Geographies of Jupiter: An Analysis of the Distribution of Jovian Epithets in Italy (20 min)

Presenters

Zehavi Husser, Biola University

Abstract

The overarching aims of my broader project are to examine conceptions of the ancient Romans' highest deity, Jupiter, in Italy during the Imperial period. This will be accomplished by tracing the networks involved in transmitting components of the worship experience of the god including epithets employed, the purpose for invoking the deity, as well as how the god was propitiated. Here, network analysis is applied to various types of material and inscriptional data as a proxy for studying the transmission and distribution of ideas about the god in Roman Italy. The ultimate goal is to study Jupiter using a wide range of datasets—such as epigraphy, numismatics, painting, and sculpture.

At this stage of the project, I provide the results of an analysis of the geographical distribution of Latin and Greek epithets of Jupiter as observed in over 800 epigraphic documents throughout Italy. The study includes any objects featuring an invocation of Jupiter, such as building inscriptions, calendars, and altars. The Roman god Jupiter was invoked with a large and diverse repertoire of epithets, such as victor, heliopolitanus, and terminus. When epithets form part of a deity’s name, they serve as important markers of the perceived identity of the divinity. While epithets have received little detailed treatment for Roman gods, Robert Parker has already shown for Greek deities how such names carry rich significance, and could specify, among other things, a deity’s perceived functions, associated rituals, and connections to ethnic groups. With respect to Roman deities, Anna Collar’s important study examines the networks involved in the worship of Jupiter Dolichenus. One- and two-mode networks were analyzed using the igraph package of R, and visualizations were created using Gephi. Maps were produced using Gephi and R.

  AIA-7E