University of Heidelberg

Researcher: Darius Frackowiak (Seminar for Ancient History and Epigraphy)  

Darius Frackowiak is working on his dissertation with the working title „The conception of foreignness in the so-called Oriental cults“, which focuses on the questions of the Cluster concerning cultural flows between East and West. The dissertation is based on the results of his thesis, a detailed case study on the so-called Oriental deities such as Mithras, Jupiter Dolichenus, Magna Mater/Cybele and Isis in the Roman province of Upper Germany (Germania superior). In this context, a relatively large collection of data and images was accumulated that is currently being developed into an image database under the superstructure of HeidICON.

What is the aim of this work? Previous studies on the Oriental cults focused on such topics as the origin of the cults, their chronological and geographical spread or the composition of their adherents. But exactly the search for the origin of the cults is always hard to conceptualize: if some elements that clearly come from the Orient can indeed be found in such a cult, is this then an indication for the originally Oriental character of the cult or merely an exotic-looking decoration, intended to simulate the appearance of foreignness to the unsuspecting adherents? Despite numerous recent archaeological discoveries, it is still impossible to clarify the origin of the various cults. Therefore, this study will neglect the question of origin to some extent, and instead a new aspect will move into focus: The conception of foreignness in the so-called Oriental cults.

Why, then, are the so-called Oriental cults considered foreign cults? Did they have a completely Oriental appearance, or at least some exotic elements, which showed a clearly un-Roman character? In what way was foreignness expressed in them? By which mechanisms did they distinguish themselves from other cults? Did they not only offer the Roman adherents an exotic flavour, but also something familiar, with which they could identify themselves? What constituted the tremendous attractiveness of these cults? How could a god like Mithras find adherents in almost the entire Roman Empire, from Britain to the Nile, from the Euphrates to Hispania, while other Oriental gods such as the Palmyrene Bel, Yarhibol and Aglibol, have, in the West of the Empire, remained limited to small communities of eastern soldiers and merchants?

Which cults should be investigated? One focus of the work will be the cult of Mithras, as the project has an extensive collection of material and illustrations for this cult. Moreover, in recent years many new Mithraic sanctuaries have been investigated with the most modern excavation methods. The cults of the Egyptian gods, however, will be treated relatively peripherally, since they already form the subject of the dissertation of Svenja Nagel (also subproject D7). Other gods such as Dolichenus, Sabazios or the Syrian gods cannot be in the focus of this investigation because of the modest source material. First, only a few of their sanctuaries have been archaeologically excavated so far. Moreover, almost all of these excavations date from the 19th or early 20th century so that almost nothing is known about the so-called small finds and possibly existing internal buildings, which were made of wood. Nevertheless, whenever the opportunity arises, a parallel view will be given to these cults.

The investigation will take place at several levels and use all available archaeological, literary and epigraphic sources. The structure of the work will not be determined by individual cults, but by three key topics. This allows for a parallel view within the cults and comparative analysis on each topic. In this way, similarities and differences will be seen much more clearly and demonstrate how foreignness was designed. The three main topics can in short be termed as architecture, iconography and ritual.

Architecture: First, the architectural form of the sanctuaries will be analysed. In what way did the religious community come together? Did hundreds of adherents congregate on large, open temple courtyards to burn votive offerings for their god? Or did only a few of them celebrate a cultic meal in his honour in dark chambers in the underground? Are Roman architectural forms such as the podium temple detectable? Could the real habitation of the deity, the cella of the temple building, be entered by the adherents, or did they have to be content to see him only during processions from far away? What function did the side rooms have and what took place in the sacred area of the sanctuary? Are sanctuaries in the form of sacred dining rooms (biklinia) an invention from the Orient?

Iconography: In this key topic not only the composition and form of cult images and other scenes from the myth of the deity will be analysed, but also the decoration of the walls, ceilings and floors in the sanctuaries. In this context, the issue of polychromy and its presentation evidently cannot be omitted. What elements and motifs in the imagery of these cults were really foreign? Was there anything really exotic or Oriental in their iconography at all? Or are all of these elements only familiar iconographic codes and motives from the Hellenistic-Roman culture? How can the interior of the sanctuaries be reconstructed on the basis of the finds and how might it have struck a Roman adherent – as strange, familiar, or both?

Ritual: On the basis of the archaeological evidence a number of cultic practices can be reconstructed, which in some rare cases even occur in the few literary sources. Of particular importance are the representations of rituals that have been created by the adherents themselves and thus provide authentic witnesses of the cult practices, which, however, always requires an interpretation by the historian. Is it really legitimate to refer to these oriental cults as mystery cults? Which of these cults possessed rituals of initiation and what did they look like? Were cultic plays practiced during which episodes from the myth of the deity were enacted by the loyal adherents? Were special effects used to generate an exotic atmosphere during the ceremonies? And what can the animal bones tell us about the worship practices? What animals or which parts of animals were preferably sacrificed to a god? Was it done for ritual motives or purely for pragmatic reasons?

Finally, a comparison between the so-called Oriental cults with the history of the spread of Buddhism in Western culture from the colonial and post-colonial period until recent times will be of particular interest. A surprising number of similarities in origin, spread, adaptation and followers can be identified between the ancient Oriental cults and modern Buddhism. This indicates that religious flows between Asia and Europe are not just a modern phenomenon of the age of globalization, but that they can be traced back to ancient times as well. A study of the spread and adaptation of Buddhism in the West offers new perspectives and approaches to better understand the processes in ancient times, for which the source material is really scarce, by using innovative theoretical models.

back