Isiac reliefs in Roman Dacia (original) (raw)

Cult Images and Mithraic Reliefs in Roman Dacia

Transylvanian Review • Vol. XX, Supplement No. 2:1, 2011

The use of images in religious rituals might be considered an essential practice, integrating theminto the spiritual life of the antiquity. The festivals, in which images were periodically dressed,paraded, washed and worshiped, stand as a proof of the religious dimension of these artifacts. Thequestion that arises is what kind of images might be considered cultic representations and could there be certain features likely to identify these cultic media? The purpose of this paper is to ana-lyze the relationship between the means of representation and the significance of the cults attested on the territory of the province of Dacia, focusing on the relief representations of the Mithraic reli-gion. The generally accepted thought is that a cult object is symbolized only by statues, while relief representations fall into the votive category. It is believed that only statues occupied a central placein the temple, receiving donations and other kinds of manifestations in order to demonstrate thedivinity’s veneration by the worshiper. This hypothesis is based on the ancient Greeks’ belief that the divinity had the same nature as the humans, and thus anthropomorphism was the Greek solu-tion for the representation of the deity. Nevertheless, there are several cults which have the relief asa main form of representation, central among them being the Mithraic cult, and thus the questionthat arises, and which we try to answer, is whether a representation is a cult image or not.

PRE-ROMAN DIVINITIES IN DACIA – APPEARANCES AND IDENTITIES

C. G. Alexandrescu (ed.), Jupiter on your side, Gods and Humans in Antiquity in the Lower Danube Area. Accompanying publication for the thematic exhibitions in Bucharest, Alba Iulia and Constanţa – May-September 2013, Bucharest 2013

Dan Deac, Graffiti on Ceramic Medallions depicting Isis and Sarapis from Roman Dacia

R. Ardevan, E. Beu-Dachin, Mensa rotunda epigraphica napocensis, Cluj-Napoca 2016

The present study analyzes two Isiac finds from the Roman settlement of Micăsasa. These two artifacts are ceramic medallions (médaillons d’applique) depicting Isis respectively Sarapis, each of them bearing on thebackside a Latin graffito. Based on the new interpretation, the author identifies in the new reading of the graffiti the name of the craftsman who was the owner of these two ceramic medallions, an individual called Myrinus.

The Cult of the Goddess Juno in Roman Dacia

S. Nemeti, F. Fodorean, E. Nemeth, G. Florea (eds.), Roman antiquities: archaeology and historiography: in memoriam Alexandri Diaconescu, 2023

The present study proposes an exhaustive analysis of cult manifestations in Roman Dacia, which have in the foreground Juno, the paredra of the supreme god of the Roman world. Juno, often invoked as part of the Capitoline Triad, alongside Jupiter and Minerva, is a central character of Roman religious life. However, its main attributes are related to the family, being considered the protector of marriage and natality. Due to this fact, it is specific, first of all, to the domestic cult, public manifestations being much rarer. To understand how the inhabitants of the province of Dacia perceived the divinity and how they related to it, the only primary sources available to us are the ex votos dedicated to the goddess, which consist of epigraphic and figurative monuments. The analysis of the votive inscriptions shows us, on the one hand, how the inhabitants of the province related to the goddess, and on the other hand, the different divinities with which she is connected. At the same time, the epithets attributed to the goddess by various worshipers, as well as their identity, are analyzed. Through the analysis of these sources, the potential dedications that depict a sincere devotion of the devotees are highlighted. The second part of the study proposes an iconographic analysis of the different representations of Juno found in Dacia. Starting from the reliable representations of the goddess, we explore the canons according to which the goddess is represented in the province and see to what extent some figurative monuments, preserved fragmentarily and interpreted as representations of Juno, can indeed be included in the specific iconographic types identified in Dacia. Finally, a series of possible cult edifices of the goddess, assumed through epigraphic sources or archaeological discoveries, are reviewed.

Ministers of Isiac Cults in Roman Wall Painting

V. Gasparini and R. Veymiers (eds), Individuals and Materials in the Greco-Roman Cults of Isis, Leiden/Boston 2018 (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 187), 366-383, 2018

representations of cultic servants of Isis in wall decorations (especially Herculaneum and Pompeii) result to be less'religious' than showing a decorative value. Yet we can learn a lot about various aspects of ministers.