The religion of senators in the Roman Empire : power and the beyond / Zsuzsanna Várhelyi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Várhelyi, Zsuzsanna, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rome. Senate--Religion.

Rome.

Elite (Social sciences)--Rome.

Elite (Social sciences).

Rome--Politics and government--30 B.C.-284 A.D.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 267 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book examines the connection between political and religious power in the pagan Roman Empire through a study of senatorial religion. Presenting a new collection of historical, epigraphic, prosopographic and material evidence, it argues that as Augustus turned to religion to legitimize his powers, senators in turn also came to negotiate their own power, as well as that of the emperor, partly in religious terms. In Rome, the body of the senate and priesthoods helped to maintain the religious power of the senate; across the Empire senators defined their magisterial powers by following the model of emperors and by relying on the piety of sacrifice and benefactions. The ongoing participation and innovations of senators confirm the deep ability of imperial religion to engage the normative, symbolic and imaginative aspects of religious life among senators.

Contents:

The new senate of the empire and religion

Religious groups among senators

The dynamics of senatorial religion in Rome and Italy

Representing imperial religion : the provinces

Towards a "theology" of Roman religion

Innovations and aspirations

Conclusion: Two saecular games.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Feb 2016).

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

0-511-73986-9

1-107-21223-5

1-282-53638-9

9786612536380

0-511-67896-7

0-511-68219-0

0-511-67771-5

0-511-68417-7

0-511-67654-9

0-511-68021-X

OCLC:

609860946