ROMANIZATION AND THE “END” OF ITALIC RELIGION
“Romanization”, which involved a range of complex changes between the third and first centuries BCE, is often regarded as the death knell of Italic religions, as of Italic culture in general.
There is some evidence for Roman intervention in local religions in the form of the Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalihus (CIL I2 581 = ILS 511), where the worship of Bacchus was suppressed throughout Roman, Latin and (it seems) allied territory. While it is possible that this is the tip of the iceberg, we have no other explicit evidence for the imposition of Roman religious practices on Italy, and in general any changes in the period before the Social War seem likely to be the result of local decision-making. The most obvious shift is in the make-up of votive deposits, which must largely reflect the types of votives left by dedicators at sanctuaries. The widespread tradition of leaving bronze figurines declines rapidly, and instead anatomical terracotta votives and coins begin to be used, alongside pottery vessels. In some areas, such as Umbria, the change seems to take place rapidly, and to be complete by the conquest. In other areas, such as Samnium, bronze figurines continue to be produced in archaic style after the conquest (though the chronology of figurines is very difficult to establish with precision). Although the presence of anatomical terracottas has been rigidly linked by some scholars to the presence of Roman colonists, they are best seen as the result of Latin colonists and allied Italians adopting, at their own behest, new religious forms that recall broader Hellenistic rather than narrowly Roman practices (Glinister 2006; Stek 2009: 23-8; contra Torelli 1999: 41-2; De Cazanove 2000 and others). The form of sanctuaries was also increasingly influenced by Rome during the course of the third and second centuries BCE. A strong Roman influence is evident in the large (23 x 14 m) temple, one of a complex of three, created on the acropolis of Chieti (Marrucine Teate) around the middle of the second century BCE. The high-quality terracotta statuary from the pediment (representing the Dioscuri accompanied by deities including Hercules, Mars, Diana, Minerva and Venus), and the terracotta plaques, similar to examples from the colony of Luna, have been attributed to Greek crafts-men working in Rome or a related context (Campanelli & Faustoferri 1997: 38-9). The plan of Temple B at Pietrabbondante, with its square temple enclosure linked to the seats of a theatre, strongly recalls the curia-comitium complexes of Latin colonies like Fregellae and nearby Aesernia (Coarelli 1996). The layout of the temple also echoes (without directly replicating) the model of Capitolium-type temples in Roman colonies with three cellae (chambers). However, there are other influences too. The structure and details of the stone theatre, with decorative atlases and winged griffin legs at the end of the rows of seats (Fig. 15.3), are most closely paralleled by Campanian examples in Pompeii and Sarno, and it has been speculated that the architect originated from this Greek-influenced area (Coarelli & La Regina 1984: 243-6; Tagliamonte 1996: 188).After the Social War (91-88 BCE) and the consequent loss of Italic autonomy, Italic cults change in a more rapid and unidirectional way. Rome becomes a more dominant model, as the opening of new political opportunities there provided a greater incentive for non-Romans to adopt Roman customs. The Italic languages were abandoned by the end of the first century BCE for epigraphic purposes, and this may have led to a loss of understanding of the religious traditions recorded in local languages (G. Bradley 2007: 307, 314). Nevertheless, the continuity of Etruscan ritual practice, even after the ritual books of the haruspices were translated into Latin, should make us hesitate before asserting that this must have happened. Some major sanctuaries were assigned to the jurisdiction of local towns, and continued to be frequented: this happened to the Lacus Clitumnus in Umbria, assigned to Hispellum by Augustus (Pliny Letters 8.8), and Rossano di Vaglio, which was assigned to Potentia (Isayev 2007: 84-5).
However, with better archaeological understanding of many sites, scholars are also increasingly recognizing that the decline and abandonment of Italic sanctuaries like Pietrabbondante after the Social War has been exaggerated: Stek notes that “postSocial War activity is registered on virtually all of the Samnite cult sites” (2009: 29; cf. Crawford 2006). Some major Italic sanctuaries in Umbria continue in use into the imperial period, such as those at the Villa Fidelia, Monte Torre Maggiore and the Lacus Clitumnus. Continuity of use does not necessarily imply straightforward continuity of cult, and in Umbria, a more urbanized region than Samnium, the votive material at many sanctuaries drops off sharply after the Social War (G. Bradley 2000: 227-9). There is, however, no specific evidence for a Roman policy of closing pre-Roman cult sites, and if anything, Augustus’s appropriation of Italic sites like the Lacus Clitumnus and the Villa Fidelia, which are still attested as ongoing concerns in the second and fourth centuries CE respectively, implies that they continued to be of great significance for the local and regional populations.