In the Greek and Roman worlds, temples were often gods’ houses, and their statues were somehow more than just representations; deities were imagined in sacred (and not-so-sacred) narratives, and seen as receiving offerings and prayers, or appearing in dreams and visions. All that is well known. Less familiar is the fact that Romans, in their most important sanctuary, on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, went much further in these directions than most others. The religion which did most for the Roman community at home and abroad, in peace and war, involved statements - in many media - about the literal presence of the gods in this place, and some of what was said and done is very unusual. I hope to present some of the evidence for how all this worked in the period from around 200 BCE to 200 CE, and invite the audience to help me make sense of some of what may be going on.

Speaker 
Prof. Nicholas PURCELL
Camden Professor of Ancient History
University of Oxford

Conducted online via ZOOM (Meeting ID: 990 8868 4183) https://cuhk.zoom.us/j/99088684183