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Gallery of Roman Religion

This BBC Gallery illustrates the religious practices and beliefs within the Roman empire. At their core was the state religion, which prescribed worship of traditional gods (Jupiter, image at left), of the emperor (generally only when deceased), and of certain members of the imperial family ('the imperial cult'). The state religion co-existed with local pre-Roman cults, with empire-wide imported cults such as Mithraism, and with individual superstitions and belief in magic.

In his epic The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon wrote: "The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful."

Gallery Link

Gallery of Roman Religion

This BBC Gallery illustrates the religious practices and beliefs within the Roman empire. At their core was the state religion, which prescribed worship of traditional gods (Jupiter, image at left), of the emperor (generally only when deceased), and of certain members of the imperial family ('the imperial cult'). The state religion co-existed with local pre-Roman cults, with empire-wide imported cults such as Mithraism, and with individual superstitions and belief in magic.

In his epic The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon wrote: "The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful."

Gallery Link