Seven - Conclusion

Summary

The final chapter returns to the distinction between idols and other cult images that was proposed in the introduction. In each of the book’s main sections, clues have been observed that confirm a functional distinction between idols and other cult images. The status of both idols and cult images was also found to be flexible, with new images existing side-by-side with old ones in virtually all Roman temples. Since it was largely human interactions that transformed a cult image into an idol, it is rarely possible to identify individual objects as an idol on the basis of archaeological or art historical evidence alone. We never have the full biography of any surviving cult image, just glimpses and hints into particular moments in its life. The fact that idols were continually created, used, and destroyed in the ways discussed in this book for hundreds of years is itself an indication of their important role in Roman religion. So too is the continued use of specific strategies to retain agency for idols. The encounter with a temple’s idol was surely the most important reason for individuals to visit Roman temples.