Roman cult, Romulus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman identity, religious institution, Roman society, Roman mythology, Greek influences
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Abstract
This text examines the organization of the Roman religious cult by Romulus, as described by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and its role in forging Roman identity.
Extract
[...] Finally, the historian highlights the objective of maintaining Roman religious identity pursued by Romulus. The adverb 'according to' indicates the desire to adopt the foreign only as shaped by Roman patterns, testifying to the political mastery exercised over cultural diversity. It was also a matter of celebrating foreign deities in Roman forms. Denys gives the enlightening example of the cult of the goddess Ida to illustrate Romulus' religious policy By specifying that sacrifices and games were organized 'in accordance with Roman customs', the historian shows that even this deity of foreign origin was subject to national rites. [...]
[...] The author uses the verb 'to understand' to show that Romulus adopted a thoughtful and conscious approach, rather than a reactive or traditional attitude. He thus gained a head start over his contemporaries, 'all politicians' who only invoked the causes of success without putting them into practice. Halicarnassus also emphasizes that for Romulus, 'it was first and foremost the benevolence of the gods, whose protection ensures men's success in all their undertakings.' The use of the adverb 'first and foremost' shows that the establishment of piety was the sine qua non condition, the very foundation upon which everything else could be built. [...]
[...] Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 1st century BC, under the reign of Augustus, who brought an end to the Roman Republic and established an imperial regime in 27 BC. Indeed, the Republic had been experiencing a political crisis for several decades with the civil wars opposing Marius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar. Under Augustus, the Roman Empire was at its peak. Rome dominated a vast Mediterranean empire after its conquests in Italy, Gaul, Spain, Greece and Asia Minor. The administration of this empire would be strengthened under Augustus. Around 30 BC, Halicarnassus settled in Rome and wrote his historical work there, Roman Antiquities. [...]
[...] He thus highlights the desire for mastery and restraint that Romulus instilled in the expressions of the sacred. Dionysius highlights Romulus' ambition to spread among the Romans a shared religious ethos marked by restraint By comparing Roman piety to that of the Greeks and Barbarians, the historian underscores the concern to establish a specific sacred behavior. The choice of terms such as 'respect' and 'propriety' reveals the desire to inculcate a strict deontological code in the relationship with the gods. [...]
[...] The text thus reveals the pedagogical dimension conferred on religion by its founder. (Thus, Romulus forged an exemplary representation of the gods within the nascent Roman society through the establishment of a mythology free from inversion. This desire was also expressed through politics. In order to protect the foundations of the religious identity of the young City, he also established institutional safeguards aimed at blocking any influence likely to alter Roman piety. Finally, the text highlights Romulus' ability to put the sacred at the service of the political, by integrating the foreigner without altering the Roman identity. [...]
