Temple of Diana in Timacum Minus and Some Aspects of Cult of Diana in Territory of Serbia

Abstract

Three votive monuments dedicated to the cult of Diana have been identified to date in the territory of Roman Municipium Timacum Minus. Two of them are related to erection and restoration of the temple of Diana. According to onomastic formulae of the dedicants’ names, the first monument may be dated into the period of Emperor Hadrian’s rule or immediately after it, and the other into the period of the reign of Marcus Aurelius or directly following it. The main methodological approach in this paper was researching Diana’s cult in general, and then also examining analogies to votive monuments from Timacum Minus in the territory of Serbia. Even though there have been only five such monuments identified to date, analogies show that it was already in 2nd century that the influence of Romanisation in the territory of Serbia was well under way, and that in worshipping Diana, her companions the nymphs, and Apollo-Diana-Silvanus, it was indeed Roman deities that were being worshipped and not interpretatio Romana of indigenous deities. Socio-economic position of the dedicants indicates that they belonged to middle or upper social strata (legatus legionis VII Claudiae piae fidelis, duumvir, pontifex, eques Romanus).