Local empresses: priestesses of the imperial cult in the cities of the Latin West

Emily A. Hemelrijk

48 citations0/0 files storedUvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam)

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Classical Antiquity Studies Archaeological and Historical Studies Historical and Religious Studies of Rome

Abstract

over Italy and the western provinces gave rise to new priesthoods serving the cult of the reigning emperor, his deified predecessor(s), and some of his (male and) female relatives, especially his wife. Both men and women could hold these priesthoods, which in most provinces existed at two levels, the municipal and the provincial.1 According to the traditional view, which is still highy influential, the imperial cult in the Latin West was mostly established on the initiative of the capital, Rome forming its main model of organisation.2 As a consequence, it is usually assumed that the priesthood of the municipal and provincial ruler cult was closely modelled on the flaminate of republican Rome, especially on the priesthood of the flamen and flaminica Dialis. I have argued elsewhere that this view has led to a misunderstanding of the status of imperial priestesses and of the nature of their priesthood: apart from her title, the flaminica of the (municipal or provincial) imperial cult had little in common with the flaminica Dialis of republican Rome?and the sacerdos (divae) Augustae lacks even this superficial similarity.3 In the present article I will focus on female imperial priesthoods, re-examining the relationship between Rome and the cities of Italy and the western provinces from the perspective of the priestess. Instead of taking thtflaminica Dialis as the model for the priestess of the imperial cult, I shall argue that the empress herself provided a model for her priestesses. After briefly reconsidering the relationship between Rome and the local towns as regards female imperial priesthoods, I shall concentrate on two points: the rituals that priestesses of the imperial cult may

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References

1986Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor 1990Augustus und die Macht der Bilder.1955Rites of the State Religion in Roman Art 1987Women in Roman Law and Society 1966Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum 1997The limits of participation: women and civic life in the Greek East in the Hellenistic and Roman periods 1983Paganism in the Roman Empire 1980The Sexual Status of Vestal Virgins

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