Valerie M. Warrior, Roman Religion (Cambridge Introduction to Roman Civilization, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), xvii + 165 Pps., $19.99.
Valerie M. Warrior is a scholar of ancient history and religion. In this title, Warrior provides an introduction to the religion and religious practices of ancient Rome. Examining sites that are familiar to many modern tourists, Warrior uses the testimony of the ancient Romans themselves to describe traditional Roman religion. In ten short chapters, Warrior provides an introduction to the Gods of ancient Rome and their worship (chapter one) and the processes of divination, prayer, and sacrifice (two). She goes on to cover aspects of ancient Roman religion with respect to the familial unit (chapter three), its relationship with the Roman state (four), and its impacts upon the ideas of war in the ancient Roman civilization (five). Ancient Roman festivals are elucidated in chapter six with perspicuity. The relation between the Roman religion and other ‘cults’ is depicted in the seventh chapter, whereas chapter eight further explicates the notion of ‘magic’ in ancient Rome. Chapter nine transitions to the idea of theosis (i.e., becoming a God) in ancient Rome, and the last chapter describes the relation between ancient Roman religion and the monotheistic faiths of Mesopotamia (i.e. Judaism and Christianity).
Employing excerpts from primary ancient resources, Warrior provides lucid commentary that avoids imposing modern perspectives. Complimenting the ancient texts are visual representations of divination, prayer, and sacrifice as depicted on monuments, coins, and inscriptions from public buildings and homes throughout the ancient Roman world. Warrior has provided a concise and succinct summary of Roman religion with this title, and it is to be recommended for use as a supplementary text within introductory courses focused on the era of early Christendom.
Bradford McCall, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.