UNESCO Ancient Civilizations of Africa (Editor G. Mokhtar)

Ancient Civilizations of Africa
The old Berber cults of genii often continued, in humble rural sanctuaries,
to be observed in their ancestral forms, but in some cases they were
absorbed into the cults of the Graeco-Roman deities: for instance, the
cult of the genii of fecundating or health-giving waters was sometimes
masked by that of Neptune, Aesculapius or Serapis. In the regions which
had belonged to the Numidian kingdoms, where Punic influence was
profourd and durable, a pantheon of native gods was even adumbrated.
But the majority of the population of the African provinces practised the
cults of Saturn 40 and the Graeco-Roman equivalents of the old gods
of Carthage; the religion of this African Saturn was merely a continuation
of that of Baal Hammon, just as Juno-Caelestis, the chief deity of Roman
Carthage, was none other than Tanit, the great goddess of Punic Carthage.
The cult of the agrarian deities - the Cereres - had likewise been introduced
in Numidian-Punic times. Romanization changed the African
religion to some extent, of course: the Punic language disappeared from
the ex-voto offerings, the abstract symbols inscribed on the stelae were
frequently replaced by figures typifying deities generally derived from
Graeco-Roman art, places of worship reflected the influence of Roman
architecture. But where its inner meaning was concerned, the African
religion kept its particularism alive, and this found expression in the ritual,
the figures represented on the stelae, and even the wording of the Latin
dedications, which echoed the time-honoured formulas with remarkable
consistency.
As regards the empire's official cults, it was not long before they were
honoured in the cities; loyalty to Rome had to be expressed, in particular,
through the observance of religious practices, which was an integral part
of Roman civilization. Members of the ordo decurionum who reached the
zenith of their municipal career earnestly aspired to be invested with the
dignity of flamen in perpetuity, so as to become a member of the priesthood
which enjoyed the privilege of offering the prayers and vows of the
citizens to the deified imperial couple. Furthermore, the provincial
assembly, composed of the delegates of all the municipal assemblies, met
once a year in Carthage to choose the provincial flamen - the high priest
whose office it was to solemnize the official cult in the name of the whole
province. Lastly, in each city, the cult of the Capitoline triad, Jupiter,
Juno and Minerva, that of Mars, father and protector of the Roman people,
of Venus, Ceres, Apollo, Mercury, Hercules and Bacchus were other
official forms of the empire's religion and of Graeco-Roman spiritual life.
Temples and statues, altars and sacrifices were everywhere to be found
in honour of these deities, and of many others as well, such as Peace,
Concord, Fortune, the genius of the empire, the genius of the Roman
senate, and so on.
496
The deities of the eastern regions of the empire, readily accepted in
40. M. Leglay, 1966 and 1967.