Religious practices and beliefs within the Roman empire were diverse, and varied between regions and individuals. At their core, however, lay the state religion, which was the state-recognised and prescribed worship of traditional gods (like Jupiter and Mars), of the emperor (generally only when deceased), and of certain members of the imperial family ('the imperial cult').
This existed throughout the empire, but Roman religion was not exclusive. It co-existed with local pre-Roman cults, with empire-wide imported cults (eg Mithraism), and with individual superstitions and belief in magic. Roman authorities were tolerant of other religions if they didn't threaten public order or Roman control.
Browse through the gallery to consider the issue of Roman religion as a whole, and to examine some of the different layers that made it up.
