Roman Civilization

CMS 206 /History 206

Assigned Readings This Week:

• Livy on Bacchanalia:
• primary sources on licit and illicit cults:
• The Acts of the Apostles (Chapters 1-38)
• Pliny & Trajan on Christians
  • Pliny, Ep. 10.96; Ep. 10.97
• The Martrydom of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
• The Acts of Paul & Thecla
• Theodosian code banning pagan religion

   

Questions to Consider:

• What was the response of Roman governors to Christianity? Why did they think there methods might be effective? How were they like and different from their response to the Bacchus cult?
  
  
• Why did Christianity succeed in becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire?
  
  
•  What opportunities did early Christianity afford women in the Roman empire? Give specific examples from the texts.
  
  
• Was "paganism" a religion like Christianity? Why or why not?