The Matter of the Gods: Religion and the Roman Empire (Volume 44)

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. 1. Religion, Law, And Knowledge In Classical Rome --- Part One. The Limits Of Orthopraxy -- 2. Idols And Their Critics -- 3. Interpretatio Romana -- 4. Religion And Ius Publicum --- Part Two. Gods Of The Far-flung Empire -- 5. A Religion For The Empire -- 6. Religion And Imperialism At Rome -- 7. The Palladium And The Pentateuch. Clifford Ando. Originally Published: 2008. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. "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: that 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 chapter that lay out this argument about knowledge and place it in context, Ando pursues a member of themes. In particular, he asks whether the Romans could ever have offered a religion to the empire, when their practice involved the transfer of select gods and cults to Rome. He seeks likewise to understand what status the Romans granted their religious institutions, which were understood to be the products of a fallible and never-ending striving for cognitia deorum, knowledge of the gods."--Jacket. 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. Frontmatter Preface (page ix) Acknowledgments (page xix) Abbreviations (page xxi) 1. Religion, Law, and Knowledge in Classical Rome (page 1) PART ONE. THE LIMITS OF ORTHOPRAXY 2. Idols and Their Critics (page 21) 3. Interpretatio Romana (page 43) 4. Religion and Ius Publicum (page 59) PART TWO. GODS OF THE FAR-FLUNG EMPIRE 5. A Religion for the Empire (page 95) 6. Religion and Imperialism at Rome (page 120) 7. The Palladium and the Pentateuch (page 149) Bibliography (page 199) General Index (page 221) Index Locorum (page 225)

a Work Of Innovative Spirit And Great Learning, Stylishly Argued Throughout, And Beautifully Written.—sabine Maccormack, Author Of the Shadows Of Poetry: Virgil In The Mind Of Augustine

ando's Intellectually Daring Work Breaks Through The Traditional Perceptions Of Roman Religion Under The Empire.—guy Stroumsa, Author Of barbarian Philosophy: The Religious Revolution Of Early Christianity

Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. Religion, Law, and Knowledge in Classical Rome part one. the limits of orthopraxy 2. Idols and Their Critics 3. Interpretatio Romana 4. Religion and Ius Publicum part two. gods of the far-flung empire 5. A Religion for the Empire 6. Religion and Imperialism at Rome 7. The Palladium and the Pentateuch Bibliography Index Locorum General Index What did the Romans know about their gods? Why did they perform the rituals of their religion, & what motivated them to change those rituals? Clifford Ando explores the answers to these questions, pursuing a variety of themes essential to the study of religion in history