The current colloquium paper represents a draft of the chapter dealing with the communication with the gods, a chapter that is incorporated into the wider topic of vertical relationships as one of the main components of the analysis of altar-focused ceremonies. The aim of this colloquium paper is therefore to investigate the connections that could still be inferred from the archaeological, iconographical, epigraphic record between the practices undertaken at the altar and the divinities that were being called upon during these ceremonies.
The paper is divided into three parts, each one dealing with a specific approach into the topic: the first one investigates the means of communication with the divine, the second part brings together a series of associations between altar-based ceremonies and the respective divine recipients, and the latter introduces the temporal dimension so as to allow reflections upon the changes of divinities brought upon by the change of worshippers throughout time.