Rome and Han Culture

Rome and Han China Part II:

CULTURE

The plan• What were their cultural

systems & how did they create order?

• How did the systems spread and affect the way people behaved?

• How were these cultural systems expressed visually?

The Warring States Period

Three Philosophies + Ancestor Worship

• Legalism• Confucianism• Daoism

What are the values in Confucius’ Analects?

Social Status &

Confucianism

What are the values in Laozi’s Daodejing?

Values in Laozi’s Daodejing

Daoism and Art

Too much color blinds the eye. Too much tone deafens the ear. Too much taste dulls the palate. Too much play maddens the mind. Too much desire tears the heart. The sage provides for the belly, not for the senses. He lets go of sensation and accepts sustenance.

- Lao Zi

Mediterranean & Middle East

Roman Religion Before Xty

“[In the Roman Empire] you had an enormous set of religious options. It would be like going to a supermarket and being able to sort of shop for God. And you had them at various times in your life and for various functions of your living.”

-Prof. Holland Lee Hendrix

Roman religionTraditional Gods

Imperial Cult

Mystery ReligionsCommunity Rituals

Roman Women & Slaves

Under Persia

From Alexander to Rome: Tanakh = Jewish Scripture

canonized

66 CE• Judaism vs. imperial cult• 66 CE

Josephus, Jewish & Roman historian

“But when [the Romans] went in numbers into…the city, with their swords drawn, they slew those whom they overtook, without mercy, and set fire to the houses where the Jews were fled, and burnt every soul in them, and laid waste a great many of the rest…Now the number of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand, as was the number of those that perished during the whole siege eleven hundred thousand…”

Roman Destruction of Second Temple in Jerusalem: Western Wall

Roman Destruction of Second Temple in Jerusalem: Arch of Titus

Roman Destruction of Second Temple in Jerusalem: Arch of Titus

Jewish Diaspora: minority communities

“Alexemenos worships his god”

Early Christianity: Basic Timeline

• ~1-30: Jesus’ life and Resurrection

Judea: Jesus preaches

• Jesus was Jewish• No intention to found a new religion.

• “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

• Miracleworker

What happens in Jerusalem?

Execution of Jesus

Judea: Jesus’ followers

Early Christianity: Basic Timeline

• ~1-30: Jesus’ life• 30s-60s: St. Paul’s missionary travels

& letter writings

Was St. Paul the most important figure in Christianity’s survival?

Was St. Paul the most important figure in Christianity’s survival?

• “For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it...but [God] was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” (Galatians 1:13-24)

• On the road to Damascus…

• “…in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”(Galatians 3:14 )

St. Paul’s Missionary Travels

St. Paul’s churches• Urban or rural environment? How

did this help St. Paul?• Who meets Paul?–Role of elite women

St. Paul’s churches• The poor and powerless (including

slaves)…why?• “There is neither Jew nor Greek…neither slave

nor free…neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians, 3:28

• Paul’s competition• Charity organizations (help for widows,

orphans, and food shelters): why were these important?

Early Christianity: Basic Timeline

• ~1-30: Jesus’ life• 30s-60s: St. Paul’s missionary travels

& letter writings• 70: Destruction of Jewish Temple• 70-200s ‘Christianities’:

development of communities and various writings

Pax Romana: roads, travel, stability

Pax Romana: roads, travel, stability

Christianities and creating institutions

• Women came to be excluded from leadership roles (….patriarchy) but could join monasteries as ascetism came to be valued as ideal Christian life (modeled on Jesus?)Patriar

chs

Bishops

Priests

Early Christianity: Basic Timeline

• ~1-30: Jesus’ life• 30s-60s: St. Paul’s missionary travels

& letter writings• 70: Destruction of Jewish Temple• 70-200s ‘Christianities’:

development of communities and various writings

• 200s-313: Persecution of Christians

Roman Persecution

• As more and more people converted, by the year 200 CE the Romans became concerned about the Christians. Why?– Didn’t worship state gods chaos?– Refused to worship the Emperor loyalty?

• By early 300s, Christians probably made up only ~10% of empire’s population

Emperor Constantine: 313 CE

Eusebius, Life of Constantine 1.28.2

“About the time of the midday sun, when day was just turning, he said he saw with his own eyes, up in the sky and resting over the sun, a cross-shaped trophy from light, and a text attached to it which said, ‘in this sign conquer’ (hoc signo vince). Amazement at the spectacle seized both him and the whole company of soldiers which was then accompanying him on a campaign he was conducting somewhere, and witnessed the miracle.”

Constantine sets 2 precedents• Emperor had the

right and duty to intervene in church affairs, above all to preserve unity of church

• Christian church became favored group within empire, protected and enriched through imperial support

Constantinian Churches in and around

Rome

Leadership of Christianity at Rome

• The first leader of Jesus’ followers was Peter

• “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18

• Leader of the Roman Church came to be known as the ‘Pope’ (= father)

• Constantine’s support led to its primacy among churches

Leadership of Christianity at Rome

• As Western Roman Empire declined, the Pope’s power grew as leader of Christianity. Why?

Vatican

Jerusalem

• How is the city important for Jews & Christians?