Jupiter Capitolinus:

aka Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Latin: Temple of Jupiter, the Best & Greatest) site of several temples, the oldest (dedicated 509 BC) in Rome, with many Etruscan architectural features; burned down 83 BC & replaced.  The original temple employed Etruscan specialists making & painting the extensive terracotta elements as well as the upper elements (the antefixes).  It was the largest Etruscan-style temple recorded, for centuries larger than other Roman temples; considered the primary state temple, sacred to the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno & Minerva) each with a separate cella, Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the middle.  It held many terra cotta sculptures, the most famous being of Jupiter driving a 4 horse chariot sited on top of the roof.  The Jupiter cult statue in the main cella showed him standing, wielding a thunderbolt, dressed in a tunic with palm leaves overlaid with a toga died purple embroidered with gold.  This costume became the standard dress for victorious generals celebrating a triumph.  The cult & roof sculptures were the work of Etruscan artisan Vulca of Veii. 

 

numen:

see above page 401

 

Serapis:

syncretistic deity derived from the worship of the Egyptian Osiris & Apis; he gained attributes from other deities, such as chthonic powers (from Hades and Demeter), and benevolence (from Dionysus).  Depicted as Greek in appearance with Egyptian trappings, the cult combined iconography from numerous other cults, signifying both abundance & resurrection.  It was promoted by Ptolemy I in the 3rd century BC as a way to unify his Greeks & Egyptian subjects & spread as a matter of deliberate policy by the Ptolemaic kings, who also built the immense Serapeum of Alexandria.  A serapeum was any temple or religious precinct devoted to Serapis.  The cult continued to increase in popularity during the Roman Empire, often replacing Osiris as the consort of Isis in temples outside Egypt.

 

Hermes Propyleaus:

Greek sculpture by Alcamenes from about 450-440 BC; originally a herm pillar standing at the entrance of the Acropolis of Athens, one of many used as street markers in Athens; a herma was a sculpture with a bust of Hermes, above a plain, squared lower section, on which an erect phallus was carved in relief or in-the-round; such stones were often used to indicate boundaries or landmarks & acted as both cult objects & location markers; worshippers placed the images at crossroads & gates in hopes of invoking Hermes’ protection

 

Erechtheum:

see Chapter III page 108 Chapter VI page 205

 

Hermes as the husband of Aglaure:

Aglaure had 2 offspring, Alcippe (by the god Ares) & Ceryx (by the god Hermes).  According to the Bibliotheca, Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on the ground, impregnating Gaia. Gaia did not want the infant Erichthonius & gave the baby to Athena who in turn passed the baby in a box to 3 women, Aglaurus & her 2 sisters Herse & Pandrosus.  Athena warned them to never open it; despite this Aglaurus & Herse opened the box.  The sight of the infant caused them both to go insane & they threw themselves off the Acropolis.  One of the Attic demes (Agraule) derived its name from this heroine; mysteries were celebrated at Athens in honour of her.  She had her own sanctuary near the Acropolis & had her won festival, the Plynteria, which was associated with Athena.

 

Juppiter Feretrius: * see EndNote<A>

first temple built in Rome, exact site uncertain but located on Capitoline Hill; dedicated to the god Jupiter by Romulus after his defeat of Acro, king of the Ceninensi, in 752–751 BC.  The origin of the epithet 'Feretrius' is unclear; it may relate to 1 of 2 Latin verbs: 'ferire' (meaning 'he who strikes', since armour & weapons were offered there) or 'ferre' (meaning 'he to whom the armour & weapons are brought').  By the mid first century BC the temple had lost its roof.  As a result, the emperor Augustus decided to rebuild & it is included in his autobiography (the Res Gestae Divi Augusti) in the list of Roman monuments and temples he paid to have rebuilt.

 

Juppiter Optimus Maximus: * see EndNote<A>

reference to the 2nd Temple of Jupiter (dedicated 69 BC) replacing the older temple destroyed in 83 BC; for this project, builders were summoned from Greece & though the new build was essentially Greek in style, it retained many Etruscan elements.  The man behind this project was the dictator Sulla (138–78 BC), who ruled Rome from 81 BC until his death in 78 BC.  Sulla sacked Athens in 86 BC & seized several of the gigantic, incomplete columns from the Temple of Zeus & took them back to Rome, to re-use in the Temple of Jupiter.  The new temple was dedicated in 69 BC, built to the same plans & foundations as the first temple, but using more expensive materials for the superstructure.  Augustus (emperor 27 BC to 14 AD) claimed to have restored the temple as part of his enormous building program begun during his rise to power.

 

Jupiter Dolichenus:

a Roman god whose mystery cult was widespread in the Empire, becoming popular in the 2nd century AD, reaching a peak early 3rd century AD under the Severan dynasty & shortly thereafter dying out.  At least 19 temples were built in Rome & the provinces.  While widespread it enjoyed far less popularity than comparable pseudo-oriental cults (e.g. Mithras, Isis, Cybele).  These 'oriental' gods were a Roman re-inventions of ostensibly foreign figures to give them legitimacy & distinguish them from traditional Roman gods.  Unlike the Roman public cults (but like the other mysteries), its temples were nominally closed to outsiders.  Followers had to undergo rites of initiation before they could be accepted as devotees.

 

Sol Invictus:

Latin meaning "Unconquered Sun", official sun god of the later Roman Empire & patron of soldiers.  On 25 December 274 AD, Aurelian made it an official state religion alongside the traditional Roman cults.  The god was favoured by emperors after Aurelian & appeared on their coins until the last third-part of the reign of Constantine I.  The last inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to AD 387.

 

million-named Isis: * see EndNote<B>

Isis came to have many roles in Hellenic world & Roman Empire. When Alexander conquered Egypt in 331 BC his troops associated Isis with Demeter, making her accessible to the Greeks who initiated their own rituals honouring her.  The similarity between Demeter/Persephone and the Isis/ Osiris legends led to a blending together of the two.  When Isis travelled to Rome she was known as Queen of Heaven & linked to Demeter's counterpart, Ceres, & eventually Venus.  After 44 BC Romans wanted to build a temple to honour Isis, not Venus!  Although Augustus opposed the proliferation of Isis, he signally failed.  Under Caligula (Emperor 37-41 AD), Vespasian (emperor 70–79 AD) Domitian (emperor 81–96 AD) & Hadrian (emperor 117–138 AD) her worship & roles grew, in Rome & across the Empire.

 

the Alexandrian Isis:

Isis, one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, is an Egyptian god first mentioned in the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC).  In the first millennium BC rulers in Egypt & Nubia, built temples dedicated primarily to her.  By Greco-Roman times Isis had become the dominant cult.  She had several temples dedicated to her in Alexandria, where she became the patron of seafarers.  The Ptolemys made Alexandria their capital in 305 BC & invested heavily in the city: they built a causeway to enhance the harbour, a necropolis & the famous lighthouse.  They fostered learning & culture with the development of a museum & massive library.  The city inherited trade from the ruined Tyre & becoming the centre of a booming commerce between Europe, Arabia & the Indian East.  In one generation it outstripped Carthage & within a century was the largest city in the world.  During the Hellenistic period the importance of Greece proper within the Greek-speaking world declined.  The great centres of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria & Antioch, many Greeks migrated to these cities.  As a cultural & commercial centre the city played a pivotal role in shaping & spreading the cults of Egyptian gods, especially Isis.  Isis along with other Egyptian gods, spread from Alexandria to the rest of the known world.

 

the Sun-god favoured by Aurelian (the Baal of Palmyra):

following victories in the East, Emperor Aurelian (214-275 AD, emperor from 270 AD) reformed the Roman cult of Sol making it the premier divinity in the Empire.  Prior to this priests of Sol had tended to belong to lower ranks of society, now they were pontifices, members of the new college of pontifices instituted by Aurelian, each a member of the senatorial elite; this priesthood was now prestigious.  Aurelian also built a temple for Sol (dedicated on December 25, 274) bringing the total number of Solar temples in Rome to at least 4. He instituted games held every 4 years in honour of the sun god.  It is believed the god was based on the solar god of Palmyra, since Aurelian placed & consecrated a cult statue of the sun god (looted from Palmyra) in his temple of Sol Invictus.  The "Temple of Baal", was a temple in Palmyra, Syria, dedicated in AD 32 & consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel.  It reflects a synthesis of ancient Near Eastern & Greco-Roman architecture. 

 

the Mithras protected by Diocletian:

(244-311 AD; emperor 284-305) Diocletian was conservative in religion, faithful to the traditional Roman pantheon and understanding of demands for religious purification.  When he attempted a renewal of the Roman state & religion, he did not forget Mithra.  In 307 AD in a dedication from Carnuntum (at the Danube, near Vienna), he & his colleagues dedicated an altar to Mithra, giving him the title "The Protector of the Empire".  Diocletian (along with other emperors) took the Mithraic titles of 'Pius', 'Felix', and 'Invictus' (devout, blessed, and invincible).

 

Baalath of Carthage (Tanit, Dea Caelestis) honoured by Septimius Severus:* see EndNote<C>

The gods of Carthage, Baʿal Ḥammon & Tinit were not recognized in Rome until Septimius Severus, emperor from 193 to 211 AD.  African himself, he apparently bore some good will to Roman Carthage & Libya, although it is not clear what he did to honour them.