Editing Religion in ancient Rome (section)

=== Early Republic ===
<!-- This section should illuminate Rome's internal struggles; for example, the dictator Camillus' promise to found a temple to Concordia, against the background of conflict between Patricians and Plebs.  -->
[[File:Wall painting - wedding of Zeus and Hera - Pompeii (VI 8 3) - Napoli MAN 9559 - 01.jpg|thumb|Wedding of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] King of the Gods, and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], Queen of Heaven and goddess of marriage, and women. Fresco in Pompeii]]

By the end of the [[Roman Kingdom|regal period]] Rome had developed into a city-state, with a large plebeian, artisan class excluded from the old patrician ''[[Gens|gentes]]'' and from the state priesthoods. The city had commercial and political treaties with its neighbours; according to tradition, Rome's [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] connections established a temple to [[Minerva]] on the predominantly plebeian [[Aventine hill|Aventine]]; she became part of a new Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, installed in a Capitoline temple, built in an [[Etruscan architecture|Etruscan style]] and dedicated in a new September festival, ''[[Epulum Jovis]]''.<ref>"From Etruria the Romans derived the idea of housing a deity in a temple and of providing him with a cult statue. ... The most famous... dedicated in the first year of the Republic to the Etruscan triad, Tinia, Uni and Minerva. Of these deities, however, two were Italian, Juno and Minerva, while Tinia was identified with Jupiter." Howard Hayes Scullard, (2003), A History of the Roman World, 753 to 146 BC, page 397. Routledge</ref> These are supposedly the first Roman deities whose images were adorned, as if noble guests, at their own inaugural banquet.

Rome's diplomatic agreement with its neighbours of [[Latium]] confirmed the [[Latin league]] and brought the cult of [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] from [[Aricia, Italy|Aricia]] to the Aventine.<ref>"Her cult at Aricia was first attested in Latin literature by [[Cato the Elder]], in a surviving quote by the late grammarian [[Priscian]]. Supposed Greek origins for the Aricia cult are strictly a [[literary topos]]." Arthur E. Gordon, "On the Origin of Diana", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 63 (1932, pp. 177-192) page 178 note, and page 181.</ref> and established on the Aventine in the "commune Latinorum Dianae templum":<ref>Varro, ''Ling. Lat.'' v. 43</ref> At about the same time, the temple of [[Jupiter (mythology)#Iuppiter Latiaris and Feriae Latinae|Jupiter Latiaris]] was built on the [[Alban Hills|Alban mount]], its stylistic resemblance to the new Capitoline temple pointing to Rome's inclusive hegemony. Rome's affinity to the Latins allowed two Latin cults within the ''[[Pomerium|pomoerium]]''.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Pomoerium.html ''Pomoerium''], ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', page 930-1. London, 1875.</ref> The cult to [[Hercules]] at the ''[[Great Altar of Hercules|ara maxima]]'' in the [[Forum Boarium]] was established through commercial connections with [[Tibur]].<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Ara_Maxima_Herculis.html ''Ara Maxima Herculis''], ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', page 253-4. Oxford University Press, 1929.</ref> The [[Tusculum|Tusculan]] cult of [[Castor (mythology)|Castor]] as the patron of cavalry found a home close to the [[Forum Romanum]]:<ref>"Traditionally in 499, the cult of Castor and Pollux was introduced from Tusculum and temple was erected in the Forum." Howard Hayes Scullard, (2003), A History of the Roman World, 753 to 146 BC, page 398. Routledge</ref> [[Juno Sospita]] and [[Juno Regina]] were brought from Italy, and [[Palestrina#Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia|Fortuna Primigenia]] from [[Praeneste]]. In 217, the Venus of Eryx was brought from Sicily and installed in a temple on the Capitoline hill.<ref>Livy, 23.31.</ref>