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the Bull: *
LEFT image: ceiling Mosaics of the Archepiscopal Chapel from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy; built by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel during the first quarter 6th century AD
RIGHT image: Mithra slaying the bull, bas-relief, from a mithraeum, 2nd century AD, legion’s camp Wiesbaden, Germany.
<B>
the Lamb: *
representation of the lamb, the lamb standing on a height from which four rivers of paradise flow. The chi-rho symbol is inscribed on the halo. on a sarcophagus at Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, consecrated 549 AD, an important monument of Byzantine art,
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the Fish: *
LEFT image: Ichthus carving from 1st century AD Ephesus
RIGHT image: funerary stele with the inscription ΙΧΘΥϹ ΖΩΝΤΩΝ ("fish of the living"), early 3rd century, National Roman Museum
<D>
the Triangle: *
LEFT image: Graeco-Punic funerary edicule with painted Tanit sign, from Marsala west Sicily.
RIGHT image: stele of the tophet of Carthage (in Libya)
<D>
“in hoc signo vinces”: *
image: The Chi-Rho with a wreath symbolizing the victory of the Resurrection, above Roman soldiers, circa 350.
<E>
Roman state worship (post-Trajan): *
Hadrian’s exclusively Greek Pan-Hellenism is reflected in the favour he gave Athens as the spiritual centre of Greek culture & the city Sagalassos in Greek Pisidia as the Empire's leading Imperial cult centre. He added several Imperial cult centres to the existing roster, particularly in Greece. These centres drew Imperial sponsorship of festivals & sacred games, attracted tourism, trade & investment. His rebuilding of long-established religious centres further underlined his respect for the glories of classical Greece.
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In Egypt he rebuilt the great Serapeum of Alexandria (dedicated to Serapis) following damage sustained in 116 BC. Hadrian had his boy lover, Antinous, deified as Osiris-Antinous by an Egyptian priest at the ancient Temple of Ramesses II. Although never an official state-sponsored Roman imperial cult, it did serve to identify an existing native cult (of Osiris) with Roman rule. It became popular in the Greek-speaking world & found support in the West, where Antinous was identified with the Celtic sun-god Belenos. Antinous became an "international" cult figure, with fame outlasting Hadrian's reign.
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He continued Trajan's policy on Christians, a cult imported from the East; they should not suffer special discrimination & prosecuted only for specific offences (refusal to swear oaths).
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In 136 AD he dedicated his Temple of Venus and Roma, the largest in Rome,built in a Hellenising style, more Greek than Roman. Its dedication & statuary associated the worship of the traditional Roman goddess Venus, it was paired with worship of the goddess Roma, containing the seated, Hellenised image of dea Roma. All this was a Greek invention & hitherto worshiped only in the provinces. In Rome it was a novel realisation. The Greek interpretations of Roma transformed her from a symbol of military dominance to a dignified deity of Imperial protection and gravitas.
The dea Roma cult was a Greek invention based on the Greek’s desire for Roman protection, as a trusted ally and guardian, a diplomatically sound approach. In Republican Rome & its Eastern colonies her cult was virtually non-existent. With the rise of Roman Imperialism in the closing decades of the 1st century BC, Greek city states petitioned Rome to allow their worship of the living “divus” Augustus. This was offensive to Republicans in Rome, as it smacked of king worship. A compromise emerged: the non-Roman world could turn the living divus into a cult IF it was paired with dea Roma. Thus Roma was absorbed into the earliest (Eastern) form of "Imperial cult". From an Eastern viewpoint, the divus cult to Augustus was grafted onto their time-honoured cult to Roma.
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Baals of Doliche, Petra, Palmyra, Edessa:
All these cities are either in Syria or near by. This is the area Spengler considers the seedbed of the Magian Culture. Doliche was a small town on the road between Germanicea and Zeugma (see yellow star).
see map below
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Sol (monotheism): *
image: sculptured plaque described as Sol Invictus
a standard Tauroctony, Mithras killing the bull; the image is relatively simple its many elements found in other depictions. The killing takes place in a cavern. Top left is Sol, recognisable by his flaming crown. The plaque appears misnamed since the image is plainly of Mithras in his phrygian cap, not Sol Invictus in his chariot and radiate crown. It may reflect the gradual absorption of the cult of Mithras into Imperial solar monism. 3rd century AD
Licinius (and Sol):*
The evidence behind the story of Licinius is weak on details and Constantine actively worked to erode Licinius's popularity. One way to do this was to portray him as a pagan supporter.
During the campaign against Emperor Maximinus (313 AD) Licinius made his army use a monotheistic form of prayer, similar to that later imposed by Constantine. He co-authored with Constantine the Edict of Milan ending the Great Persecution of Christians & re-affirming the rights of Christians. He added Christian symbols to his armies. His wife was a devout Christian & he may have been a convert. At some point after 313 AD he shifted his allegiance to the pagan side. His hostility became evident around 320 AD when he reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan. He promulgated anti-Christina laws: preventing bishops from communicating with each other or holding synods to discuss matters of interest to them, the prohibition of men and women from attending services together, the prohibition of young girls receiving instruction from their bishop or schools. He ordered that Christians could hold services only outside of city walls. Additionally, he deprived officers in the army of their commissions if they did not sacrifice to the gods. Eusebius of Caesarea (writing during Constantine’s reign), charges him with expelling Christians from the Palace and ordering military sacrifices to pagan gods. We have evidence from an inscription in the Balkans (at a camp) recording the annual worship of the Sun by the garrison, as ordered by Licinius. We also have coinage dating from 315 AD, bearing the bust of Licinius with Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") on the reverse. During the later Roman Empire the sun god was a patron of soldiers, so this is clearly an appeal to the Legion (however Constantine also issued similar coinage). Licinius suspected Christians in his service of being Constantine’s partisans & began to dismiss them. On this pretext, Constantine attacked, defeating him at Adrianople & again across the Bosporus (324 AD). He sent Licinius and his son to live as private citizens, but at some point in early 325 they were hanged.