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The Palladium and the Pentateuch: Towards a Sacred Topography of the Later Roman EmpireAuthor(s): Clifford AndoSource: Phoenix, Vol. 55, No. 3/4 (Autumn - Winter, 2001), pp. 369-410Published by: Classical Association of CanadaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1089127Accessed: 31-12-2015 16:08 UTC
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THE PALLADIUM
AND
THE
PENTATEUCH:TOWARDS A
SACRED TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LATER
ROMANEMPIRE
CLIFFORD
ANDO
H
ISTORIANS
OF
RELIGION
IN LATE
ANTIQUITY
tend to
adopt
one of two
perspectives.
itherwe seek o
understand
hristianization,
process
ltimately
reducible o acts
of ndividual
hoicewhose
ggregate
ffectsan be described
in
purely
emographic
erms,
r
we
investigate
he demise
f
paganism,
set
of
discrete
ituals nd
practices,
ome
of which
urvivedn
Christian
urope,
robbed
of their
eligious ignificance
hrough
ult acts and conciliar ecrees.
Understoodnthese erms,heChristianizationf the Roman mpire assed
milestone
n
the
early
ifth
entury,
he ast
ge attesting
senator ho
publicly
professedaganism.
imilarly,aganism
as either
ying
rom
hemoment
f
ts
conception,
s ts onstituent
ractices
ell
nto
beyance,
r t urvives
o
this
ay.1
The
self-understandings
f
these
eligions,
eveloped
n
fractious
ialogue
with
each
other,
hus
yield
ncompatible
arrativesnd inconsistent
eriodizations.
Assuming
atherhan
nterrogating
he
ntologicalntegrity
ftheir
axonomies,
historiographyrounded
n
these
erspectives
an
be erudite ut tcannot
xplain
anything.2
If we are now to
forge
historiesf
religious hange
n late
antiquity
hat
do morethan
countChristian
onversionsr
pagan
survivals,
e
must void
conceptualategories
erived
rom
hefailed
pologetics
nd
willfil
misconstruals
of
pagan-Christianialogue.
We
must lso shun
asy
reliance n
the
distorted
and
misleading
laims o
novelty
f
Christian
agiography,
modern
ounterpart
to the faith hat
ate-antique
cclesiastical
istorians
laced
n
Providence.We
shouldhave sked
ong go
whether
he ransfer
f
charisma rom
ne
ndividual
to another
id
in
fact
onstitute
change
n
the ocus
of
the sacred. nsofar
s
that ransferid notrequire ontemporarieso reconceptualizehe holiness f
individuals
r
thenature
f
divine
mmanence,
he
nswer
s no.
Change
n
the
religious
mentality
f
ate-antique urope
hould nstead e
charted
irst t an
epistemological
evel,
ne
prior,
s it
were,
o
religious
r
doctrinalommitment.
This
essay
dumbratesuch n
approach
y uxtaposing
nd
conjoining
wo
famous
roblems:
he
urge
n
antiquarianism
n
thewest
n
the
arly
ifth
entury
and the ontest
or
upremacy
etween
ome nd
Constantinople.
cholars
ave
tended o
assume
hatChristiansnd
pagans hought
bout
he acralization
f
landscape
n
very
ifferent
ays:
nsofar
s
paganism
onsisted
f
rites ereft
oftheologicalignificance,agans it s assumed) acralizedpace hroughitual
369
PHOENIX,
OL.
5
2001)
-4.
1
For
recentiterature
n
the
historiography
f
Roman
paganism,
ee Ando2002: Section
.
2
Cf. Smith 990:
passim,
ut
sp.
36-53.
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3/43
370
PHOENIX
actions
overned
y
pontifical
nd
augural
aw.
Christians,
n the other
hand,
relied
on
sacred
narrativesnd sacred
relics,
onducting
ilgrimages
o the
lands
where
Jesus ctually
alked
r
to sites acralized
y
the
contingencies
f
martyrdoms
nd
miracles.3
hese
distinctionsre
misleading.
acred
opographies
may
havebeenmaintained
hrough
itual,
ilgrimage,
nd
liturgy;
ut
paces
were
made
holy
by
actions
f
the
gods,
their
articular
dentities
otwithstanding.
Proponents
f
particular
acred
opographies
n
late
antiquity,
herefore,
aced
two
problems,
ne
theological
nd one of
memory.
ow
was one to understand
the
actions
f
thedivine
n
thisworld?
Whattraces id t
eave,
nd
how
should
one memorializehem?
nderstood
n
these
erms,
hedifferences
etween
agan
and Christian
rguments
orRome
and
Constantinople
egin
o
dissolve,
nd
thecontemporaneousolitical ignificancefantiquarianismntheir espective
historicalnd
religious
raditions
n
the
fifthndsixth enturies
merges
ith eal
clarity.
This
approach
has ramificationsorhow we
periodize
eligious hange
n
late
antiquity. oncentrating
n the
rise
of
holy
men,
he
mportance
f relics
and
pilgrimage,
r
the
prominence
f
Constantinople
nd the
holy
and does
not,
would
argue,
llow one
successfully
o
distinguish
he classical
nd late
antique.
On
the
ontrary:
nderstood
n
philosophical
erms,
hristiannd
pagan
sacred
opographies
or
he ate Roman
mpire
an
be
shown
o rest
n
similar
theological resuppositions.
bove
ll,
they
oth ssumedheoriesf
materiality
thatbound human nd divine
o concrete
andscapes
nd endowed
wordand
action
with
ike
power
nd
equivalent
metaphysical
tatus.We
might
nce have
described
acrobian
ntiquarianism
s
nostalgic
r,
t
best,
s
a
retreat
rom
ult
and ts
topographic
oncernso
thediscursive orld f
texts;
we
might imilarly
have ccused
Hesychius
f
pedantry
r
superstition
henhe
sought
o ocate he
Palladium.We wouldhave
been
n
error.
Through
ts
ability
o
narrate
particular
acred
history,
anguage
nabled
Macrobius o establish sacred opographyor heempire o lesscogent han
those
grounded
n
a
purely
materialist
evotion o sacred
objects.
n
fact,
hese
ready
inarisms
f
wordand
object,
peech
nd
action,
erebreakdown. For
evenas
discursive
opographies
escribe he
acralization
f
space
s
a
function
of
historical
ction nd divine
mmanence,
o
sacred
bjects
erive
heir
meaning
and
continued
egitimacy
rom
heir
nscription
n
sacred
istoriesnd
utility
n
reconstitutiveitual
ctions.
Adherentsf
Athens nd
Jerusalem,
r
Rome and
Constantinople,
ll
required,
ven s
they
ssumed,
nderstandings
f
history
nd
theology
hat tand
part
rom
he
Platonizing
metaphysics
hat
havedominated
histories nd historiansf
religion,
ndtheoriesnd theoristsfmatter o this
day.
3See
Salzman
1999,
on
Rome,
nd
Fowden
1978,
on
the
astern
rovinces,
hich
argely
reat
theChristian
appropriation
f
pagan
holy
ites s
a
political
roblem.
or
rather
ifferent
ortraits
f
classical
oman
thought
n
the
acralizationf
pace,
ee
Cancik
1985-86;
Ando 2002.
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THE
PALLADIUM
AND THE
PENTATEUCH
371
I.
INTRODUCTION
In thefirst ix
decadesof
the
twentieth
century,
cholars
ouldbe
described
withsomeconfidences having eached general onsensus n theconflict
between
agans
nd
Christians
n
thefourth
entury.
ost
agreed
hat
agans
and Christians
ctively
isliked
ach
other
nd
that ach side
sought
o
do the
other
harm,
t
least
to
the
extent
ermitted
y
the
government.
f the
work
published
n
that
ra,
the
studies f
Andreas
Alf6ldi
nd
Herbert loch remain
notable
or
heir
igor
nd
nfluence. ach
scholar
ttempted
o
identifyagans
in
the
city
f
Rome
and
to
prove
heir
ommitmento
traditional
eligions
nd
their
orresponding
pposition
o
Christianity.
lf6ldi
aunched is
programme
in
1937 withhis
study
f
coins
representing
sis and
Serapis
rom
he mint f
Rome and followedt
with
olumes n the
o-called
ontorniate
edallions
nd
his
essay
n the
religious olicies
f
Constantine.
hroughout
e
attempted
o
document he
"relentless
truggle"
f
"the ast
representatives
f
the old
Roman
traditions
gainst hristianity"
in
defense
f
he
religion
f
heir
athers,"
s
well
as
the
ncreasingreligious
ntolerance"
f
he
hurch nd
tate
rom
onstantine
to
Theodosius.4
Bloch first
onducted
prosopographical
tudy
f
holders f
priesthoods
n
the ater
ourth
entury
nd
subsequentlyrgued
hat ommitted
pagans
had been
responsible
or
reading, opying,
nd
editing
lassical
exts.5
Togetherhese cholarsersuadedmany fthe xistencefa circle fcommitted
pagan
aristocratst
Rome,
whose
leader
was
undoubtedly
ettius
Agorius
Praetextatusut
which
hey
alled he
circle f
Symmachus
argely
ecause ur
knowledge
f
them omes
predominantly
rom he
preserved
etters
f
Quintus
Aurelius
ymmachus.6
inally,
he
intellectual
nd
religious
nterestsf the
circle's
members ere
documented
y
a
contemporary
itness,
acrobius,
who
made
Praetextatus,
ymmachus,
ervius,
nd their
cquaintances
nterlocutors
in
his Saturnalia.
What s
more,
Macrobius
orrowed
eavily
rom
amblichus
and
Porphyry,
nd
n
so
doing
declared
n
allegiance
o Hellenic
hilosophy
nd
religion,
ven fhe andhisfriends-thelast
pagangeneration"-"did
otdare
make
frontalttack
n
Christianity
riumphant."7
Many
of
these
trends
eceived
lassic
reatment
n
a
famous
ollection
f
lectures
elivered
t
the
Warburg
nstitute
nd edited
y
Arnaldo
Momigliano.8
Although
hat
olumewas
no
doubt
ntended
o
provoke
urther
ork,
n
many
4Alf61ldi
937;
1942-43;
1948;
1952.
5Bloch
1945
and 1963.
English-speaking
cholars
end o
ignore
loch's
debts
o
earlier
ork,
especially
Marrou1932.
Marrou's
ssay
well
llustrates
he
greater
uance hat
ontinentalcholars
brought
o the
study
f
religious
onflict
ndcultural
history
n this
eriod.
6Cf.
Robinson 915:
92,
labelling ymmachus
one of
the most
distinguished
embersf the
aristocratic
paganparty,"
hile
admitting
hat
vidence
or
he
party
is
upplied
hieflyy
heworks
of
Symmachus
imself."
7Courcelle
1969:
13-47)
provides
characteristically
ccurate
epresentation
f much arlier
work n
Macrobius,
is
aims,
nd his
ources;
he
uotation
s from
.
46.
8
Momigliano
963.
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5/43
372
PHOENIX
ways
t
marked heend
of an era. For
while hat ookwas
n
production,
eter
Brown
ndAlan
Cameron
ubjected
he
oundations
f arlier
cholarship
o
what
seemed
o be
devastatingcrutiny.irst,
n
1961
Brown dvanced hatwe
might
call his
pillow-talk
heory
f
Christianization.
roceeding
rom he
observation
that he onversionf
heRoman
ristocracy
ad takenmuch
onger
han
single
generation,
rown
rgued
hat he
religious
egislationassed
by
Theodosius
n
the
ast
years
f his
reign
ould account
orneither he
scope
northe
pace
of
senatorial
onversions. is central hesis
rosefrom is observationhat
it
s
the
wives,
hemselves,
hat reoften n insoluble
roblem."'
e concluded hat
aristocratic
omen onverted
irst nd then onvertedheir
usbands
hrough
their
entle
owers
f
persuasion.
A fewyears ater,Alan Camerondisbanded he circle f Symmachusnd
assigned
Macrobius
o the
early
30s,
confirming
n
hypothesis
dvanced
y
Santo
Mazzarino hree ecades arlier.10
e then
ubjected
he ditorial ork f
fourth-
nd
fifth-century
ntellectualso
similar
crutiny.
ollowing
Marrou,
e
argued
hat othChristians
nd
pagans
ead,
opied,
ndcorrectedlassical exts:
literary
ulture as
iterary,
nd
nothing
more."1
he
consequences
or
eaders
f
Macrobius
ere tark:
he aturnalia
ad
tobe seen s the
product
f
sentimental
antiquarianism
nd
nostalgic
dealization
f the
past,"
while ts
paganism
was
"essentiallyostalgic
nd
iterary"
nd ts
participantsppeared simply
s
greatand earnedmenofan almost
ncidentally
aganpast."12
Brown
nd Cameron's
rguments
ave
haped
he
study
f
religious
onflict
in the fourth
nd fifth
enturies,
articularly
n
the
English-speaking
orld.13
Indeed,
ome
oftheir
rguments
avereceived
aluable
upport.
wo decades f
counting
hristians
ave
uggested
hat heconversionf the
ristocracy
egan
sooner,
nd
proceeded
more
regularly,
han
ate-antique
arrativesould
have
us
believe.14 nd
yet,
f
the
government
id
genuinely
avor hristiansn
the
distribution
f
honors,
e
might xpect
ublic
eclarations
f
religious
llegiance
torespond ccordingly,ndpatternsfapostasynd ndictmentsor ypocritical
conversions
argely
ear
out this
uspicion.15
thershave
subjected
hristian
historiography
o
scrutiny
nd
concluded hat t
constructedts
relationship
ith
paganism
s
one
of
atent
hostility,unctuated y persecutions
nd
periods
f
conflict:
n
other
words,
enerations
f historiansaw
religious
istory
n
late
9Brown
961: 173.
10Cameron
964;
Mazzarino1937-38:
255-258;
Cameron
966. Cameron
ersuaded
ll
but a
few-Syme
1968: 146)
hesitated,
hileFlamant
1977:
96-141)
and
Dapp
(1978)
disagreed-and
hisworkhas been onfirmed
y
Panciera
1982)."
Cameron 977;
1984;
1999.
Matthews
1967: 507-509)
anticipated
ome f
these
arguments.
12Cameron 966:
36;
1977:
23,
cf.
28.
Matthews
970: 466 was
typical
n
its
praise
nd
n its
inability
o
develop
ome
new
nterpretive
ramework
o
accommodate
he
Saturnalia.
13Notable
articipants
n
thistradition
re O'Donnell
1978; 1979;
Salzman
1990.
Cameron
(1999)
cites
omerecent oices
f
dissent
n
Europe.
14Eck
1971;
van
Haehling
978;
Barnes
987;
1995.
15Ando 996:
198-205;
1997: 88.
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THE
PALLADIUM
AND THE
PENTATEUCH 373
antiquity
s
a
sequence
of
crisesbecause that
s
what
they
were ntended o
see.16
Revisiting
he
religious olitics
f the fourth nd fifth enturies
ill
require
a
return
o the
figures
ho
were
once
central o this
period
nd
who
have
been
largelygnored
y
those
tudying
thetransformation
f
the
classical
eritage."
For
whatwe have not
earned
n
the ast
quarter entury
s what
Symmachus,
Servius,
raetextatus,
nd
Macrobius
hought hey
were
doing,
f
they
were
not
engaged
n
the
preservation
f
a cultural
ystem
henunder
ssault
y
the
government
f
their
mpire.
After
ll,
ate-antique
hristians ere
not alone
n
viewing
heir
ge
as
one
of
truggle.
ome
pagans ertainly
nderstoodhe
hreat
posedby
Christianity's
mperialistmpulse.
or Antoninus he on of
Sosipatra,
for xample,hedestructionftheSerapeum eralded he nd of hisway f ife:
after
is
death,
e
predicted,
hat
emple
wouldfall nto formless
hadow,
while
an
awesome
arkness ould
eize
power
ver
he
beautiful
hings
fthis
world.17
The
Asclepius
ould
be understoodo
depict eligioushange
n
similar
erms:
A
penalty
f o-calledawswill e aid
down
gainsteligion,iety,
nd cts
f
worship.
This most
oly
and,
hehome
f
shrinesnd
temples,
ill verflow
ith
raves
nd
corpses
...
I call
pon
ou,
most
oly
iver,
nd
predict
our
uture:
ou
will
urst
our
banks,
illed
y
torrentf
blood.'8
Again, sJulianenounced onstantines "an nnovatornddestroyerfhallowed
laws and ancient
radition,"
o
Julian's
artisans
escribed im s "the
estorerf
Roman
eligion."19
hat
s
more,
ut wodecades efore
Macrobius
ndulged
is
"literaryaganism"
n
an extended
xercise
n
nostalgicntiquarianism,
ugustine
had been drafted
y
Marcellinus
o
respond
o
the
egions
f
pagan
critics ho
blamed
Christianity
nd its
emperors
or
he fallof
Rome.20
For Servius
nd
Macrobius,
Vergil
reeminently
eserved he title
pontifex
aximus.21
hould
16Thelamon981;cf.Brown 961:166;1993:esp.95-96; 1995: 3-8.
17
unap.
V
Soph.
.9.17. The
significance
f this
vent
lingeredong
n
Christianmemories:
ee
Rufinus
ist.
Eccl.
11.23-25,
29-30:
the
Serapeum
as the
caput
dolatriae;
nce t was
overthrown,
no
temple
f
any
ther
god
couldremain
standing.
ee also
August.
iv. Daem.
1.1
written
a
407);
Socrates
.16;
Sozom. 7.15.
18Asclepius
4,
cited
n
its
extant atinversion or
he
first
ime
n
August.
De civ.
D. 8.23-24.
For useful autions bout he
dating
f
Asclepius,
ee Lane Fox 1990:
237-238. While am
tempted
to
agree
withHunink1996 that
Apuleius
ouldhave
written
his
ext,
am concerned erewith
ts
reception
n
the
aftermathf 392. Cameron
1965:
24,
n.
48)
argues rilliantly
or
dating
he text
to
391,
but
t s not
clear o
me
thathis
argument
equires
ating
he
whole
ext
o that
period;
f.
Frankfurter
998:
247,252-253,discussing
ts
nitial
eception.
19Amm.Marc.
21.10.8;
ILS
752,
from
Numidia: uliano
io
elici Aug.]
...
invicto
rincipi,
restitutoriibertatist
Romanae
eligionis
c
triumfatori
rbis.
20Marcellinust
August. p.
136.
On
pagan
and
Christian
literary
ecriminations
n the
years
following
10,
see
Courcelle
964:
56-77;
on
Augustine
n
particular,
ee
Barnes 982
and,
more
briefly,
'Daly
1999:
27-33.
21See,
e.g.,
Macrob. Sat.
1.24.16;
cf.
1.24.17,
where
lavianus inds
n
Vergil
antam cientiam
iuris
uguralis
hat t alone
wouldmake
him
famous,
ven fhe
acked
ll
other
knowledge;
.24.13
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374
PHOENIX
they
ot
be
numbered
mong
he
parvuli
whose
ender oulswere ntoxicated
y
that
great
nd most
famous
oet,
who did not
see,
as
Augustine
id,
the
ruths
aboutRome's
onquered ods
that
Vergil
ad
been
forced
y
Veritaso
confess?22
About the Saturnalian
particular
e
might
sk,
whatdoes itmean that
a textonce
presumed
o
be
thoroughlyagan
dates
from
timewhen
the
Roman
ristocracyublicly
nd almost
nanimouslyrofessed
hristianity?
he
intellectual
nd
religious
nterestsf
ts nterlocutors
ere,
f
course,
many
nd
varied,
hether
measured
y
he
words
f
Macrobius
r
by
ndependent
vidence
of
heir ctivities.
thers
have
nvestigated
he
deological
ases
f
fourth-century
grammar
nd
education:
to
adapt
Gellius,
Servius nd
Macrobius
were
fully
aware
hat
humanitas
oes
not
properly
ndicate
ndiscriminate
oodwill
oward
all humanbeings,but rather"learningndtrainingn the iberal rts."23t is
eloquent
estimony
o
the
power
f
Cameron'swork
hat
ophisticated
eadings
of
Servius nd
Macrobius
s
religious
igures
ave
only ecently
egun
o
appear.
Bruggisser,
or
xample,
as
argued
hat ervius
eliberatelyresented
omulus
and
Remus so as to
deflect
hristian riticismsf the
fratricide,
ll the
while
participating
n
contemporary
olitical
debatesover the concord f
imperial
brothers,
hile
MacCormack
nd Hedrick
ave evisited
ith
enewed
igor
nd
insight
agan
and
Christian
modesof
reading
nd
interpretingergil
nd the
politics
f
editing
lassical
exts.24
The
political
nd
religious
mplications
f
antiquarian
esearchn the fifth
century
annot
merge
rom
reading
f
heSaturnaliao
ong
s
prejudice
bout
the
nature f
religious
istory
verdetermineshose
readings,
or,
n
fact,
an
they
e
elucidated
y
reading
he
Saturnalia
lone.25
Antiquarian
esearch
id
not take
place
n
ivory
owers. n
this
ssay,
examine he actions
f "the
ast
pagan generation"
nd
the role
played y
their
esearchesntothe
Roman
past
in
one arenaof
undeniable
contemporarymportance,
he
rivalry
f
Rome and
Constantinople
nd the
constructionf
a
sacred
opography
or he
ater
Roman
empire.Macrobian ntiquarianismmergesromhisinquirys a reaction othe
suppression
f
those
mechanisms
hereby
is
heroes,
hose
men who
used to
belong
o
the
circle f
Symmachus,
ad
formerly
ebated he ocus
of the
holy
(a
passage
f
unmistakeable
religious
ignificance):
ed
nos,
uos
rassaMinerva
edecet,
on
patiamur
abstrusa sse
adyta
acri
poematis,
ed
arcanorum
ensuum
investigato
ditu
doctorumultu
elebranda
praebeamus
eclusa
penetralia;
.1.18-20.
Servius:
ee
below,
ection
III.
On
Vergil's
ignificance
n
late-antique
agan
ife,
ee
Klingner
965:
527-578,
esp.
543-544;
MacCormack
998. Turk1963
s
often
escribeds
having
iscussed
ervius'
escription
f
Vergil
s
pontifex
see,
.g.,
Cameron 968:
101-102;
Hedrick 000:
85),
buthe
cites
not
single assage
rom hat
uthor.
22
August.
e civ.D. 1.3.
23Gell.
NA
13.17.1.
On
grammar
s a
marker f
class,
Kaster
978;
1980;
Uhl
1998;
Cameron
1999:
119-120.
24Bruggisser
987,
esp.
125-160;
MacCormack
998;
Hedrick
000,
esp.
171-213.
Syske
993
does notfulfillts
promise
o
discuss he
aims" f
Macrobius
2-3);
I
have
not
been ble to
acquire
Kahlos1998.
25
Cf. Hedrick
000: 210.
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8/43
THE PALLADIUMAND THE
PENTATEUCH 375
in
the ater
Roman
empire.
That
Macrobiusmade
claims
n
behalf f Rome
in
language
f
mmediate
ntelligibility
nd undeniable
ontemporarymport
s
best
een
byreading
he
very
imilar
laims nd
anguage eployed
n
behalf f
Constantinople
n
the ame
period.
The
ancient
astemerges
rom
heirworks
as more
han
guide
o
theconstitution
f
the
present.
ather,
yconcretizing
presuppositions
bout elations
etween
orporeal
nddivine
eality,
arratives
f
the
past egitimatedarticular
isions f
the acralizationf
pace
nd took heir
place
beside
hilosophy,
olitics,
nd aw
among
he
ools f
ate-antiqueolitical
life.
II.
THE
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE
ROMAN
EMPIRE IN
THE
FOURTH CENTURY
Until
Constantine oundedhis new
capital
on
the
Bosporus,
no
one had
questioned
nd
certainly
o one
had threatenedhe
centrality
f
Rome. Neither
titulature
or
conographyistinguishes
he
Tetrarchicoundationsr
residences
in this
way,
nor s it
possible
o
detect
n
literature
f
the
early
ourth
entury
any
ense hat hesedetracted
rom
he
deological
nd
religious reeminence
f
Rome.26
Constantinople
as
clearly
ifferent,
nd
this
was true
lready
t its
dedication.
s
early
s
324,
Porfyrius
escribedhat
ity
s
"another
ome,"
nd
a decade aterConstantinellowed hathe
called
his
city
n
urbs eterna t
the
behest fhisGod.27
The foundation
f
Constantinople
ltered he
topography
f
the
empire
n
several
ways.
The
new
capital
n
the
Bosporus
apidly
ssumed n
iconographic
status
oughlyquivalent
o
that
f
Rome.28
y
themiddle
f
he
ourth
entury
hierarchy
ad
developed
hat
ccorded
reeminence
o Rome
nd
Constantinople
and secondrank
o
Antioch nd
Alexandria,
arthage
nd
Trier;
within
ach
rank,
artisans
dvanced he
claims
f
their
ity
nd
contestedhose
f
others.29
Writers
n
both ast and west
ooknoteof
the
competition
etween ome
and
Constantinople,
nd
very
oon
after
onstantine'soundationt
was
commonlyunderstoodhathe had ntended henew
capital
orival he
old.30
We cantrace
26Brehier
915:
241,
247,
249-250;
Lathoud1924:
294;
Alfdldi
947:
12;
contra
ango
1985:
24.
27
Porfyrius
arm.
.5-6;
for
tsdate f
omposition,
eeBarnes
975:
179,
184-185. Constantine:
Cod.
Theod.
3.5.7:
pro
commoditate
rbis,
uam
eterno omine
ubente
eo
donavimus
...
Cf.
Cod.
lust.1.17.1.10: Romam
utem
ntellegendum
stnon
olum
eterem,
ed tiam
regiam
ostram,
uae
deo
propitio
um
melioribusonditast
auguriis.
hemistius
rote is
fourth
ration
thirty-three
ears
ater,
but
referring
pecifically
o
November
24
he
called
Constantinople
rt6kt;
i
ti
pacTIXCtL;efi
ikttKcu
;
(Or. 4.58b).
On "thenames f
Constantinople,"
ee
Georgacas 947;
cf.
Dagron
1984b:48-60.
Too
muchhas been madeof the
third anonof the
Council f
Constantinople
n
381,
the
firstofficial"
document o
style onstantinople
New
Rome."
28Toynbee
947; 1953;
cf.
Salzman
990:
27-28.
29Auson.Ordonob.urb.
XXIV Green)
1-27
presents
somewhat
idiosyncratic,
estern iew.
More
typical
ormulations
reLib.
Or.
15.59 and 33.24.
30Lib.
Or.
19.19;
cf.
20.24, 30.37;
Origo
Constantini
.30;
Eutr.
10.8.1;
Festus19.4.
See also
Claud.
Ruf.
2.54;
Gild.
61-63;
Zos. 2.30.1.
Our
picture
might
e dearer fwe
had the etters f
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9/43
376
PHOENIX
the
nstitutional
nd
ideological rivalry
f
the cities n a number f
ways,
but most
easily-and
perhaps
most
eceptively-through
he
privileges
ndranks
ccorded
to
their
espective
enates nd senators.31
n
379,
for
xample, hemistius
ed
an
embassy
rom
he Senate
of
Constantinople
o
Gratian.
Although
e
styled
Constantinople
he
equivalent
f
Rome-they
were he two
metropoleis
f
the
world,
he
cities f Romulus
nd Constantine-he
id so
in
order o
ustify
he
request
with
which
he
closed:
Gratian hould
lorify
heSenate ftheeast
with
honors,
o
that
t
would
ruly
e
his
city,
second
Rome.32
nd f he
rganization
of
Constantinople
round even
hills nd
fourteen
egions
an
ndeed
be traced
to
Constantine,
is
ntentions
ecome ven learer.33
The
religious olitics
f the
age
lent the
rivalry
etween he
two
capitals
additionalmport nd complexity.We can notnow knowwhatConstantine
did or did
not
do
at
the
limitatio,
onsecratio,
nauguratio,
nd dedicatio
f
his
city.34
What
is clear s that Christians lmost
mmediately
nderstood
nd
represented
onstantine's
oundations a
religious
ct and his
city
s the
new,
Christian
apital
f
a Christian
mpire.
mmediately
fter onstantine's
eath,
Eusebius
nsisted
hat
he
had "celebratedis
eponymous
ity
ydedicating
here
magnificent
artyria
nd
spectacularuildings"
nd had "consecrated
is
city
o
the
god
of
he
martyrs,"
hile
urging
tof
ll
traces
f
dolatry
nd
uperstition.35
To
display
he
power
f his
triumphantod,
Constantine
ikewise
tripped
he
idolsfrom
emple recinctshroughout
heeast
and
displayed
hem s
spolia
n
his
new
city.36
ome of these
dols,
we
are
told,
he tore rom heir
edestals y
heaping
hem
with
opes
nd
pulling
hem
long
he
ground,
s
though
hey
ere
captives.
e also ordered
gents
o
scrape
he
gold
and
silver
eaf
rom
ny
dols
they
id
not
onfiscatend
to
pluck
way
heir ecorative
ems.37
n
diosyncratic
eighth-century
uidebook
o the
public
monuments
f
Constantinople
nsists,
quite plausibly,
hatConstantine lso took statues
rom
Rome,
ncluding
ne
of
Augustus.38
t
may
be that
t was
precisely
is
paganism
hat ed
Julian
o
Constantine
n whichhe
justified
he
privileges
e
granted
o
Constantinople's
ood
upply
nd
grain
dole,
but
we know f hisestablishment
nly
hrough
eferences
n
ater
legislatione.g.,
Cod.
Theod.
14.16.2,
12).
31Dagron
984b:
119-210;
Vanderspoel
995: 53-66.
32Them.Or.
14.182a,
183a-184a.
33Janin
964:
4-7,
24,
43-58.
34
ee
Cracco
Ruggini
980 and
below,
ection
v.
35Euseb.
Vit.
Const.
.48.
36Euseb. Vit. Const. .54.2-4; cf. Eunap. VS 6.1.5. Libanius Or. 30.6, 37) complains f
expenditures
n
Constantinople
nd hints hat
his
nvolved
stealing eligious
rt;
osimus
2.31-32)
writes
n similar
erms;
ohn
Malalas
13.7)
mentions
n
passing
tatues aken
romlium nd
Rome
butdoes not
suggest
hat hese
were
part
f
systematic
ransfer.
37
useb.
Vit.Const.
.54.1-2,
5-7. Eusebius
signally
ails o understand
opular
ttitudeso
religious
tatuary.
n
Gaza,
even he
Christiansefused
o walkon
pavements
adefrom
mashed
idols
Mark
Vita
orph.
6);
cf.
Mango
1963.
38
arastaseis
yntomoihronikai
0.
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10/43
THE
PALLADIUM
AND THE PENTATEUCH
377
disparage onstantinople,
he
city
f
his
birth,
y
nsisting
hat t
surpassed
ll
other ities
y
s much s it fell
hort
f
Rome,
while
noting
hat
eing
econd
o
Romewas a
greater
onor han
reeminence
ver
ll
other
ities.39
Later Christians ound his
picture
f
Constantine
nd this
mage
of Con-
stantinople
seful.
Augustine
umbered
he foundationf
Constantinople
ne
of
the
blessings ranted y
the Christian od to its
pious champion:
to
him
God
granted
hathe shouldfound
city,
n aid to the Roman
empire
nd
the
daughter,
s
it
were,
of
Rome
tself,
ut
without
ny
temple
r
image
of
demons."40
ocrates
cknowledged
is
debt
to
Eusebiusbut adds detailsnot
present
n
that
uthor's
Life:
Constantine ade
his
city qual
to
"ruling
ome,"
named
t
Constantinople,
nd ordered
y
aw
that t shouldbe
called
Second
Rome."41Accordingo Socrates,his aw was inscribed n a pillarnearCon-
stantine's
questrian
tatue.He also followed usebius
n
seeing
onstantinople
as a Christian
oundation,
onnecting
onstantine'sedication fchurcheshere
withhis
prohibitions
gainst
aganism
nd
his humiliationf dols. We will
return
o Sozomen'smuch fuller
arrative;
et it suffice ow to
observe
hat
he, too,
attributedo
Constantine
he desire hathis
city
should ule
equally
withRome and should harewithher
n
the
empire." eeking
o found
city
"equal
in
honorto
Rome,"
Constantine as directed
y
God to
Byzantium,
which
ity
he
renamed
New
Rome"
and
"Constantinople"
nd
designated
s
the
capitol
or he eastern alf
f the
empire.
What s
more,
God
revealed is
power
n
the fervor ithwhich
he nhabitantsf the
city
ookto the faith f
its
founder.42
hilostorgius
ikewise
eports
hatConstantine
amedhis
city
alma
Roma,
which
n
the
Roman
tongue
means
honored',"
nd so
established
its
government
nd
buildings
hat ts
fame
began
to
rival
hat
of
"the earlier
Rome."43
Christianntellectuals
husvalorized
onstantinople
or
ts ack of
dols and
idolatrous
ult.
In
this
they
eveal
n
understanding
f
the sacred nd of its
immanencen thematerial orldseeminglyundamentallyifferenthan hat
loosely
hared
y
their
agan
opponents.
hristianslmost
niversallyegarded
idols
nd cult tatues s the
proper
nd exclusive
ecipients
f
pagan
worship,
nd
their
nderstanding
f the
mechanics f conversion
eveloped
rom his
imple
fact.
So,
writing
f
Constantine's
ppropriation
f
religious
rt,
usebius
wrote
that those
uffering
rom
uperstition
hen
at last earned o
think
roperly,
when the
emperor
eld
up
their
baubles
to the
laughter
nd
mockery
f all
beholders."44
imilarly,
hen
n
early
uly
99 Arcadius nd Honorius
rdered
39Julian
r. 1.6
8b-c).
40August.
e
civ.
D.
5.25.
41
ocrates
.16.1.
42
ozom.
2.3.1,
2,
5.
43
Philostorgius.9;
cf.Hsch. Patria
1,
naming
ome
i
nprpucTpa
Pcipl1
nd
Constantinople
fl
vca
'Poi1j
and
arguing
hatConstantine ade he atter
qual
to theformer.
44Euseb.Vit.Const. .54.3.
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11/43
378 PHOENIX
thedestruction
f
pagan emples
n
the
ountryside,hey
laimed
hat heir
ction
would
destroy
thematerial
asis
of
all
superstition"
his
nim
eiectis
tque
ublatis
omnis
superstitioni
ateria
onsumetur,
od.
Theod. 6.10.16).
Yet
progress
on
by
methods ased
on
these
premises
as slow.This is true
n
spite
f
Eusebius,
who
tended
o
magnify
oththe
scope
and
effectsf
mperial
egislationgainst
paganism.46
s
emperors
new etter
han
ishops,
sudden
hanges
rehard n
subjects."
n
idolatrous
ity
hat
onsistentlyaid
ts axes ad to be
subjected
o
gradual ressure:
et civichonors
e available
nly
o Christiansnd
the
emples
shut,
and
the
people
will
eventually
cknowledge
he
truth.47
A
pragmatic
toleration
r,
perhaps, pragmatic
estraintrom
eligious
oercion,
lossed y
intolerant
hetoricrom
ulpits
nd rostra nd
nterruptedy
ccasional
ursts f
localviolence,husgovernedeligious olitics etween onstantinendthe ast
decade
of
the
fourth
entury.48
Between
the
foundation
f
Constantinople,
hen,
and
the
outpouring
f
Catholic
egislation
n
the
390s,
how did
pagans
articulate
he
unique
status
of Rome?
Through
ult.49
Symmachus rovides
oth a
positive
nd
negative
formulation
f this
position.
On theone
hand,
he
goodwill
f the
gods,
f
not
retained
hrough
ult,
s
lost.50On the
birthday
f Rome
n
401,
the tatewas
disturbed
y
several
mens,
most
particularly
he crash
f
the
suffectonsul's
chariot.
ecoratedwith he
nsignia
f his
office,
he
magistrate
ad
broken is
leg.
"Even
narrating
t causesme
concern-doing
o is
unlucky-and
o inthis
telling
will
be
brief."51
n
omen at
Spoleto
worried
im,
s a citizen
with
duty
o the
publicgood:
it should
have
been
expiated
ublico
omine. s it
was,
eight
victims
mproperly
acrificed ad failed o
satisfy
upiter.52ymmachus
changed
he
tinerary
fhis
travelso take ction
n behalf fhis
iling
omeland,
"since
my
ecurity
eemed o me
quite
worthless
n
comparison
o the llsof the
commonwealth."
e,
therefore,
ielded
o the demands
f
pontifical
ffice.53
Famine, ikewise,
ould
be averted
y
the
gods,
as
it couldbe caused
by
their
displeasure. Gods ofmyfatherland,ardon heneglect fyour ites Stave
46Cf.
Bradbury
994;
Drake2000:
360-367,402,
419.
47
Mark Vita
Porph.
1.
48
Barnes
982:
68.
49
Verbal
xpressions
f
patriotism
y
Greek
nd Latin authors
n
ate
antiquity
ave
received
great
deal of careful
ttention,
ut fewhave
concentrated
n the
religious
spects
nd non-verbal
expressions
f
patriotic
entiment.
Among
vast iteratureee
D6lger
937;
Klingner
965:
645-666;
Paschoud
967;
Klein
1986;
Brodka 998.
50
ymm. p.
1.46.2:
benignitas
nim
superiorum,
isi
ultu
enatur,
mittitur.
51
Symm. p.
6.40.1.
52
Symm. p.
1.49;
the
phrase
t
ivis
d
bonum
ommune
genitus
s
actually
pplied
y
Symmachus
to Praetextatus.
53
ymm.
p.
1.51; cf.
1.47.1:
me
impeditpontificalis
fficii
ura;
.59:
Symmachus
as
staying
t
his suburban illa
long
the via
Appia,
whencehe
returned
o Rome for hefestivalf
Vesta;2.34,
writing
o his son: adornare e
reditum,
uod
acraDeumMatris
adpeterent,
rbitrabar.
t
1.71 he
praises
aecilianus
o Celsinus
itianus,
writing
hat e oves hatmanbecause
e s
religiosae
ivitatis
commodis
obsequentem.
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THE PALLADIUMAND
THE
PENTATEUCH
379
off his
pitiless
amine."54
othing
llustrateshe seriousnessf
Symmachus'
commitment
o the
customs
nd
nstitutionsfthe
maiores
ore
learly
hanhis
determination
o
punish
rrant estals:
he
duty
f
a
pontiff
nd the
oyalty
f a
senator
emanded o less. As he wrotewhenone
Primigenia
as
proven
uilty
of
breaking
er
vows,
it
remains
nly
o enforcehe
everity
f the aws
against
those
whohave
polluted
herites f
the tate
y
n
unspeakable
rime."55
is son
listed
n his
epitaph
o
religious
fficeave he
pontificate:
he
eremoniesf
the
gods
and
therites emanded
ydivinity
ere
known
o
him.56
Symmachus
lso
argued
hat
roper
orship
arned hefavor f
the
gods.
As
proof
e offeredhe vidence
f
history:
Do not
orget
he
rgument
rom
dvantage,
hichmore han
nything
evealshe
odsto mankind.s all reasonies n thedark,rom hat ource
might
ebetterraw ur
knowledge
f he ivinehan rom
emory
nd he videncef
past
enefactions.
In
a
prosopopeia
oments ater Rome confirmedhe
sentiment: Hic cultus
subjected
he
world o
my
aws."57
n the
same decade on the other
ide
of
the
empire,
ibanius dvanced n almost dentical et
of
arguments
n
defense
of
pagan
temples
nd therituals
racticed
n
them.Like
Symmachus,
ibanius
insisted hat
he
history
f the
empire roved
he
efficacy
nd
truthfulness
f
traditional
orms f
worship:
And twaswith
hese
ods
o
id hemhat heRomans sed omarch
gainst
heir
oes,
engage
hemn
battle,
onquer
hem
nd,
s
conquerors,
rant
he
anquished
condition
of
ife
etterhan hat
hich
hey
ad
eforeheir
efeat,
emoving
heir
ears
nd llowed
them share
n
theirwn
ivil
ife.58
In
fact,
ibanius
ookthis
rgument
step
further,
escribing
he evolution f
religious
ractices
s
part
nd
parcel
fthe
ncreasingomplexity
f
ocieties nd
development
f
technology.59
Libaniuswas
not o
foolish s to believe
hat he xtension
f
hefranchise
nd
expansion
fthe
mpire
ad
correspondingly
iluted he
gods'
nterestnRome.
On the
ontrary:
If
the
ecurity
f he
mpire
ests n the
acrifices
erformed
here,
hen emust
elieve
sacrifice
verywhere
obe
profitable.
ndeed,
ust
s the
ods
n
Rome
ive
reaterhings,
so
thosenthe ieldsnd he ther
illagesive
esser
hings.60
54Symm. p.
2.7.3;
see also
Rel.
3.15-16:
depriving
heVestals f
support
ranted
hem
by
ex
parentum
ad
brought
bout famine. he
landwas not t
fault,
orwas thewind:
sacrilegio
nnus
exaruit.
55
ymm.
p.
9.108,
147-148.
561LS
2946;
Symm.
p.
2.53,
writing
o his brother:
otae
obis unt
aerimoniaeeorum
tfesta
divinitatis
mperata.
57
Symm.
el.
3.8-9.
58
ib.
Or.30.5
tr.Norman);
f. 0.31.
59
ib.
Or.30.4.
60Lib.
Or.
30.33
tr.
fter
orman).
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380
PHOENIX
The
theological
asis
of
this
position
eserves
areful
crutiny.
t was not that
the
gods
could not or did not
receive
worship
n
multiple
ocations,
or even
that he
Capitoline
riadwas
resident
n the
Capitol.
By
the fourth
entury,
Capitolia xistedncities hroughoutheempire,rompainto Africa oEgypt
and
throughout
he Danubian
provinces.61
ut
if
the
gods
of Rome
werenot
Platonic
gods,
whose nterest
n
sacrificesnd
whose
figural
epresentation
e-
quired
laborate nd somewhat
llogical
efense,
either
id
they
ecome he
objects
f
complex heological
radition.62
hen Cicero
ontrastedersian
ult
and
its
theological
asis withthat
of
the
Greeks nd
Romans,
he
provided
s
careful
n articulation
f
the ssue s
now
urvives:
I
propose
hat herehould e shrines
n
cities.
n this
ssue do not
ollowhe
magi
f
Persia,nwhose uthorityerxesssaid o have urnedhe emplesfGreece,ecause
the
Greeksonfinedhe
ods
within
alls,
lthough
ll
places
hould
e
open
nd ree o
them s
this ntire orld
s
their ome
nd
emple.
he better
osition
s that
dopted
by
heGreeksnd
by
s,
whodesireo
ncrease
iety
oward
he
ods
nd o have
wanted
them o
ive
n
the ame ities hat e nhabit.
Men will ct more
haste,
icero
oncludes,
ollowing
hales,
when
hey
elieve
that
ll
things
re
full
f
gods.63
Symmachus
hus
subscribed o the
theology
f a
Cicero and
spoke
to the
concernsf Libaniuswhenhe wrote fthe ltar fVictory:
Where
hallwe swear o
obey our
aws nddecrees?
y
what
cruple
ill
he eceitful
mind e
terrified,
est t
perjure
tselfnderath? o
be
sure,
ll
hings
re
ull
f
god,
or
is
any
lace
afe or
erjurers.
evertheless,
he
resence
f
god
s
a
powerful
nducement
to fear f
wrong-doing.64
It is
insufficiento
say
hat
ymmachus
as elided
hedistinction
etween
mage
and
prototype,
ecausemore s at stake han
philosophy
f
representation.
e
presupposed
notion f
divinity,
nd a
theory
f
materiality,undamentally
t
oddswith hose fPlatonic rChristianmetaphysics;ndwithin he heologyf
Symmachus
r
Libanius,
he
gods
have nterests
n,
ndattachments
o,
particular
landscapes,
fwhichhumans ake ccount
hrough
he
performance
f
ritual,
nd
it
was
through
itual hathumans
might
ffect
r alter he
gods'
attachments.65
If the
theological nderpinnings
f these
rguments
n
behalf
f Rome
did not
then
require
rticulationnd
thereforelude
satisfactoryxplication
oday,
we
can
grasp
heir
mplications
ore
learly y studying
he
place
of Rome
n
the
religious
andscapemapped
nd nhabited
y
Ammianus
Marcellinus.66
riting
61Ando
2000: 208.
62
ee,
e.g.,
Sallustius 5-16.
63
Cic.
Leg.
2.26.
64
Symm.
el.
3.5.
65The
theological
asis of Roman
ritual,
articularly
n
its
understanding
f
topography
nd
materiality,
equires
muchmore areful ttention
han t has received.
or
now,
ee the
suggestive
comments
n
MacCormack
982:
290-291;
see also
Ando 2002.
66
Camus
1967: 133-269
s far hebest reatmentfAmmianus'
eligious
hought.
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THE PALLADIUMAND THE
PENTATEUCH
381
in
the
early
90s of events omethree ecades
arlier,
mmianus
escribed
he
famine t Rome
n
359,
during
he
prefecture
f
Tertullus.
he
eternal
ity
was
gripped yfear
f
a coming hortagefgrain:harsher torms hanusual and
unpredictablequalls
isturbedhe
eas.But
the
fears f he
opulace
were
apidly
allayed:
Soon,
y
he
will f hat
ivine umenhat
urtured
ome
rom
ts
nfancy
nd
promised
that twould ast
orever,
hile ertullushe
refect
as
acrificing
t Ostia eforehe
temple
fthe
Dioscuri,
ranquillity
almed
he
ea,
he
wind
ecame
gentle
outhern
breeze,
nd
hips
ull f
grain
nteredhe
ort
nd efilledhe tores
f
rain.67
Ammianus
ighlights
he
place
of
Rome
n
the sacred
opography
f the
ater
empiremostpointedly henhe uxtaposesvents t Romeand elsewhereo as
to reveal he
centrality
f
the
apital.
o,
for
xample,
ustprior
o the
successful
assassination
f
Silvanus n
Gaul
in
355,
"the
people
at Rome in the
Circus
Maximus houted
n
a loud
voice,
Silvanus
s
conquered,'-whether
he
populace
was aroused
y
ome
eport
r
by presentiment
s
unknown."68
mmianusmore
clearly
ttributed
o divine
auses
knowledge
t Rome
f
vents round he
mpire
when he narratedhe election f Valentiniann
364: the
emperor-elect
ad to
travel
rom is
post
at
Ancyra
o the
army
nd so for en
days
no
one held
the
helm fthe
mpire.
Thisfact he
haruspex
arcus
eported
o have
happened
t
thetime,whenhe nspectedntrailstRome."69
Ammianus
eported
n
religious
matterst no timemore
ensely
han
uring
Julian's
arthian
ampaign.
At
its start
e
provided
list of
the
omens
that
presaged
ll
for hat
undertaking.
losing
he
ist,
n
a
position
f
priority,
s
a
report
rom he
Sibylline
ooks at
Rome:
in
clear
anguage
hey
orbade he
emperor
rom
eaving
is own
borders hat
year.70
oon after
eaving
Antioch,
Julian
as disturbed
y
dreams.
Whenhe woke
up,
he orderedhat
areful
atch
should e taken
or
mens
hroughout
he
day,
9 March
63.
As itwasafterwardsearned,nthat amenight,ntheprefecturefApronianus,he
temple
f alatine
pollo
n
he ternal
ity
urned;
ad id
f
very
ind
ot een
rought
to
bear,
he
magnitude
f he ires
ould ave onsumed
ven he
ongs
f
he
Cumaean
Sibyl.71
Other events
n the
campaign
re
merely
ated
by
the ritual
alendar f
the
eternal
ity,
nd
Julian
imself
ttempted
o
establish
temporal
nd sacramental
connection
ith
Rome
through
ult:
Six
days
eforehe
kalends f
April,
n
the
day
when
he nnual
rocessions
or
he
Motherf heGods reperformedtRomend he artnwhich ermages carrieds
67Amm.
Marc. 19.10.4.
68Amm.
Marc. 15.5.34.
69Amm.
Marc. 26.1.5.
In
hernote
on this
passage,
Mari6
1984:
205,
n.
12)
cites15.5.34 and
compares
ellius15.18.
See
also
Camus
1967:
209,
writing
fdivination
ithout
oncern or
where
it takes
lace.
70Amm.
Marc.23.1.7.
71Amm.
Marc.23.3.3.
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382
PHOENIX
said o
be
washed
nthewatersf
he
Almo,
he
olemnity
f he ites as
performed
n
hallowed
ashion,
nd
Julian
lept
ell,
assing
he
night
n
happy
onfidence.72
Julianimselfestifiedo his nterestnCybelenthehymneaddressedo
her. ike
ymmachus
riting
f
Victory,
ulian's
arrativefher
rrival
n
Rome
elides he istinction
etween
mage
ndGoddess.
lthough
t
was most
oly
image
Ti;g Eo
Z6
dyutZoatov
yaotXgaot)
f
the
goddess
hat
ailed
o
Rome,
the
goddess
erself
evealed
hat
he
hip ransported
o ifeless
dol
(6aovov
\Lwuxov);
ather,
he
bject
aken romhe
hrygians
eld ome
reater
nd
more
divine
ower.73
f
course,
ulian
idnot oubt hat ne
ould onor
heGreat
Mother
t hrines
ocated utsidef
Rome. e
himselfisiteder
ncient
emple
at
Pessinus.74
ut
t
s
equally
lear hat he
was
present
t
Rome,
nd
Rome
wasthus
rivileged,hrough
nd
by
he
ontingentresence
fhermostacred
image
n
that
ity.
nyone
ho
doubted is
narrative,
ulian
dded,
ould ead
itsdetailss
preserved
n
bronze
tatues
n
themost
owerful
nd
god-beloved
city
f
Rome.75
Ammianus
owheressertedhe
entrality
fRome
n
the
acred
opography
ofhisworld
more
igorously
han
when e described
he rrival
n
Rome f
giant
belisk
aken
rom
he
emple
f he un tThebes.
ugustus,
e
argued,
had
hought
f
moving
his
beliskut ad
efrained,
ot
ecausehe belisk as
toobig,butbecausethadbeendedicateds a special ifto the un ndhad
been
laced
ithin
he
hrinef ts
lorious
emple.
ut
Constantine,
mmianus
continued,
ightlyhought
hat
e was
committing
o
sacrilege
f,
having
orn
the
obelisk rom ne
temple,
e
should
ededicate
t
at
Rome,
hat
s,
n
the
templum
otius
undi,
he
emple
f
he ntire
orld.76
smuch
s
this emark
reveals
bout mmianus
ndhis
feelings
or
ome,
t
also eveals
is
gnorance.
In
point
f
fact,
onstantinead
ntendedhe
belisks
anotherecoration
or
Constantinople,
nd
t
was
Constantiusho
misunderstoodhe
ignificance
f
that esire nd
ent he
belisk n
to
Rome,
o
celebrateis
apture
f he
ityand
victory
verhe
surper agnentius.77
At
he
nigmatic
enter
fmodern
ssays
nRoman
eligious
ife
tands
ettius
Agorius
raetextatus,
ugur,ontifex
f
Vesta,
ontifex
f he
un,
uindecemvir,
curialis
f
Hercules,
devoteef
Liber nd he
leusinian
ysteries,
ierophant,
overseerf
emples,
nd
nitiatef
he
aurobolium.78
raetextatus
ndhiswife
Fabia
Aconia
aulina
ived
ogether
or
orty
ears,
arked
y
piety
nd
mutual
72Amm.
Marc.
23.3.7. Cf.
Prudent.
Peristephanon
0.151-160.
73Julian
r. 8.2
(5.159c-160a).
74Amm.Marc.
22.9.5.
75Julian
r. 8.2
(5.161b).
76Amm.
Marc.
17.4.12-13.
771LS
736,
esp.
lines 1-6:
patris
opus
munusqu[e
uum]
ibi,
Roma,
dicavit
Augustus
toto
Constan]tius
rbe
ecepto,
et
quod
nulla
ulit
ellus
ec
ideratetas
condidit,
t
claris
xa[equ]et
ona
triumfis.
oc
decus
rnatum
enitor
ognominis
rbis sse
olens,
aesa
hebis e
rupe
evellit.
781LS
1259,
front,
ines -7.
On the
centrality"
f
Praetextatus,
ee
Cameron
999: 111-115.
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THE
PALLADIUMAND THE PENTATEUCH
383
devotion.
While
nitiationn
allthe
mysteries
ade
Paulina he riendf he
gods,
Praetextatusconcealed
n
the
recesses f his mind ecrets
iscovered
n
sacred
rites nd,being earned, orshippedhemanifoldnddivine umen."79corning
those fficesnd
dignities
ought y
other
men,
raetextatus
ished
o
be
known
only
s
a
priest
fthe
gods.80
or
Praetextatus,hen,
s for
ymmachus,
eligious
devotion
was
properlyxpressed hrough
itual,
nd it
was
through
itual hat
men nteractedr unitedwith
he
divine.81
ike
Symmachus,
raetextatusnd
Paulinahonored esta nd the
Vestals:
edicating
statue
f
Caelia
Concordia,
they poke
of her
outstanding
odesty
nd
noteworthyiety
oward he
cult
of
the
gods.82
Nothing ypifies
he form f
piety
xhibited
y
Praetextatusetter hanhis
restorationfthe mages fthediconsentes.n thefirstentury.C. heir olden
images
had stood around he
forum,
ix male
and
six
female,
nd
scattered
inscriptions
ttest heir
worship
n
Dacia, Moesia,
and in
Italy
at
Picenum,
Ocriculi,
nd Reate.83
During
his
prefecture
f the
city
n
367/8,
Praetextatus
repaired
nd
replaced
heir
acred
tatues,
ecorated heir
ite
with
ll
possible
care, nd,
most
articularly,
estoredheir
ult
o
ts ncient
orm.84
his nterest
in
performing
ites
ccording
o their
ncient orm n
a
particular,
allowed
locationmirrorshe attention
aid by
Julian,
ibanius,
nd
Symmachus
o the
evidences
f
history;
t
formed
hebasisof
Julian's
riticismf
Constantine;nd
it
will
be theclarion all of
the
ast
generation
f
pagans
n the
West:
"Verily
o
I
promise
hat
will
maintain
nd
preserve,
o
long
s
I
am
able,
hatwhich
has
been
handed own
nd
sanctioned
y ntiquity."85
III.
WITHOUT
CULT,
WHITHER
ROME?
The lasttwo
decades fthe
fourth
entury
awthe
government
fthe
mpire
move
with
ncreasingeverity
gainst
he
nstitutionsnd
practices
hat
rdered
791LS
259,
ight
ide
ine
;back,
ines
3-15,
5;
n
aulina's
nitiations,
ee
lso
LS
1260. n
the ivum
ultiplex
umen,
ee
Nock 972:
7-41;
f.
amus967: 34-138.
801LS259, ack,
ines 8-21.
81Cf.
Sallustius
:
tnp6inouo tCOv
1600v
oi
v
0ooyutcot
4tnXoa6oti,
oi
4u6ot6rot
KLti
YuXUrot
otcraiC,
i
6
tKTol
EELeraig,
'nU6
Kai
eou
l
uphy
v
60pov
lCt;
ai
b6
TobiM
oiS
auvdnT6ttv
60.sct;
see
also
Lib.
Or.
24.36;
Nock
1926:
xcviii-ci.
82
ILS
1261.
83Varro
ust. 1.1.4
(Jupiter
nd
Tellus,
Sol and
Luna,
Ceres and
Liber,
Robigus
nd
Flora,
Minerva nd
Venus,
nd
Lympha
nd
Bonus
Eventus); f.
Enn.
Ann. 240-241
[Skutsch]
luno,
Vesta,Minerva, eres, Diana, Venus,Mars,Mercurius,ovis,Neptunus, olcanus,
nd
Apollo),
almost
definitelyisting
he twelve
gods
honored
n
the first
ectisternium,
hose
nspiration
nd
performance
s
describedt
Livy
2.10.9,
but
he
entencemust e read
with
he
whole
paragraph
n
mind.On these
gods,
ee
Wissowa
1912:
61,
n.
6;
Latte
1967:
253,
334.
Dacia: ILS
4004-6;
Moesia:
IGRR
1.664;
Picenum:
LS
4001;
Ocriculi:LS
4002;
Reate:
LS
4007.
841LS
4003:
[deorum]onsentium
acrosancta
imulacraum
mni
o[ci
otius
dornatio]ne,
ultu n
[formam
ntiquam
estituto,V]ettiusraetextatus
.c.
ra
efectus]rbi
reposuit]...
85
onginianus t
August.
p.
234.2;
on
their
orrespondence,
eeAndo
1996:
192-193.
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17/43
384
PHOENIX
the
religious
ives f
contemporaryagans.
The
stakes
weredear. As Ambrose
pointed
ut
n his
first
etter o
Valentinian
n the
ltar f
Victory,
he
presence
of the altar
n
the Senatewould
force
Christian
enators o
practicedolatry.
Valentinian
ad to choosebetween
wo
religions,
nd thechoice or Christian
emperor
as
clear.86
he
general
enor f he onversation
merges
rom hristian
reactions
o thedeath fPraetextatus.
contemporary
nvective
n verse rowed
that
is
divine
nowledge,
scension
f he
Capitol,
ndthree-month
urification
of
the
city
had availed
him
naught:
he
had
reached he
limits
f his
life,
suffering
adness
f
souland
nsanity
f
mind.87
Writing
letter
f consolation
immediately
fter he
event,
erome
ompared
he fate
of a
recently-deceased
Christian o that
of
Praetextatus,
hat
acrilegious
evotee
f
idols,
who had
recentlyeendraggedo Tartarus.n doing o,he alludedwith avage ronyo
the
pitaph
aulina
wrote or
er
husband:
How
great
he
hange
n
affairshat
man,
hom
ut
ays go
he
eights
f ll
honors
preceded,
ho limbed
he itadels
fthe
Capitol
s
thoughriumphing
ver
efeated
enemies,
hom
heRoman
eople
eceived
ith
pplause
nd vations:t hisdeath he
whole
ity
s
disturbed.
ow
he
s
abandoned,
aked,
ot
na
milky
alace
n
heaven,
s
his
pathetic
ife
elieves;
ather,
e
s
mprisoned
n
he
qualid
hadows.88
The events
hat ed from he confrontationver he altar f
Victory
o
the
revolt nd subsequent efeat f Eugenius ie buried n thepagesofpartisan
historiography.89
hatever he motivationf
Eugenius' upporters,
he
final
battle
t the
Frigidus
ook
place
under he watchful
yes
of
opposing
ods.90
According
o
Ambrose,
fter is
victory
heodosius
put way
he
mages
of
the
gentiles;
his faith
put
away
all
worship
f the
idols;
he laid waste all
their eremonies."91
n
fact,
heodosius
had
begun
ssuing
ncreasingly
evere
legislation gainst aganism
n
391,
taking
ction irst
gainst
ublic
nd
then
against
rivate
orms f
worship.
e did not
order
agans
o
convert,
ut
imply
outlawed
ll
public
nd
private
ehaviors
ntended o
express
evotion.
No one
could
perform
sacrifice,
isit
temple,
r
revere
n
altar;
honors o the
gods
of
hearth, ome,
nd ndividual ere
orbidden,
hether
aid
n
ncense,
lame,
light,
r
garlands.92lthough
arlier
egislation
ad threatened
agans
with ire
punishments,
hose
aws had
rarely
een enforced.Now Theodosius truck t
the nstitutional
nd
social
supports
f
paganpractice:
he
property
f
anyone
86Ambrose
p.
17.9;
cf.
Ep.
18.31.
87
Carmen
ontra
aganos
5-30;
cf.
Cracco
Ruggini
979: 84-89.
88Jerome
p.
23.2-3,
nterpretingILS
259,back,
ines
9,
38-41
as
alluding
o
an
afterlifef
the
sort nvisionedt Macrob. n Somn.
.4.4-5,
1.15.1;
f.
Jer.
ontra
oann.
Hieros. .
89
On
the
history
nd
historiography
fthese
ears,
ee Hedrick
000:
37-88,
esp.
39-58;
Cracco
Ruggini
979 s
characteristically
conoclastic,
nsightful,
ndwell-documented.
9 August.
e civ.D.
5.26;
cf.
Ambrose e
obitu
heodosiani
0;
Rufinus
ist.
Eccl.
1.33;
Socrates
5.25;
Sozom.
7.24.3-7;
Theodoret ist.
Eccl.
.24.3-17.
91Ambrose e
obitu heodosiani
.
92
Cod.
Theod.
6.10.10-12,
n
which
ee
Matthews
975: 231-237.
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18/43
THE
PALLADIUM
AND
THE
PENTATEUCH
385
engaging
n
pagan
rites
wouldbe
confiscated,
s would
he and and
buildings
n
which uch ctivitiesook
place.
All
privileges
nd
exemptions
or
aganpriests
of
anydescription
erenow revoked.
ive
years ater,
Arcadius nd Honorius
granted
wo
concessions,
nthe nterestf
public
rder:
ublic
holidays
ere o
continue,
o
long
as
they
weredevoidof
religious
ontent,
nd
pagan temples
empty
f
llicit
hings
erenot o be
destroyed.93
According
o
Augustine,
heodosius
pared
the
sons of his
slain
enemies
because
he
wanted hem o take this
opportunity
o
convert.94
n
the
iterary
tradition,
heodosius ntered
ome n
triumph
nd addressed
he Senate.
The
occasion,
nce
nvented,
as
too
delicious o
impugn.
Prudentius
epicted
he
arrival f
Theodosius
n
Rome as a
watershed.
Theodosius
addressedRome
itself nd chastised t for tsworship f the monstrousmagesof decaying
gods.
Rome
silently
nd
mmediately
onverted:Then
for
hefirst
ime,
n
its
old
age,
did Rome blush nd
become
docile;
t was
ashamed f its
past,
and
hated he
years
pent
n
foul
uperstition."95
hen,
having
named everal
reat
families hat onvertedn that
day,
Prudentius
onfessed imself
nable o list
them
ll,96
ffering
he
caveat
hat ll
did not
convert,
nd
indeed vidence f
publicly rofessingagans
urvivesor
nother
orty
ears.
n
sum,
rebuke rom
Theodosius
roduced
mmediatessent
nd
silent
ontrition,
nd thus
were he
remnants
f
the
pagan ristocracy
onverted.
WhatPrudentiusoesnot
provide,
ndeed,
whathe