Raymond Solga
Elite Attitudes Toward Foreign and New ReligionsIn the Ancient Roman World
This is a study of the reaction of Roman elites to
religious innovation and foreign influences. During the
imperial period foreign religious influences played an
important role in Roman life and the Roman elite had a
somewhat ambivalent view of them. Everyone in the empire was
required to make public sacrifices to the emperor and the
gods of the Roman state. This can be seen as a loyalty test
of sorts, but people were allowed to take part in other
religious activities besides their official obligation.
Generally foreign religious practices were tolerated as long
as they did not prevent people from worshiping the official
state gods, especially the emperor. However, the practice of
magic was illegal under Roman law, even though the vast
majority of Romans sought out some kind of magical
assistance. Educated Romans were critical of what they
considered superstition, which was generally considered
excessive fear of the gods, but thought it only proper to
1
perform a reasonable amount of sacrifices to the gods in
order to show them respect. “In Rome, religio (national and
authentic) was readily contrasted with superstitio (exotic and
suspect).”1 I expect to find a variety of opinions,
positive, negative and mixed, on various religious
practices. Although innovation in religion was generally
seen in a negative light certain practices were approved of
despite their novelty.
Some of the research questions I will be addressing
are: How did they define superstition? How did they perceive
magic? How did they perceive divination? How were different
cults perceived and treated by the larger society? What
justifications were used for treating some religious groups
differently than others? What laws were made regarding
religious practices? What is known about the practices of
the mystery religions? What were opinions on religion among
elites? How did they change over time?
1 Robert Turcan, The Cults of the Roman Empire Trans. by Antonia Nevill. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1996.), 10.
2
In the Roman Empire there were many mystery religions
coming from various regions of the empire. Mystery religions
are religions that use secret rites or doctrines that only
members are allowed to know about. Today the best known of
the mystery religions is Christianity, which was just one of
the many foreign religions that spread throughout the empire
at its beginning. Other mystery cults focused on Demeter (a
Greek goddess of the harvest), Isis (an Egyptian Goddess),
Mithras (an Indo-Iranian god who was popular with Roman
soldiers), Dionysus (Greek god of wine), Cybele – Magna
Mater (a mother goddess from Asia Minor), among other
deities. People were allowed to practice these religions as
long as they also worshiped the state gods. The refusal of
Christians to worship the imperial cult set them apart from
society and led to persecution. There are more Roman sources
that are critical of Christianity than any of the other
religions of the time. Since the mystery cults demanded that
its members keep certain aspects of their religion secret
there is much that is not known about them today. However,
sources on some of the other religious practices and on
3
religious leaders do exist and I intend to examine them as
well in order to understand the attitude of Roman
intellectuals toward foreign religions.
“Intellectuals like Cicero and Seneca and poets like
Horace want us to believe that superstitio was an insanity, an
illness of the mind… However, it was widespread and deeply
rooted in Roman society.”2 Professional soothsayers, dream
interpreters, astrologers, and magicians were hired
throughout the Roman Empire by people from all levels of
society, and the price for their services varied greatly.
There are accounts of Roman Senators using magic to further
their political goals. “In one of the stories, M. Scribonius
Libo Drusus, a relative of the emperor Tiberius, was accused
in AD16 of aiming for the throne. According to Tacitus (Ann.
2.27-31) the senator Firmus Catus… had: promoted the young
man, who was thoughtless and an easy prey to delusions, to
resort to astrologers’ promises… magical rites… and
interpreters of dreams…”3 Libo Drusus was forced to commit
2 Rupke, Jorg. A Companion to Roman Religion. (Malden, Massachussets: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2007.), 339. 3 Rupke, A Companion to Roman Religion, 340
4
suicide, and “In the aftermath of the alleged conspiracy of
Libo Drusus, the senate expelled astrologers and magicians…
from Rome and italy and at least two of them were executed…
According to the chronicle of the late antique Codex
Calendar of 354, 54 sorcerers and 85 sorceresses were even
executed under Tiberius.”4 This shows that Roman elites
took unofficial and foreign religious practices seriously,
whether they believed they were effective or not.
In Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age, Antonia Tripolitis
describes the foundations of Hellenistic and Roman religious
practices. She argues that the Greeks, who had great
influence on Roman culture, began to lose confidence in
their traditional gods in the 5th century B.C.E.5 because of
the influence of the Sophists, Plato, and a new
understanding of cosmology. People continued to worship the
ancient gods, but by the 4th century “the ordinary man and
woman no longer placed their hope or faith on the ancient
gods, whom they believed could not alleviate their daily
4 Rupke, A Companion to Roman Religion, 3415 Tripolitis, Antonia. 2002. Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 14.
5
encounters with the vicissitudes of Hellenistic life.”6
Mystery cults used “purification rites, their enthusiasm and
ecstasy, and their rewards of immortality through personal
identification with the deity” to meet the individual’s
desire for “salvation, revelation, peace of mind, or inner
illumination.”7 These included both oriental cults and cults
created around the traditional gods of Greece, which spread
throughout the Roman Empire. Unlike the traditional gods and
the cult of the ruler, the mystery religions offered
salvation, meaning protection in this life and a better life
after death. The ruler was called savior because he assured
the peace and prosperity of his subjects on earth. However,
people were skeptical of the cult of the ruler since its
primary purpose was political rather than meeting people’s
spiritual needs.
Another difference between the official religion and
the mystery cults was that the old “gods were often limited
in both scope and function.”8 They were associated with
6 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 157 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 168 Turcan, The Cults of the Roman Empire, 25
6
certain professions, activities and geographical areas, so
people could not call on them for all of their needs. In
contrast, the gods of the mystery cults took on a degree of
universality in that the power of these gods was defined
more broadly.
Mystery Religions and the Literary Critics
“The oldest and most significant for the development of
Hellenistic-Roman mysteries was the cult of Demeter situated
at Eleusis, some 14 miles west of the city of Athens.”9 This
continued to be a destination for pilgrims as long as the
cult existed. It began as a local religion, but grew so that
by “the 7th century, Eleusis acquired immense prestige as a
holy place and a shrine of pilgrimage… The cult’s ever-
increasing popularity resulted in the continuous expansion
and development of the sanctuary and its facilities. It
reached the zenith of its development during the Roman
imperial period.”10 There are many aspects of the cult that
remain hidden to this day. Demeter was the Greek goddess of
9 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 1710 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 20
7
grain and the annual renewal of vegetation to the Earth.
There were two stages of Eleusinian mysteries. The Lesser
Mysteries were celebrated in Athens and were open to the
public both as initiates and observers. This part “included
fasting, the ritual of washing and purification by water,
and public sacrifice. It served as a preliminary exercise to
determine the worthiness of the participants and to prepare
them for the initiation into the Greater Mysteries, the
second and highest stage of the mysteries.”11 The Greater
Mysteries were held in Eleusis and lasted for ten days
because that was how long Demeter searched for her daughter
Persephone before she found out that she had been kidnapped
by Pluto, the god of the underworld. The ritual “included
three elements: the dromena, the things demonstrated; the
legonmena, the words spoken; and the deiknoumena, the objects
that were shown.”12 All that is known is that part of the
dromena included a reenactment of the abduction of
Persephone. People from all over the known world sought to
be initiated into this cult, “including several emperors…
11 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 2012 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 21
8
However, not everyone who sought initiation was accepted,
only people of approved moral character. Nero never visited
Eleusis because he knew that he would probably be denied
initiation, and Appollonius of Tyana was refused
participation because he was considered a magician.”13
Cicero said of the mysteries that “‘we recognize in them the
true principles of life’” and have learned from them “‘how
to live in happiness and how to die with a better hope.’”14
Clearly this cult is an example of a religion that had the
approval of the elites. That this cult existed for a long
time certainly helped it gain the approval of Romans, as did
the fact that Demeter was one of the twelve Olympian gods.
Isis was an Egyptian goddess that acquired new
attributes as her cult spread throughout the Greek world,
but “her dominant trait was as devoted wife and mother, the
divine patroness of family life.”15 In the classical myth,
Isis’s brother Osiris is killed by his twin brother Seth,
who dismembers the body and throws it into the Nile. Isis
13 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 2114 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 2115 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 27
9
and her sister Nephtys search for the body parts, reassemble
them, and perform the embalming ritual, which bring Osiris
back to life. In the Egyptian tradition Osiris is of more
importance, and Isis’s duty is to mourn him and try to
receive him. The Hellenistic tradition made Isis the central
figure. Plutarch gives an account of the myth in his On Isis
and Osiris 16. “Isis’s early identification with Demeter
facilitated the popularity and expansion of her cult and
enhanced her role as wife and mother. Both had wandered,
mourned and suffered for a beloved family member, and both
were successful in the restoration of the lost family
member.”17 Equating foreign gods with similar gods within
their own tradition was typical in the Roman world, as it
was among the Greeks, which made it more palatable to people
within the society by making them less foreign.
The cult of Dionysus was quite popular and wide
spread18. Dionysus was the god of wine, and like Demeter, a
nature god and one of the twelve Olympian gods. Unlike the
16 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 2617 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 2718 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 22.
10
Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter there was never any
institution that created a standardized religion, so there
is variety in the rituals of the cult and in the stories
told about Dionysus. Euripides provides us with a
description of the public rites of the cult in his play the
Bacchae 19. “A development of the cult of Dionysus during the
Classical period was the theater and two dramatic forms,
tragedy and comedy, which served as a principal expression
of the public worship of Dionysus and were an essential part
of Greek culture.” 20 Dionysus was popular in the Greek
world, “but it was not until the Hellenistic-Roman age that
this cult gained wide acceptance and was publicly promoted
by kings and emperors.” 21 The cult spread rapidly through
the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C.E. in Roman Italy. At this time
“initiates held secret meetings and had secret signs by
which they recognized each other, and changes were made to
the initiation ceremonies, or Bacchanalia. Wine drinking and
feasting were added to the religious component, which led to
19 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 23.20 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 23.21 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 23.
11
ecstatic fanaticism and the practice of scandalous
behavior.” 22 The Roman senate considered them a threat and
passed laws restricting the cult. Livy gives an account of
the spread of the cult of Dionysus in 186 BCE as well as the
reaction of the Senate, which places restrictions on cult
worship. “Many of their audacious deeds were brought about
by treachery, but most of them by force; it served to
conceal the violence, that, on account of the loud shouting,
and the noise of drums and cymbals… The infection of this
mischief, like that from the contagion of disease, spread
from Etruria to Rome;” 23 The senate thought it was a threat
to their authority, and passed a law forbidding the
celebration of Bacchanalia, not allowing citizens to join
the cult, not allowing them to organize or have a common
treasury, and not allowing them to meet in groups larger
than five. 24 The cult continued for centuries after, but
did not enjoy the same enthusiasm it had earlier. Although
22 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 24.23 Halsall, Paul. Ancient History Sourcebook: Roman Religious Toleration: The Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus, 186 BCE, 1998. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/livy39.html
24 Halsall, Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus, 186 BCE
12
this was a Greek and Roman god this cult faced persecution
because its power rivaled that of the official government of
Rome.
Cybele originally comes from Anatolia and is often
referred to as Magna Mater. Evidence shows that her cult can
be traced to the Neolithic age. “During her prehistoric
existence, Cybele was revered as Earth Mother.” 25 Believers
thought of her as the mother of the gods, mankind and all
other life. The cult was especially important in the
Phyrgian kingdom in Asia Minor, where she was their national
goddess. “The Phyrgians are also responsible for the wild
and barbaric features of the cult, the loud ululations and
wild dances that incited people to bloody self-flagellation
and self-mutilation.” 26 She was seen as akin to Demeter and
Isis in the Greek world and came to take on similar
characteristics in their culture, as goddess of the earth,
fertility and agriculture. Because of the ecstatic dance of
members of this cult it was associated with the cult of
Dionysus as well. Its Asiatic style of worship prevented the
25 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 30.26 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 31.
13
cult from becoming very popular in Greece. Livy provides an
excellent example of how a foreign religion was integrated
into Roman culture. He writes about how the cult of Magna
Mater was officially recognized by the Roman state in 204
B.C.E. “About this time the citizens were much exercised by
a religious question which had lately come up. Owing to the
unusual number of showers of stones which had fallen during
the year, an inspection had been made of the Sibylline
Books, and some oracular verses had been discovered which
announced that whenever a foreign foe should carry war into
Italy he could be driven out and conquered if the Mater
Magna were brought from Pessinos [in Phrygia] to Rome.” 27
Rome was under threat from its old enemy Carthage, with
Hannibal and his men marching through the Italian
countryside at will. The interpretation of signs was taken
seriously, and was done officially by augurs. Due to this
prediction a delegation was sent from Rome to bring the
statue of Cybele to Rome, where she was placed in the temple
of Victory until a new temple was built for her. It was
27 Halsall, Roman Religious Toleration: The Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus
14
officially recognized by the Roman state and received money
from patrician families. However, participation in the cult
was restricted due to certain features of the cult, like
“The extravagance in the ceremonies, the barbaric corybantic
enthusiasm of the galli, or eunuch priests, their mad
hypnotic dances accompanied by the loud shrill of the flute,
and the sound of the tympanum that led to their self-
mutilation were abhorrent to the Romans… Romans could not
serve as priests, play the sacred instruments, or take part
in the orgies. All this changed beginning with the time of
Claudius (41-54 C.E.).” 28 After Claudius the cult was
allowed to spread in Italy and Romans were allowed to become
priests. It is interesting the way Romans treated the cult
for over 200 years from the time it was brought to Rome. It
was incorporated into the pantheon during a time of crisis
in order to save Rome from destruction, but because it was
so foreign the elites did not want it to spread because it
would change Roman traditions. After 200 years it became
28 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 33.
15
popular and more familiar, so it was politically expedient
to allow the religion to be practiced openly.
“Mithra was an Indo-Iranian deity whose earliest
recorded evidence is found in a 14th century B.C.E. treaty
between the Hittites and their neighbors, the Mitanni of
Upper Mesopotamia.” 29 Mithra was seen as a guarantor of
treaties, and as an intermediary between mankind and the
supreme deity, “the Indian Varuna and the Persian Ahura
Mazda…” 30 There is little written evidence about the
teachings and practices of Mithras followers so much of what
is known comes from archaeological evidence found in the
mithraea, which were small caves where small groups of
worshipers met. The image of Mithra slaying a bull is common
to all known mithraea. “All that can be said with some
certainty is that the slaying of the bull has a
soteriological significance. It was an act of salvation that
is an important aspect in all the ancient mystery religions
and cults.” 31 Other important aspects of the religion
29 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 47. 30 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 47.31 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 49.
16
depicted on cave walls are the sacred meal, which is
reenacted by cult members, and the birth of Mithras out of a
rock, which was said to have happened on December 25.
Members of the cult were divided into seven levels through
which members advanced. Women were prohibited from joining
the religion, which made it difficult to compete with
Christianity, which eventually eclipsed Mithraism. Mithraism
is thought to have been introduced in Rome by Cilican
pirates, who were brought to Rome after their defeat by the
Roman general Pompey in 66 B.C.E. “By the end of the 1st
century C.E., it had begun to spread throughout the empire,
and by the middle of the 3rd century it had become the most
important of the contemporary cults.” 32 It was especially
popular among Roman soldiers and in Rome itself, becoming
popular among Roman elites and spreading along the Roman
frontier and in port cities. Mithraism was able to spread
because of the support of imperial officials and emperors
and because of the fact that worshipers were allowed to
worship other gods. Also, the movement towards sun worship
32 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 56.
17
in the empire helped the spread of Mithraism because Mithras
had always been associated with the sun god. Mithraism was
very influential beginning with the reign of Emperor
Aurelian, who made the cult of Sol Invictus (the invincible
sun) an official religion of Rome. Even though he did not
practice Mithraism, this recognition helped the spread of
Mithraism because of the association. Then, in 308 C.E. a
conference was held with Diocletian, who had recently
abdicated as emperor, and his successors. After the
conference they declared that “Mithras the invincible sun
[to be] god and protector of their rule…” 33 which made
Mithras the official god of the Roman state, replacing the
less-specific sun god of Aurelian. However this was short
lived because in 312 Constantine became sole ruler of the
Roman Empire and he promoted Christianity as the official
religion of Rome. There was a chance for Mithraism to regain
its former status during the reign of Emperor Julian, a life
long Mithras follower. However he only reigned briefly, from
361-363, and was followed by Christian rulers who persecuted
33 Tripolitis, Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age, 57.
18
the Mithras cult. Although foreign in origin, the fact that
Mithras was a sun god helped popularize the cult because sun
worship was already practiced in Rome, and as mentioned
earlier Romans often identified foreign gods with those they
already worshiped.
A major world religion today, Christianity began as a
small apocalyptic sect. When Christianity emerged in the
first century C.E. it was considered by Romans to be a sect
of Judaism. Although an exact date cannot be determined for
when Christianity began to be viewed as a new religion, “By
the 60’s… we may assume that Christianity had emerged as a
new religion in the Roman Empire.” 34 The change in Rome’s
perception of Christianity as a new religion rather than a
sect within Judaism brought about a change in the way the
Roman government treated Christians. One reason for this was
that Christianity was a new religion. Judaism, like other
religions within the empire, was allowed by Rome, so Jews
were allowed to practice their religion. Christianity was
34 Bainton, Roland H. Early Christianity. New York: Van Nostrand, 1960.
19
deemed to be a separate religion from Judaism because
Christians worshiped Jesus Christ as their god. Since
Christianity was not Judaism, and was therefore a new
religion it was illicit, because anything new was bad from a
Roman perspective. Also, Jesus was a person who was executed
as a criminal by Roman authority, and in the eyes of
Christians his authority was superior to that of the emperor
of Rome. This was seen as an affront to the authority of the
emperor and Rome. Another charge levied against Christians
was that they refused to participate in the imperial cult.
Jews were even given a special exemption from participating
in the imperial cult, which required everyone in the empire
to make a sacrifice to the emperor as a god. Since
Christianity was a new religion, and not a sect of Judaism,
practitioners were not extended the same exemption from the
imperial cult.
The first persecution of Christians took place in 64
C.E. under the emperor Nero. That year, there had been a
terrible fire which consumed much of the city of Rome, and
many people believed that Nero himself had started the fire.
20
“Therefore,” according to Tacitus, “to quiet the rumor, Nero
cast the blame and ingeniously punished a people popularly
called Christians and hated for their crimes.” 35 The crimes
he refers to are “not so much… arson… [but] hatred of the
human race” 36, a claim which plays into the Roman
perception of Christians as different than other Romans and
the suspicion that surrounds them due to their supposed
secrecy and refusal to participate in many aspects of public
life in Rome, which made them a convenient scapegoat. He
goes on to say “Whence, though the victims were deserving of
the severest penalty, nevertheless compassion arose on the
ground that they suffered not for the public good but to
glut the cruelty of one man.” 37 Here Tacitus makes two
points: that the Christians didn’t, and weren’t believed to
have set the fire and that even though they weren’t guilty
of this they deserved to be punished anyway for being
Christians.
35 Bainton, Early Christianity, 8736 Bainton, Early Christianity, 8737 Bainton, Early Christianity, 87
21
A letter from Pliny, a provincial Roman governor in
Bithynia, to the emperor Trajan between 111 and 113 C.E.
sheds some light on the nature of Roman persecution of
Christians in the second century. In the letter he asks
Trajan for advice on how to deal with Christians who are
brought to him and explains the considerations and methods
he has been using. Having never witnessed trials of
Christians, he wonders “whether profession of the name
should be punished if there be no attendant crime or whether
only the crimes associated with the name are subject to
penalty.”38 By this he means to ask whether they should be
punished for the crime of arson, which was associated with
their name, or for their refusal to worship the emperor,
which is what Pliny does. He also says “I do not doubt that
whatever it was that they profess, surely their stubbornness
and inflexible obstinacy deserved to be punished.” 39 This
shows that he was somewhat indifferent to what the
Christians believe as long as they show submission to the
emperor. He goes on to say “There were others addicted to
38 Bainton, Early Christianity, 8839 Bainton, Early Christianity, 88
22
this same madness…” 40 This refers to Christianity, which
indicates that he viewed it as a sort of mental illness,
which is akin to Cicero and Seneca’s views on superstition.
To test those denounced to him as Christians he would ask
them if they were, giving them three chances to recant, and
if they denied being Christians they had to worship an image
of the emperor and curse Christ. Trajan replies in a letter
that he “has followed the proper procedures in dealing with
Christians… No absolute rule can be laid down. They are not
to be hunted out… [and] he who denies that he is a Christian
and proves it by supplicating our gods, although suspect in
the past, may gain pardon from penitence.” 41 This shows
that Trajan’s policy towards Christians was not a sustained
effort, and that as long as the Christian in question showed
his submission he would be forgiven.
In addition to the official persecutions of Christians
by Roman authorities there were elites who were vehemently
opposed to Christianity. Writing in 177-180 C.E., the Roman
intellectual Celsus offers an example of elite pagan
40 Bainton, Early Christianity, 8841 Bainton, Early Christianity, 89
23
attitudes towards Christians. One charge he makes is that
the Christians practice obscurantism, which means
deliberately preventing the facts from being known. He
writes that they “do not even want to give or to receive a
reason for what they believe, and use such expressions as
‘Do not ask questions; just believe,’… [and] ‘Let no one
educated, no one wise, no one sensible draw near. For these
abilities are thought to be evil.” 42 Here he is asserting
that Christian teachings are anathema to true wisdom and
civilization. He goes on to accuse them of corrupting the
minds of women and children, telling them that “they must
not pay any attention to their father or school-teachers,
but must obey [the Christian leaders]… [and] urge the
children on to rebel.” 43 Rome was a patriarchal society,
and the Paterfamilias, or Father of the family, was the
ultimate authority within a family. To a Roman it was truly
scandalous that women and children should be encouraged to
disobey the father. It was seen as undermining the fabric of
society.
42 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11143 Bainton, Early Christianity, 111-112
24
Next Celsus takes on the notion that God has come to
earth to judge mankind, calling it “most shameful…” 44 He
questions whether God’s purpose was to learn about mankind,
yet Christians claim that God knows everything, and if this
is true “why does he not correct men, and why can he not do
this by his divine power?” 45 rather than by sending his son
to die on a cross. He also criticizes God’s supposed
lateness in sending Jesus, saying “Is it only now after such
a long age that God has remembered to judge the life of men?
Did he not care before?” 46 This is a reasoned attack based
on Celsus’s cultural assumptions about religion as a Roman,
which differ from those of Christians now as then.
He goes on to compare Christians and Jews “to a cluster
of bats or ants coming out of a nest, or frogs holding
council round a marsh, or worms assembling in some filthy
corner, disagreeing with one another about which of them are
the worst sinners.” 47 This is a classic attack used by
those in the majority culture to dehumanize members of a
44 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11245 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11246 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11247 Bainton, Early Christianity, 113
25
non-conforming minority, and it can be seen throughout
history. It is also an assertion that the Christians and
Jews are both right in their attacks on each other. He
continues by mocking the belief of Christians and Jews that
they hold a special place in God’s plan for the universe,
communicates only with them “disregarding the vast earth to
give attention to us alone…” 48 and that non-believers will
be punished, “when God applies the fire (like a cook!), all
the rest of mankind will be thoroughly roasted and they
alone will survive, not merely those who are alive at the
time but those who are long dead who will rise up from the
earth possessing the same bodies as before.” 49 The idea
that God would ignore the vast majority of the world in
favor of people as low as the Christians and Jews is
ludicrous on it’s face from Celsus’s perspective, and so are
the concepts of God’s punishment of non-believers and
raising the dead Christians, because he was raised in an
aristocratic, pagan Roman family.
48 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11349 Bainton, Early Christianity, 113
26
The next line of attack against the Christians is
against Jesus himself. He uses a Jewish source which says,
“He came from a Jewish village and from a poor country woman
who earned her living by spinning… She was turned out by the
carpenter who was betrothed to her, as she had been
convicted of adultery and had a child by a certain soldier
named Panthera… While she was wandering about in a
disgraceful way she gave birth to Jesus… Because he was poor
he hired himself out as a workman in Egypt, and there tried
his hand at certain magical powers on which the Egyptians
pride themselves; he returned full of conceit because of
these powers, and on account of them gave himself the title
of God…” 50 This account of Jesus’ life gives a negative
impression of him as: the son of an adulterous woman, a
shameful thing, particularly in this period; poor, something
that would also be shameful to an aristocratic Roman and
evidence of his dishonesty; and a charlatan who went to
Egypt, a place thought to be full of sorcerers in Roman
eyes, to learn magic and used this magic to pretend to be a
50 Bainton, Early Christianity, 113
27
god. The charge of practicing magic is familiar in Roman
history and is used on many different people and practices.
Next, Celsus attacks Jesus’ disciples as “ten or eleven
infamous men, the most wicked tax collectors and sailors,
and with these fled hither and thither, collecting a means
of livelihood in a disgraceful and importunate way…” 51 Tax
collectors were hated because people didn’t want to pay
taxes, and sailors were viewed much as the stereotype is
today: curse like a sailor, drink like a sailor, and sleep
around like a sailor; so the people Jesus surrounded himself
with did not speak well of him. He goes on to say “The body
of a god would not have been born as you, Jesus, were born…
The body of a god would also not eat food…” 52 Here he is
displaying his culture’s view of what a god was supposed to
be like, which differed widely from Christianity. Then
Celsus quotes his Jewish source again, which says, “he did
not manifest anything which he professed to do, and when we
had convicted him, condemned him, and decided that he should
be punished, was caught hiding himself and escaping most
51 Bainton, Early Christianity, 113-11452 Bainton, Early Christianity, 114
28
disgracefully, and indeed betrayed by those whom he called
disciples?” 53 Celsus comments that no good general, or even
a robber chieftain was ever betrayed by his followers, and
this shows that Jesus was a poor leader, since he didn’t
even inspire the good will of his followers. Next Celsus
criticizes the claim that Jesus foretold what would happen
to him, saying “why did they not fear him as God, so that
the one did not betray him nor the other deny him?” 54 He
also argues that if Jesus was a god and had allowed himself
to be punished on purpose, then it would not have been
painful, so “Why then does he utter loud laments and
wailings, and pray that he may avoid the fear of death…” 55
Then he criticizes the story of Jesus coming back to life,
saying, “But who saw this? An hysterical female, and perhaps
some other one of those who were deluded by the same
sorcery… If Jesus really wanted to show forth divine power,
he ought to have appeared to the very men who treated him
despitefully, and to the men who condemned him and to
53 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11454 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11455 Bainton, Early Christianity, 114
29
everyone everywhere.” 56 Here, Celsus displays typical Roman
misogyny in his description of Mary Magdalene, and concludes
by applying a final consideration, that Jesus should have
proven himself a god if he was one.
Finally, Celsus addresses the political aloofness of
Christians, saying “If they refuse to worship in the proper
way the lords in charge of the following activities, then
they ought neither to come to the estate of a free man, nor
to marry a wife, nor to beget children, nor to do anything
else in life.” 57 He is saying that if Christians do not
honor the emperor and the traditional gods of Rome, then
they should not enjoy the benefits that are bestowed by
Rome. The Roman gods were seen by Celsus and others as the
protectors of Rome and the providers of prosperity, so it
was a civic duty to honor them. Next he makes a case in
favor of the authority of the emperor, saying “We ought not
to disbelieve the ancient man who long ago declared ‘Let
there be one king’… For, if you overthrow this doctrine, it
is probable the emperor will punish you. If anyone were to
56 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11557 Bainton, Early Christianity, 115
30
do the same as you, there would be nothing to prevent him
from being abandoned, alone and deserted, while earthly
things would come into the power of the most lawless and
savage barbarians…” 58 Here he is saying that it is right
that the emperor punish anyone who challenges his status as
the Christians have by declaring Jesus their only lord
because if people like the Christians had their way the
empire would fall to barbarians. Finally, he argues that the
Christian God would not protect Rome if the Romans converted
to Christianity. To prove this, he says “Instead of being
masters of the world, they [the Jews] have been left with no
land and home of any kind. While in your case, if anyone
does still wander about in secret, yet he is sought out and
condemned to death.” 59 In the ancient world a god’s power
is judged by the success of the people who worship that god.
By those standards the God of Christianity and Judaism
doesn’t seem powerful from Celsus’ perspective.
Conclusions
58 Bainton, Early Christianity, 11559 Bainton, Early Christianity, 115
31
Looking at the most common foreign and innovative
religious practices in the Roman Empire it is clear that
there are some common threads in how they are perceived and
treated by the establishment. Although the Romans generally
looked down on foreigners, they had a significant impact on
Roman culture. With eastern religions like Christianity,
Mithraism, Isis, and Cybele integration came easier if there
were some parallels with Roman religion. The cult of Demeter
was accepted at all levels of Roman society because she had
a direct Roman counterpart, Ceres. The cult of Demeter was
small, exclusive, and non political, so there was no reason
for Romans to object. Isis was associated with Demeter, and
the cult of Isis was around for a long period of time,
becoming Hellenized before becoming popular in Rome. Cybele
had also been Hellenized, but the practice of self
castration of priests had an alien oriental quality to it
that Romans had a hard time accepting, which is why it was
restricted for the first 200 years that it was in Rome.
Mithras was associated with the sun god, which Romans
worshiped in many other forms before the arrival of that
32
cult. On the other hand, Christianity did not have a
counterpart in Roman religion, but was somewhat associated
with Judaism, a sect not well liked by Romans. Also,
Christians denied the existence of all the other gods, which
greatly offended Roman sensibilities. Another common factor
across the different religions was that the longer they were
around the more likely they were to be accepted. Only after
existing in the Roman consciousness for centuries did any of
the religions gain widespread acceptance. Notably, Dionysus’
cult was quite popular, but when it began to be seen as a
threat to the established order it was persecuted. Cybele
was seen as a threat because it was so different, but after
a long period of controlled exposure it became fashionable.
Christianity was also seen as a threat and was persecuted
sporadically. The fact that Christians were not allowed to
worship other gods, including the state gods, offended the
Romans. All of the other Mystery Religions allowed their
adherents to worship other gods, and if they hadn’t they
would have been persecuted by the Roman state for not
worshiping the gods of Rome. The practice of magic was also
33
proscribed, although it was quite popular. This is because
magic was widely believed to be effective and because it was
most often used for nefarious purposes, particularly putting
curses on people. Since there was no legitimate use for
magic it made sense that it remained illegal, but because it
was thought to be effective people continued to use it.
34
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Halsall, Paul. Ancient History Sourcebook: Roman Religious
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http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/livy39.html
Halsall, Paul. Ancient History Sourcebook: Roman Religiones
Licitae and Illicitae, c. 204 BCE - 112 CE, 1998.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/romrelig2.html
Rupke, Jorg. A Companion to Roman Religion. Malden,
Massachussets: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2007.
Tripolitis, Antonia. 2002. Religions of the Hellenistic Roman Age.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Turcan, Robert. The Cults of the Roman Empire. Trans. by Antonia
Nevill. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1996.
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