ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to sketch some of the salient features of pagan religious life during the third century and to convey some sense of its diversity. It begins with a calendar of festivals (1.1) which, among other things, shows how religion impinged on people’s lives throughout the year. This is followed by illustrative examples of important practices associated with civic cults – sacrifice (1.2) and alternatives (1.3, 1.4), the role of music (1.5, 1.6), and processions (1.7). More private expressions of devotion are exemplified by some texts relating to the goddess Isis (1.8), while the next two items highlight common motivations for individuals having recourse to the gods – ill-health (1.9) and anxieties about the future (1.10). A different type of common religious engagement is reflected in the evidence for resort to magic, exemplified here by a curse tablet (1.11). Part of a temple inventory is presented in 1.12 to show how these institutions came to acquire considerable material resources. At the same time, it is worth remembering that there was a philosophical tradition critical of some aspects of pagan religious observance, especially sacrifice, as shown in 1.13.
