Dreams and Dreaming in the Roman Empire

Dream reports from the Roman Empire were not merely personal experiences but culturally significant records that helped shape group identity. This volume analyzes dream prophecies, ghosts, and gods in historical and imaginative literature from the first two centuries AD as objects of cultural memory. The author introduces the concept of 'cultural imagination' to examine ancient myth and religion without relying on the modern notion of 'belief,' which stems from creed-based religions. The conclusion compares Roman attitudes toward dreams with contemporary views, highlighting distinctive features of both cultures.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The history and literature of the Roman Empire is full of reports of dream prophecies, dream ghosts and dream gods. This volume offers a fresh approach to the study of ancient dreams by asking not what the ancients dreamed or how they experienced dreaming, but why the Romans considered dreams to be important and worthy of recording. Dream reports from historical and imaginative literature from the high point of the Roman Empire (the first two centuries AD) are analysed as objects of cultural memory, records of events of cultural significance that contribute to the formation of a group’s cultural identity. The book also introduces the term ‘cultural imagination’, as a tool for thinking about ancient myth and religion, and avoiding the question of ‘belief’, which arises mainly from creed-based religions. The book’s conclusion compares dream reports in the Classical world with modern attitudes towards dreams and dreaming, identifying distinctive features of both the world of the Romans and our own culture.