Buthrotum's sacred topography and the imperial cult, I: the west courtyard and pavement inscription

Abstract

The sacred topography of cities throughout the empire was transformed under Augustus. The remodeling of sacred spaces and buildings, the proliferation of sacred images and references to Augustus, and the redefinition of local cults within an imperial system — in effect, the emergence of the imperial cult — all affected provincial centers, where political and divine powers were expressed through art and monumental architecture. The imperial cult was a complex phenomenon, involving an interplay between imperial expectations and local initiatives. It was reinforced through a variety of media, from a new iconography of coinage to a new epigraphy of “monumental writing” across the Mediterranean. The imperial message promised a golden age of peace through divine intervention, cultural rectitude through pietas, and prosperity through the beneficence of the emperor. Colonies founded by Caesar and Augustus in the provinces responded fervently and competitively to the Augustan message, while aiming to enhance their already-considerable imperial favor.