debates on how ideas spread throughout the Mediterranean, the wide range of sources available for this type of inquiry and the overall concept of ‘imperial religion’.
