Religion played a central part in Pompeian life right from the sixth century BC, when activity focused upon two sanctuaries, those of Apollo next to the Forum (E1—2) and of (probably) Hercules and Minerva at the ‘Doric Temple’ in the Triangular Forum. By the end of the second century BC, more public temples had been added to the town, honouring Jupiter (E9—11), Isis (E3—6) and Dionysus (for the suburban Sanctuary of Dionysus, see A15—17; for religion in the Oscan town, see also A12—13). Religious experiences at Pompeii, therefore, drew upon a variety of foreign influences, from Greece and Egypt, at a relatively early date. Some temples in the town and its environs are of disputed identity (such as the so-called ‘Temple of Jupiter Meilichios’ in the Theatre district, which may have been dedicated to Asclepius), while others, dedicated to Ceres and perhaps Neptune (E14), have yet to be discovered. It also seems plausible that the large temple adjacent to the Basilica was dedicated to Pompeian Venus, but no hard evidence supports this hypothesis.
Public cults attracted dedications from individuals and donations by local magistrates (E2, E4—6, E9—14). Miniature altars and statuettes could be set up in any temple: the deity whose temple it was did not necessarily have to be the one represented. Thus, in the Temple of Isis, statuettes of Venus and Bacchus stood near one of Isis herself (E4—5). Apart from a colossal bust of Jupiter from his temple in the Forum, no cult statues have been found.
The dramatic political change at Rome, with the emergence of the first emperor, Augustus, had an immediate impact upon the cults of Pompeii. Cult officials in charge of the worship of Mercury and Maia first of all included Augustus alongside these deities, but a short time later actually devoted their attentions to Augustus and subsequent emperors alone (E30—31). During the lifetime of Augustus himself, we also find priests of the emperor, even before he had been offically deified (D53—55). In addition, an entirely new cult of Augustan Fortune was introduced to Pompeii by one of the local elite, who donated some of his own land near the Forum as a site for the new temple (E32—37).
Official involvement in the town’s public cults mirrored the hierarchical structure of Roman society. Women from the elite were excluded from
Holding political office, but could become prominent in public life as priestesses of Ceres and Venus (E39—50). Some cults created official posts for freedmen and even slaves. The cults of Mercury, Maia and Augustus, and of Augustan Fortune, as well as the local district cults of the Lares (the guardian deities of a district) were entrusted to presidents (magistri) and attendants (ministri), who were generally freedmen and slaves respectively (E28—31, E34-37, E62-64).
The expression of religious sentiment, however, was far from confined to temples or public cults. Religious dedications, commemorations of vows, and graffiti are found in houses, shops and public areas throughout the town (E16— 18, E21—22, E25—27, E58—60). One interpretation of the enigmatic frieze in the Villa of Mysteries sees the room in which it was displayed as a place devoted to the cult of Dionysus. Otherwise, cults in the house focused primarily upon the lararium, or shrine of the household gods (Lares) often found in the atrium or kitchen, and upon the genius of the master of the household (E51—57). The large numbers of such shrines indicate widespread religious practices among the inhabitants of Pompeii as a whole, but popular religious feelings are generally difficult to pin down. Some hints emerge from graffiti (E21—27) and also from paintings, which seem to invoke a deity’s support for an enterprise, such as the picture of Mercury outside a dyer’s workshop, shown descending from the steps of a temple carrying a money-bag and his wand.
Finally, alongside various pagan cults, a variety of written evidence shows the presence of Jews at Pompeii.
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