were used as assembly rooms of the senate, as museums, treasure chambers and archives,
trading places and markets, as a unique meeting-place and representative backdrop
for diplomatic receptions. Suburban sanctuaries offered lodgings and a bath to
travelers; indeed, by virtue of their libraries and theaters they evolved into supra-
regional cultural centers.
Spatial Perception and Movement
The spatial experience intended by religious architecture emerges from the prin-
ciples propounded by the Augustan architect Vitruvius: temples should be erected
with the best possible view of the city in mind, or be aligned with streets and rivers
to impress the passer-by (Vitr. 4.5.2). For the purpose of augmenting the dignity
(auctoritas) of public buildings, the architect may resort to costly materials – marble,
first and foremost – to shape the space aesthetically; among the measures mentioned
are the spacing of columns, symmetry, and proportions (Vitr. 3.3.6 –9).
The ornamental decor and the shapes and forms of religious architecture, their
power to influence the visitor’s behavior, are of crucial importance in religious prac-
tice. As a socio-psychological construct, “space” is defined by the way it is being
experienced (Zanker 2000: 206). Possible parameters for the perception of space are,
for instance, its (colossal) size and height, distance or proximity, as well as order and
structure. Space is comprehended, measured, and experienced in a pacing motion.
Orientation is gained from visual impressions: walls block, portals guide the eye. Eye
contact with the cult image encourages interaction and communication (Gladigow
1994: 15–17), facilitates the coordination of movement and conduct within a given
space. Conversely, the curtailing or removal of visual clues (through a complete dark-
ening of the room or reduced lighting) leads to a loss of orientation, but it can also
focus the eye and heighten the attention – a technique that was used for spectacu-
lar performances of ritual acts in mystery cults. Archaeological as well as literary sources
emphasize the distance and desired proximity to the deity. Temple doors were
normally closed; thus curtains were used in the cella, all indoor cult images were
hidden from view, and access was granted by the temple’s guardians (aedituus) on
request only (Egelhaaf-Gaiser 2000: 407–17). Inside, bars and fences prevented the
visitor from straying into areas only cult specialists or those initiated into the mys-
teries were allowed to enter (cella, adytum, penetrale). Steps on the cult podium,
however, gave the temple officials access for ritual ablutions and the clothing of
the gods.
At transitions and points of contact between different visual spaces, the percep-
tion of the sauntering passer-by and the casual onlooker (Zanker 2000: 216 –22) is
especially stimulated by the formal vocabulary of the architecture: entrances to cult
precincts seek to capture the visitor’s attention with portals, inscriptions, and deco-
rative elements. Temple doors are given prominence in the literature and in devo-
tional reliefs as large image carriers; doors opening spontaneously could, in addition,
deliver the will of the gods in prodigies (Obsequens 13). Peripheral areas and spatial
borders will by their very nature effect a change in behavior. However, the visitor’s
Roman Cult Sites 209