Strana et Illicita - Senatorial Decree, 35 CE History, Christianity and the Transformation of the Classical World 100 BCE – 100 CE A. Century of Turmoil 1. Social Wars 91 BCE optimates v. populares 2. Spartacan Revolt 73 BCE 3. New Men in power 59 BCE - 1st Triumvirate Crassus, Pompey, Caesar B. Crossing the Rubicon 1. Julius Caesar - Gallic conquests 2. & Cleopatra - Ptolemies d. 44 BCE C. The end of the Republic 1. Second Triumvirate 42 BCE - Octavian, Marc Antony, Lepidus - Battle of Actium 31 BCE Age of the Emperors Octavian changes name to Caesar Augustus “Invisible Monarchy” Senate remains, but republic is lost D. The Roman Soul in Crisis 1. Mystery Cults - secret rituals - required initiation - ecstatic response / presence of god - eternal life 2. Monotheism? Gaia – “Mother Earth” Cicero 106-43 BCE Stoicism – duty to one’s role divine providence II. Early Christianity & the Classical World A. Traditions in conflict 1. Judah the Maccabee Hasmoneans 165-63 BCE - Hebrews v. Hellenism - cosmopolitan v. traditionalist Seleucid Kingdom B. Hebrew Resistance to Rome 1. Pompey & the Pirates 2. Judea 63 BCE Pompey in the Temple of Jerusalem 3. Division - Sadducees qualified interaction written law - Hasidim cultural purity Pharisees Hillel the Elder Zealots (6 CE) prophetic visions life after death “Golden Rule” 4. Grassroots fervor - John the Baptist “generation of vipers!” Critic of Hebrew leaders C. Joshua ben Joseph ca. 6-30 CE 1. Populist - Jewish tradition - miracle worker Messiah (?) 2. Progressive - Sermon on the Mount [Matthew] - appeal to/for the powerless, despised “spirit of the law” III. From Cult to Institution A. The Cult of Christ 1. Maintained cult as Jewish sect - circumcision; Torah - conversion to Judaism - baptism; eucharist James 2. Messiah? - Again with the Gentiles - stumbling block: the crucifixion 3. We’re not with them - Roman / Hebrew War, 66-73 CE - Gospels: blame the Jews Masada 4. Pagans for Jesus - mythology Osiris, Tammuz, Dionysus, Horus - women & slaves - the End is near (look busy) 5. Appeal and threat - Decius r. 249-251 B. Paul of Tarsus 1. 5-67 CE Paul’s vision - completion of Jewish history - scripturally based: “Old” (Hellenized Jews) “New” Testament Gospels (second-hand) Epistles (letters of instruction) Acts (Church history) Revelation (crisis literature) 2. Break from Hebrew tradition - salvation was gift (grace) - salvation open to non-Jews - salvation dependent on faith, membership, & ritual MYSTERY CULT 3. Hierarchy - patriarchates - bishops; presbyters; deacons/deaconesses - ecclesiae Roman model Limited role of women (1 Corinthians) - subordinate to Church - subordinate to husbands 4. Roll call of the damned – 1 Corinthians - creation of the “other” - paganism; fornicators (homosexuality ?) - Roman decline - echo of Augustus emphasized Greco-Roman concept of jurisprudence - spirit and letter of the law 5 Salvation always in peril – the Devil - Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda – singular; all good evil exists independently - demons n’stuff - problems of perfection Paul organized early Christianity and made it appealing to a wide array of people... …but it was Roman oppression that gave Christians an added sense of identity through shared hardship IV. Rome in the Augustan Age Why an Emperor? 1. [Rhetorical] defense of Republican virtues 2. Reform / civic peace 3. The Pax Romana 31 BCE - 192 CE A. Invisible monarchy 1. What’s in a name? Augustus 27 BCE, - Imperium Maius, imperator - princeps civitatus - Consul, 2. Reform the Senate 3. Build Equestrian class Governor B. Army reform 1. Addition by subtraction - 60 to 28 legions - dispersal - Praetorian Guard 2. The Legionnaires - standing army / navy - long tours - chance for promotion - veterans benefits 3. The Auxiliaries - chance for citizenship Army was a crucial instrument in spreading influence C. Make the world “Rome” Little Romes - fusion of cultures - loyal patricians - bureaucracy D. Moral Regeneration 1. The “family values” Emperor - tax breaks for kids - stiff penalties for adultery, the unmarried “virtue” 2. Pontifex maximus - “Cult of the Genius of the Emperor” What links the Empire together?