Page 177 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

(see Chapter 2). In the Roman world, Mithra came to be identified with the sun-god and was known by his Roman title, the Unconquered Sun. Mithraism had spread rapidly in Rome and the Western provinces by the second century C.E. and was especially favored by soldiers, who viewed Mithra as their patron deity. Mithraists paid homage to the sun on the first day of the week (Sunday), commemorated the sun’s birthday around December 25, and celebrated ceremonial meals.
The Jewish Background
In Hellenistic times, the Jewish people had been granted considerable independence by their Seleucid rulers (see Chapter 4). Roman involvement with the Jews began in 63 B.C.E., and by 6 C.E., Judaea had been made a province and placed under the direction of a Roman procurator. But unrest continued, augmented by divisions among the Jews themselves. The Saddu- cees believed in rigid adherence to Hebrew law, rejected the possibility of personal immortality, and favored cooperation with the Romans. The Pharisees adhered strictly to Jewish ritual, and although they wanted Judaea to be free from Roman control, they did not advocate violent means to achieve this goal. The Essenes were a Jewish sect that lived in a reli- gious community near the Dead Sea. As revealed in the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of documents first discovered in 1947, the Essenes, like many other Jews, awaited a Messiah who would save Israel from oppression, usher in the kingdom of God, and estab- lish a true paradise on earth. A fourth group, the
Zealots, were militant extremists who advocated the violent overthrow of Roman rule. A Jewish revolt in 66 C.E. was crushed by the Romans four years later. The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and Roman power once more stood supreme in Judaea.
The Origins of Christianity
In the midst of the confusion and conflict in Judaea, Jesus of Nazareth (ca. 6 B.C.E.–30 C.E.) began his public preaching. Jesus grew up in Galilee, an important center of the militant Zealots. His message was straightforward. He reassured his fellow Jews that he did not plan to undermine their traditional religion: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”13 According to Jesus, what was important was not strict adherence to the letter of the law and attention to rules and prohibi- tions but the transformation of the inner person: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”14 God’s command was simple—to love God and one another: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”15 In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presented the ethical concepts—humility, charity, and brotherly love—that would form the basis for the value system of medieval Western civilization. As we have seen, these were not the values of classical Greco-Roman civilization.
Although some Jews welcomed Jesus as the Messiah who would save Israel from oppression and establish
Jesus and His Apostles.
Pictured is a fourth-century fresco from a Roman catacomb depicting Jesus and his apostles. Catacombs were underground cemeteries where early Christians buried their dead. Christian tradition holds that in times of imperial repression, Christians withdrew to the catacombs to pray and hide.
Transformation of the Roman World: The Rise of Christianity 139
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Catacomb of S. Domitilla, Rome//Scala/Art Resource, NY