Book description
Roman religion as we know it is largely the product of the middle and
late republic, the period falling roughly between the victory of Rome
over its Latin allies in 338 B. C.E. and the attempt of the Italian
peoples in the Social War to stop Roman domination, resulting in the
victory of Rome over all of Italy in 89 B. C.E. This period witnessed
the expansion and elaboration of large public rituals such as the
games and the triumph as well as significant changes to Roman
intellectual life, including the emergence of new media like the
written calendar and new genres such as law, antiquarian writing, and
philosophical discourse.
In Religion in Republican Rome Jörg Rüpke argues that
religious change in the period is best understood as a process of
rationalization: rules and principles were abstracted from practice,
then made the object of a specialized discourse with its own rules of
argument and institutional loci. Thus codified and elaborated, these
then guided future conduct and elaboration. Rüpke concentrates on
figures both famous and less well known, including Gnaeus Flavius,
Ennius, Accius, Varro, Cicero, and Julius Caesar. He contextualizes
the development of rational argument about religion and antiquarian
systematization of religious practices with respect to two complex
processes: Roman expansion in its manifold dimensions on the one hand
and cultural exchange between Greece and Rome on the other.
"An erudite and fascinating book, and a very serious
contribution to our understanding of the Roman republic."-Jeffrey
Tatum, Victoria University of Wellington
Jorg Rupke is Fellow in Religious Studies at the Max Weber Center at
the University of Erfurt. He is author or editor of several books,
including Religion of the Romans.
