Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity: A Sourcebook

346 Pages·2015·4.63 MB·English

by  A.D. Lee

PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS IN
LATE ANTIQUITY
In the third century AD, the Roman empire encompassed an enor-
mous diversity of religious practices and creeds; by the sixth
century, one of those creeds – Christianity – had become the domi-
nant religious force in the Mediterranean world, providing a vital
thread of continuity and stability as antiquity gave way to the
Middle Ages.
A.D. Lee uses translated extracts from contemporary sources, and
related material evidence, to document this process. The volume
examines the fortunes of pagans and Christians from the upheavals
of the third century, through the dramatic events associated with
the emperors Constantine, Julian the Apostate, and Theodosius in
the fourth, to the increasingly tumultuous times of the fifth and
sixth centuries which witnessed the demise of the western empire
and the survival of the eastern half. It also explores the fate of other
significant religious groups – Jews, Zoroastrians, and Manichaeans
– and illustrates a number of important themes in late antique
Christianity, such as the growth of monasticism, the emerging
power of bishops, and the development of pilgrimage.
Each extract or item is accompanied by a clear explanation of its
context and significance and by guidance on further reading. By
presenting contemporary material in this way, Pagans and Christians
in Late Antiquity forms the ideal introduction to a period and
subject full of interest.
DougLee,aformerResearchFellowatTrinityCollege,Cambridge,
is Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University
of Wales, Lampeter. He is the author of Information and Frontiers:
Roman Foreign Relations in Late Antiquity (1993) and is a contributor
to the new edition of Cambridge Ancient History.
PAGANS AND
CHRISTIANS IN
LATE ANTIQUITY
A sourcebook
A.D. Lee
London and New York
First published 2000
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
Transferred to Digital Printing 2006
© 2000 A.D. Lee
Typeset in Garamond by Taylor & Francis Books Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lee, A.D.
Pagans and Christians in late antiquity: a sourcebook/A.D. Lee.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.
1. Christianity and other religions–Roman. 2. Rome–Religion.
3. Church history–Primitive and early church, ca. 30–600. I. Title.
BR128.R7 L44 2000
200'.9'015–dc21 00-021697
ISBN 0–415–13892–2 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–13893–0 (pbk)
FOR ANNA
CONTENTS
List of illustrations ix
Preface x
Acknowledgements xiii
Conventions and abbreviations xv
List of emperors xviii
Glossary xx
Map xxii
Introduction 1
Late Antiquity: an overview 1
The sources: types, languages, and dating 6
Pagans or polytheists? 10
Further reading and useful reference works 11
Part I
Pagans and Christians through time 13
1 Pagans in the third century 15
2 Christians in the third century 36
3 Pagans and Christians during the Tetrarchy 64
4 Constantine 80
5 Pagans and Christians in the mid-fourth century 94
6 Pagans and Christians in the late fourth century 111
vii
CONTENTS
7 Christianisation and its limits in the fifth and sixth
centuries 132
Part II
Other religious groups 149
8 Jews 151
9 Zoroastrians 169
10 Manichaeans 174
Part III
Themes in late antique Christianity 185
11 Ascetics 187
12 Bishops 213
13 Material resources 227
14 Church life 241
15 Women 261
16 Pilgrims and holy places 272
Editions 298
Bibliography 301
Index of sources 315
General index 319
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
1.11 Curse tablet, Hadrumentum, north Africa 30
2.4 The house church at Dura-Europos 41
8.2 Reconstruction drawing of the Sardis synagogue 154
14.3 The church of St Paul Outside the Walls, Rome 245
14.4b Line drawing of the tomb mosaic and reconstruction
drawing of a basilica church, Tabarka, Tunisia 247
14.5 Hagia Sophia, Constantinople 248
16.9b The pilgrimage complex at Qal’at Sem’an in the late
fifth century 290
Plates
1.2 Relief from the Arch of Septimius Severus,
Lepcis Magna 20
1.4 Sacrifice of Julius Terentius (copy by L. North).
Temple of Bel, Dura-Europos 22
1.7 Coin from Magnesia-on-the-Maeander, Asia Minor 26
1.9 Stele from the temple of Artemis Anaeitis,
Katakekaumene, Lydia, Asia Minor 29
13.5 Church silverware from the Hama treasure 235
13.6 The Riha paten 236
14.4 a Tomb mosaic of a basilica church, Tabarka, Tunisia 246
14.8 Baptismal font from Kélibia, Tunisia 252
14.12a Icon of the Virgin. Egypt, Byzantine period,
6th century 259
14.12b Encaustic icon of St Peter 260
16.6 St Menas pilgrim flask 287
16.11 Silver plaquettes from Ma’aret en-Norman treasure 294
16.12 Clay pilgrim token 295
16.14 The Trier ivory 297
ix
PREFACE
Late Antiquity is a fascinating period of history, not least because of the
seminal religious developments that occurred in it. It is the aim of this
book to provide an entrée into those developments, from the third century
through to the sixth, via a selection of translated extracts from
contemporary sources. The envisaged audience is primarily university
undergraduates and sixth formers studying ancient or early medieval
history.
Such students have long had available the twin sourcebooks by J.
Stevenson,A New Eusebius(SPCK, London, 1957) and Creeds, Councils, and
Controversies(1966), whose value is amply attested by their being re-issued
in revised editions in the late 1980s. More recently, Ramsay MacMullen
and Eugene Lane have produced their sourcebook Paganism and
Christianity, 100–425 CE (Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1992). For the
student of Late Antiquity, however, these titles have a number of disadvan-
tages which the present volume aims to make good. Although they
commence a century or more earlier than this volume, they conclude in the
mid-fifth century; they offer very limited help with further reading; and
they make no use of visual evidence. Stevenson’s books also place heavy
emphasis on doctrinal controversies, while giving limited attention to
pagans and adherents of other religions – understandable when they are
explicitly addressed to ‘students of Early Church History’, but less satisfac-
tory for ancient history students – and he made very limited use of
documentary evidence in the form of inscriptions and papyri. MacMullen
and Lane are better in this respect, but their coverage of the fourth century
and beyond is patchy.
Bycontrast,thepresentvolumeincludesmaterialfromeverycenturyof
LateAntiquity,thoughwithanemphasisonthethirdandfourth;itusesa
widerangeofdifferenttypesofevidence,includingvisual(thoughcostshave
limitedthenumberofpicturesabletobeincluded);anditprovidesdetailed
guidance on further reading (mostly in English, but occasionally in other
Europeanlanguages).
The selection of sources is that of an ancient historian rather than a
patristic scholar, with a focus on religious life in its political and social
x
PREFACE
context. No doubt some readers will disagree with some of the choices I
have made with regard to inclusion and/or omission; in particular, I am
conscious that, partly in reaction to Stevenson, I have probably under-
played doctrinal controversy and heresy too much, and early medievalists
may feel that I have not done sufficient justice to the post-Roman west. I
certainly recognise that most of the subjects of the individual chapters in
this volume could have whole sourcebooks devoted to each of them (as
indeed some of them already do), but I have had to work to a fairly tight
word limit while trying to preserve an even balance between extended
passages and shorter excerpts. I have also endeavoured to ensure the inclu-
sion of well-known items that anyone teaching on this period and subject
would expect to find, while also incorporating as much less familiar mate-
rial as possible, and seeking to maintain a reasonable balance in terms of
geographical spread. The modern literature is also vast, and I certainly
have not read it all, but if I have omitted items of major importance, then
the suggestions for further reading and useful reference works should lead
readers to them.
Except where otherwise indicated, all translations are my own. I must,
however, express my thanks for significant help with particular passages to
Sebastian Brock (7.1), Tony Brothers (6.12, 7.12), David Johnston (15.5),
and Rosemary Wright (1.13). In the transliteration of proper names, I have
generally opted for the Latinised form, but I have not always been consis-
tent. All dates are AD unless otherwise indicated. The map is intended to
show locations referred to in the text.
My thanks to Richard Stoneman for inviting me to write this book, and
to Rosamond McKitterick for suggesting my name as a possible candidate.
Work on it began in the final weeks of a term’s study leave in 1995 and
was significantly advanced by a further term’s leave in 1998, and I am very
grateful to my hard-working colleagues at Lampeter who covered my
administrative responsibilities during those periods. Those terms were
spent in my city of origin, Sydney, where the kindness of Professor Kevin
Lee (no relation!) and his colleagues at the University of Sydney made
available work space and wordprocessing facilities, while Fisher Library at
Sydney University and Macquarie University Library provided marvellous
resources for work on Late Antiquity. In the United Kingdom, the hold-
ings of the Hugh Owen Library and the National Library of Wales in
Aberystwyth have been of great help, as have those of the Cambridge
University Library. In Lampeter, Kathy Miles and Haf James have been
very efficient in processing numerous Interlibrary Loan requests. Various
colleagues and friends have also assisted by lending or obtaining books for
me, sometimes for extended periods of time – in particular, Tony Brothers,
David Noy, Keith Hopwood, Neville Morley, and Colin Stevens.
My colleagues David Noy and Emma Stafford have been especially
helpful, first, through their willingness to read and comment on drafts of
some chapters, and second, through their ever courteous and prompt
xi