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Abstract
After a general caveat concerning the interpretation of polemical pamphlets, various chronologically relevant aspects of the so-called Carmen contra paganos are revisited. In particular, the recent identification of the anonymous praefectus and consul with Vettius Agorius Praetextatus is challenged by reasserting the classical identification with Virius Nicomachus Flavianus. Thus the composition of the poem can be dated to the aftermath of the battle at the Frigidus (5-6/9/394) on firm grounds. At the same time, new light can be shed on the careers of Leucadius rationalis rei privatae fundorum domus divinae per Africam ca. 388/90 and Marcianus proconsul Campaniae ca. 393/94. This way, the author's methods of distorting as well as various modern misconceptions emerge. As a conclusion, some new paths of further research on the poem and on late Roman religious conflicts can be suggested.
... 61 Cracco Ruggini 1979, esp. 4-46 and75-116; followed by, e.g., Shanzer 1986, 237-40, andKahlos 2002, 163-68; but see, e.g., Musso 1979;Adamik 1995;Romano 1998;Coskun 2004;and Ratti 2012, 120-27, who 64 CCP 1-57; and see too CCP, 31-36 (introduction) on attempts to identify the urban prefect, who may productively be considered an ideal type; a sentiment seconded by Corsano 2000. silly and stupid and dark and dangerous-as well as their aristocratic adherents in general, as much as polemics targeting specific persons. ...
Late antique Latin Christian verse invective has often been dismissed as derivative doggerel. By contrast, Dennis Trout has convincingly argued that these polemical poems worked to police the boundaries of “proper” Christianity. These same poems were, however, also part of a long-term campaign aimed at suppressing traditional religion, like the cult of Mater Magna. In this campaign, Christian verse invective worked to redefine aristocratic distinction to the detriment of aristocratic “pagans,” whose honor continued to depend on both the patronage of traditional religions and the cultivation of literary culture. Marshaling an arsenal of canonical poetry, these invectives attempted to drive a wedge precisely between traditional cult practices and classical literary education in the construction of honor, forcing aristocrats to choose between the Mater Magna and their own reputations.
The article delves into the issue of apostasy among the citizens of the Roman Empire during the brief reign of Julian. It provides an overview of the tactics employed by the emperor to convert his Christian subjects to paganism and evaluates their success across different strata of late Roman society, including the bureaucracy, military, Christian clergy, intellectual elite, and common people. It is concluded that Julian’s efforts at returning the Roman Empire to paganism were far more successful than it has traditionally been thought.
The paper deals with the origin of an episode recorded by Zosimus, in which the Emperor Valentinian I, following an intervention by Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, revoked his own constitution abolishing nocturnal sacrifices. The authorship of the episode is generally ascribed to Eunapius of Sardis, in the paper, however, the possibility is examined of the authorship of Nicomachus Flavianus through his unpreserved annates. The author finds this possibility acceptable, and hence he is further elaborating on the eventual consequences for our knowledge of these annates.
A recent work has proposed to literary reading of Claudian's invectives, but this seems excessively restrictive. Indeed, In Rufinum and In Eutropium were drafted at a time when relations between pagans and Christians were polemical to such an extent Claudian could not have absolutely avoided current events, for he was himself a convinced heathen. In this connection Claudian's poetry seems to show characteristics in common (although expressed with less acrimony) with the religious message which authors like Servius or Rutilius Namatianus were trying to circulate. A glance to the carm. min. 27 on the Phoenix shows that the poet had never given up disputing against Christians. Thus, a passage of In Rufinum (265-267) finds a new interpretation. One must of course raise the issue of several verses in Claudian's work which seem to be biblical, but these were probably intended in an ironic or polemical way. An analysis of a passage of In Eutropium (2, 288-303) also requires a politico-religious reading of the omen connected with Cybele. Religious issues, which were reinforced by political disputes, appear to be the heart of In Eutropium. On this matter, however, the hypothesis according to which Claudian was an inspiration for the Historia Augusta should be reversed. In fact, it was the other way around, and Claudian actually shares with the author of the Historia Augusta a deep distrust of Constantinople, the Christian capital of the Empire. The study reveals many ideological affinities between Claudian and contemporary pagan authors, and argues for a religious reading of the poet's invectives.
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History (402/3 CE) gives a vivid account of the confrontation between the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius and the Western usurper Eugenius. To many, the defeat of Eugenius and his pagan followers along the Frigidus River in 394 was the last gasp of a vigorous pagan revolt in the late 4th century, one spearheaded by the Roman aristocracy. This elaborate campaign to derail Christianity, as the story goes, consisted of identifiable pagan literary circles, pagan patronage of the classics, and pagan propaganda in art and literature. Recently, however, scholars have shown this picture to be wanting in accuracy and nuance. This book replaces this view with a detailed portrait of pagan society during the pivotal 4th and early 5th centuries. The subject of the book is the duration, nature, and consequences of the survival of the last pagans. It is widely believed that pagan aristocrats remained in the majority till at least the 380s, and continued to be a powerful force well into the 5th century. On this basis the main focus of much modern scholarship has been on their supposed stubborn resistance to Christianity. Rather surprisingly, these aristocrats have been transformed from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into fearless champions of senatorial privilege, literature lovers, and aficionados of classical (especially Greek) culture. The dismantling of this romantic myth is one of the main goals of this book. If a pagan aristocracy did not mount a defiant political and cultural rearguard action, what did they do? If elite culture at this time was not starkly divided between pagan and Christian, what did it look like? By sifting through the abundant textual evidence the book concludes that the many activities and artifacts previously identified as hallmarks of a pagan revival were in fact just as important to the life of cultivated Christians. Far from being a subversive pagan activity designed to rally pagans, the promotion of classical literature, learning, and art-and its acceptance by many elite Christians-may actually have helped the last reluctant pagans to finally abandon the old cults and adopt Christianity.
The last decades of the 20th c. witnessed a seismic shift in how scholars approached the study of paganism in the increasingly Christian Roman Empire of the 4th and early 5th centuries. Older models which emphasised decline and conflict were challenged by a new awareness of the vitality and diversity of Late Roman paganism and its religious and social interaction with Christianity. The purpose of this short paper is to reassess the impact of this new scholarly approach, particularly upon our understanding of the paganism of the western senatorial elite, and the role that material culture has played and will continue to play in revealing the complex religious world of late antique Rome.
This article argues that we can perceive a continuing and persistent pagan tradition in Rome throughout the 4th c., rather than a ‘revival’, through the archaeological, literary and calendrical evidence. Repairs of pagan structures continue to take place in the city in the mid- to late 4th c., notably of a Temple of Flora or Venus next to the Circus Maximus. Such temples were the foci for cultic festivals that were still taking place in the 4th c., and thereby represent the continued vibrancy of pagan traditions in the centre of Rome. This area of the city was home to other notably persistent pagan festivals, and so a newly built Christian church in the area does not seem to have affected matters. Is this an indication of a conciliatory and harmonious topography that saw pagan and Christian buildings working peacefully alongside each other in the Latin West?
The luridly detailed description given by Prudentius "Peristephanon" 10 of the "taurobolium" should not be taken as providing a factual basis for the reconstruction of this important pagan religious rite. It should be treated rather as a literary "tour de force" composed for the purpose of anti-pagan propaganda. Once Prudentius' description has been set aside, a more historically accurate picture of the "taurobolium" can be reconstructed from the fourth-century "taurobolium" inscriptions. / Pour reconstruire l'important rite païen qu'est le taurobole, on ne peut utiliser la description qu'en fait Prudence avec ses détails sordides ("Peristephanon" 10). On devrait plutôt considérer ce passage comme un exploit littéraire par lequel l'auteur fait oeuvre de propagande contre les païens. En laissant de côté ce passage de Prudence, il est possible d'obtenir un image historique plus authentique du taurobole en utilisant les inscriptions du IVe siècle qui ont mentionné ce rite.
Perhaps the most significant feature of the end of paganism in Rome is that we do know about it; in the words of one of the earliest students of this death of a religion, Beugnot, ‘L'histoire n'a daigné qu'assister aux funérailles du paganisme.’ That this is so is due largely to the central position occupied in the religious history of the late fourth and early fifth centuries, by the senatorial aristocracy of Rome.