The Specifics of the Interpretation and Functioning of Images of Middle Eastern Deities in the Artistic Culture of Ancient Rome I–III AD

The analysis of Roman culture as inheriting not only Greek, but also Middle Eastern traditions, is one of the main modern trends in the study of Roman art. This work is intended to describe the peculiarities of the perception of the functions and images of the deities of the Middle East in the artistic culture of Ancient Rome of the principate era. When selecting research objects, we can be guided by Roman and late Antique sources, in which the names of Isis, Harpocrates, Serapis, Mithras, Atargatis, Cybele and Attis, Adonis, as well as Priapus are found. Thus, the objects of research are the images of the above–mentioned deities originating from the territories subject to Rome, dating from the I-III centuries AD. The subject of the study is the specifics of the functioning of these deities and their interpretation in Roman art during this period. The purpose of the study can be formulated as follows: to characterize the specifics of the interpretation and functioning of Middle Eastern deities in the artistic culture of Rome and the Roman provinces of the I–III centuries AD. Accordingly, the tasks facing us in the framework of the study are: to identify the main functions of selected images in the Middle East; their iconography; analysis of the interpretation of these images within the framework of metropolitan Roman culture; analysis of the transformation of the functions and iconography of the studied images in the Roman provinces; and comparing the data obtained with each other to identify the peculiarities of the interpretation of the functional and pictorial features of Middle Eastern deities in Roman artistic culture. The research is based on formal stylistic, cultural-historical, comparative, iconographic and typological analysis. As a result of the analysis of the main iconographic types of Middle Eastern deities and their functions, the principles underlying the representation of Middle Eastern deities in the Roman culture of the Principate era were identified and formulated.