Numa and Jupiter: Whose Smile Is It, Anyway?

Driediger-Murphy, Lindsay G.

Numa and Jupiter: Whose Smile Is It, Anyway?

dc.contributor.author	Driediger-Murphy, Lindsay G.
dc.date.accessioned	2021-07-07T20:47:53Z
dc.date.available	2021-07-07T20:47:53Z
dc.date.issued	2021-06-14
dc.description.abstract	This article examines the Roman tradition that Numa once negotiated with Jupiter about human sacrifice. Complete versions of the myth survive in Ovid, Plutarch and Arnobius (citing Valerius Antias). Previous studies of this tradition have proposed four main interpretations of it, which have done important service in modern reconstructions of the character of Roman religion. These scholarly treatments raise several questions. First, are they actually supported by, or the most convincing way of reading, the surviving ancient sources? If so, have they been correctly attributed? Why might a specific ancient author present the myth of Numa and Jupiter in a manner which suggests one interpretation rather than another? What ideological and theological work does the story do for Ovid, for Plutarch and for Arnobius? Finally, can this myth, in whatever version, support the weight of the implications put on it for the character of Roman religion? This article seeks to enhance our understanding of this myth in its surviving versions, not just by analysing the evidence for each of the modern interpretations, but also by considering why ancient authors tell the myth of Numa and Jupiter the way they do. It is argued that their choices illustrate best not one meaning of the myth nor one Roman way of piety but the richness and diversity of religious reflection in antiquity.	en_US
dc.description.grantingagency	Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Driediger-Murphy, L. (2021). Numa and Jupiter: Whose Smile Is It, Anyway? The Classical Quarterly, 71(1), 259-275. doi:10.1017/S0009838821000227	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	10.1017/S0009838821000227	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/38989
dc.identifier.grantnumber	430-2016-00461	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113600
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher	Cambridge University Press, Classical Association	en_US
dc.publisher.department	Classics and Religion	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts	en_US
dc.publisher.hasversion	acceptedVersion	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en_US
dc.publisher.policy	https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/open-access-policies	en_US
dc.rights	This version is the Accepted Manuscript (a.k.a. Post-print), accepted for publication in the journal. This version has been revised following peer review but was subject to further editorial input by Cambridge University Press. This version is made available to this institutional repository on acceptance of publication, in accordance with the copyright terms and conditions of Cambridge University Press. The Version of Record (a.k.a. publisher's version) is available as a view-only file through Cambridge Core Share at this address: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/numa-and-jupiter-whose-smile-is-it-anyway/920201DB4C14523C3264EC3487533D85/share/f9f5662ce7ad1712f44dd4d00adfc73c54ee3fc5 . Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0	en_US
dc.subject	Roman religion	en_US
dc.subject	Greek religion	en_US
dc.subject	Ancient theology	en_US
dc.subject	Plutarch	en_US
dc.subject	Ovid	en_US
dc.subject	Numa	en_US
dc.subject	gods	en_US
dc.title	Numa and Jupiter: Whose Smile Is It, Anyway?	en_US
dc.type	journal article	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US
ucalgary.scholar.level	Faculty	en_US