Response paper on academic discourse

¶ … wonderful thing about art and architecture today is that, as a society, we have been exposed to a rich history spanning thousands of years. Many, many cultures have been exposed as a result of archaeological discovery. There is, however, also the danger that the artifacts we have uncovered in this way could mislead us or fail to provide the entire truth about the culture and tradition that it represents. This is perhaps most true of religion and its artifacts, especially when it comes to relatively ancient cultures, such as those in Rome.

The artifact I chose is a "rare Roman altar" from ancient Rome. This is a rectangular column with a type of bowl-like structure on top. It also has some decorations and an inscription. According to the BBC site, the inscription reads: "GENIO TERRAE BRITANNICAE M. COCCEI FIRMVS LEG II AVG," which means "To the presiding spirit of the land of Britain, Marcus Cocceius Firmus, centurion of the Second Augustan Legion." The historical significance of this artifact is that it represents the major role religion played not only in general Roman life, but also in the various professions, including the military. There are, for example, several altars that have been recovered along the Antoine Wall, like this one. Many of these are dedicated to Victory or Fortuna, the respective Roman goddesses that represented victory or good fortune. The "rare" one of this discussion is dedicated to the spirit of Britain. It is considered rare because there are few altars dedicated to the local spirits, and in this case, the spirit watching over Britain.

What this altar shows is that, while most soldiers tended to rely solely on their own gods and goddesses for military protection, at least some legions were concerned with also winning the favor of the gods and spirits whose lands they were occupying.

What it tells me, specifically, is that the ancient Roman people were extremely religious. This is confirmed by Bentley, Ziegler, and Streets-Salter (160). The text also states that the Romans believed the deities to influence human affairs directly. This appears to correlate well with the idea of building altars for gods who could help them in battle or conquest. This belief, that gods intervened directly in human affairs, would also then influence their decisions to enlist the help of local gods and spirits, although this was a rarer occurrence than using altars for Roman gods and goddesses.

The altar also shows a later tendency towards tolerance for foreign gods. This is evident in the many similarities among Roman and Greek gods, and also in the later religious practices of the Roman people. The gods of Egypt, especially, played an important part in Rome when these countries were exposed to each other.