Cult in Pisidia. Religious Practice in Southwestern Asia Minor from Alexander the Great to the Rise of Christianity

Studies in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology (SEMA 10)

xx + 412 pp, b/w figures, pb, in English.

This volume is dedicated to cult in the ancient region of Pisidia. The findings of the archaeological research at the ancient city of Sagalassos are combined with the results of archaeological survey projects conducted in the region, as well as epigraphic, numismatic and iconographic studies, to create an evolutionary overview of religious practice from Alexander the Great until the rise of Christianity. Set against their indigenous background, the volume assesses the impact on local cult habits of the two acculturation processes occurring within this historical timeframe - Hellenisation and Romanisation - by examining changes and continuities in the constituent elements of religious practice, namely the pantheon of worshipped deities, the sacred space where the communication with the divine sphere took place, the cultic personnel in charge of this interaction, and the rituals involved.