Contextualizing "Oriental" Cults. New Lights on the Evidence between the Danube and the Adriatic (original) (raw)

There are numerous traces of so-called ''Oriental'' cults in the territory of the Roman provinces in Southeast Europe (Dalmatia, Pannonia, Moesia, Dacia, Thracia, Macedonia). The cults of Isis, Mithras, Cybele among others were accepted and incorporated in the religious systems of these provinces in the Roman period. Cult officials and communities of followers are well attested and remains of temples and cult statues are often monumental. The coastal cities of the Adriatic and the great river ports were the main cult centres. The contacts with Italic regions and imperial propaganda, as well as customs and preferences of the local population were important preconditions for the appropriation of those cults in the aforementioned territory. Cults were appropriated differently from one place to the next, depending on the particular manner of transmission and the varied circumstances within the Roman provinces of Southeast Europe. In the process of being inserted into new local societies and contexts, these cults often underwent adjustments and transformations. New values and meanings could be adopted, thus leading to specific provincial forms of traditional cults. After the Skopje Symposium (Romanising Oriental Gods, 18-21 September 2013) the need to assemble once again became evident, in order to explore novel perspectives on this topic. The aim of our Symposium is to examine and debate further how the ''Oriental'' cults manifested themselves in the respective regions, on the basis of particularities of epigraphic and material evidence. Attention will be given to the dissemination and development of these cults in various contexts – historical, political, topographic, civic, economic, military – in the aforementioned provinces. Naturally, one of our main objectives is to encourage the presentation of new findings. Therefore, we gathered international group of specialists on the ''Oriental'' cults in different Roman contexts, to present the results of their research. We would like to dedicate our Symposium to late professor Petar Selem (1936-2015), prominent Croatian scientist, who spent his lifetime researching „Oriental“ cults.