Places of worship and religious beliefs in the ancient Latium and recent archaeological excavations

Abstract

The influence of recent archaeological excavations in the territory of Latium and Rome on the restoration of some aspects of the religious life in these areas was discussed. The study aimed to verify what we know about the ancient tradition of the Roman religion and the temple construction in the archaic era. The following methods were used: the principle of historicism, comparative-historical method, and historical-genetic method. The problems of reconstruction and dating of temples in Rome, evolution of the image of the temple and its concept, changes in the principles of temple construction were considered. A number of examples of recent archaeological excavations, which in some cases specify – for example, the excavations of the temple complex in Fidenae – or directly confirm the data of the ancient tradition on the Roman religion (human sacrifices in Ancient Rome), were provided. At the same time, some problems remain controversial, such as the size of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The archaeological findings show a strong Etruscan influence on the architecture of Latium and that of Rome in particular. However, the Central Italy was strongly influenced by the Greek culture, which penetrated into Italy with the Greek colonists. For this reason, there are both Etruscan (general concept of the temple, decor and statues) and Greek (columns and their location) elements in the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The obtained results demonstrate that, in general, the ancient tradition as a whole accurately conveys everything related to the religion and temple construction. The works of ancient authors reflect the evolution of religious beliefs and its impact on the life of people. The results of the study are important for the reconstruction of religious life in ancient Rome and Latium.

Keywords

• ancient rome
• latium
• roman religion
• archaeological sites
• temples of rome and latium