Epigraphy namelythereligiouslifeofthecities.Naturallytherehasbeenavastrangeof
studiesofparticularaspects,includingcollectionsofthesacredregulations
fromGreekcities.^88 ButthestandardmodernworkonGreekreligionisnot
aloneinitstendency,whenitreachestheHellenisticandRomanperiod,to
concentrateonthegeneralandtheabstract,on‘‘rulercult,’’philosophy,ori-
entalcults,monotheistictendencies,orastrology.^89 Inotherwordstheten-
dencyistoselectoutthoseaspectswhichseemtorepresentreligioussystems
logicallycomparabletoChristianity.Todosoistofailtodoanyrealjustice
tothecomplexcultandceremonialinstitutionsofthecommunallifeofthe
Greekcities.^90 Foranyenquiryintothisareatheinscriptionsarecentral,not
onlyforthevastrangeofcustomsandinstitutionsonwhichtheycontainin-
formation,butalsoforthereligiousconcepts,values,anddistinctionswhich
theyexplicitlyandimplicitlyexpress.^91
Forreasonswhichitwouldbeveryinteresting—ifexceedinglydifficult—
toexplore,thevotingandputtingupofmonumentalinscriptions,though
stillknown,ceasedtobesodistinctiveafeatureofGreekcitylifeafterthe
third century..^92 The spread of Christianity and the increasing domi-
nance,and(apparently)increasingdemands,oftheRomanstateanditsrep-
resentativeswereclearlyallofsomerelevancehere.Wemayhowevernote,
inleavingthisarea,aperfectexample,fromaninscription,ofthetransfer-
enceintotheroleofbishopofthevaluesofsecularcitylife.Theinscription
comesfromLaodiceaCombustainPhrygiaanddatestothecrucialturning
point,thereignofConstantine.^93
I,M.JuliusEugenius,sonofCyrillusCelerof Kouessos,towncoun-
cillor,havingservedonthegovernor’sstaffinPisidiaandhavingmar-
ried Flavia Iulia Flaviane, daughter of Gaius Nestorianus, a senator,
andhavingservedhonourablyinthemeantime,whenanorderwent
. F. Sokolowski,Lois sacrées le l’Asie Mineure(Paris,);Lois sacrées des cités grecques:
supplément(Paris,);Lois sacrées des cités grecques(Paris,).
. M.P.Nilsson,Geschichte der griechischen ReligionII:die hellenistische und römische Zeit^2
(Munich,).
. Foraserious,ifstilltoobrief,attempttorepresentthecommunalreligiousinstitu-
tionsoftheancientworldintheirlocalcontexts,seeR.MacMullen,Paganism in the Roman
Empire(NewHaven,).
. ForavaluableanalysisofthevocabularyofsacrificeasdirectedtowardstheRoman
emperors,seeS.R.F.Price,‘‘BetweenManandGod:SacrificeintheRomanImperialCult,’’
JRS():.
. For an example of a major series of inscriptions from a late antique city, see
C.Roueché,Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity(London,).
.Monumenta Asiae Minoris AntiquaI,.