Michele Renee Salzman is a highly accomplished scholar of Greek and Latin, experienced lecturer in the subject of classics, and a published author of multiple books on ancient European religion, society, and politics. Her work, The Making of a Christian Aristocracy, provides an excellent historical perspective on the process of acceptance and transition from paganism to Christianity in ancient Rome. She accomplishes this by comparing and contrasting many of the common and widely accepted modern theories on the subject, referencing documents from the period, and contributing her own hypotheses and commentary, as needed. Salzman details the practices and cultural standards of ancient Roman society in order to illustrate the significance and …show more content…
Salzman references the letters, journals, and notes of over 400 members of the senatorial order with the intention of providing readers with some first-hand accounts of the changes and opinions of those involved in this major religious movement. According to these accounts, one major factor of the reluctance to convert was the nature of religion and society in this western culture. Unlike many modern states, the Roman Empire allowed their official religion to heavily influence political, economic, and cultural practices; according to Salzman, this caused understandable hesitancy on the part of the senatorial order. Accepting this conversion of religion would lead to changes in almost every aspect of life. Men, specifically, would jeopardize their futures and careers should they choose this path without the support of other aristocratic families. Women, on the other hand, were not as publicly prominent and unable to hold public offices. Salzman states that women were, perhaps, more easily influenced and interested in the Christian teachings because they speak more of equality than paganism. In the end, Salzman believes that Christianity spread across Rome through family units; starting with the individual family members and then on into other aristocratic …show more content…
Throughout the book, readers are provided with important definitions that aim to clarify the language used by historians, and other specialists, for those acquainted and unfamiliar with the topic. Dates, reference notes, and citations are used regularly to keep readers oriented and informed. Important names and figures are annotated to ensure understanding and competency, and Salzman does this with both the scholars she references and the historical figures she mentions. This book is an exceptional tool which could certainly be used as a foundational source of information for research on the conversion of Roman aristocracy, as well as an interesting read for one who simply appreciates the topic and scholarly theories concerning
For example, Thecla, a Christian woman in the second century, was able to leave her husband to follow the words of Paul and become a missionary. Though her family did not believe in this, Thecla is still capable to do what she wishes. Mary Magdalene is another example of a powerful Christian woman. She was highly respected in the church and thought to be a leader of her Christian community. Mary Magdalene worked on allowing women to teach. Considering that just before she met Jesus she was going to be stoned to death because she was a prostitute, Christianity saved her because she was given forgiveness. Because these two women and many more were successful following the Christian faith, many more women were attracted to it considering that their lives before were terrible (couldn’t make their own decisions/ were “owned” by their fathers or husbands) and Christianity offered forgiveness for sins that could have gotten them
In conclusion, this book was intriguing. It gives historical context and shows what the Roman Empire was like. It also demonstrates Christianity in a new way. The transformation of Antipas is, however, the most intriguing part of the book: a noble man of Rome who became a Christian and gave his life to save another. This book offers an intriguing story to a man mentioned once in John’s Revelation.
The Romans, originally called the Latins after the volcanic plain were they lived, were founded around 753BCE after the battle across the seven hills on the Tiber. The battle was fought between twin brothers Romulus and Remus, ending in the defeat of Remus (Duiker). Religion played a huge role in the daily life of Rome, the state religion lasting between 200BCE-250CE (“Roman Religion”). Temples to worship the gods were built throughout the Roman Empire and family houses would also have a small altar and shrine. The Roman religion was a mixture of fragmented rituals, taboos, superstitions, and traditions that they collected over the years from a number of sources. The Roman gods and goddess were a blend of several religious influences. Many of the gods and goddess were introduced through the Greek colonies of southern Italy; others had roots in old religions of the Etruscans or Latin tribes (“Roman Religion”). Roman authorities were generally tolerant of the dietes and religious practices of Empire subjects and tried to foster loyalty to the empire by merging these gods and goddess into the Roman Pantheon (Overfield). Normally all the Romans would require was that the various cults not threaten public order or morality. Cults like Bacchism, Celts Druid and Christianity were seen as violating all norms of social behavior and threatened the stability of Roman rule (Overfield). It was not until the rule of Constantine that Christianity was accepted. This Essay will explore the two religious practices, Vestal Virgins and Roman devotees of the cult of Isis, describing their religious life before Constantine’s conversion.
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In short, disestablishment is the most literal form of separation of Church and State; it prohibited the state from funding or establishing a religion. This was a continuation of the fight for the freedom on conscience. James Madison was very influential in this fight, “Religion was not invented by human policy” thus he argued that it should never be subjected to human policy (Maddison, 120). Maddison expresses that a person’s religion is to be determined by his own conviction and conscience, “and it is the right of every man to exercise it” (Maddison, 118). Freedom of religion, the first amendment, existed before disestablishment, but in it’s entirety was dependent on disestablishment. Establishment was achieved through imposing taxes on
Bryan Byerly Mrs. Wagner Western World 10 Seminar- 4 4 December, 2013 Christianity in Rome Essay Christianity became more prevalent in Roman society as time went on because it appealed to Rome and what Roman ideals were. In the beginning Romans were skeptical of changing religion, but as the years went by, the Romans adopted and changed. Christianity appealed to the Roman ideals, as it gave certain perks that their current polytheistic religion did not offer to them. The emperors of Rome had many different views on Christianity; some emperors encouraged change, and others were more traditional and wanted to stick to their current, polytheistic religion. Roman views on Christianity have changed drastically from the early years of the Roman
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Stanley, Tim. "Give Me That Old Time Religion." History Today 63.8 (2013): 50. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.CHURCH, S. D. "Paganism In Conversion-Age Anglo-Saxon England: The Evidence Of Bede's Ecclesiastical History Reconsidered." History 93.310 (2008): 162-180. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.Mayfield, Tyler. "Hebrew Bible." Masterplots II: Christian Literature (2007): 1-7. Literary Reference Center. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.Alward, Emily. "The Soul Of Christianity." Masterplots II: Christian Literature (2007): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.Hallissy, Margaret. "Christianity, The Pagan Past, And The Rituals Of Construction In William Golding's The Spire." Critique 49.3 (2008): 319-331. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Woman in early Christianity were treated a lot differently then than they are today. Woman had different roles, different stages, and different expectations than women have today. Even roles such as male and female were such a huge part of early Christianity. While Christians believe in one God and essentially one spirit, the Greco-Romans differ from Christians in many ways. With that being said, the Greco-Roman society participates in early Christianity and discovers many challenges while learning about their differences in both religions.
While the history of Christianity is a thoroughly documented body of work, compiling a comprehensive history of paganism is a difficult task, if not an impossible one. How do we conceptualize paganism? What was the character of paganism in the age of the Carolingians? In James Palmer’s ‘Defining Paganism in the Carolingian World’, he claims that paganism as a basic idea is fairly concrete, but that paganism as a system of belief remains a largely unknown area. Palmer makes the case that any modern conception of the character of paganism is due almost entirely to its representation in Christian sources of the era.