Divine Networks in Ancient Mediterranean Ports

The project Divine Networks in Ancient Mediterranean Ports (DiNAMPo) seeks to enhance our knowledge of the workings of ancient polytheism and the dynamics of religious change in the multiethnic, multicultural and highly interconnected Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean (late 4th cent. BC – ca. 300 AD). The research approach through which this aim will be pursued is the analysis of the fabrique du divin or “god-making” in the religious practices of ancient port cities noted for their cosmopolitanism, i.e. the human ceaseless (re)creation of the divine and the ritual means to communicate with it through the use of various symbolic and material media in religious communication within local multicultural contexts. Particularly, the investigation will assess the impact of intense cross-cultural interactions on “god-making” in two first-rank Mediterranean ports specifically selected as case studies: the sacred island of Delos, mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, declared free-tax port by the Romans in 166 BC, and the river port area of Rome, i.e. the Regiones XIII (Aventinus) and XIV (Transtiberim), housing the Emporium and the residential area of the people (to a large extent immigrants) involved in its economic activity, and connected with the maritime ports of Ostia and Portus.