THE ART

This is a painting I did of the Roman Emperor.  I made this as previously my figures had simple or little clothing and I wanted to learn more about character design, so therefore I made this painting of the Roman Emperor in his imperial costume. It isn’t supposed to represent a specific emperor or time period, just the image of an ideal Roman Emperor. Young, wise, beautiful, and religious, traits the Romans saw as markers of a divine leader. The Emperor here wears a gold lamellar armor with a purple cape, showcasing his military and administrative role. He has the Corpus Juris Civilis, a Roman Law Book, in his left hand. And on his right hand a Christian cross, displaying not only his power as a political and religious figure, but also the strong connection between politics and religion in the Roman Empire. The environment is in the Heavens with the sunlight shining onto him, a Roman pagan (later Christianized) symbol of divinity. And at the top is the map of the Roman Empire with the Chi Rho symbol. Showcasing what the Roman Leaders believed in after Christianity became the state religion. Cuius regio, eius religio. This is not a promotion or an attack on Christianity, rather Christian symbolism here in order to show the strong link between the Roman Emperors and the Christian Religion in our history.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMPEROR

The Romans were always a people deeply invested in morality and religion and none of this changed when they converted to Christianity. To the Romans, the Empire was THE Christian Empire. They viewed themselves, the Romans, as having a new covenant with Jesus, and that their state was the New Israel.  Roman emperors ruled with the conviction that their authority was divinely sanctioned from Jesus himself, positioning themselves as God’s representatives on Earth tasked not only with governing the empire but also as the Defender of Christianity, safeguarding the purity and unity of the Christian faith. The Emperor was supposed to be holy, wise, and beautiful. Any pretenders to the throne were mutilated as a way to desecrate “their temple.” Rhinotomy, hand amputation, ear amputation, blinding, and castration. Though after the reign of Justinian II, an emperor who gained power after having his nose cut off, they only did blindings and castrations.

The Emperor felt he had a sacred duty and their power reflected that. Imperial laws reflected Christian beliefs and doctrine. Old Roman religions and Christian sects deemed heretical were often the targets of persecution. Warfare, especially against Heretics and Non-Christians, was more than just pragmatism under Christian Rome, it was now framed as a holy and sanctified obligation. Emperors also had an enormous impact on the Church. He could assemble councils to define Christian doctrine, approve patriarchs in their positions, and persecute Christian branches he viewed as heretical. Though contrary to popular belief, he was not above the Church and Bishops at times could rebel against his decisions and have some autonomy of their own. Believe it or not, most of these were not actually new when they converted, but more so a continuation of many of their old pagan traditions. Roman Emperors prior to Christianity assumed the title of “Pontifex Maximus,” they believed they had to maintain order via pax deorum (peace of the gods), and they were seen as having some divine aura to them. The biggest shift was not that emperors became sacred, it was that their religious authority was now tied to one specific faith, with universal claims, and an organized church that decided mainstream doctrine.

Ironically enough, despite the extremely Christian nature of the Roman Empire, which we now would view as theocratic, it was the first traces we see of secularism. The Christian worldview introduced a distinction between the spiritual and the political, which didn’t really exist in the same way in pagan Rome. The idea of Symphonia, the ideal harmony between Church and State, acknowledged that each had its own sphere of authority, even if closely linked. Christianity introduced the radical idea that political power was not absolute, most famously seen when Emperor Theodosius I was publicly rebuked and excommunicated by Bishop Ambrose of Milan, demonstrating that even the Emperor was subject to the Church’s moral authority. This is because the Abrahamic (and more specifically the Christian) understanding of religion is radically different from other religions. In other societies like Pre-Christian Rome or Imperial China, religion was a civic duty. It was seen as just another part of life, practiced through rituals to maintain harmony with the gods and ensure the stability of their communities. There was no separation between religion and politics because religion ultimately served the state and community.

CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART

There is a famous verse in the New Testament that states something like “circumcision of the flesh is nothing, but it is the circumcision of the heart that matters”. This illustrates Christianity’s divorce from its Jewish roots and its marriage into the Greco-Roman world. Christianity still retains core Jewish elements, such as its strict monotheism, emphasis on religious dogma, and its heaven/hell afterlife. But there also lies a deeply Greco-Roman influence that is rarely talked about, so much so we find it in the Bible itself. The New Testament itself was written in Greek and the Gospels themselves are Greek for “Good News.” Jesus is seen as the Christ (χριστός), Greek for messiah. In Gospel of John it talks about Jesus being the logos, a widely known Greek philosophical idea at the time. Even Jesus himself, the way he talks and his moral stories are nothing new at all and are very Greek in nature. In fact he may himself have been an Essene, a sect of Hellenized Jewish ascetics.

Christian morality, often labeled “Judeo-Christian,” is actually Greco-Roman morality. For example, the emphasis on strict monogamy reflects Roman, not Jewish, values, since the Old Testament contains multiple examples of divinely sanctioned polygamy. Another includes the huge emphasis on humanitarianism. Contrary to popular belief, the Romans prior to Christianity placed huge emphasis on charity & welfare and the Cura annonae, one of Rome’s biggest welfare system that provided free grain to its capital, was seen as an essential duty of the Emperor. Philosophically, Christianity absorbed key tenets of Neoplatonism. Belief in The One, the dualism between body and soul, and a preference for allegorical over literal interpretation of texts. Church Fathers even referred to Plato and Aristotle as “Proto-Christians” for their apparent anticipation of Christian truths. Even asceticism and monasticism, things we see as fundamentally Christian, trace their roots not to Judaism, but to Greco-Roman mystery religions and philosophical schools like the Stoics and Pythagoreans. These traditions practiced spiritual discipline, celibacy, and retreat from the world long before Christian monks appeared.

After Christianity was embraced by the Roman Empire, its institutional structure and rituals were remodeled along imperial lines. The Church’s hierarchical organization, especially in the Catholic Church, mirrors the administrative system of the Roman Empire, from its ranks and titles to ceremonial dress. Even the term “pontiff” comes from pontifex, a title for Roman priests. Likewise, many Christian rituals, such as incense, veneration of relics, and saint cults, draw directly from Greco-Roman temple practices, blending old pagan forms with new Christian meaning. And that’s not all, there was even a more Hellenized form of Christianity called Gnostic Christianity. This was a branch of Christianity that had practically no Semitic influence. Gnostic Christians, rejected the Old Testament with some even viewing it as evil, embraced the idea of reincarnation, and they even believed in gods and goddesses (yes polytheistic Christianity). 

CONCLUSION

We often view history as inevitable, as if events naturally unfold the way they’re supposed to. But history is anything but predictable. It’s chaotic, full of contingencies. Rome was not destined to become Christian, nor was Christianity fated to become the most influential religion in human history. In its early days, Christianity was just one among many competing cults, while the Religio Romana remained the dominant, traditional faith of the empire. As Rome weathered crisis after crisis, emperors searched for a centralized religious system. Elagabalus elevated the Syrian sun god Elagabal, Aurelian promoted Sol Invictus, Julian tried to promote a reformed Neoplatonistic paganism. But after many decades of imperial patronage, it was ultimately Christianity that endured. Rome in a sense, created Christianity. I don’t mean they invented Jesus or wrote the Bible. But without Roman political support and cultural integration, Christianity likely would have died out as another Eastern mystery sect. The West didn’t adopt Christianity because it loved Jesus, it did so because it was ultimately Roman. We all may point to Christianity just being another Semitic Abrahamic religion, but deep down we know that Christianity stands out greatly when compared to Islam and Judaism. Christianity got romanized and is in many ways, a Greco-Roman faith. 

Like the subject of Ancient Rome? You may enjoy this blog here where I go over and debunk 5 myths about Ancient Rome.