Dissertation committee:
Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής κ. Στυλιανός Κατάκης, ΕΚΠΑ
Ομότιμη Καθηγήτρια κα. Παυλίνα Καραναστάση, Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης
Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια κα. Σοφία Ανεζίρη, ΕΚΠΑ
Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής κ. Νικόλαος Γιαννακόπουλος, ΕΚΠΑ
Επίκουρος Καθηγητής κ. Νικόλαος Δημάκης, ΕΚΠΑ
Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια κα. Ελένη Παπαγιάννη, ΑΠΘ
Καθηγήτρια κα. Katja Sporn, Γερμανικό Αρχαιολογικό Ινστιτούτο Αθηνών
Summary:
In 67 BC Crete was conquered by the Romans. In 27 BC Crete was administratively attached to Cyrene in one united senatorial province governed by a proconsul with praetorian rank. Gortyn was chosen as the capital of the province. At the same time, Knossos became a Roman colony, the only one on the island.
This paper is the first systematic recording and study of the data on the cults in Crete during the Roman period. The chronological framework of the research begins at 67 BC, the year of the Roman conquest, and finishes at the end of the 4th century AD, when Christianity prevailed as the only official religion. As the pivotal point of this research was regarded the devastating earthquake of 365 AD, so possible votive offerings and building reconstructions in the ancient sanctuaries were sought during the last thirty years of the 4th century AD.
The main objective of the paper was the investigation of the religious system in Crete during the Roman period through various aspects of ancient cults: deities, imperial cult, sanctuaries, offerings, festivals, games, rituals, administration of sanctuaries, priestly offices. At the same time, due to the inclusion of the 4th century in the research, an era characterized by religious freedom, data regarding other cults, besides the traditional framework, such as Judaism and early Christianity, will also be presented.
The sources of information are various (sanctuaries, inscriptions, coins, sculpture, ancient literary sources and Christian texts) and concern public cults. The data come from 45 cities-sites.
During the Roman period, Crete experienced a second period of great prosperity, after the Minoan era, as evidenced by the ruins of the cities themselves. The major changes in Crete, after the Roman conquest, and the main causes of its prosperity were the unification of the Cretan states under a single administration and the integration of Crete into the economic-commercial networks of the empire in the Mediterranean.
However, the impact of the Romans on matters of worship was not strong. Based on the data, the conquest of Crete by Rome does not seem to have caused any rupture or radical change in the religious system. Instead the Romans respected the traditions of the cities. However, the impact of the conqueror can be seen in certain religious aspects: the establishment of the imperial cult, the introduction of the cult of new deities, the diffusion of the Italian type of temple on podium and the influence of artisanal production on the votive practice.
The religious system in Roman Crete was basically characterised by the respect and continuation of a strong long existing tradition, combined with a new impetus of the conquerors, the colonists and the italian immigrants. This fact is reflected in the emergence, dissemination and resonance of deities with a specific divine nature and features: Zeus especially in the three main cult epithets (Kretagenes, Idaios, Diktaios) with a topographical-mythological reference to his birth and upbringing in Crete, chthonic and fertility deities with reproductive powers of nature and humans, healing deities, protectors of the city and the house, but also of natural phenomena, and marine deities. All of these are consistent with the new political-social context, with the unified identity and extroversion of Crete, the agrarian physiognomy, trade and the economy in general, aspects which were emphasized by the Romans for the further development of the island.
The last dedications and interventions in sanctuaries go back to the turn of the 3rd to the 4th century AD and during the 4th century. There are not enough cases, especially after the earthquake of AD 365, to support the aspect that the practice of the ancient cults continued unhindered and uninterrupted in late antiquity. Also the data about Christianity cannot confirm its prevalence before the end of the 4th century. The 4th century remains a dark period during which pursuits, fermentations and balances between different religious systems took place. The existing data, especially in Crete, do not allow further clarification.
This paper consists the third and final part of a trilogy on the sanctuaries and cults of Crete together with two landmark studies, by Mieke Prent in 2005 (Cretan Sanctuaries and Cults. Continuity and Change from Late Minoan IIIC to the Archaic Period. Leiden) and by Katja Sporn in 2002 (Heiligtümer und Kulte Kretas in klassischer und hellenistischer Zeit. Heidelberg), covering a period of 1,600 years from the 12th century BC. until the 4th century AD.
