Religionsgeschichten

The essays and studies in Roman religion by Hubert Cancik provide an outline of its overall structure and its stories. They present observations on ritual practice and explain the self-analysis and criticism given by the Romans themselves and by the adherents of other religions, such as for example Greeks, Jews and Christians. These studies focus on the classical, imperial and late antique epochs, and the author deals in detail with the interaction between the Roman and the Greek, Jewish and Christian religions. During this time, all the religions developed or increased their universalistic tendencies. Based on long-standing and continuous cultural contacts between Italy and Greece, the Mediterranean religions converged under the homogenizing pressure exerted by the empire. A multireligious system came into being, which could be described as "imperial religion".