colleges of priests paid tribute to these gods on behalf of Rome itself. The objective of Roman worship was to gain the blessing of the gods and thereby gain prosperity for themselves, their ...

Some were even perfumed, in an attempt to transform them into the lifelike embodiments of gods, goddesses ... not how people ...

Roman religion involved cult worship. Approval from the gods did not depend on a person’s behavior, but on accurate observance of religious rituals. Each god needed an image – usually a statue ...

Most of the selections are marble portraits of emperors and officials and depictions of gods and goddesses ... at the Art Institute’s “Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the ...