Dea Dardanica: Pre-Roman tribal deity or Roman imperial construct?

Abstract

The text problematizes the interpretation of Dea Dardanica, a religious phenomenon from the period of the Roman Empire, conceived from the traditional perspective as a kind of ethno-tribal deity of Dardania and the Dardanians. By pointing out that the earlier approaches have been based upon the concept of ethnic determinism, the paper indicates the problems inherent in the interpretation of Dardania/the Dardanians as an ethno-tribal entity continuously existing from the Early Iron Age to the Roman times. From the point of view of the constructivist theory of identity, critical approach to literary sources, interpretation of classical narratives on “the Barbarians” as an imagological constructs, and understanding of the Roman imperialism as a “global” network, the author offers new conclusions on the collective identification of the Dardanians and the character of the cult of Dea Dardanica.

Keywords

• Dardania
• the Dardanians
• construction of group identification
• cult
• Roman imperialism
• Dea Dardanica