Carnal, bloody and unnatural acts : religious pollution in ancient Rome

The aim of this thesis is to define and explore the nature of pollution and purity in pre-Christian Roman religion, focussing particularly on the late Republic and the early Principate. In spite of the established position of these themes in studies of Greek religion, there remains no comprehensive treatment of pollution and purity in Roman religion. The thesis exploits the approaches established by modern anthropology and classical philology to examine several aspects of religious pollution, focussing primarily on the role of the human body within religious activity. Chapter One examines the wide-ranging vocabulary of impurity in the Latin language, and identifies the main linguistic registers in which pollution and purity featured. The second chapter explores the various dangers posed to religious procedures by sexual acts and emissions. Chapter Three continues this theme, considering blood as a polluting and purifying agent in the context of Roman law, sacrifice and warfare. Chapter Four focuses on death pollution, in particular the removal of the corpse, the status of those who worked constantly around death, and the annual rites of propitiation and the subsequent purification of the city. These various strands are drawn together in the fifth chapter, which explores their use within the oratory of Cicero as a weapon to discredit the religious authority of his opponents.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo