From the time of the first persecution under the Emperor Nero (64 AD), Christianity gradually became a decisive force to contend with in the Roman world and developed into a structured monotheistic religion that ultimately became the official religion of the Empire. At a time when the sheen and polish of Rome’s imperial splendors were in fact fading, the city became the center of this extraordinary transformation and ultimately the seat of the Chair of Peter. How did the Empire go from pagan to Christian? How did a minor sect of Judaism develop into the Rome-centered Catholic Church? How was orthodoxy established in light of the many differing cultural and theological tenets that distinguished and divided the early Christian communities? And what did Rome have to do with it? The course seeks to explore fundamental doctrinal and theological issues concerning the birth of a worldwide religion also within the context of the cultural, historical, social and political framework of the environment into which Christianity pinnacled.
The course will make extensive use of field studies in an attempt to investigate Late Antique Rome and how the advent of Christianity gradually but significantly altered the urban landscape of the city; transformed the iconography of public and private art, yet at the same time maintaining astonishing elements of continuity in painting, sculpture and architecture.
Learning outcomes:
At the end of the term, students are able to understand the following:
the structure and history of the Roman Empire between the I and V centuries AD;
the specific context of Roman rule in Palestine;
the nature of early Christian communities and spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire;
the significance of the reigns of Constantine and Theodosius for the history of Christianity;
how Christianity came to affect Roman values, traditions, art and architecture and how it assimilated important components of the Roman tradition.
how Christianity spread out of its Jewish context and was transformed in the Greco-Roman world, adopting foreign and pagan religious practices.
Arianism and gnosticism as specific and different interpretations of Christianity.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, seminar discussion, field studies
Field study:
Roman Forum - Arch of Constantine - Colosseum
Catacombs of San Callisto
Church of the Santi Quattro Coronati - Basilica di Santa Sabina
Niche dedicated to Saint Peter in the excavation site under Saint Peter's Cathedral
Church of San Clemente
Santo Stefano Rotondo
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation (20%)
Oral presentations and reports (20%)
Midterm exam (30%)
Final exam (30%)
content:
Week 1
1 - Emperor and Empire - Roman rule in Palestine
The Roman Empire from the I - III century AD. Roman rule in Palestine from Augustus to Hadrian.
Readings: Goodman, The Roman World 44 BC- AD 14, chapters 9- 15; 26. Josephus, TheJewish War, selected passages. Tacitus, Annals, selected passages. Claridge, Rome, pp.62-118.
2 - Field Study: Roman Forum - Arch of Constantine – Colosseum
3- Early Christian Communities
The relationship between early Christian communities and the Roman structure of government: evidence from documents, inscriptions, art and architecture.
Readings: Goodman, The Roman World 44 BC- AD 14, chapters 29-31. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, chapter 1. Tacitus, Annals, selected passages. Claridge, Rome, pp.410-413. Letter of Gaius Plinius to the Emperor Trajan. Fiocchi-Nicolai-Bisconti-Mazzoleni, The Christian Catacombs of Rome. History, Decoration, Inscriptions, Rome, 1998, Chapter II.
4 - Field Study: Catacombs of San Callisto
Week 2
1 - From the revolution of Constantine to the apotheosis under Theodosius
How the politics of a fading Empire determined the acceptance and the final triumph of Christianity.
Readings: Van Dam, The Roman Revolution of Constantine, pp.221-251. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, chapters 2 and 7; pp.127-130. Millar, The emperor in the Roman World, chapter 9. The Edict of Milan.
2 – Field Study: Church of the Santi Quattro Coronati – Basilica di Santa Sabina
3 –Judaism and First Century Messianism
Using the Qum’ran documents, we will place Jesus into the context of 1st century messianic movements. We will study the Jewish diaspora after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 64 CE and read Paul’s Letter to the Romans to gain a sense of the Jewish Christian community in Rome.
Readings: “A Vision of the Son of God,” “The Temple Scroll” in Martinez/ Watson, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated : The Qumran texts in English; Paul’s “Letter to the Romans” in The Oxford Annotated Bible.
4 – Field Study: Niche dedicated to Saint Peter in the excavation site under Saint Peter’s Cathedral.
Week 3
1– Greco-Roman Popular Cults and their appropriation by Christianity
We will look at the establishment of the cult of the saints within Christianity as a means of integrating and appropriating foreign gods. We will focus on the cults of Mithras, Attis and Isis.
Readings: “Epilogue,” in Turcan, Robert, The Cults of the Roman Empire; Peter Brown, The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (ch. 1).
2 – Field Study: Church of San Clemente
3 – Dogma and Heresy: Different Interpretations of the Nature of Christ
We will look in particular at Gnosticism and Arianism, and how the dogmatic interpretation gained the upper hand, leading to the establishment of the Nicene Creed and Theodosius’ final proscription of paganism.
Readings: Richard Rubinstein, When Jesus became God (chs. 2-3); Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (chs. 5-6).
4 – Field Study: Santo Stefano Rotondo
Final exam
Required readings:
Brown, Peter, The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (ch. 1)
Claridge, Amanda, Rome, an Archaeological Guide. Oxford, 1998
Fiocchi-Nicolai-Bisconti-Mazzoleni, The Christian Catacombs of Rome. History, Decoration, Inscriptions,
Rome, 1998.
Goodman, The Roman World 44 BC- AD 14. London, 2002.
Josephus, TheJewish War, selected passages.
Krautheimer, Richard, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. London, 1965
Martinez/Watson, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated : The Qumran texts in English, “A Vision of the Son of
God,” “The Temple Scroll”.
Millar, Fergus, The emperor in the Roman World. London, 1977.
Pagels, Elaine, The Gnostic Gospels (chs. 5-6).
Rubinstein, Richard, When Jesus became God (chs. 2-3)
Tacitus, Annals, selected passages
Turcan, Robert, The Cults of the Roman Empire, “Epilogue”
Van Dam, Raymond, The Roman Revolution of Constantine. Cambridge, 2007
Letter of Gaius Plinius to the Emperor Trajan
Paul’s “Letter to the Romans”
The Edict of Milan
Recommended readings:
Elsner, Jas, Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Kitzinger, Ernst, Byzantine Art in the Making. Main Lines of Stylistic Development in the Mediterranean
Art, 3rd-7th Century, Cambridge, Mass., 1977.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Arianne Conty is a PhD in Philosophy of Religion from the University of California Santa Barbara. She conducts research in the history of religious and philosophical ideas, particularly in the field of medieval and post modern theories of subjectivity. She has published articles on medieval mysticism and post-modern thought.
Gianni Ponti is an archaeologist specialized in Imperial Roman architecture. After earning a BA in Classics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Prof. Ponti obtained a Laurea in archaeology from the University of Rome. His studies and research focus on the use of marble in Roman construction. He has worked on several archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, including Troy, Aphrodisias and Leptis Magna, Libya. He is currently directing an American excavation at the Villa of Maxentius on the Via Appia, as well as conducting architectural studies at Leptis Magna. He has published articles on marble building techniques and Roman quarries.
From Pontius Pilate To Theodosius: The Advent Of Christianity
From the time of the first persecution under the Emperor Nero (64 AD), Christianity gradually became a decisive force to contend with in the Roman world and developed into a structured monotheistic religion that ultimately became the official religion of the Empire. At a time when the sheen and polish of Rome’s imperial splendors were in fact fading, the city became the center of this extraordinary transformation and ultimately the seat of the Chair of Peter. How did the Empire go from pagan to Christian? How did a minor sect of Judaism develop into the Rome-centered Catholic Church? How was orthodoxy established in light of the many differing cultural and theological tenets that distinguished and divided the early Christian communities? And what did Rome have to do with it? The course seeks to explore fundamental doctrinal and theological issues concerning the birth of a worldwide religion also within the context of the cultural, historical, social and political framework of the environment into which Christianity pinnacled.
The course will make extensive use of field studies in an attempt to investigate Late Antique Rome and how the advent of Christianity gradually but significantly altered the urban landscape of the city; transformed the iconography of public and private art, yet at the same time maintaining astonishing elements of continuity in painting, sculpture and architecture.
At the end of the term, students are able to understand the following:
Lectures, seminar discussion, field studies
Class participation (20%)
Oral presentations and reports (20%)
Midterm exam (30%)
Final exam (30%)
Week 1
1 - Emperor and Empire - Roman rule in Palestine
The Roman Empire from the I - III century AD. Roman rule in Palestine from Augustus to Hadrian.
Readings: Goodman, The Roman World 44 BC- AD 14, chapters 9- 15; 26. Josephus, The Jewish War, selected passages. Tacitus, Annals, selected passages. Claridge, Rome, pp.62-118.
2 - Field Study: Roman Forum - Arch of Constantine – Colosseum
3- Early Christian Communities
The relationship between early Christian communities and the Roman structure of government: evidence from documents, inscriptions, art and architecture.
Readings: Goodman, The Roman World 44 BC- AD 14, chapters 29-31. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, chapter 1. Tacitus, Annals, selected passages. Claridge, Rome, pp.410-413. Letter of Gaius Plinius to the Emperor Trajan. Fiocchi-Nicolai-Bisconti-Mazzoleni, The Christian Catacombs of Rome. History, Decoration, Inscriptions, Rome, 1998, Chapter II.
4 - Field Study: Catacombs of San Callisto
Week 2
1 - From the revolution of Constantine to the apotheosis under Theodosius
How the politics of a fading Empire determined the acceptance and the final triumph of Christianity.
Readings: Van Dam, The Roman Revolution of Constantine, pp.221-251. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, chapters 2 and 7; pp.127-130. Millar, The emperor in the Roman World, chapter 9. The Edict of Milan.
2 – Field Study: Church of the Santi Quattro Coronati – Basilica di Santa Sabina
3 –Judaism and First Century Messianism
Using the Qum’ran documents, we will place Jesus into the context of 1st century messianic movements. We will study the Jewish diaspora after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 64 CE and read Paul’s Letter to the Romans to gain a sense of the Jewish Christian community in Rome.
Readings: “A Vision of the Son of God,” “The Temple Scroll” in Martinez/ Watson, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated : The Qumran texts in English; Paul’s “Letter to the Romans” in The Oxford Annotated Bible.
4 – Field Study: Niche dedicated to Saint Peter in the excavation site under Saint Peter’s Cathedral.
Week 3
1– Greco-Roman Popular Cults and their appropriation by Christianity
We will look at the establishment of the cult of the saints within Christianity as a means of integrating and appropriating foreign gods. We will focus on the cults of Mithras, Attis and Isis.
Readings: “Epilogue,” in Turcan, Robert, The Cults of the Roman Empire; Peter Brown, The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (ch. 1).
2 – Field Study: Church of San Clemente
3 – Dogma and Heresy: Different Interpretations of the Nature of Christ
We will look in particular at Gnosticism and Arianism, and how the dogmatic interpretation gained the upper hand, leading to the establishment of the Nicene Creed and Theodosius’ final proscription of paganism.
Readings: Richard Rubinstein, When Jesus became God (chs. 2-3); Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (chs. 5-6).
4 – Field Study: Santo Stefano Rotondo
Final exam
Brown, Peter, The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (ch. 1)
Claridge, Amanda, Rome, an Archaeological Guide. Oxford, 1998
Fiocchi-Nicolai-Bisconti-Mazzoleni, The Christian Catacombs of Rome. History, Decoration, Inscriptions,
Rome, 1998.
Goodman, The Roman World 44 BC- AD 14. London, 2002.
Josephus, The Jewish War, selected passages.
Krautheimer, Richard, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. London, 1965
Martinez/Watson, The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated : The Qumran texts in English, “A Vision of the Son of
God,” “The Temple Scroll”.
Millar, Fergus, The emperor in the Roman World. London, 1977.
Pagels, Elaine, The Gnostic Gospels (chs. 5-6).
Rubinstein, Richard, When Jesus became God (chs. 2-3)
Tacitus, Annals, selected passages
Turcan, Robert, The Cults of the Roman Empire, “Epilogue”
Van Dam, Raymond, The Roman Revolution of Constantine. Cambridge, 2007
Letter of Gaius Plinius to the Emperor Trajan
Paul’s “Letter to the Romans”
The Edict of Milan
Elsner, Jas, Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Kitzinger, Ernst, Byzantine Art in the Making. Main Lines of Stylistic Development in the Mediterranean
Art, 3rd-7th Century, Cambridge, Mass., 1977.
Arianne Conty is a PhD in Philosophy of Religion from the University of California Santa Barbara. She conducts research in the history of religious and philosophical ideas, particularly in the field of medieval and post modern theories of subjectivity. She has published articles on medieval mysticism and post-modern thought.
Gianni Ponti is an archaeologist specialized in Imperial Roman architecture. After earning a BA in Classics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Prof. Ponti obtained a Laurea in archaeology from the University of Rome. His studies and research focus on the use of marble in Roman construction. He has worked on several archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, including Troy, Aphrodisias and Leptis Magna, Libya. He is currently directing an American excavation at the Villa of Maxentius on the Via Appia, as well as conducting architectural studies at Leptis Magna. He has published articles on marble building techniques and Roman quarries.