"New temples of Late Antiquity: Constantinian ‘policy’ in perspective”, in L. Lavan and P. Crawford ed. Imperial and Royal Archaeologies in Late Antiquity (Late Antique Archaeology 14)

Most recent work on traditional cults in Late Antiquity has considered the closure, conversion, or destruction of temples. Attention has been given to revising the chronology or the extent of these phenomena, leading to more complex models of change. These developments, often described as ‘Christianisation’, have been at the expense of studying late ‘paganism’ for its own sake. Could traditional cults not have had their own developmental trajectories, influenced by other factors, quite apart from pressure from outside? This paper examines urban temples newly-built during the period, including patterns of construction over time and space, briefly surveying evidence for repair. It suggests that the policies of Constantine are best understood as toleration of regional temple construction, continuing patterns set under his predecessors, which changed under his sons. Nonetheless, new temples were strongly associated with imperial cult and with imperial patronage. This can be seen in both imperial villas and court cities. Many of the new dedications seem to be uncontroversial manifestations of political authority. Despite this, several features of new civic temples suggest the end of a tradition, coming after a sustained period of decline. This is especially visible when their development is compared with other manifestations of pagan cult, some of which flourished in the 4th c. Alternative forms of honouring emperors were also prevailing, tolerated into the late 6th c., even if they were derived from practices once seen in temples.