CERES, THE PLEBS, AND LIBERTAS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

This paper offers a challenge to the modern consensus that the early Roman plebs amounted to a 'state within the state' with its own religious institutions, centering on the cult of Ceres, Liber, and Libera. It argues that any evidence which can be made to show that this triad is 'plebeian' applies equally to the 'state' cult of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. The concept of 'plebeian religion' is, therefore, rendered meaningless. The paper then attempts to reevaluate the role of Ceres' triad in late Republican political culture by showing that these gods were understood as divine protectors of libertas.