Domitian also revived the practice of the imperial cult, which had fallen somewhat out of use under Vespasian.

Sometimes this practice is taken to excess, and the head of state begins to believe that he is the only symbol of the nation, resulting in the emergence of a personality cult where the image of the head of state is the only visual representation of the country, surpassing other symbols such as the flag, constitution, founding father ( s ) etc.

It was only in the Comnenian period ( 1081 – 1185 ) that the cult of the icon became widespread in the Byzantine world, partly on account of the dearth of richer materials ( such as mosaics, ivory, and enamels ), but also because an iconostasis a special screen for icons was introduced then in ecclesiastical practice.

This would subsequently create a cult following of the film, in which audience participation became a standardized practice at its screens.

So wherever there is any spiritual practice it should be taken for granted that it stands on the Tantric cult ".

The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the cult practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders.

The Chinese government's view that Falun Gong is a destructive cult, widely used as part of state propaganda against the practice, was later picked up by some elements of the anti-cult movement in the West.

Through analogy and through the belief that one can control or aid the powers of nature by the practice of magic, particularly sympathetic magic, sexuality might characterize part of the cult of the Baʿals and ʿAshtarts.

Among them was the alleged cult Children of God, also known as The Family, who called this practice " Flirty Fishing ".

In cult practice, the dead Tammuz was widely mourned in the Ancient Near East.

Together, these three form the complete picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice.

Most likely, once Fauna's mythology seemed to offer an explanation for Bona Dea's mysterious cult, the myth developed circumstantially, to fit what little was known of the practice.

In turn, the cult practice may have changed to support the virtuous ideological message required of the myths, particularly during the Augustan religious reforms that identified Bona Dea with the empress Livia.

These images are more likely to reflect literary sources than any cult practice ; however, with Esplace ( Asclepius ), who bandages Prometheus ' chest, she attends a scene of Prometheus unbound on a bronze mirror from Bolsena, ca.

A cargo cult is a religious practice that has appeared in many traditional pre-industrial tribal societies in the wake of interaction with technologically advanced cultures.

The Flagellants were later condemned by the Roman Catholic Church as a cult in the 14th century because the established church had no other control over the practice other than excommunication.

The imperial cult, the worship of the Roman emperor, was a very common practice throughout the Decapolis and was one of the features that linked the different cities.

Drusilla endeavors to find Caligula a wife amongst the priestesses of the goddess Isis, the cult they secretly practice.

It reflects neo-Platonic / Platonic speculation ( which is represented in Porphyry, Libanius, Proclus, and Julian ), as well as Classical cult practice.

During his reign he continued the practice of directly appointing nomarchs, and undercut the autonomy of local priesthoods by building at cult centers throughout Egypt.

People who practice exit counseling ( exit counselors ) often distinguish between " involuntary deprogramming " and " voluntary exit counseling ", pointing out that exit counseling, in contrast to deprogramming, includes neither forceful abductions, physical force or threats and is aimed at getting the cult member to make a voluntary, informed decision, though there are also people who distinguish between " involuntary deprogramming " and " voluntary deprogramming ," and others who distinguish between " involuntary exit counseling " and " voluntary exit counseling ".

Thus, one important effect of the Sibylline Books was their influence on applying Greek cult practice and Greek conceptions of deities to indigenous Roman religion, which was already indirectly influenced through Etruscan religion.

In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings (" scriptures "), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety.

Christianizing Plato, he refutes pagan idolatry as filled with contradictions and openly immoral, and to demonstrate this point, his Books III through V abound with curious information gathered from reliable sources ( e. g. Cornelius Labeo ) concerning the forms of idolatrous worship, temples, idols, and the Graeco-Roman cult practice of his time, to the historian and mythographer's cautious delight, but all held up by Arnobius for Christian ridicule.

The cult centers of Apollo in Greece, Delphi and Delos, date from the 8th century BCE.

However the Indo-European component of Apollo, does not explain his strong relation with omens, exorcisms, and with the oracular cult.

All these functions, including the function of the healer-god Paean, who seems to have Mycenean origin, are fused in the cult of Apollo.

Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had widespread influence: Delos and Delphi.

It had a large temple of the cult of Apollo of Delphi on a hilltop overlooking the port, and a temple of the cult of Artemis of Ephesus at the other end of the city.

But Apollo, who had Delphinios as one of his cult epithets, leapt into the ship in the form of a dolphin ( delphinos ).

There was a thriving cult of Apollo on Ceos too, including a temple at Carthaea, a training ground for choruses where, according to Athenaeus, Bacchylides's uncle, Simonides, had been a teacher in his early years.

* Carnus, seer of Apollo who established the cult of Apollo Carneus among the Dorians ; see also Carnea.

The pursuit of a local nymph by an Olympian god, part of the archaic adjustment of religious cult in Greece, was given an arch anecdotal turn in Ovid's Metamorphoses, where the god's infatuation was caused by an arrow from Eros, who wanted to make Apollo pay for making fun of his archery skills and to demonstrate the power of love's arrow.

The worshippers of Apollo Soranus, after his cult had been subsumed by Apollo, were called Hirpi Sorani (" wolves of Soranus ", from Sabine hirpus " wolf ").

* Cynthia or Mount Cynthus: A rocky height on Delos associated with the cult of Apollo.

Gagé though sees an ancient, preclassical Greek mythic substratum to which belong Deucalion and Pyrrha and the Hyperborean origins of the Delphic cult of Apollo as well as the Argonauts.

The presence of Greeks on the Italian peninsula from the beginning of the historical period influenced Roman culture, introducing some religious practices that became as fundamental as the cult of Apollo.

The presence of Greeks on the Italian peninsula from the beginning of the historical period influenced Roman culture, introducing some religious practices that became as fundamental as the cult of Apollo.

The cult of Asclepius at Epidaurus is attested in the 6th century BC, when the older hill-top sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas was no longer spacious enough.

The three-chamber tomb was inscribed with the name of the deceased for whom it was originally built, Aranth Spurianas or Arath Spuriana, and also depicts Achilles killing the Trojan prince Troilus, along with indications of Apollo cult.

Tenedos was also a major location of the Sminthean cult of Apollo around the 8th century BC, a distinct worship of Apollo ( possibly with origins in Crete ) that often depicts him with mice and as the controller of plague.

These depictions represent Muslims worshipping Muhammad ( Mahomet, Mahound ) as a god and depict them worshiping various deities in the form of idols ( cult images ), ranging from Apollo to Lucifer, but their chief deity was typically named Termagant.