Constantine could be seen to embody both Christian and Hellenic religious interests. : 302 The edict of Milan (313) redefined Imperial ideology as one of mutual toleration. : 60, 61 He proceeded to end the exclusion and persecution of Christians, restored confiscated property to the churches, and adopted a policy toward non-Christians of toleration with limits. Nine years after Diocletian celebrated twenty years of stable rule with sacrifices on a smoking altar in the Roman Forum and the most severe persecution of Christians in the empire's history, the victorious Constantine I entered Rome and, without offering sacrifice, bypassed the altar on the capitol completely. Main article: Religious policies of Constantine I 7 Anti-paganism after Theodosius I until the collapse of the Western Empire.5 Ambrose, Gratian, and the Altar of Victory.3 Restoration of paganism by Julian (361–363).2.3 Legislation against magic and divination.1.5 Desacralization and destruction of temples.This latter view contends that there was less conflict between pagans and Christians than was previously supposed. Scholars fall into two categories on how and why this dramatic change took place: the long established traditional catastrophists who view the rapid demise of paganism as occurring in the late fourth and early fifth centuries due to harsh Christian legislation and violence, and contemporary scholars who view the process as a long decline that began in the second century, before the emperors were themselves Christian, and which continued into the seventh century. Non-Christians were a small minority by the time of the last western anti-pagan laws in the early 600s. Chuvin says that, through the severe legislation of the early Byzantine Empire, the freedom of conscience that had been the major benchmark set by the Edict of Milan was finally abolished. : 248–9 The gradual transition towards more localized action, corresponds with the period when most conversions of temples to churches were undertaken: the late 5th and 6th centuries. : 100īy the end of the period of Antiquity and the institution of the Law Codes of Justinian, there was a shift from the generalized legislation which characterized the Theodosian Code to actions which targeted individual centers of paganism. During the reigns of Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius I anti-pagan policies and their penalties increased but scholars continue to debate how much the laws were enforced. : 87, 93 Despite official threats, sporadic mob violence, and confiscations of temple treasures, paganism remained widespread into the early fifth century continuing in parts of the empire into the 600s. In 356, he issued two more laws forbidding sacrifice and the worship of images, making them capital crimes, as well as ordering the closing of all temples, but there is no evidence of judicial killings for illegal sacrifices before Tiberius Constantine (574–582), and many temples remained open into the reign of Justinian I (527-565). For example, in 341, Constantine's son Constantius II enacted legislation forbidding pagan sacrifices in Roman Italy. None seem to have been effectively applied empire-wide. įrom 313, with the exception of the brief reign of Julian, non-Christians were subject to a variety of hostile and discriminatory imperial laws which were theoretically valid across the whole empire, some threatening the death penalty, but not necessarily directly resulting in action. Constantine used that to justify the temple's destruction, saying he was simply reclaiming the property. Christian historians alleged that Hadrian (2nd century) had constructed a temple to Aphrodite on the site of the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha hill in order to suppress Jewish Christian veneration there. Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina ( Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church. National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The Christian cross on the chin and forehead was intended to "deconsecrate" a holy pagan artifact. Head of Aphrodite, 1st century AD copy of an original by Praxiteles.
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