History Chapter 15 - The Borrowed Gods of Rome PDF

# Chapter 15 - The Borrowed Gods of Rome If we refuse our homage to statues and frigid images, the very counterpart of their dead originals, with which hawks, and mice, and spiders are so well acquainted, does it not merit praise instead of penalty, that we have rejected what we have come to see is...

# Chapter 15 - The Borrowed Gods of Rome If we refuse our homage to statues and frigid images, the very counterpart of their dead originals, with which hawks, and mice, and spiders are so well acquainted, does it not merit praise instead of penalty, that we have rejected what we have come to see is error? We cannot surely be made out to injure those whom we are certain are nonentities. What does not exist is in its nonexistence secure from suffering. (Tertullian, Apology) The Hellenistic kingdoms had sprung up centuries before that of Rome, and Athens still stood as a beacon of philosophy, politics, and intellect to the people of Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean. In many ways, the culture that had been born in ancient Greece-particularly in Athens-simply stretched across the sea and planted itself in Rome. There, the philosophies of the great Greek thinkers took root, evolving slightly to accommodate their new home. Rome accepted these intangible gifts gratefully, always respectful of the great civilization that had come before it. Due to the close relationship between Greece and Italy during their formative years on the same side of the Mediterranean, religious and spiritual ideas had flowed from one into the other. Particularly after the Macedonian Wars and the beginning of the Roman era, the shape of Rome's gods became much clearer. The Greek pantheon, including Zeus, Hera, Athena, and their brethren delighted the ears of the Italians and sparked their own spiritual imaginations. Hence, the gods and goddesses of the Romans were almost a carbon copy of those of the Greeks. In place of Zeus, there was Jupiter, King of the Gods and himself the God of Thunder. For Poseidon, there was Neptune, God of the Sea. Even Cronus had a counterpart known as Saturn, father of Jupiter. More than a dozen Roman deities bear striking resemblances to those of the Greeks, and yet the new pantheon was granted full respect and faith from its citizens. Perhaps this was the fundamental philosophy of the Romans: to take what had been Greek and make it better, more personal. After Rome had conquered and converted the greater part of Greece and the Mediterranean ring to its own empire, Roman aristocrats imported learned Greeks to teach their children. Roman citizens ensured the continuation of what they considered the best of Greek civilization. For their part, the enslaved Greek tutors of the Roman Republic made the most of their situation, teaching young Romans about the powerful and mystical gods and goddesses that had created the world and every creature on it. They taught numbers, the Greek alphabet, geometry, and advanced mathematics; they shared the philosophical writings of their own heroes and told stories written by Greeks from centuries past. It was a new day under a new empire, but the Greek civilization lived on, just as authoritative as it once had been, in the guise of the Roman Republic. Just as the plethora of deities helped the Greeks make sense of themselves and the universe, so too did the Romans' pantheon. Within Rome itself, the great Pantheon temple was built in the first part of the 2nd century CE to honor multiple gods and goddesses together in one place; its importance was such that it became a central feature of the city. In addition to the religious theft of the Greek gods, Romans seemed to pick and choose features of their faith and universe at will. The Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet, is a good example of this inclination. Worshiped as part of the Egyptians' own pantheon, Bastet was welcomed into many household altars within the Roman Empire. It was one facet of life and religion that squarely differed between the Greeks and the Romans: the importance and symbolism of cats. For Greeks, cats were really nothing special. Even though neighboring Egypt put its domestic and wild cats on literal pedestals, mummifying them alongside the bodies of dead pharaohs, the Greeks had no such affinity for the little felines. Even the notion that a house cat could provide services by hunting mice, rats, and other pests was little help for its cause since Greek households had already employed domestic weasels for just that purpose. The Romans' relationship with the domestic cat was an entirely different story. From the first time domestic cats were introduced in Italy-probably by the Phoenicians-they were adored. Immediately put to use alongside weasels for housekeeping duties, cats found themselves not only employed but celebrated members of Roman families. A pet cat was a common feature of the ancient Roman home; even at the feet of their goddess of freedom, Libertas, a cat stood by. The Roman gods and goddesses served their people as well as the Greek pantheon served its own believers. The ability to pick and choose their favorite pieces of culture, notably from Greece and Egypt, meant Romans could piece together what they believed was the best of all worlds. The fact that both Greek and Roman sets of deities survive in memory today shows the strength and pride both civilizations felt toward their own creations. To the modern onlooker, Rome's many deities may seem like Greek duplicates, but to a citizen of the ancient Mediterranean, it may have belied nothing more than the fact the era of Hellenistic kingdoms had officially given way to the Roman Republic.