Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion

497 Pages·2022·57.863 MB·English

by  Jacob L. Mackey

belief and cult

Belief and Cult
rethinking roman religion
jacob l. mackey
prince ton university press
princet on & oxford
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mackey, Jacob Louis, 1971– author.
Title: Belief and cult : rethinking Roman religion / Jacob L. Mackey.
Description: Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2022] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021049285 (print) | LCCN 2021049286 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780691165080 (acid-free paper) | ISBN 9780691233147 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Rome—Religion. | Belief and doubt. | BISAC: HISTORY /
Ancient / Rome | LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical
Classification: LCC BL803 .M326 2022 (print) | LCC BL803 (ebook) |
DDC 292.07—dc23/eng/20220103
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021049285
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021049286
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
Editorial: Rob Tempio, Chloe Coy
Production Editorial: Terri O’Prey
Production: Erin Suydam
Publicity: Alyssa Sanford, Charlotte Coyne
Copyeditor: Kathleen Kageff
Jacket art: Mosaic of a sacred choir, 3rd century CE, from the Temple of Diana Tifatina
(now site of Abbey of St. Angelo in Formis), near the ancient city of Capua, Italy.
Photo: I. Shurygin
This book has been composed in Arno
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Luke and Greta
paterna cum caritate

brief contents
Detailed Contents ix
Preface xv
Acknowl edgments xix
Abbreviations xxi
Introduction: Roman Religion, from Intuitions to Institutions 1
Part I. Theoretical Foundations
1 Losing Belief 27
2 Recovering Belief 59
3 Belief and Emotion, Belief and Action 98
4 Shared Belief, Shared Agency, Social Norms 136
5 Shared Belief, Social Ontology, Power 172
Part II. Case Studies
6 Belief and Cult: Lucretius’s Roman Theory 209
7 Ad incunabula: Children’s Cult as Cognitive Apprenticeship 244
8 The “Folk Theology” of Roman Prayer: Content, Context, and
Commitment 291
9 Inauguratio: Belief, Ritual, and Religious Power 337
Epilog: Comparison, Explanation, and Belief 371
vii
viii brief contents
Glossary 395
References 399
Index Locorum 447
General Index 459
detailed contents
Preface xv
Acknowl edgments xix
Abbreviations xxi
Introduction: Roman Religion, from Intuitions to Institutions 1
0.1. Roman Cult and the Question of Belief 1
0.2. From Roman Intuitions to Roman Institutions 5
0.3. HADD and Social Cognition 9
0.4. Intentionality and Belief 17
Part I. Theoretical Foundations
Chapter 1. Losing Belief 27
1.1. Introduction 27
1.2. A History of Belief- Denial and the Belief- Action Dichotomy 27
1.3. An Anatomy of Belief- Denial and the Belief- Action Dichotomy 44
1.3.1. Belief Is Christian 44
1.3.2. Belief Is a Concept 46
1.3.3. Belief Is a Linguistic Practice 49
1.3.4. Beliefs Are Unknowable 53
1.4. Conclusion: Historical Empathy and Other Minds 55
Chapter 2. Recovering Belief 59
2.1. Introduction 59
2.2. The Intentionality of Belief 60
2.2.1. Belief Requires a Subject in Order to Exist 63
2.2.2. Beliefs Are about Objects 64
ix