In year 186 b.C Bacchic cult was harschly suppressed in Italy through a variety of measures taken by the senate (senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus ,CIL I2 581 y Liv. 39, 8-19). A long modern history tradition affirms that the prohibition of this cult constitutes "an exceptionally rare fact in Roman history" given that paganism had been known for its tolerance and open-mindness.However, the subject of religious tolerance in polytheistic systems is fairly more complex (Rüpke 2001), and this is not a mere exception, as stated by North in his essay about religious tolerance in Roman Republic (North 1979). Under this perspective, the study of the evidence on the prohibition of Bacchic cult in Rome 186 b.C and its reception (Livius) offers a reference point for the analysis of the relation between religion, order, structure, disciplinary practices and social control in the roman world. This is the framework for the discussion of tolerance and religious intolerance in the Roman Republic.
Bacchic cult; Roman Republic; Religious Prohibition; Roman Religion; Social Control; Religious Tolerance