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The Cult of Castor and Pollux in Ancient Rome: Myth, Ritual, and Society . By Amber Gartrell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2021. Pp. 268. $99. ISBN 9781108477550 (cloth).

2022; Archaeological Institute of America; Volume: 126; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/720935

1939-828X

Pier Luigi Tucci,

Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History

Previous articleNext article FreeBook ReviewThe Cult of Castor and Pollux in Ancient Rome: Myth, Ritual, and Society. By Amber Gartrell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2021. Pp. 268. $99. ISBN 9781108477550 (cloth).Pier Luigi TucciPier Luigi Tucci Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmailPrint SectionsMoreGartrell’s book builds from a doctoral dissertation in ancient history defended at the University of Oxford in 2015. The author’s goal is to provide a better understanding of the cult of the Dioscuri from a historical, social, religious, and cultural point of view, but not an explicitly archaeological one. Gartrell addresses these issues almost 30 years after a major exhibition on the Dioscuri held in Rome at the Museo Nazionale Romano, thus complementing the art historical approach of the essays published in that catalogue (L. Nista, ed., Castores: L’immagine dei Dioscuri a Roma, Edizioni De Luca 1994). The author does not go beyond Rome to include other sites in central Italy, and only occasionally does she mention places farther afield. The book is structured in four chapters that investigate: the two temples of the Dioscuri in Rome; legends and epiphanies of the Dioscuri; Castor and Pollux as protectors of horsemen, boxers, and sailors; and the Dioscuri as examples of fraternal harmony and relevant parallels with imperial heirs. Each chapter has a conclusion (or, better, recapitulation).A rather long introduction defines the book’s aims and goals. Gartrell pursues two main objectives: to analyze the history and development of the cult of the Dioscuri in Rome from the mid Republic to the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty; and secondly, to join the study of their cult to wider considerations on the role of religion in Roman society. Indeed, one of Gartrell’s central concerns is to investigate how the interactions of politics, society, and culture manifested, functioned, and developed. The cult of the Dioscuri is considered to be an effective way to explore, by means of archaeology, iconography, and mythology, the vertical communication between mortals and gods along with the horizontal communication—that is, interpersonal dialogues within Roman society.Chapter 1 is divided into two sections devoted to the two temples of Castor and Pollux in Rome. These two temples did not bear a different epithet to suggest a different function, which is not uncommon: suffice it to mention the temples of Jupiter Stator and Juno Regina in the Circus Flaminius area, which replicate the temples dedicated to the same deities located near the Roman forum and on the Aventine, respectively. This chapter constitutes almost one third of the book, but, from an archaeological point of view, it is the weakest part of this work; in consideration of the audience of the AJA, I am going to review this discussion on the two temples more carefully.The temple in the Roman forum has been fully investigated since its complete excavation in the late 19th century and features prominently in any book on Roman art and architecture. Because it was vowed in 496 BCE and dedicated in 484 BCE, it would have been interesting to know the author’s explanation for the three cellas (as in the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus) in a temple that in fact housed two deities. Note that Gartrell attributes the Capitoline temple to Romulus (32: reference to Dion. Hal. 3.69.1–2), but it is likely that she is referring to the earlier temple of Jupiter Feretrius there. The author mentions the Metellan and the Tiberian restorations (in 117 BCE and 6 CE, respectively) and the alterations made by Caligula in 40 CE (note the repetition of the same sentence about Domitian at 39). As for the depiction of this temple on the Severan Forma Urbis (40), there is no mention of the conjectural alternative reading of the inscription engraved on fragment 18a: lacus P]astoris instead of aedes C]astoris (see D. Palombi, “FUR, fr. 18a [---]astoris: Una lettura alternativa?” in A. Leone, D. Palombi, and S. Walker, eds., Res Bene Gestae: Ricerche di storia urbana su Roma antica in onore di Eva Margareta Steinby, Edizioni Quasar 2007, 279–91).The discussion on the lesser-known temple of Castor and Pollux located in the area of the Circus Flaminius (64–72) is rather disappointing because the author has seemingly misunderstood or overlooked the recent scholarship. Gartrell claims that the temple’s precise location is “debated” (64) and “uncertain” (68), overlooking that the identification of the remains preserved under the church of San Tommaso ai Cenci with the temple’s pronaos has been definitively ruled out—the walls belong to an imperial storeroom (see this reviewer’s “L’entrata di un magazzino romano sotto la chiesa di S. Tommaso ai Cenci,” MEFRA 108.2, 1996, 747–70). As for the excavation carried out in 1996 in the nearby Piazza delle Cinque Scole, Gartrell claims that some alleged Late Republican walls were discovered “underneath the church” (69), which is not the case: in fact, the excavators brought to light a Late Antique building outside the church, and consequently the temple of the Dioscuri must be located farther east, as acknowledged by the latest archaeological publications. A map of the area would have helped the reader more than the low-quality photograph of the marble plan from the Via Anicia. The author has also overlooked recent works on the peculiar plan of this temple, characterized by a transverse cella (B.D. Raus, “Forms of Cult? Temples with Transverse cellae in Republican and Early Imperial Italy,” BABesch 82, 2007, 333–46; F. Marcattili, “Inversione della norma ed integrazione sociale: Per un’interpretazione dei templi a cella trasversale,” RendPontAcc 89, 2016–17, 705–44.). Because of the temple’s location next to the Tiber River, Gartrell highlights its maritime aspect, and in this context the Dioscuri are seen as saviors of sailors and protectors of grain trade (30). I would have included in the discussion an article by Margherita Guarducci that deals with a Late Antique inscription from the southern Campus Martius alluding precisely to the Dioscuri as protectors of travelers by sea (“L’epigramma greco di Fausto e le nuove scoperte in Campo Marzio,” RendPont Acc 42, 1969–70, 219–43). Gartrell has also overlooked that the temple of Neptune in Circo stood right in front of the temple of the Dioscuri, whereas just behind it stood a shipshed that housed the alleged ship of Aeneas, as proposed since the 1990s (see recently J. Finn, “The Ship of Aeneas,” Ancient History Bulletin 34.1–2, 2020, 1–24, with previous bibliography); she does not even mention this monumental ship in the section of her chapter 3 devoted to “The Dioscuri and Ships” (137–39). In short, this first chapter does not always provide a reliable summary of, or references to, the relevant evidence and bibliography. A closer integration between literary sources and actual evidence might have helped enhance the main points and avoid some repetition. Also, it would have been useful to publish a map of the city of Rome: the reader will find just two photographs of the temple in the Roman forum (figs. 3, 4) and a photograph of the marble plan from the Via Anicia on display at the Museo Nazionale Romano (fig. 5), showing the out-of-date location of the temple in Circo.The following chapter deals with the epiphanies of the Dioscuri and is divided into three sections. Here, the author considers very carefully the Dioscuri as helpers in battle, to aid the Roman army in securing a victory (notably on the occasion of the Battle of Lake Regillus in 499 or 496 BCE); as messengers of victory (after the just-mentioned battle); and as companions at death, since they marked the funeral of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE and the last hours of Drusus the Elder in 9 BCE. Gartrell leads the reader to reflect on how effectively the Dioscuri were involved in the life of the city of Rome, especially during the Republican age.Next comes a chapter on the responsibilities of Castor and Pollux, in particular the relationships of the twin brothers with their mortal worshippers. Gartrell takes into consideration horsemen in association with the equestrian order, boxers (though in this case only Pollux was involved), and sailors, in which case Gartrell’s concern is related to the grain supply exclusively and omits other possible interpretations.The final chapter (which is also the longest in the book) examines Castor and Pollux as parallels for imperial heirs, as in the identification of Augustus’ successors—from Gaius and Lucius Caesar up to Titus and Domitian in the Flavian dynasty—with the Dioscuri. In particular, Gartrell discusses the reason why only Castor was mentioned by many ancient sources and, as anticipated in her introduction, argues that this was due to “the human tendency to abbreviate” (18). The book lacks a concluding chapter, since the last pages (194–97) are a mere recapitulation—a long list of “I argued”—that leaves the reader with plenty of information but without answers to many of the fundamental questions raised by the topic. There follows a bibliography (with a few typos) and an index of names and places.Because each chapter takes on quite specific issues that build upon each other, with occasional repetitions, the reader is effectively drawn through Gartrell’s investigation on the cult of the Dioscuri. One can praise its heavily informative character but also regret that there is only occasional interpretation. Overall, her book sets out to describe how the cult of Castor and Pollux related to myth, ritual, and society and deals with the public aspects of their cult exclusively; yet one wonders why she did not expand on frescoes, mosaics, and statuettes (195), as well as on sarcophagi, and bring in other issues related to the private sphere. To sum up, one of the strengths of this work is that it is an up-to-date reading for anyone interested in Roman history and religion. It is a useful synthesis on the cult of the Dioscuri in Rome and is well worth a read.Notes[email protected] Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 126, Number 3July 2022 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Views: 584Total views on this site Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/720935 Views: 584Total views on this site HistoryPublished online June 07, 2022 Copyright © 2022 by the Archaeological Institute of AmericaPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.