The sanctuaries of Athena and Apollo in Pompeii are attested as early as the 6th century BC. But
unlike in the Archaic period, when sacred spaces and rituals were used to sanction ‘international’
contacts, in the Sabellian period the sanctuaries became ‘local’ cult places frequented by people
from the site who enhanced a sense of community through collective rituals. The long lifespan of
the cult places is noteworthy, although there is a lacuna in the evidence between the second half of
the 5th and the first half of the 4th century BC which would merit some further investigation. The
question of continuity is crucial here. On the basis of a new research project by the Soprintendenza
Speciale per Pompei, Ercolano e Stabia, this paper attempts to split up the history of the cult places
and ritual activities in Pompeii in order to reconstruct the social context in which religious activities
took place in each period under study. The main focus lies on the Republican or “Sabellian” period.
