Lauren Petersen, University of Delaware

Collecting Gods in Roman Houses

Abstract

This paper takes up the theme of eclecticism by exploring the wide range of representations of gods in Roman houses. It examines both sculpted and painted images of deities to shift attention from issues of style, and the attendant debates on copies, both of which have largely dominated discussions of Roman sculptural displays. With a case study approach, focusing on houses—large and small—around the Bay of Naples, this paper instead situates the seemingly haphazard collection of gods in domestic dwellings within the contexts of Roman religion and collecting practices more generally. Responding to recent work on Roman syncretism, this paper aims to demonstrate that despite their presumed “kitschy” or idiosyncratic quality, domestic displays were perhaps a bit more canonical than we have allowed them to be, reflecting the eclectic and complex state of Roman religion.