On the cults of Antiquity in Croatia

Sanader, Mirjana. On the cults of Antiquity in Croatia. Vjesnik za arheologiju i povijest dalmatinsku, 101(1). pp. 157-186. ISSN 1845-7789

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Abstract

Croatian museums, like the museums of all countries whose territory was once encompassed by the Roman Empire, hold numerous monuments which testify to the piety of Roman citizens. And since the Romans, as stated by Pliny (N.H. 6,56), considered themselves the most pious of all peoples, this large number of preserved cult artefacts is not in the least surprising. In the alliance of peoples and deities in old Rome, its citizens always and everywhere observed established cult rituals, offered sacrifices and addressed prayers, so to this day there are numerous preserved altars, votive inscriptions and reliefs and sculptures both large and small. By the same token, temples and shrines, or simply inscriptions, have also been preserved which additionally speak of their existence. Roman religion was also greatly influenced by the other peoples with whom the Romans came into contact, most notably the Greeks. Besides those deities which were originally Roman, and which besides their own attributes assumed some of those of Greek gods under the influence of Greek mythology and iconography, the Romans also worshipped certain Oriental deities, as well as certain indigenous deities whose cults they found in the provinces that they conquered. A certain number of cult monuments from Croatia’s territory testify to this Roman religious practice of worshipping indigenous deities in the provinces in addition to Roman and Oriental gods.

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