Naming Convention Of Roman Temples

[Tim Hare]

Hi All,

Bit of an oddball question here, but does anyone know what the standard convention was for naming a temple in the ancient Roman world.

To provide some context, I'm currently righting a book and the second part of this book is set heavily in Eboracum, during the 4th century. (Modern day York in northern Britain)

A large feature of this city will be a Roman temple (in the time period Christian and Pagan religions apparently coexisted somewhat) however I've not been able to find a terribly huge amount of information on what temple's are thought to have existed in Eboracum. I'm even more confused as to what the everyday Roman citizens in the street would refer to these temple's as in terms of naming conventions, as I understand the 'Pantheon' in Rome is a modern name the Roman's may not have used.

Were Roman temple's named after the respected god they were dedicated to. (e.g. Temple of Jupiter, Temple of Mars etc) or was there naming to do with which people or organizations erected them. (If a temple was say build by the Legio IX Hispana, may it have been referred to as the Hispana?)

Any insights anyone would be kind enough to provide would be very much appreciated.

[Nathan Ross]

Were Roman temple's named after the respected god they were dedicated to. (e.g. Temple of Jupiter, Temple of Mars etc)

Yes - either Aedes (shrine) or Templum (temple) of the god(s) in question.

The only one we know of in York is the temple to the Egyptian god Serapis built in the early 3rd century by Claudius Hieronymianus, legate of the Sixth Legion, and mentioned in an inscription: DEO SANCTO SERAPI TEMPLVM A SOLO FECIT CL(AVDIVS) HIERONYMIANVS LEG(ATVS) LEG(IONIS) VI VIC(TRICIS).

There were almost certainly others in the city as well - altar inscriptions to Hercules and Jupiter, Fortuna, the native British god Silvanus and others all survive, although we don't know whether these came from shrines or were just altars. There's also a frieze of Neptune and another of Mithras, reused in later construction, so these dieties could have been honoured in the city as well. We might expect to find an Augusteum containing altars to the Roman emperors and the imperial cult too.

The temples would have remained open and to some extent in use until the mid 4th century; a law of Constantius II in AD346 first ordered temples closed, but the order was rescinded by Julian. Temples appear to have remained open to the public until the final decade of the century: only in AD391 were sacrifices finally banned. But traditional 'pagan' worship was declining steadily throughout the century, and many temples were probably rather run down or perhaps even repurposed long before they were closed for good.

There would presumably also have been a christian church, or perhaps several, in the city - York had a bishop by AD314, although we don't know much about the size of his congregation!

[Tim Hare]

Hi Nathan,

Thank-you for taking the time to respond, the above information is really helpful. I had heard about the Temples dedicated to Serapis and Mithras in York.

So just out of curiosity if there 2 Temples dedicated to the Roman god Jupiter, one of which was in Rome and the other was in York they would both be called by the average ‘Romulus’ in the street the Templum of Jupiter (or Luppiter), and there would not be anything in this statement or speech that would necessarily differentiate which Temple was being referred to.

Is that correct? (e.g. by comparison the ‘York Minster’ (the ‘common’ name for the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York) is difficult to confuse audibly with ‘St Paul's Cathedral’ in London)

Also you mentioned that some Temples were dedicated to multiple Gods. In this case how would the Temple itself be referred to in conversation or as a reference point? (Would it be called the Templum of the Pantheum)

Kind Regards

Tim

[Nathan Ross]

if there 2 Temples dedicated to the Roman god Jupiter... there would not be anything in this statement or speech that would necessarily differentiate which Temple was being referred to.

As far as we know they were just called the Temple of Jupiter (or whoever). In cities with a multitude of temples, the gods might be distinguished by particular attributes: in Rome there was a temple of Jupiter Stator (Jupiter 'the sustainer') distinct from the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Jupiter 'the best and greatest') on the Capitoline Hill, for example. Interestingly, the former was also known as the 'Aedes Metelli' (shrine of the Metellii family) as it was inside the Porticus Metelli, so sometimes temples could be named after a founder or a local landmark!

But most cities would only have one temple or shrine of each god, so there would be no confusion.

some Temples were dedicated to multiple Gods. In this case how would the Temple itself be referred to in conversation or as a reference point? (Would it be called the Templum of the Pantheum)

I was thinking of (for example) the Temple of Venus and Rome - Templum Veneris et Romae, or Castor and Pollux, collectively called the Dioscori. Both were in Rome.

The Pantheum (modern Pantheon) was a particular building in Rome, perhaps originally not a temple but adorned with the statues of all the gods; there was apparently something like it in Antioch, and the name is originally Greek (Pantheion - 'all the gods'). But it certainly wouldn't be the usual term to describe a temple to multiple gods.

In the case of a temple dedicated to the 'Capitoline triad' of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the name Capitolium might have been used. Quite possibly other small temples, shrines and altars clustering around this temple could have been included in the name too (as we find with the original structure in Rome itself). There's an interesting description of Ostia's Capitolium here.