Roman Cult Images
The Lives and Worship of Idols from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity

A biography of how cult images functioned in Roman temples. It explores their creation, use, and eventual destruction.

Philip Kiernan (Author)

9781108487344, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 June 2020

377 pages, 94 b/w illus.
26 x 18.5 x 2.1 cm, 0.94 kg

'… Kiernan's work is an outstanding and welcome addition to fields dealing with provincial material cultures. His argument for distinguishing between idols and other sorts of cult image matters greatly if we are to study how those idols had a particular agency.' James Frakes, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

In this book, Philip Kiernan explores how cult images functioned in Roman temples from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity in the Roman west. He demonstrates how and why a temple's idols, were more important to ritual than other images such as votive offerings and decorative sculpture. These idols were seen by many to be divine and possessed of agency. They were, thus, the primary focus of worship. Aided by cross-cultural comparative material, Kiernan's study brings a biographical approach to explore the 'lives' of idols and cult images - how they were created, housed in temples, used and worshipped, and eventually destroyed or buried. He also shows how the status of cult images could change, how new idols and other cult images were being continuously created, and how, in each phase of their lives, we find evidence for the significant power of idols.

1. The birth of cult images: early Rome and the Iron Age
2. The birth of cult images: continuity and innovation in the Imperial Period
3. Idols at home
4. Idols in action
5. The end of idols.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], History of architecture [AMX], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]