Ruler Cults in Practice: Sacrifices and Libations for Arsinoe "Philadelphos", from Alexandria and Beyond

Abstract

In this paper I discuss the dossier of cults for Arsinoe II Philadelphos to investigate how the worship of a sovereign could concretely become a constitutive part of the religious life of the communities composing a kingdom. I argue that in order to let the worship of a sovereign survive the political context in which it was first conceived, a certain degree of freedom and of individual initiative must have been encouraged among potential worshippers, so that the cults could become part of a durable shared religious and political identity connecting the individual with the collective sphere.