Transcript Catacomb of Priscilla. Fractio Panis.

The Period of
Persecutions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Empire and its gods.
The cult of the Emperor.
Local persecution under Nero in 64 CE.
Charges against Christians.
Christian apologists respond.
Olympic gods
The Father of all gods
Jupiter (Zeus) Capitolinus
Family tree of the Homeric gods
Minucius Felix, Octavius
(selections).
1. Based upon chap. 6, what are some characteristic traits
of the Roman religion?
2. According to chap. 7, why do the Romans worship their
gods?
3. How were Christians commonly perceived by the nonChristians (chap. 8)?
4. What rumors circulate about Christian practices among
the outsiders (chap. 9)? What could be the grounds for
these rumors?
5. What peculiar traits distinguish Christianity from other
religions of the Roman Empire (chap. 10, 12)?
Gods mentioned in Octavius 6. 1.
Ceres. Latin goddess of
vegetation. Vatican
Museum.
Demeter. Cnidus,
330 B. C.
Asclepius. National
Museum of Athens.
Mercury
(Hermes).
Ishtar (Astarte). Phoenician
ivory plaque
Diana of Ephesus.
Pagan caricature of the Christian God (see Octavius 9. 3)
Mystery cults: Persian god Mithras
Triclinum
Mithraeum (1st c. C. E.) under the Church of San Clemente in
Rome
The Murder of Julius Caesar
The Senate declared him god
“Yet this father, this high
priest, this inviolable being,
this hero and god, is dead,
alas, dead not by the
violence of some disease,
nor wasted by old age, nor
wounded abroad...but right
here within the walls as a
result of a plot.”
Dio Cassius. Marc Antony's
funeral oration for Caesar, XLIV.
Emperor Cult
• Julius Caesar divinized
after his death
• Temples dedicated to
the genius of emperors
• Test of civil duty:
Caesar is (divine) Lord!
Julius Caesar
100-44BC
Octavian
Augustus
63BC-14AD
Persecution of Christians under Nero
Emperor Nero (54-68)
• Time: 64 AD
• Place: Rome
• Occasion: the great
fire in Rome
• Nero blamed the fire
upon Christians
• Christians burned as
torches & used as
gladiators
Tertullian complains about common pagan sentiments:
If the Tiber reaches the
walls, if the Nile does not
rise to the fields, if the sky
does not move [drought], or
the earth does [earthquake],
if there is famine, if there is
plague, the cry is at once:
‘Christians to the lion!’
Seminar. Emperors to whom
Athenagoras addressed his apology
Emperor Marcus Aurelius
161-180
His son, Lucius Commodus
176-192
Seminar questions.
• What were the main charges against Christians?
• How does Athenagoras respond to the charge of
atheism?
• What arguments does he use? Do you find his
arguments persuasive or not?
• What is idolatry?
• According to Athenagoras, what are the main beliefs of
Christians? What are the main differences between the
Christian God and pagan deities?