1. Introduction

Rome is the only pagan deity surviving in Christian years as a pictorial image of the eternal city rather than as a goddess.¹

Nothing is reported in Roman tradition about Rome as a goddess or a heroine. The goddess Rome is a Hellenistic creation, a diplomatic invention of Asia Minor cities aiming to face the political situation of that time. Therefore, the establishment of the cult is mainly a political rather than a religious event, which may only be appreciated as part of the history of these cities and their relations with the Roman administration in the Late Hellenistic period.²

2. The Cult of Rome

As Hellenistic rulers were becoming gradually weaker, Rome emerged as the new power and the cities of Asia Minor relied their expectations for their liberation and independence on it. Its personification was the only way in which the Greeks, who were used to honour a monarch, could perceive a sovereign power whose delegates, the various Roman officials sent to Asia Minor, changed every year. The construction of temples, the establishment of priesthood and festivals (Romaia) as well as the devotional epithets used in honour of the deified personification of Rome served as a religious confirmation of the trust, friendship and alliance between the Greek cities of Asia Minor and the most powerful city of the Late Hellenistic period.³

The first temple dedicated to Rome was built in Smyrna in 195 BC⁴ and the city started to be regularly worshipped in several cities and koina of Asia Minor after Antioch III of Syria was defeated in the battle of Magnesia (190-189 BC) and the Peace of Apamea was signed (188 BC). Although the city of Rhodes had also been worshipped in the 3rd c. BC, the cult of Rome was quite similar to the cult of Hellenistic sovereigns. The fact that the city replaced them as a political deity was in perfect harmony with the religious attitude of the Greek-speaking populations of Asia after the conquests of Alexander the Great, since any form of beneficial and protective political power could be worshipped. The phrase “Rome Goddess Benefactor” usually inscribed on the pedestals of honorary statues of the personified city or included in panegyrics and paeans to the city is indicative of this attitude.⁵

In the cities of the Attalid Kingdom, Rome was regularly worshipped after 133 BC, when the last sovereign, Attalus III, bequeathed his state to the Romans. The peaceful annexation of the Attalid Kingdom to the Roman administration as well as the formation of the province of Asia in 129 BC was the reason for the establishment of the cult of Rome in several Attalid cities.⁶

It is obvious that the establishment of the cult of Rome was the result of political events and indicated the positive and friendly attitude of the Greeks.⁷

3. The Cult of Rome and the Populus

Apart from Rome, honours were also conferred to the Roman Populus, which is called a friend and ally of Asia Minor cities. Because they are mentioned separately in various honorary decrees it becomes clear that the two personifications are not identical. This is also proved by their pictorial representations. Coins usually depict Rome as a female war deity and the Populus as a beardless young man.⁸

4. The Cult of Rome and the Emperor

When the Greek citizens of the provinces of Asia and Bithynia offered in 29 BC to build a temple in honour of the only ruler of the world, after his victory at Actium (31 BC), Octavian Augustus gave his permission to the cities of Pergamon and Nicomedia under the condition that he would be jointly worshipped with Rome. In this way, Augustus carefully avoided any possible negative criticism and the displeasure of the senate, while he also provided the heterogeneous populations of Asia Minor with a common devotional symbol.⁹ In several cities, particularly in Lydia, the eponymous archons (prytaneis and stephanephoroi) became priests of Rome and the emperor, a practice introduced by the priests of Hellenistic sovereigns (Ephesus, Sardis, Pergamon, Priene).¹⁰

Throughout the 1st c. AD, when most of the evidence is dated anyway, the cult of Rome was systematically associated with the cult of the emperor. The cult floorished in the years of Hadrian (117-138), who introduced it into Rome. This cult survived until the 3rd c. AD.¹¹

5. The Cult of the Roman Senate

The evidence about the cult of the Roman senate was previously dated to the Hellenistic period, but according to later research it is now dated to the Imperial years. In Tiberius’ years, a provincial temple dedicated to the emperor, Livia and the Roman Senate was built in Smyrna. It was built to express the gratitude of the cities of the province of Asia Minor for the approved conviction against two Roman officials, who had been brought before the court accused of profiteering while performing their duties. The fact that the deified senate or the Sacred Senate was depicted in coins, like Rome as a female figure and was incorporated into the cult of the cities, shows that it represented the Roman power and confirmed the continuity of its domination in Asia Minor.¹²