The Roman Cult of Hercules

Abstract

This chapter explores the cult of Hercules through an examination of the construction of temples to the god in the city of Rome, from the sixth the century BC to the third century AD. Beginning with the earliest evidence for cult sites to Hercules, the chapter discusses the Great Altar in the Forum Boarium, before going on to consider the importance of the deity to Rome’s triumphators in the second and first centuries BC. The popularity of Hercules among leading Republican politicians is reflected in the erection of a number of significant and architecturally innovative shrines, notably that of Marcus Fulvius Nobilior in the Circus Flamininus, the round temple in the Forum Boarium, and the enormous sanctuary to Hercules Victor at neighboring Tibur. The discussion brings out both Hercules’ relevance as a militaristic figure and the enduring association between his cult in Rome and his cult in the Greek world. There was an apparent dearth of new temples to Hercules built in Rome during the imperial period and the chapter concludes by considering the last of these, the dual temple of Bacchus and Hercules.