Given the Romans' propensity for absorbing local deities into their pantheon, what did they make of Judaism's whole "one true God" business? Did they attempt to assimilate YHWH at first? Are there aspects of Roman religion post-contact that indicate an assimilated version of YHWH? Did they just put it aside as some strange Jewish superstition?
I'm particularly interested in the first century B.C.E., but opinions later/earlier would be interesting as well, especially if there were significant shifts (not counting the Empire's shift to Christianity).
I checked the FAQ, but most of the questions relating to Romans and religion seem to relate to their own religion.
Thanks in advance for any responses!
I remember that in a political philosophy class (we were reading Livy and Tacitus at the time) in university Roman views on monotheism came up with regard to the Jews. According to my prof the Romans viewed monotheism as very rude because a Roman would offer sacrifices to the local gods of which ever city he was visiting. To be polite to the gods, and to the local people. Not to mention that the basic concepts of monotheism and polytheism are totally opposed.