Persecution of Roman religion
Encyclopedia
As the Roman Republic
, and later the Roman Empire
, expanded, it came to include people from a variety of cultures, and religions. The worship of an ever increasing number of deities
was tolerated and accepted. The government, and the Romans in general, tended to be tolerant towards most religions and cults. however some religions were persecuted for political reasons rather than dogmatic zeal, and other rites banned which involved human sacrifice
.
In the Christian era the Church came to accept it was the Emperor's duty to use secular power to enforce religious unity. Anyone within the church who did not subscribe to Catholic Christianity was seen as a threat to the dominance and purity of "the one true faith" and they saw it as their right to defend this by all means at their disposal.
s were seen as essentially non-Roman: a prescript of Augustus
forbade Roman citizens to practice "druidical" rites. Pliny
reports that under Tiberius
the druids were suppressed —along with diviners and physicians— by a decree of the Senate, and Claudius
forbade their rites completely in AD 54. Druids were alleged to practice human sacrifice
, a practice abhorrent to the Romans. Pliny the Elder
(23 AD - 79 AD) wrote “It is beyond calculation how great is the debt owed to the Romans, who swept away the monstrous rites, in which to kill a man was the highest religious duty and for him to be eaten a passport to health.”
was largely tolerated, it was on occasion subject to (mostly) local persecution.
Tiberius forbade Judaism in Rome, and Claudius expelled them from the city. However, the passage of Suetonius is ambiguous: "Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus he [Claudius] expelled them from the city". Chrestus has been identified as another form of Christus; the disturbances may have been related to the arrival of the first Christians, and that the Roman authorities, failing to distinguish between the Jews and the early Christians, simply decided to expel them all.
After the Jewish-Roman wars
(66-135), Hadrian changed the name of Iudaea province
to Syria Palaestina
and Jerusalem
to Aelia Capitolina
in an attempt to erase the historical ties of the Jewish people to the region. In addition, after 70, Jews and Jewish Proselytes were only allowed to practice their religion if they paid the Jewish Tax
, and after 135 were barred from Jerusalem except for the day of Tisha B'Av
.
). Livy records that this persecution was due to that "there was nothing wicked, nothing flagitious, that had not been practiced among them" but some modern scholars suspect other reasons. Regardless, the persecution was sharp. Livy records that more people were put to death than imprisoned:
"A greater number were executed than thrown into prison; indeed, the multitude of men and women who suffered in both ways, was very considerable."
On a bronze tablet found in Tiriolo, Italy in 1640 a Roman decree reads:
"Let none of them be minded to have a shrine of Bacchus... Let no man, whether Roman citizen or Latin ally or other ally, be minded to go to a meeting of Bacchantes... Let no man be a priest. Let no-one, man or woman, be a master. Let none of them be minded to keep a common fund. Let no-one be minded to make any man or woman an official or a temporary official. Henceforth let no-one be minded to conspire, collude, plot or make vows in common among themselves or to pledge loyalty to each other.
If there are any who transgress against the decrees set out above, a capital charge is to be brought against them”
began to spread throughout the empire it was initially largely left in peace.
Suetonius
mentions passingly that: "[during Nero's reign] Punishments were also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous religious belief" but he doesn't explain for what they were punished.
Tacitus
reports that after the Great Fire of Rome
in AD 64 some in the population held Nero responsible and that to diffuse blame, he targeted and blamed the Christians (or Chrestians).
The religion of the Christians and Jews was monotheistic in contrast to the polytheism
of the Romans. The Romans tended towards syncretism
, seeing the same gods under different names in different places of the Empire. This being so, they were generally tolerant and accommodating towards new deities and the religious experiences of other peoples who formed part of their wider Empire. This general tolerance was not extended to religions that were hostile to the state nor any that claimed exclusive rights to religious beliefs and practice.
By its very nature the exclusive faith of the Jews and Christians set them apart from other people, but whereas the former group was in the main contained within a single national, racial grouping—the non-Jewish adherents of the sect being negligible—the latter was active and successful in seeking converts for the new religion and made universal claims not limited to a single geographical area. Whereas the masoretic text
, of which the earliest surviving copy dates from the 9th century AD, teaches that "the Gods of the gentiles are nothing", the corresponding passage in the Greek Septuagint, used by the early Christian Church, asserted that "all the gods of the heathens are devils." The same gods whom the Romans believed had protected and blessed their city and its wider empire during the many centuries they had been worshipped were now demonized
by the early Christian Church.
Whereas the religion of the Jews could theoretically be contained within their own nation state and pose no threat to the wider Empire, it was not so with the early Christian community which was perceived at times to be an intrinsically destabilising influence and threat to the peace of Rome, a religio illicita. The pagans
who attributed the misfortunes of Rome and its wider Empire to the rise of Christianity, and who could only see a restoration by a return to the old ways, were faced by the Christian Church that had set itself apart from that faith and was unwilling to dilute what it held to be the religion of the "One True God".
After the initial conflicts between the state and the new emerging religion during which early Christians were periodically subject to intense persecution, Gallienus
issued an edict of toleration for all religious creeds including Christianity, a re-affirmation of the policy of Alexander Severus
.
s. The first anti-Pagan laws by the Christian state started with Constantine's son Constantius II, which was an unwavering opponent of paganism; he ordered the closing of all pagan temples, forbade Pagan sacrifices under pain of death, and removed the traditional Altar of Victory
from the Senate. Under his reign ordinary Christians started vandalizing many of the ancient Pagan temples, tombs and monuments.
From 361 till 375, Paganism received a relative tolerance, until when three Emperors, Gratian
, Valentinian II
and Theodosius I
, under bishop of Milan Saint Ambrose's major influence, reprised and escalated the persecution. Under Ambrose's zealous pressure, Theodosius issued the infamous 391 "Theodosian decrees," a declaration of war on paganism, the Altar of Victory was removed again by Gratian, Vestal Virgins disbanded, access to Pagan temples prohibited.
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, and later the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, expanded, it came to include people from a variety of cultures, and religions. The worship of an ever increasing number of deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
was tolerated and accepted. The government, and the Romans in general, tended to be tolerant towards most religions and cults. however some religions were persecuted for political reasons rather than dogmatic zeal, and other rites banned which involved human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
.
In the Christian era the Church came to accept it was the Emperor's duty to use secular power to enforce religious unity. Anyone within the church who did not subscribe to Catholic Christianity was seen as a threat to the dominance and purity of "the one true faith" and they saw it as their right to defend this by all means at their disposal.
Druids
DruidDruid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s were seen as essentially non-Roman: a prescript of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
forbade Roman citizens to practice "druidical" rites. Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
reports that under Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
the druids were suppressed —along with diviners and physicians— by a decree of the Senate, and Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
forbade their rites completely in AD 54. Druids were alleged to practice human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
, a practice abhorrent to the Romans. Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(23 AD - 79 AD) wrote “It is beyond calculation how great is the debt owed to the Romans, who swept away the monstrous rites, in which to kill a man was the highest religious duty and for him to be eaten a passport to health.”
Judaism
While JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
was largely tolerated, it was on occasion subject to (mostly) local persecution.
Tiberius forbade Judaism in Rome, and Claudius expelled them from the city. However, the passage of Suetonius is ambiguous: "Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus he [Claudius] expelled them from the city". Chrestus has been identified as another form of Christus; the disturbances may have been related to the arrival of the first Christians, and that the Roman authorities, failing to distinguish between the Jews and the early Christians, simply decided to expel them all.
After the Jewish-Roman wars
Jewish-Roman wars
The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of Iudaea Province and Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire. Some sources use the term to refer only to the First Jewish–Roman War and Bar Kokhba revolt...
(66-135), Hadrian changed the name of Iudaea province
Iudaea Province
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
to Syria Palaestina
Syria Palaestina
Syria Palæstina was a Roman province between 135CE and 390CE. It had been established by the merge of Roman Syria and Roman Judaea, following the defeat of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 135 CE. In 193 Syria-Coele was split to form a separate provincial locality...
and Jerusalem
Jerusalem in Judaism
Since the 10th century BCE Jerusalem has been the holiest city, focus and spiritual center of the Jewish people:*"Israel was first forged into a unified nation from Jerusalem some three thousand years ago, when King David seized the crown and united the twelve tribes from this city.....
to Aelia Capitolina
Aelia Capitolina
Aelia Capitolina was a city built by the emperor Hadrian, and occupied by a Roman colony, on the site of Jerusalem, which was in ruins since 70 AD, leading in part to the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–136.-Politics:...
in an attempt to erase the historical ties of the Jewish people to the region. In addition, after 70, Jews and Jewish Proselytes were only allowed to practice their religion if they paid the Jewish Tax
Fiscus Judaicus
The Fiscus Iudaicus or Fiscus Judaicus was a tax collecting agency instituted to collect the tax imposed on Jews in the Roman Empire after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE in favor of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in Rome.-Imposition:The tax was initially imposed by Roman...
, and after 135 were barred from Jerusalem except for the day of Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...
.
Mystery Cult of Bacchus
Around 181 - 186 BC, the Romans persecuted the mystery Cult of Bacchus (DionysusDionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
). Livy records that this persecution was due to that "there was nothing wicked, nothing flagitious, that had not been practiced among them" but some modern scholars suspect other reasons. Regardless, the persecution was sharp. Livy records that more people were put to death than imprisoned:
"A greater number were executed than thrown into prison; indeed, the multitude of men and women who suffered in both ways, was very considerable."
On a bronze tablet found in Tiriolo, Italy in 1640 a Roman decree reads:
"Let none of them be minded to have a shrine of Bacchus... Let no man, whether Roman citizen or Latin ally or other ally, be minded to go to a meeting of Bacchantes... Let no man be a priest. Let no-one, man or woman, be a master. Let none of them be minded to keep a common fund. Let no-one be minded to make any man or woman an official or a temporary official. Henceforth let no-one be minded to conspire, collude, plot or make vows in common among themselves or to pledge loyalty to each other.
If there are any who transgress against the decrees set out above, a capital charge is to be brought against them”
Christianity
As ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
began to spread throughout the empire it was initially largely left in peace.
Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
mentions passingly that: "[during Nero's reign] Punishments were also inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing a new and mischievous religious belief" but he doesn't explain for what they were punished.
Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
reports that after the Great Fire of Rome
Great Fire of Rome
The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire that occurred beginning July 19, AD 64.-Background:According to Tacitus, the fire spread quickly and burned for six days. Only four of the fourteen districts of Rome escaped the fire; three districts were completely destroyed and the other seven suffered...
in AD 64 some in the population held Nero responsible and that to diffuse blame, he targeted and blamed the Christians (or Chrestians).
The religion of the Christians and Jews was monotheistic in contrast to the polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
of the Romans. The Romans tended towards syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
, seeing the same gods under different names in different places of the Empire. This being so, they were generally tolerant and accommodating towards new deities and the religious experiences of other peoples who formed part of their wider Empire. This general tolerance was not extended to religions that were hostile to the state nor any that claimed exclusive rights to religious beliefs and practice.
By its very nature the exclusive faith of the Jews and Christians set them apart from other people, but whereas the former group was in the main contained within a single national, racial grouping—the non-Jewish adherents of the sect being negligible—the latter was active and successful in seeking converts for the new religion and made universal claims not limited to a single geographical area. Whereas the masoretic text
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
, of which the earliest surviving copy dates from the 9th century AD, teaches that "the Gods of the gentiles are nothing", the corresponding passage in the Greek Septuagint, used by the early Christian Church, asserted that "all the gods of the heathens are devils." The same gods whom the Romans believed had protected and blessed their city and its wider empire during the many centuries they had been worshipped were now demonized
Demonization
Demonization is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil, lying demons by other religions, generally monotheistic and henotheistic ones...
by the early Christian Church.
Whereas the religion of the Jews could theoretically be contained within their own nation state and pose no threat to the wider Empire, it was not so with the early Christian community which was perceived at times to be an intrinsically destabilising influence and threat to the peace of Rome, a religio illicita. The pagans
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
who attributed the misfortunes of Rome and its wider Empire to the rise of Christianity, and who could only see a restoration by a return to the old ways, were faced by the Christian Church that had set itself apart from that faith and was unwilling to dilute what it held to be the religion of the "One True God".
After the initial conflicts between the state and the new emerging religion during which early Christians were periodically subject to intense persecution, Gallienus
Gallienus
Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
issued an edict of toleration for all religious creeds including Christianity, a re-affirmation of the policy of Alexander Severus
Alexander Severus
Severus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty...
.
Persecution of Pagans by the Christian Roman Empire
The first episodes started late in the reign of Constantine the Great, when he ordered the pillaging and the torning down of some pagan templeTemple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s. The first anti-Pagan laws by the Christian state started with Constantine's son Constantius II, which was an unwavering opponent of paganism; he ordered the closing of all pagan temples, forbade Pagan sacrifices under pain of death, and removed the traditional Altar of Victory
Altar of Victory
The Altar of Victory was located in the Roman Senate House bearing a gold statue of the goddess Victory. The altar was established by Octavian in 29 BC in honor of the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. The statue depicted a winged woman, holding a palm and descending to present a laurel...
from the Senate. Under his reign ordinary Christians started vandalizing many of the ancient Pagan temples, tombs and monuments.
From 361 till 375, Paganism received a relative tolerance, until when three Emperors, Gratian
Gratian
Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...
, Valentinian II
Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus , commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392.-Early Life and Accession :...
and Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
, under bishop of Milan Saint Ambrose's major influence, reprised and escalated the persecution. Under Ambrose's zealous pressure, Theodosius issued the infamous 391 "Theodosian decrees," a declaration of war on paganism, the Altar of Victory was removed again by Gratian, Vestal Virgins disbanded, access to Pagan temples prohibited.
See also
- Religion in ancient RomeReligion in ancient RomeReligion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
- Religio illicita
- Hypatia of AlexandriaHypatia of AlexandriaHypatia was an Egyptian Neoplatonist philosopher who was the first notable woman in mathematics. As head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, she also taught philosophy and astronomy...
- ChristianizationChristianizationThe historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...