Una religione “romanizzata”? Evoluzione del paesaggio cultuale in Grecia tra tarda Repubblica e Impero

Did the religious life of Greek cities undergo any changes following the integration of the Greek peninsula into Roman rule? Several inscriptions dating from the late Hellenistic period to the early Empire show interventions in the religious sphere of Greek cities, ranging from restoration works or the recovery of ancestral practices to the physical relocation of cult sites and statues. One of the best known examples, the transfer of the cult statue of Artemis Laphria from the polis of Calydon in Aetolia to the Roman colony of Patras, where the goddess was renamed Diana Augusta (Laphria), was decided by Augustus himself. Since a date in the early imperial period is known (or can be suggested) for other similar cases, it is tempting to link this religious “revival” with the directives of Augustan religious policy. In most cases, however, both the Roman agency and the precise chronology of these interventions in the religious sphere remain uncertain. Consequently, it is difficult to define the exact weight of such an influx. It would be equally difficult (and perhaps ingenuous) to argue that Roman rule did not have a significant impact on the religious landscape of Greek cities. New features, however, were usually integrated in the traditional cult structures. This is best illustrated by the most obvious novelty introduced into the cult sphere of Greek cities under Roman rule, namely the worship of the emperor. Indeed, Roman emperors were usually worshipped alongside the traditional Greek gods, whom they did not replace.