Quick questions on Religion in Pompeii and Herculaneum: HSC Ancient History

Following the principate of Augustus, the imperial cult became central to civic religion. The Building of Eumachia on the east side of the Forum was dedicated to Concordia Augusta and Pietas; its dedicatory inscription names Eumachia, public priestess, as the donor. The Temple of the Genius of Augustus housed images of the emperor's protective deity.

Almost every Pompeian house preserves a lararium, the household shrine for the Lares (guardian deities of the household and crossroads), the Penates (gods of the storeroom), and the Genius of the paterfamilias (the spirit of the head of household).

The Temple of Isis was rebuilt after the AD 62 earthquake. The dedicatory inscription is among the most-quoted Pompeian inscriptions:

Sabazius. Bronze "Hands of Sabazius" (votive hands covered with religious symbols including a serpent, pine cone, and frog) have been found at Pompeii. Sabazius was a Phrygian-Thracian deity syncretised with Jupiter in the Roman period.

Mary Beard (Pompeii, 2008; SPQR, 2015) treats Pompeian religion as syncretic. The Roman state cult, household worship, the imperial cult, and Isis coexisted; "Pompeian religion" is a category of overlapping practices, not a single system.

Bronze "Hands of Sabazius" (votive hands covered with religious symbols including a serpent, pine cone, and frog) have been found at Pompeii. Sabazius was a Phrygian-Thracian deity syncretised with Jupiter in the Roman period.

Some inscriptions and frescoes attest a presence, though the cult is less archaeologically visible than Isis.

A claimed Mithraeum at Pompeii has not been securely identified. The cult was beginning to spread in the western empire in the late 1st century AD but is more visible at Roman frontier sites.

A few graffiti suggest Jewish presence ("Sodoma, Gomora"; possible Jewish names in inscriptions). The evidence is fragmentary.

A contested "Christianos" graffito and a possible cross-shape impression in stucco at Herculaneum have led to debate about early Christian presence. Mary Beard treats the evidence as suggestive but not conclusive.

The Temple of Isis is one of the best-preserved religious buildings at Pompeii and is asked about repeatedly. Know the Celsinus inscription verbatim.

Lares: guardian deities (household + crossroads). Penates: storeroom and prosperity deities. Both appear at the lararium.

Almost every Forum temple was damaged; reconstruction was incomplete in AD 79. This is essential context for any "religion" question.

The evidence is fragmentary and contested. State it as such; don't treat the Christianos graffito as decisive.