The Mergence of Jupiter and Trees: An analysis of the regional influences of syncretised Romano-Celtic elements on Jupiter Columns in Northwestern Europe

After the Roman conquests of Northwestern Europe at the beginning of the era, new material and religious cultures emerged. Several artefacts in the four Northwestern provinces (Germania Superior, Germania Inferior, Gallia Belgica and Britannia) emerged over the following centuries that contained influences from both Roman and indigenous religious culture. In these regions, a hybrid Romano-Celtic monument appeared; the Jupiter column. In this thesis, the regional elements on the columns are discussed in order to understand and explain the hybridity of this Romano-Celtic monument. The discussion about the regional elements is put in light of syncretism, which describes the process of two or more different religious cultures, here the Roman and the Celtic one, merging into a new regional religious culture, in this case the Romano-Celtic one. Because of that, on one hand, the different iconographical meanings of the regional elements are discussed to determine the degree of possible...Show moreAfter the Roman conquests of Northwestern Europe at the beginning of the era, new material and religious cultures emerged. Several artefacts in the four Northwestern provinces (Germania Superior, Germania Inferior, Gallia Belgica and Britannia) emerged over the following centuries that contained influences from both Roman and indigenous religious culture. In these regions, a hybrid Romano-Celtic monument appeared; the Jupiter column. In this thesis, the regional elements on the columns are discussed in order to understand and explain the hybridity of this Romano-Celtic monument. The discussion about the regional elements is put in light of syncretism, which describes the process of two or more different religious cultures, here the Roman and the Celtic one, merging into a new regional religious culture, in this case the Romano-Celtic one. Because of that, on one hand, the different iconographical meanings of the regional elements are discussed to determine the degree of possible hybridity. On the other hand, a database was made to create a convenient overview of the (possible) regional elements. This has been done to observe possible trends and, if applicable, to notify differences between the provinces in the Jupiter column cult. Moreover, the general assumptions of Roman regional religion has been explicated to use as framework. The Jupiter column cult was one of the best examples of a syncretised cult in the Northwestern Roman Empire. Both the database and the religious framework have shown that the regional elements of the columns had a multi-interpretable nature. It is clear that, together with the notion of an inconsistent choice of deities that accompanied the Jupiter-image on top, the Jupiter columns neither had a fixed lay-out nor a set iconography. The cult was one of representation, in which depicting deities and other religious symbols alone was the dedication on in itself and in which dedicants had relatively much freedom. The apparent strong connection with the Romano-Celtic religious pantheon caused a higher degree of hybridity, causing a sufficient new religious monument-form to emerge. Within the domain of the pantheon, there was a big variety of Celtic, Graeco-Roman or hybrid interpretations possible, which in my opinion typifies the Romano-Celtic religion. Because of this, Jupiter columns are a prominent example of the material culture and the society in which they found themselves.Show less

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The Mergence of Jupiter and Trees: An analysis of the regional influences of syncretised Romano-Celtic elements on Jupiter Columns in Northwestern Europe