When one looks into ancient history
from a purely scholarly standpoint, where would Christianity be if the Romans
had never interfered? Their internal
issues with an empire divided over power, religion and commerce would
eventually lead to its downfall. One of the greatest military machines, Rome
was interspersed with the need to conquer and the power struggles between multiple
emperors and Caesars each seeking to gain what the other had.
Through all this constant turmoil,
one such would rise through the ranks of Emperor Diocletian’s Court, who would bring such significant changes to
the Roman people as to topple the Roman Pantheon, unifying them under the
Christian God, and setting the path for the future. His name was Constantine and it all began
with a vision before a battle; but did he truly have a vision or was it simply
a masterful and ingenious political move to unify his troops, in order to
encourage them in them oncoming battle?
This is the question of which has been asked by theological and
historical scholars throughout history.
In order to understand
how Constantine could of come to a point where he needed not only the symbolism
of the Christian deity, but also to comprehend the power such symbolism could
hold over his people, one would need to first look at the people of Rome in a
greater sense and their past. The Romans
were not a people who were unfamiliar with borrowing or adapting foreign Gods,
in truth, their own Pantheon was a collage of Gods and Goddesses from foreign
cultures of which Rome had conquered or found its borders near enough to adopt
as its own. “The Romans gods were from a strange mixture of influences. Before Rome
became a big city, the area around it, called Latium, was settled my
superstitious villagers, the Latins, who believed in many gods and spirits. As
Rome grew into a city and began to become more powerful it came into contact
with the Greeks, who had a complex Pantheon of their own.”(Roman Empire)
The Pantheons of twelve Gods mirrored
the Greeks Olympian Gods, though using the Latin names:
1.
Jupiter,
Leader of the Pantheon, often seen with a thunderbolt. His Greek equivalent was Zeus.
2.
Juno,
Jupiter’s wife, her symbols were the pomegranate and the peacock. Her Greek
equivalent was Hera.
3.
Mars,
God of War. Considered the fiercest of
the Gods next to Jupiter. His Greek
equivalent was Aries.
4.
Venus,
Goddess of Love and Beauty. Her Greek
equivalent was Aphrodite.
5.
Minerva,
Goddess of Wisdom, Learning, Arts/Crafts, and Industry. Her symbol was the owl. Her Greek equivalent was Athena.
6.
Neptune,
God of the Sea. He wielded the
trident. His Greek equivalent was
Poseidon.
7.
Ceres,
Goddess of Harvest, symbol a bundle of grain.
Her Greek equivalent was Demeter.
8.
Vulcan,
God of Volcanos and Blacksmithing.
Wields a blacksmiths hammer and provides the armor and weapons for the
Gods in both the Roman and Greek mythology.
Greek equivalent Hephaestus.
9.
Diana,
Goddess of the Hunt and of the Moon.
Greek equivalent Artemis.
10. Bacchus, God of wine and
celebrations. Greek equivalent Dionysus.
11. Mercury, Messenger of the Gods. Greek equivalent Hermes.
12. Vesta, Goddess of Hearth and
Home. Greek equivalent Hestia.
*Though not listed here Hades should be mentioned as God of
the underworld. His Roman equivalent was
Pluto. (Ancient History) This table
gives a list of the most common of the twelve main gods in the Roman Pantheon
and their Greek counterparts.
“Early forms of the Roman religion were animistic in nature, believing that spirits inhabited
everything around them, people included. The first citizens of Rome also
believed they were watched over by the spirits of their ancestors. Initially, a
Capitoline Triad (possibly derived from a Sabine influence) were added to these
“spirits" - the new gods included Mars, the god of war and supposed father of Romulus and Remus (founders of Rome); Quirinus, the deified Romulus who watched over
the people of Rome; and lastly, Jupiter, the supreme god. They, along with
the spirits, were worshipped at a temple on Capitoline Hill. Later, due
to the Etruscans, the triad would change to include Jupiter who remained the
supreme god; Juno, his wife and sister; and Minerva, Jupiter’s daughter.”(Ancient Rome)
It would not be until Diocletian, in
November, 285 AD, managed to unite Rome under his initial leadership that
Christianity would come to be viewed as a threat. Up till this point, Christianity was simply a
pagan religion of very minor influence; one which the emperors paid little to
no attention to. Diocletian, on the
other hand, understood power and military strategy. He divided the Roman Empire into East and
West with himself and Maximianus, his senior lieutenant elevated to “Caesar”
and assigned the Western region of the Empire.
Diocletian would then go on to split
the empire once again developing what would be known as the Tetrarchy (Rule by
Four). To this new split he would give
Maximianus the rank of Augustus, or Senior Emperor, and name two new Junior
Caesars, one of them being the future Constantine’s father, Constantius. Constantius would rule over Gaul and
Britannia in the west, and Galerius, another whom Diocletian advanced, being
given the Balkans in the east.
In order to keep control over the
power base Diocletian has built with this Tetrarchy, Diocletian would demand
and keep as political “guests,” the sons of each his newly advanced Emperors/Caesars,
one of these being Constantine.
Constantine was 17 years old in the Court of Diocletian where he was
gaining not only strong military training, but he was also learning Politics,
Philosophy, Greek, Art and Music.
Diocletian was also requiring Constantine and the others of his court to
make increasing sacrifices to the gods in order to quell the rising interest in
what was then considered a pagan religion, Christianity.
“On 23rd February 303 AD, Constantine probably witnessed,
firsthand, Diocletian's destruction of the newly-built Christian
church at Nicomedia. The event inaugurated what Christian authors
have named the "Great Persecution” as many of the brethren were
imprisoned, tortured, and killed for acts of defiance against official religious
policy (most escaped punishment through silence).[15] Constantine's silence on
the extent of his complicity while at Diocletian’s court during this
period engendered a continuing distrust among the church hierarchy for any
participation on his part in church government.[16] In a late letter to Eastern
provincials, Constantine described himself as a child when the “Great
Persecution” began, when in fact, he was nearer to thirty;[17] his later
biographers and panegyrists continued the trend, describing him
as "the young man" or "the youthful
emperor".[18] Indeed, no contemporary Christian challenged him on any
aspect of his role in the “persecutions”.[19] Nonetheless, Constantine
continued to assert that he had criticized the policy when first introduced.”(Roman Army)
According to the film provided by A&E,
entitled Constantine, Diocletian kept Constantine near him as he was aware of
his potential. It can be assumed that
Diocletian being of middle age saw in Constantine his own mortality, in the
vibrancy and charismatic youth of Constantine.
Though there is no documentation to state why Diocletian left
Constantine out of the hierarchy, when the time and Diocletian fell ill,
Constantine used the circumstances to escape his “jeweled” prison in order to
retreat home to his father’s court. (A&E Film, Constantine)
According to history, once
Constantine joined his father, Constantius, it would not be long before he
becomes Emperor. Though he would fight
by the soldiers sides with his father, it is the training and political
intellect he gained from Diocletian of which would now be in his favor and see
him through to becoming the Emperor that would change the face of Rome. After the death of his father in Britannia
and his soldiers acknowledge him as Emperor, a new threat appears in the form
of Maxentius.
Maxentius had not a claim to military
background as Constantine, though he did have as equal of a claim to the
Tetrarchy as Constantine, being the son of Maximian. Unfortunately, for Maxentius, though he
outnumbered Constantine in armed forces, he could not obtain their loyalty, nor
did he know how to incite them into thinking as one mind. This was something Constantine has learned
from Diocletian, political and military stratagem. Constantine, on the eve of his battle with
Maxentius, knew he needed something to unite his men; to give them a cause in
order to ride into battle.
What better cause then one that is
divine; to have been given a vision by a God?
There is no proof and can be no evidence other than his word that he was
given a vision and within that vision he saw a cross in the sky with the words
“Conquer by this.” Constantine would then go on to have all his soldiers paint
this symbol with the letters “Chi Ro” on their shields as they prepared to meet
Maxentius on the bridge of Milvian.
Constantine’s words inspired and motivated his troops, and
they defeated Maxentius. Interestingly
enough, Constantine would become an Emperor who would be considered religiously
tolerant, but would not be baptized in the Christian faith until his
deathbed. Whether this was by political
or personal choice only he would know, but without his vision, would
Christianity have become the power in both religion and politics it is today?
Cite:
Fout, Jason A. "Defrnding Constantine: The Twilight
Of An Empire And The Dawn Of Christendom." Political Theology 13.1 (2012): 119-121. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web.
3 May 2015.
Constantine The Great: Roman Emperor,
Christian Saint, History's Turning Point
http://www.antiochian.org/constantine-great-roman-emperor-christian-saint-historys-turning-point
Kreider, Alan.
"'Converted' but not baptized: Peter Leithart's Constantine project."
Mennonite Quarterly Review 85.4 (2011): 575+. Academic OneFile.
Web. 3 May 2015.
Constantine. [Electronic Resource (Video)].
n.p.: New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2010], c2008., 2008. Films on Demand - Master Academic
Collection. Web. 3 May 2015.
Table of the Roman Equivalents of Greek
Gods- Roman and Greek names for the Olympians and the minor gods (About.com
Ancient/Classical History)
By: Silver, Carly.
Roman Gods (Roman Gods)
http://www.roman-empire.net/children/gods.html
Roman Emperors - DIR Diocletian
(Roman Emperors - DIR Diocletian)
Roman Military Research Society
(Constantine)
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