The Imperial Cult The Development of Church Order 1999 PDF

T H E IMPERIAL CULT AND T H E DEVELOPMENT
OF CHURCH ORDER
SUPPLEMENTS TO
VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE
Formerly Philosophia Patrum
T E X T S A N D S T U D I E S O F EARLY C H R I S T I A N LIFE
AND LANGUAGE
EDITORS
J . D E N B O E F T — R. V A N D E N B R O E K — W . L . P E T E R S E N
D.T. RUNIA — J . C . M . VAN W I N D E N
VOLUME XLV
THE IMPERIAL CULT
AND THE DEVELOPMENT
OF CHURCH ORDER
Concepts and Images of Authority in Paganism and Early
Christianity before the Age of Cyprian
BY
ALLEN BRENT
BRILL
LEIDEN • B O S T O N • K O L N
1999
T h i s book is printed o n acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brent, Allen.
T h e imperial cult a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t o f church order : concepts
and images o f authority in paganism a n d early Christianity before
the A g e o f Cyprian / b y Allen Brent.
p. c m . — (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, I S S N
0 9 2 0 - 6 2 3 X ; v. 45)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) a n d indexes.
ISBN 9004114203
1. C h u r c h p o l i t y — H i s t o r y — E a r l y church, ca. 3 0 - 6 0 0 . 2. Emperor
w o r s h i p — R o m e . 3. Christianity a n d other r e l i g i o n s — R o m a n .
I. T i d e . II. Series.
BV648.B73 1999
261.2'207'09015—dc21 99-36631
CIP
D i e Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
[Vigiliae Christianae / S u p p l e m e n t s ]
S u p p l e m e n t s t o Vigiliae Christianae : formerly Philosophia Patrum ;
texts a n d studies o f early Christian life a n d l a n g u a g e . - L e i d e n ;
B o s t o n ; K o l n : Brill.
Friiher Schriftenreihe
ISSN 0920-623X
Vol. 45. Brent, Allen: T h e imperial cult and the development of
church order. - 1999
Brent, Allen:
T h e imperial cult a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f c h u r c h o r d e r : c o n c e p t s a n d
i m a g e s o f a u t h o r i t y in P a g a n i s m a n d Early Christianity before t h e
A g e o f C y p r i a n / b y A l l e n Brent. - L e i d e n ; B o s t o n ; K o l n : Brill,
1999
(Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae ; Vol. 45)
ISBN 9 0 - 0 4 - 1 1 4 2 0 - 3
ISSN 0920-623X
ISBN 90 0 4 11420 3
© Copyright 1999 by Koninklyke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands

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PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

Caroline Penrose B a m m e l , F.B.A.
(1940-1995)
In piam memoriam
CONTENTS
Abbreviations ix
Plates xv
Introduction xix
I. Christian a n d P a g a n Cultus by the T h i r d C e n t u r y 1

A. Cyprianic H i e r a r c h y a n d Decius T r a j a n 2
B. Christian a n d Imperial Cult: Parallels Before
Cyprian 4
C . C h u r c h O r d e r as Apologia: T h e Reactive Thesis 8
D . Imperial a n d Christian O r d e r : C o n t r a - C u l t u r a l
Relations 11
II. T h e Foundations of the Imperial Cult 17

A. R e p u b l i c a n Antecedents of the Imperial Cult 19
B. T h e I n a u g u r a t i o n a n d R e c e p t i o n of the
Imperial Cult 59
III. Imperial Ideology a n d the Origins of C h u r c h O r d e r 73

A. Luke-Acts: T r a d i t i o n a l Eschatology T r a n s f o r m e d 78
B. Luke-Acts in the C o n t e x t of Imperial History 82
C . L u k a n Images of C o n t r a C u l t u r e 101
D . C h u r c h O r d e r a n d Imperial Society 130
E. In Conclusion: T h e o p h i l u s a n d His Circle 137
IV. C l e m e n t of R o m e a n d D o m i t i a n ' s E m p i r e 140

A. D o m i t i a n a n d the W r i t i n g of C l e m e n t ' s Corinthians ... 141
B. C l e m e n t : C h u r c h O r d e r a n d Imperial Peace 144
C . C l e m e n t ' s Construction of a C o n t r a Culture 161
V. T h e Apocalypse a n d D o m i t i a n ' s I c o n o g r a p h y 164

A. D o m i t i a n ' s Cult a n d the D a t e of the Apocalypse 164
B. T h e Domitianic Backcloth to the Apocalypse 177
C . In Conclusion: Apocalypse a n d the Imperial Cult 208
V I . Ignatius of Antioch a n d the M a r t y r ' s Procession 210

A. Ignatian Typology a n d D o m i t i a n ' s I c o n o g r a p h y 211
viii CONTENTS
B. T h e M a r t y r Procession a n d Cultic Ambassadors .... 228

C . O r d e r in C l e m e n t , Ignatius a n d the Apocalypse 248
V I I . P a g a n a n d Christian M o n a r c h i a n i s m 251
A. Antecedents of the Severan* Reformation 255
B. P a g a n Ontologies: Gnosticism a n d Neoplatonism .... 271
C . Social O r d e r a n d the D o c t r i n e of the Trinity 285
V I I I . T h e E m e r g e n c e of Imperial a n d Catholic O r d e r 310

A. Elagabalus a n d Universal M o n o t h e i s m 311
B. Callistus, M o n a r c h Bishops a n d M o n a r c h i a n i s m 313
C . In Conclusion: T h e Legacy for Decius a n d
Cyprian 328
Bibliography 331
Indices 345
1. Biblical Citations 347
2. Ancient Christian a n d Jewish Writers 351
3. Ancient P a g a n Writers 354
4. Inscriptions a n d Coins 359
5. G r e e k V o c a b u l a r y 362
Plates 371
ABBREVIATIONS
AAWG A b h a n d l u n g e n d e r A k a d e m i e der Wissenschaften in

Gottingen
ABA W A b h a n d l u n g e n der bayerischen Akademie der Wissen
schaften
ABenRev A m e r i c a n Benedictine Review
AHA W Abhandlungen der heidelberger Akademie der Wissen
schaften
AGJU Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken J u d e n t u m s u n d
des U r c h r i s t e n t u m s (Leiden: Brill)
AKWG A b h a n d l u n g e n der koniglichen Gesellschaft der
Wissenschaften zu Gottingen
ArLiW Archiv fur Liturgiewissenschaft
AmJArch A m e r i c a n J o u r n a l of Archaeology
AmJPhil A m e r i c a n J o u r n a l of Philology
AnBoll Analecta Bollandiana
AnLov Analecta Lovaniensia Biblica et Orientalia
ANRW Aufstieg u n d N i e d e r g a n g d e r romischen Welt: G e
schichte u n d K u l t u r R o m s im Spiegel der n e u e r e n
Forschung, Ed. H . T e m p o r i n i a n d W . H a a s e (Berlin
a n d N e w York: D e Gruyter)
Antiqu. Antiquitas: Beitrage zur Historia-Augusta Forschung,
Ed. J . S t r a u b u n d A. Alfoldi (Bonn: R. H a b e l t Verlag
1963—)
ArcCl Archeologia classica
ArFil Archivio di filosofia
Athen. Athenaeum
Ath. Mitt. Mitteilungen des kaiserlich deutschen archaologischen
Instituts: athenische Abteilung
AThR Anglican Theological Review
ATKT A b h a n d l u n g e n zur Theologie des alten u n d n e u e n
Testaments
Aug Augustinianum
BArC Bulletino di archeologia cristiana
BE Bulletin epigraphique
BEHE.R Bibliotheque de l'ecole des hautes etudes, Sciences
religieuses
X ABBREVIATIONS
BeitrHistTh Beitrage zur historischen Theologie

BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies
BiLit Bibel u n d Liturgie
BJb B o n n e r J a h r b u c h e r des rheinischen L a n d e s m u s e u m s
in B o n n u n d des Vereins von Altertumsfreunden im
Rheinlande
BLUE Bulletin de litterature ecclesiastique
BR Biblical Research
BRev Biblical Review
BSGT Bibliotheca Scriptorum G r a e c o r u m et R o m a n o r u m
Teubneriana
BThAM Bulletin de theologie ancienne et medievale
Byz Byzantion: R e v u e internationale des etudes byzan-
tines
ByzZ Byzantinische Zeitschrift
BJ^NW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamendiche Wis-
senschaft
B^HT Beitrage zur historischen Theologie
BCCa Civilta cattolica
ChH C h u r c h History
CTh C a h i e r s theologiques (Neuchatel: Editions D e l a c h a u x
et Niestle 1949—)
CIG C o r p u s Inscriptionum G r a e c a r u m
CIL C o r p u s Inscriptionum L a t i n a r u m
ClAnt Classical Antiquity
ClassRev Classical Review
ClassStud Classical Studies. D e p a r t m e n t of Classics of the U n i
versity of K y o t o
CIPl Classical Philology
CSCO C o r p u s Scriptorum C h r i s t i a n o r u m O r i e n t a l i u m
CSLE C o r p u s Scriptorum L a t i n o r u m Ecclesiasticorum
DACL Dictionnaire d' Archeologie Chretienne et de Liturgie, (Ed.)
F. C a b r o l a n d H . Leclercq (Paris: Libraire Letouzey
et A n e 1924)
DAIRM Mitteilungen des deutschen archaologischen Instituts:
romische Abteilung
DomSt D o m i n i c a n Studies
DR Downside Review
EglTheo Eglise et theologie
EpAnat Epigraphica anatolica
ABBREVIATIONS XI
EphL E p h e m e r i d e s liturgicae
EPRO E t u d e s p r e l i m i n a i r e s a u x religions orientales d a n s
l'empire romain, M a a r t e n J . Vermaseren (Leiden: Brill)
EThL E p h e m e r i d e s Theologicae Lovanienses
Entretiens Fondation H a r d t Pour PEtude de TAntiquite Classique
(Vandoeuvres-Geneve: Olivier Reverdin)
FRLANT F o r s c h u n g e n z u r Religion u n d L i t e r a t u r des alten
und neuen Testaments
F^ThTTi Freiburger Zeitschrift fur Philosophic u n d Theologie
GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten
beiden J a h r h u n d e r t e
3
GGR Geschichte d e r griechischen Religion, in Handbuch der
A Itertumswissenschqft
Greg Gregorianum
GRBS Greek, R o m a n a n d Byzantine Studies
Gym Gymnasium
HA H a n d b u c h d e r Altertumswissenschaft
Herm Hermes
Hermath Hermathena
Hesp Hesperia
Heyjn Heythrop Journal
Hochl. H o c h l a n d . Zeitschrift fur alle Gebiete des Wissens
u n d d e r schonen Kiinste
Horsley,
New Docs G. Horsley, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity,
(Macquarie: Ancient History Documentation Research
C e n t r e 1983—)
HThR H a r v a r d Theological Review
Hypomn. H y p o m n e m a t a : U n t e r s u c h u n g e n zur Antike u n d zu
i h r e m N a c h l e b e n , A. Dihle, H . Erbse, C . H a b i c h t ,
G. Patzig, B. Snell (Editors), (Gottingen: V a n d e n h o e c k
a n d R u p r e c h t 1962—)
ILCV Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres, Ed. E. Diehl,
Vols. 1-3
ICUR Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis R o m a e Septimo Sae-
culo Antiquiores, Ed. D e Rossi G.B. a n d Silvagni A.,
N o v a series ( R o m e 1921—)
IG Inscriptiones G r a e c a e , Ed. Kirschner J . (Berlin: R h e i -
m a r u s 1 9 1 3 — ; D e G r u y t e r 1924—)
JbAC J a h r b u c h fur Antike u n d C h r i s t e n t u m
xii ABBREVIATIONS
JBL J o u r n a l of Biblical Literature

JEgArch J o u r n a l of Egyptian Archeology
J EH J o u r n a l of Ecclesiastical History
JES J o u r n a l of Ecumenical Studies
JHS J o u r n a l of Hellenic .Studies
JLiW J a h r b u c h fiir Liturgiewissenschaft
JRA J o u r n a l of R o m a n Archeology
JRH J o u r n a l of Religious History
JRomS J o u r n a l of R o m a n Studies
JSNT J o u r n a l for the Study of the N e w T e s t a m e n t
JSNT.S J o u r n a l for the Study of the N e w Testament: Supple
m e n t a r y Series
JThS J o u r n a l of Theological Studies
LeDiv Lectio divina
MAAR M e m o i r s of the A m e r i c a n A c a d e m y in R o m e
MD La Maison-Dieu
MEFRA Melanges de l'ecole frangaise de R o m e : Antiquite
MemAmAc M e m o i r s of the A m e r i c a n A c a d e m y in R o m e
MGH M o n u m e n t a G e r m a n i a e Historica
MSR Melanges de science religieuse
MuTh£ M i i n c h e n e r theologische Zeitschrift
NA Neutestamendiche Abhandlungen
NScavAnt Notizie degli scavi di antichita, in Atti della r. acca-
demia dei Lincei
NT Novum Testamentum
NTS N e w T e s t a m e n t Studies
OECT Oxford Early Christian Texts, H . C h a d w i c k (Ed.),
(Oxford: C l a r e n d o n Press)
Opera Min Sel. L. R o b e r t , O p e r a M i n o r a Selecta, Epigraphie et
Antiquites Grecques, Vols. 1-7 (Amsterdam: Hakkert
1969-1990)
OrChr O r i e n s Christianus
OrChrA Orientalia Christiana analecta
OrSyr O r i e n t syrien
OstkiSt Ostkirchliche Studien
PL J . P . M i g n e , Patrologia Latina
Phil Philologus, Zeitschrift fiir klassisches Altertum
PO Patrologia orientalis
PG J . P . M i g n e , Patrologia G r a e c a - L a t i n a
PTS Patristische T e x t e u n d Studien ( B e r l i n / N e w York:
D e G r u y t e r 1964—)
ABBREVIATIONS Xlll
PWK A. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-encyclopadia der classischen Alter-

tumswissenschaft (Metzler: Stuttgart 1899)
QLP Questions liturgiques et paroissiales
RAC Reallexikon fiir Antike u n d C h r i s t e n t u m
RAr R e v u e archeologique
RBen R e v u e benedictine
Rbib R e v u e biblique
RDroitCan R e v u e de droit c a n o n i q u e
RH R e v u e historique
REA R e v u e des etudes anciennes
REG R e v u e des etudes grecques
RevHisRel R e v u e de l'histoire des religions
RecSciRel R e c h e r c h e s de science religieuse
RelStudRev Religious Studies Review
RBelgPhH R e v u e beige de philologie et d'histoire
ReoEtByz R e v u e des etudes byzantines
RevHE R e v u e d'histoire ecclesiastique
RevHPhR R e v u e d'histoire et de philosophic religieuse
ReoScPhTh R e v u e des sciences philosophiques et theologiques
RevSR R e v u e des sciences religieuses
RGG Religion in Geschichte u n d G e g e n w a r t
RivAC Rivista di archeologia cristiana
RPARA R e n d i c o n t i della pontificia a c c a d e m i a r o m a n a di
archeologia
RPhil R e v u e de philologie, de litterature et d'histoire anci
ennes
RSLR Rivista di storia e letteratura religiosa
RThAM R e c h e r c h e s de theologie ancienne et medievale
SBAW Sitzungsberichte d e r bayrischen A k a d e m i e der Wis
senschaften
SC Sources c h r e t i e n n e s (Paris: Les Editions d u C e r f
1944—)
SciEspirit Science et esprit
ScuCat La scuola cattolica
SecCent T h e Second Century
Set Studi e testi
SGK Schriften d e r konigsberger G e l e h r t e n Gesellschaft
SHAW Sitzungsberichte d e r H e i d e l b e r g e r A k a d e m i e d e r
Wissenschaften
SJLA Studies in J u d a i s m in Late Antiquity, Ed. J . Neusner
(Leiden: Brill)
XIV ABBREVIATIONS
SPAW Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Akademie der Wis

senschaften: Philosophisch-historische Klasse
StAns Studia anselmiana
StEphAug. Studia Ephemeridis "Augustinianum" (Institutum Patri-
sticum "Augustinianqrn": R o m e )
StPB Studia Post-Biblica
StTh Studia Theologica
StudClas Studii clasice. Bucuresti, Soc. de Studii Clasice din R S R
StudPatr Studia Patristica
StuPat Studia Patavina
SupplVCh S u p p l e m e n t s to Vigiliae C h r i s t i a n a e (Leiden: Brill
1987—)
TheolStKrit Theologische Studien u n d Kritiken
Theoph T h e o p h a n i a : Beitrage z u r Religions- u n d K i r c h e n -
geschichte des Altertums
TheoRev Theologische revue
ThG Theologie u n d G l a u b e
ThQ Theologische Quartalschrift
ThR Theologische R u n d s c h a u
ThS Theological Studies
ThZ Theologische Zeitschrift
TU Texte u n d Untersuchungen der altchristlichen Literatur
TWJVT Theologisches W o r t e r b u c h z u m n e u e n T e s t a m e n t
TEA T u b i n g e r Beitrage zur Altertumswissenschaft
VC V e r b u m C a r o : R e v u e theologique et o e c u m e n i q u e
(Neuchatel 1947)
VCh Vigiliae Christianae
WMAKT Wissenschaftliche Monographien z u m alten u n d neuen
Testament
WUNT Wissenschafdiche U n t e r s u c h u n g e n z u m n e u e n Testa
m e n t (Mohr: T u b i n g e n )
ZKG Zeitschrift fiir Kirchengeschichte
ZKTh Zeitschrift fiir katholische Theologie
ZNW Zeitschrift fiir n e u t e s t a m e n t l i c h e Wissenschaft u n d
K u n d e der alteren K i r c h e
ZRGG Zeitschrift fiir Religions- u n d Geistesgeschichte
ZThK Zeitschrift fiir Theologie u n d K i r c h e
ZWTh Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Theologie
PLATES*
1. Ara Pads Augusti

DAI Neg. 53.307.
Courtesy of Deutsches Archaologisches Institut, Rom.
2. Ara Pacis:
Tellus: celebration of Pax in nature and society.
DAI Neg. 86.1448.
3. Ara Pacis:
Tellus and her children in a fruitful earth.
DAI Neg. 32.1744.
4. Ara Pacis:
Nymph (Hora) of sea-realm seated on a tamed draggon.
DAI Neg. 32.1746.
5. Ara Pacis:
Close-up of Tellus' child in Nature's superabundance.
DAI Neg. 86.1458.
6. Ara Pacis:
Sacrificial Scene (Suovetaurilia)
DAI Neg. 66.107.
7. Altar of Lares:
Augustus as augur with lituus.
DAI Neg. 75.293.
8. Altar of the Lares:
Vicomagistri at joint sacrifice.
DAI Neg. 60.1472.
9. Altar of Lares:
Augustus hands statuettes to ministri of a compitum.
Mus. Vatic. Arch. Fotog. Neg. N. A. 16.6.
Courtesy of Monumenti musei e gallerie pontificie.
10. Ministri with statuettes of Lares and Genius Augusti.
Mus. Vatic. Arch. Fotog. Neg. N. XXXV.5.9.
Courtesy of Monumenti musei e gallerie pontificie.
* T h e Plates Section can be found at the end o f this book.

xvi PLATES
11. Altar dedicated to the Lares of Augustus.

Roma, Musei Capitolini, Arch. Fotog. Inv. 855/S.
12. Augustus presents statue of Minerva to magistri of woodworkers.
Roma, Musei Capitolini, Arch. Fotog. Inv. 1909/S.
13. Gemma Augustea.
Courtesy of Kunsthistorisches Muse um, Wien Inv. IX.A.79.
#
14. Pompei: Priestess with stola and patera.

Naples, Mus. Naz. Inv. 6041.
15. Priest with incense box.
Lyon, Mus. Gallo-Rom. (Photo: Ch. Thioc).
16. Head of Augustus with thunderbolt and star.
BMC (Tiberius) 151.c216.20 (PI. 26.3). (Obv.)
© The British Museum
17. Livia as priestess holding patera and sceptre.
BMC (Tiberius) 151.c216.20 (PL 26.3). (Rev.)
18. Head of Augustus with star.
BMC (Titus) 27l.c.219.86 (PI. 54,3). (Obv.)
19. Altar to Providentia.
BMC (Titus) 27l.c.219.86 (PI. 54,3). (Rev.)
20. Domitia Augusta.
BMC (Domitian) 65.c 194.56 (PI. 61,9). (Obv.)
21. Domitia (Pietas) with sceptre, left, extending right hand
towards her child.
BMC (Domitian) 65.c. 194.56 (PL 61,9). (Rev.)
22. Domitia Augusta.
BMC (Domitian) 62 (PL 61,6). (Obv.)
23. Divus Caesar (Domitian's son) as baby Jupiter seated on
a globe circled by seven stars.
BMC (Domitian) 62 (PL 61,6). (Rev.)
24. Victory (Domitian) draped and holding a shield.
BMC (Domitian) 504.C.220.3. (Rev.)
25. Aeternitas holding the sun and moon.
BMC (Domitian) 346.C.219.94 (PL 73,4)
26. Sabina Augusta
BMC (Hadrian) 1095.C.391.8 (PL 75,7). (Obv.)
27. Cybele, towered, draped and seated.
BMC (Hadrian) 1095.C.391.8 (PL 75,7). (Rev.)
PLATES XVll
28. Faustina (I) Augusta.

BMC (Antoninus Pius) 1436.C.223.190 (PL 34,4). (Obv.)
29. Cybele towered and enthroned with two lions.
BMC (Antoninus Pius) 1436.c223.190 (PL 34,4). (Rev.)
30. Faustina (II) Augusta.
BMC (Marcus Aurelius) 934.C.225.1 (PL 73,11). (Obv.)
31. Cybele (Mater Magna) towered.
BMC (Marcus Aurelius) 934.C.225.1 (PL 73,11). (Rev.)
32. Matri Deum Salutari:
Cybele towered and on a lion's back.
BMC (Commodus) 680 (PL 109,15). (Rev.)
33. Julia (Domna) Augusta.
BMC (Septimius Severus) 77.cl98.154 B (a)
(PL 28,18) (Obv.)
34. Isis with Horus in both arms.
BMC (Septimius Severus) 77.cl98.154 B (a)
(PL 28,18) (Rev.)
INTRODUCTION
T h e received opinion on the Imperial Cult of p e r h a p s a majority of

R o m a n historians was well s u m m e d u p in the work of K u r t Latte,
w h o claimed that the i m p o r t a n c e of this Cult h a d b e e n greatly over
estimated. E m p e r o r W o r s h i p played a m i n o r role, o n his view, a n d
was not really a religious p h e n o m e n o n at all. " D e r Kaiserkult blieb . . .
die A n e r k e n n u n g des romischen Weltreichs, in seiner gegenwartigen
1
F o r m , eine konventionelle Geiste." T h e Imperial Cult, as Etienne
2
q u o t e d Latte as saying, was " u n e invention des peres de l'Eglise."
Certainly this view has also p r e d o m i n a t e d in m a n y discussions of
why the Early C h u r c h suffered persecution. Sherwin-White agreed
with D e Ste C r o i x in this respect at least, w h e n h e claimed that
" e m p e r o r worship is a factor of n o i n d e p e n d e n t i m p o r t a n c e in the
persecution of Christians." It was refusal to worship the gods in gen
3
eral that was the p r i m e reason for persecution. If Latte's view were
correct, the study of the Imperial Cult in relation to the develop
m e n t of Early C h u r c h O r d e r would be the study of social reality as
the early Christians h a d constructed it. But that construction of social
reality would have b e e n disowned by the p a g a n s themselves.
But Latte's s u m m a r y defence of the early consensus of R o m a n
historians has recendy sustained a highly significant challenge. Writers
4 5 6
such as F e a r s , Fishwick, a n d P r i c e have emphasised the increas
ing centrality of the Imperial Cult to R o m a n religion, particularly
1
K. Latte, R o m i s c h e Religionsgeschichte, in HA 5,4 (1967) a n d (1976), p. 326.
T h e most recent e x a m p l e is found in B.W. J o n e s , The Emperor Domitian, (London:
R o u d e d g e 1992).
2
Q u o t e d in G. Alfbldy, Subject and Ruler, Subjects and M e t h o d s : an Attempt
at a Conclusion, in A. Small (Ed.), Subject and Ruler: T h e Cult o f the Ruling
Power in Classical Antiquity, in JRA: Suppl. Series, 17 (1996), p. 2 5 4 .
3
A . N . Sherwin-White, T h e early persecutions and R o m a n L a w again, in JThS
3,2 (1952), p. 2 1 0 cf. G . E . M . D e Ste. Croix, W h y were the early Christians per
secuted? in Past and Present, 2 6 (1963), p. 10.
4
J . R . , Fears, T h e Cult o f Virtues and R o m a n Imperial Ideology, in ANRW 2,17,2
(1981), p p . 8 2 7 - 9 4 8 . J . R . Fears, T h e T h e o l o g y o f Victory at R o m e , in ANRW
2,17,2 (1981), p p . 7 3 6 - 8 2 6 .
1
D . Fishwick, T h e Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult
of the Western Province of the R o m a n Empire, 1,1-2, 11,1-2, in EPRO 108 (1987).
b
S.R.F. Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor (Cambridge:
U.P. 1984).
XX INTRODUCTION
t h r o u g h its ability to synthesise itself with traditional p a g a n cults in

various subde ways. Indeed, G e z a Alfoldy well summarised the sig
nificance of Fishwick's work, reinforced by the p a p e r s of the Alberta
S y m p o s i u m celebrating the latter's sixty-fifth birthday, a n d edited by
Alastair Small, as having this b r o a d e r a n d synthesising significance
as the m e a n s of celebrating imperial unity in a way that was reli
7
gious a n d even s a c r a m e n t a l .
I believe, therefore, that, in the light of the reassessment of the
Imperial C u l t as a religious p h e n o m e n o n , it is possible to reassess
also its influence o n the d e v e l o p m e n t of ministerial O r d e r in the
Early C h u r c h . M y a r g u m e n t ( C h a p t e r 2), influenced to some extent
8
by the work of Liebeschuetz, is that the Imperial Cult as founded
u n d e r Augustus was basically a reorganisation of the Republican Cult
whose elected magistrates, t h r o u g h the college of augurs, h a d the
constitutional as well as religious responsibility of obtaining the pax
deorum. T h e chaos of the late Republic, as evidenced by Livy, L u c a n ,
Suetonius, a n d D i o h a d a metaphysical as well as a h u m a n l y polit
ical basis. F u r t h e r m o r e their historiography represented a generally
received opinion.
T h e R e p u b l i c a n Cult, in failing to achieve the pax deorum, repre
sented a cultic failure that was the perceived religious c o u n t e r p a r t
of the political failure of the R e p u b l i c a n C o n s t i t u d o n . T h u s Augustus
executed a religious reformation in which his Imperial Cult could
b e understood as p r o d u c i n g a n extraordinary pax deorum of millen
9
nial proportions a n d e n d u r a n c e . I d o c u m e n t in C h a p t e r 1 h o w this
p a g a n a n d imperial construction of social reality was reinforced.
C e r t a i n features of the early martyrologies establish that the real rea
son for the persecutions was a cultic reason. Christianity was a super-
stitio threatening the pax deorum obtained t h r o u g h the Imperial Cult.
In C h a p t e r s 3 - 6 I e x a m i n e the writings of Luke-Acts, C l e m e n t of
R o m e , the Apocalypse, a n d Ignatius of Antioch. In each case I argue
7
Alfoldy (1996), p p . 2 5 5 - 2 5 6 .
8
J . H . W . G . Liebeschuetz, Continuity and Change in Roman Religion (Oxford: Clarendon
1979).
9
I rely here o n the insightful general treatment by e.g., P. Zanker, The Power of
Images in the Age of Augustus, trans. A. Shapiro (Ann Arbor: University o f M i c h i g a n
Press 1990), or studies o f the Ara Pacis such as that o f R. Bertolotti de Angelis,
Materiale dell'Ara Pacis presso il M u s e o N a z i o n a l e R o m a n o , DAIRM 9 0 (1985),
pp. 2 2 1 - 2 3 4 , or E. Bianchi, Ara Pacis Augustae ( R o m e : Fratelli Palombi 1994), p p .
13-16.
INTRODUCTION XXI
that we have a nascent C h u r c h O r d e r , developing pari passu with

that of the Imperial Cult, in which the converted heirs of the Augustan
religious reformation show that their Christian Cult, with its officers
a n d rites, are able to achieve the true pax dei. In c o n s e q u e n c e ,
Christian social constructions of reality are fashioned in interaction
with their p a g a n a n d imperial c o u n t e r p a r t s . In C h a p t e r s 7 - 8 we
trace the emergence of P a g a n M o n o t h e i s m a n d Christian M o n a r
chianism as they emerge in the second century, a n d a r e reflected in
Imperial a n d C h u r c h O r d e r u n d e r the Severans a n d Elagabalus on
the o n e h a n d , a n d Callistus on the other.
M y discussion is informed t h r o u g h o u t by a sociological m o d e l in
which the interaction between these two developing social p h e n o m
ena, the P a g a n a n d the Christian Cultus, c a n be fruitfully studied
a n d explained. T h e d e v e l o p m e n t of Early Christian C h u r c h O r d e r
is understood as the d e v e l o p m e n t of a contra-culture ( C h a p t e r 1). A
g r o u p , deprived of status a n d significance by the wider culture, sets
u p its o w n contra-culture that mirrors a n d reverses the values of the
former, granting the status a n d significance to its m e m b e r s that the
10
former has denied t h e m .
M y thesis is intended to show finally h o w the C h u r c h of C y p r i a n
faced the E m p i r e of Decius T r a j a n a n d Valerian as two rival cultic
organisations which h a d b e h i n d b o t h of t h e m two centuries of inter
active development.
I wish to acknowledge financial s u p p o r t b o t h from the British
Academy for the completion of chapters 1-6, a n d from the Leverhulme
T r u s t for chapters 7 - 8 . T h e generous assistance of b o t h bodies have
enabled m e to continue m y research in early Christian history with
the resources of the Libraries of C a m b r i d g e University a n d of R o m e .
M y most grateful thanks must go to Professore M a n l i o Simonetti,
of La Sapienza a n d of the L a t e r a n University. At the British School
in R o m e I have enjoyed friendship a n d discussion with n u m e r o u s
scholars, in particular with the Director, Professor A n d r e w Wallace-
Hadrill. I have greatly benefited from the m u c h valued support of
the A u g u s t i n i a n u m in R o m e , in particular that of their Vice Praeses,
D r R o b e r t D o d a r o , a n d from the kindess a n d hospitality of D r
G e o r g e Lawless a n d m a n y others there.
10
S. L e v e n t m a n (Ed.), Counterculture and Social Transformation: Essays on Megativistic
Themes in Sociological Theory (Illinois: T h o m a s 1982).
xxii INTRODUCTION
In C a m b r i d g e I m u s t m e n t i o n Professor William H o r b u r y , F.B.A.,

a n d D r J a m e s C a r l e t o n Paget for their e n c o u r a g e m e n t of m y work,
a n d also the Patristics S e m i n a r u n d e r the leadership of D r Lionel
W i c k h a m . W h e t h e r in R o m e or in C a m b r i d g e m y thanks is also d u e
to D r C h r i s t o p h e r Kelly, for his valued insights a n d suggestions.
I also acknowledge with thanks provision of p h o t o g r a p h s as well
as permission to r e p r o d u c e t h e m from:
(i) Deutsches Archaologisches Institut, R o m (Plates 1-8).

(ii) Musei Vaticani (Plates 9 - 1 0 ) .
(iii) Musei Capitolini, R o m a (Plates 11-12).
(iv) Kunsthistorisches M u s e u m , W i e n (Plate 13).
(v) M u s e o Nazionale, Napoli (Plate 14).
(vi) M u s e e de la Civilisation G a l l o - R o m a i n e , Lyon (Plate 15).
(vii) T h e British M u s e u m , L o n d o n (Plates 16-34).
ALLEN BRENT BRITISH SCHOOL AT R O M E

5TH M A R C H 1999
CHAPTER ONE
C H R I S T I A N A N D P A G A N C U L T U S BY
THE THIRD CENTURY
Contra-cultural theory and Cyprianic Order
T h e victory of early Christianity a n d its success in annihilating its

p a g a n rival b o t h as a political a n d intellectual force is the victory
of a state within a state, a n imperium in imperio, which b o t h challenged
the State itself, a n d sought finally a n d unsuccessfully to replace it
totally. T h e a m b i g u o u s success of the later C h u r c h in seeking the
latter objective needs in a n y case careful qualification. In later times
neither G r e g o r y V I I n o r I n n o c e n t III w e r e to succeed finally in
either disengaging the C h u r c h from lay control, or in subjecting lay
political authority entirely to ecclesiastical authority.
T h e essential features of later Catholic C h u r c h O r d e r emerged,
in a clear a n d u n a m b i g u o u s form, in the Letters of Ignatius of An-
tioch, the scholarly consensus for whose dates I accept as the first
1
d e c a d e of the second century. H e r e a single bishop, together with
a circle of presbyters a n d a n u m b e r of deacons, e m e r g e d as the litur
gical a n d organisational m a r k of the true C h u r c h . T h o s e essential fea
tures, with certain modifications a n d additions that did not affect their
fundamental form, were to find expression in the theology of Catholic
O r d e r of Irenaeus, Pseudo-Hippolytus, a n d finally C y p r i a n . Irenaeus
might a d d that the bishop in liturgical act a n d in governing the c o m
m u n i t y has to show his place in a n u n b r o k e n succession (8ia8o%r|)
2
of teachers extending back to the apostles. Pseudo-Hippolytus might
a d d t h a t the succession of teachers also "shares in the high priest
3
h o o d (|Li£TexovT£<; dpxiepaxeiaq)." Finally C y p r i a n was to a d d a cath
olic to a n apostolic criterion of validity: o t h e r bishops h a d to give
1
For a discussion o f this question a n d relevant bibliography, see A. Brent, T h e
Relations b e t w e e n Ignatius o f Antioch and the Didascalia Apostolorum, in SecCent 8,3
(1991), p p . 1 2 9 - 1 5 6 .
2
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., I l l , 3,3 cf. E. M o l l a n d , Irenaeus of L u g d u n u m a n d the
Apostolic Tradition, in JEH 1,1 (1950), p p . 1 2 - 2 8 ; Idem. Le d e v e l o p p e m e n t de l'idee
de succession apostolique, in RevHPhR 3 4 (1954), p p . 1 - 2 9 .
3
Pseudo-Hippolytus, El. I p r o e m . 6 cf. Ap. Trad. 3.
2 CHAPTER ONE
a n almost universal acknowledgment to a given episcopal succession.

But the normative structure of liturgy a n d O r d e r of a given Christian
c o m m u n i t y was to r e m a i n essentially as Ignatius of Antioch h a d
described it.
C y p r i a n ' s final qualification of the edifice constructed by Ignatius
a n d embellished by Irenaeus was that for a bishop to be valid he
must not simply be b o t h in the place of G o d the Father a n d in the
apostolic succession b u t in c o m m u n i o n with all other father-bishops.
In order to be in c o m m u n i o n with the Catholic C h u r c h one has to b e
in c o m m u n i o n with a bishop w h o is in c o m m u n i o n with other bishops.
T h e final link as it were in the interlocking b o n d s of m u t u a l recog
nition a n d c o m m u n i o n between the bishops is the See of R o m e that
thus provides a focus of unity. T h e Catholic C h u r c h thus b e c a m e a n
alternative imperium, presided over by bishops in c o m m u n i o n with each
other, which now stands in stark contrast to p a g a n Imperial O r d e r .
C h u r c h O r d e r is a kind of reversed m i r r o r image of Imperial O r d e r .
PART A. CYPRIANIC HIERARCHY AND DECIUS TRAJAN
In C y p r i a n ' s edifice we have the clearest e x a m p l e of C h u r c h O r d e r

arraigned against Imperial O r d e r . Both the institution of the e m p e r o r
as Pontifex Maximus of his own cult, a n d that of the bishop as the
sacerdos a n d ruler of the Christian cult, h a d u n d e r g o n e , in the first
two centuries, extensive development. But n o w the finally developed
edifice of C h u r c h O r d e r was to confront a n Imperial O r d e r that h a d
itself u n d e r g o n e extensive d e v e l o p m e n t . Since C a r a c a l l a ' s citizen
ship law of A . D . 212, the Constitutio Antoniniana, the Severan policy
of integrating the diverse cultures into a single whole h a d found its
theological representation in the iconography of the Imperial Cult.
Caracalla appears o n coins as the L o r d of the world a n d as the
reflection of the divine light of the sun, p e r m e a t i n g all things a n d
creating universal order. T h e e m p e r o r a n d his consort were to pos
sess the religious function of effecting sacramentally the unity of the
4
empire of which the citizenship law was the h o p e .
O v e r against a n d reflecting a reverse image of Imperial O r d e r
4
A b d el M o h s e n el K h a c h a b , 6 KapaicaXXoq KoouoKpdxcop, in JEgArch 47 (1961),
pp. 1 1 9 - 1 3 3 . For further discussion a n d bibliography, see A. Brent, Hippolytus a n d
the R o m a n C h u r c h in the T h i r d Century: C o m m u n i t i e s in T e n s i o n before the Emer
g e n c e of a M o n a r c h - B i s h o p , in Suppl.VCh 31 (Leiden: E J . Brill 1995), pp. 8 3 - 8 4 .
CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN CULTUS BY THE THIRD CENTURY 3
stood the now developed, Cyprianic hierarchy. T h e bishop as high

priest n o w expressed in his i n t e r c o m m u n i o n with o t h e r bishops the
unity of the C h u r c h just as the cult of Decius T r a j a n , formed in the
Severan ideology of the previous generation, expressed sacramentally
the unity of the E m p i r e . T o be in c o m m u n i o n with Christ you have
to be in c o m m u n i o n with a bishop w h o presides over a geographi
cal territory called a diocese. In o r d e r to be in c o m m u n i o n with
other Christians outside y o u r diocese, your bishop has to be in com
m u n i o n with their bishop a n d so on. But the way in which C y p r i a n
expresses himself is significant:
Thus the church of the Lord (sic et ecclesia domini) directs its rays of
light spread through the whole world (luce perfusa per orbem totum radios
suos porrigit). However the light is one (unum tamen lumen est) which is
shed everywhere (quod ubique diffunditur), nor is the unity of its physical
form divided from it (nec unitas corporis separatur). . .
De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate 5
C y p r i a n ' s justification of ecclesia una est is that each bishop in the

apostolic succession will mutually recognise the faith a n d life of the
other. But b e h i n d the plurality is the one a n d indivisible unity which
each expresses. T h a t unity is described almost in Plotinian terms, as
in Enneads V I , 9,9, of the archetypal light (unum tamen lumen est) that
characterises the indivisible a n d therefore ultimate O n e . It was "eter
nal (d{8ia)". F o r Plotinus the dp%r| of all things, "of life (ôoffe) . . .
m i n d (voB) a n d being (ovxoq) . . . r e m a i n s as such (waauxcoq uivei), not
being divided into t h e m (ou |ieu£pia|jivr| eiq auxd), b u t r e m a i n i n g
whole (aXk* oXr\ u i v o u a a ) . "
M o r e o v e r , the imagery a n d underlying Neo-Platonic philosophy
of these sentiments b e a r striking resemblance to the i c o n o g r a p h y of
the Imperial Cult. P a g a n thinkers at this time were also looking for
a universal religion based u p o n the cult of Sol Invictus, the U n c o n -
q u e r e d Sun, of which all o t h e r deities would be b u t aspects a n d
reflections. Associated with the Imperial Cult, the cult of Sol Invictus
would imply a theology of imperial unity. T h a t theology was sus
tained by Neo-Platonism, as represented by Plotinus. His archetypal
light giving unity a n d therefore reality to lesser existence without
thereby being diminished was symptomatic of a social construction
of reality in which an imperial autocrat a n d his predecessors a n d
successors gave unity to a diverse e m p i r e at the centre of which they
stood. T h r o u g h the Imperial Cult worship was sought of past e m p e r
ors as a visible expression of imperial authority.
4 CHAPTER ONE
T h e act of offering incense at the altars of the Imperial Cult as

a s a c r a m e n t of imperial unity would m i r r o r C y p r i a n ' s theology of
the unity of the C h u r c h . Participation in the Imperial Cult, super
intended by the E m p e r o r as Ponttfex Maximus, would lead to incor
poration into the b o d y of the E m p i r e t h r o u g h the unifying light of
6 KccmKaAAxx; KoauoKpoVccop. Participation in the Christian Cult, super
intended by bishops in a n i n t e r c o m m u n i o n focused on the bishop
of R o m e , w o u l d lead to incorporation into the C h u r c h as the Body
5
of Christ. Both represented alternative social constructions of real
ity in which inclusion in the o n e necessarily lead to exclusion from
the other, with corresponding strategies of legitimation nihilating rival
claims.
But the parallelism between the Imperial Cult a n d the Christian
Cult h a d existed in e m b r y o before the developments of C y p r i a n ' s
time, as some early martyrologies m a k e plain.
PART B. CHRISTIAN AND IMPERIAL C U L T :

PARALLELS BEFORE CYPRIAN
T h e parallelism between participation in the Christian Cult a n d the

Imperial Cult, a n d the m u t u a l exclusivity of each, though t h r o w n
into stark relief by C y p r i a n , h a d already b e e n previously clearly
d r a w n in the Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs (A.D. 180). Speratus begins
b y denying w r o n g d o i n g a n d accepting persecution "because we h o n
6
o u r our e m p e r o r (propter quod imperatorem nostrum obsewamus)." But h e
continues in m o r e specific terms w h e n he asserts: "I d o not recog
nise the e m p i r e of this age (Ego imperium huius seculi non cognosco). . .
I recognise m y master, the king of kings a n d e m p e r o r of all nations
7
(cognosco dominum meum, regem regum et imperatorem omnium gentium)."
F u r t h e r m o r e , the Acts m a k e it quite clear that it was as m u c h for
the religious participation in Christian rites as for the b a r e belief in
3
Cyprian Ep. 5 9 , 1 4 , speaking against Felicissimus and the lax party, says o f t h e m
that: " . . . audent et ad Petri cathedram adque ad ecclesiam principalem unde uni-
tas sacerdotalis exorta est a schismaticis et profanis litteras ferre . . . " See also De
Unit. 4; Ep. 4 3 , 5 ; 55,8; 5 9 , 7 ; 73,7; 7 5 , 1 6 .
6
J . Armitage R o b i n s o n (Ed.), Passio Scilitanorum, in T h e Passion o f Perpetua, in
Texts and Studies: Contributions to Biblical and Patristic Literature, N o . 2 (Cambridge: U . P .
1891), pp. 112, 8. T h e Greek version reads, pp. 113, 10: tcp 6eco fjucov KOC! POCGIXEI
5o\)A,ei)ouev.
7
Armitage R o b i n s o n (1891), p. 112, 1 8 - 2 2 .
a different e m p e r o r that t h e Christians were o n trial. T h e decree

which S a t u r n u s the proconsul recites c o n d e m n i n g Speratus a n d his
g r o u p is that "they confessed that they h a d lived according to the
Christian rite (ritu Christiano se vivere confessos)"
F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e ritus Christianas is j u x t a p o s e d with " t h e o p p o r t u
nity offered (pblata sibi facultate) of r e t u r n i n g to the custom of the
8
R o m a n s (ad Romanorum morem redeundi)." As Saturninus h a d previ
ously asserted: " W e are religious (Et nos religiosi sumus), a n d o u r reli
gion is simple (et simplex est religio nostra), a n d we swear by the genius
9
of o u r L o r d E m p e r o r (et iuramus per genium domini nostri imperatoris). . ."
Religio in Latin of course has a far greater cultic sense t h a n its Eng
lish equivalent which c a n m e a n a d h e r e n c e to a bare set of beliefs.
F u r t h e r m o r e Saturninus promise: indulgentia domini nostri imperatoris, if
he a n d his g r o u p will take the o a t h , has a cultic resonance in the
corresponding G r e e k version of t h e Acts. I n the case of the latter,
potestis indulgentiam domini nostri imperatoris promereri ("you c a n merit the
p a r d o n of o u r L o r d E m p e r o r " ) is r e n d e r e d in the G r e e k version:
e8uvaa0£ rcapd TOU TJJICOV auxoKpdxopoq auyxcopriaecoq dîcoBrjvai.
Ivyxcopeiv is used in t h e sense of " p a r d o n " specifically in the con
text of the remission of sins as a nessary r e q u i r e m e n t of being "in
c o m m u n i o n " in the record of strife between the c o m m u n i t y of the au
thor of El. I X , 7 , 1 - 3 a n d that of Zephyrinus a n d Callistus at R o m e
10
in A . D . 2 1 5 . I n C y p r i a n ' s writings indulgentia is associated with
paenitentia a n d thus the m e a n s of obtaining absolution a n d restored
c o m m u n i o n . H e claims t h a t a heretic c a n n o t have the p o w e r to b a p
tise since he c a n n o t have the indulgentia divina. F u r t h e r m o r e indulgen
tia o r p a r d o n is the result that follows the penitence of the lapsed
11
a n d thus marks their restoration to c o m m u n i o n . Its sense therefore
a p p r o a c h e s that of a\)yxcopf|ai<; used in the sense of forgiveness p a r
12
ticularly t h r o u g h absolution that takes place t h r o u g h b a p t i s m .
W e see therefore, from the Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs, that in the
late second century, well before the d e v e l o p m e n t of Cyprianic ide
ology, n o t only was there a parallelism b e t w e e n t h e k i n g d o m of
Christ a n d Caesar, b u t a parallelism between the participation in
8
Ibid. p. 116, 2 - 3 .
9
Ibid. p. 112, 9 - 1 1 .
10
For a discussion o f this passage, see Brent (1995), p p . 4 2 4 - 4 2 5 .
11
Cyprian, Sent. Episc. 19; Ep. 3 0 , 6.
12
Chrysostom, Horn, in Iohan. 2 7 , 1 : 5 i a xov Pajmouaxoc; 6A,6icXr|pov TCOV a|xapxr|-
jidxcov if|V cruyxcbpnaiv e5copf|oaxo. Cf. Epiphanius, Haer., 6 8 , 2 .
6 CHAPTER ONE
the cult of Christ a n d in that of Caesar. Both have their indulgentia/

Guyxcbprioiq by which m e m b e r s w h o have cut themselves off can be
ritually restored, w h e t h e r by swearing by Caesar's genius in the case
of the o n e , or, in the case of the other, by confession a n d repen
tance that re-establishes the grace of baptism a n d therefore union
in the Body of Christ.
F u r t h e r m o r e , the specific charge of participation in a cultic rite
(ritus Christianus), as the antithesis to the imperial, r a t h e r t h a n alle
giance to a b a r e belief, is also witnessed by o t h e r martyrologies. It
is true that we find in the a n emphasis o n swearing to the genius of
C a e s a r (Passio Polycarpii, 8, 2; 9, 2; 10, 1) in recantation of a belief.
T h e crowds cry "Away with the atheists. Search for Polycarp," a
c h a r g e w h i c h the confessor turns b a c k o n the c r o w d themselves
(9, 2~3). A similar emphasis c a n be observed in the Acta S. Justini,
where non-participation in the Imperial Cult is a question of preferred
doctrines. But in the account of the martyrs of Lyons a n d V i e n n e
(A.D. 177), preserved in Eusebius (H.E. V , 1,3-63), the emphasis is
cultic with n o opportunity offered to swear by the genius of C a e s a r
to someone w h o h a d already confessed r a t h e r t h a n denied all asso
ciation with the Christian cult.
In this case too, some of those w h o denied that they were Christians
were not released b u t also suffered, not o n the charge of Christianity
in itself, b u t "as m u r d e r e r s (ox; dv8po(povoi) a n d polluted persons (KCCI
uiapoi)," (H.E. V , 1,33) quite contrary to procedures a p p a r e n d y estab
lished in the correspondence between T r a j a n a n d Pliny. Clearly here
it was a question of the proconsul b e i n g c o n c e r n e d with "crimes
associated with the n a m e (flagitia cohaerentia nomini)" a n d not the
13
" n a m e " itself, a n d with a population out of control w h o were riot
ing a b o u t such alleged Christian crimes.
N o w it is expressly recorded that charges were m a d e of "Thyestian
feasts a n d O e d i p o d e a n intercourse," which further inflamed the m o b
(H.E. V , 1,14). W h a t inflamed the m o b on this occasion at least was
therefore the belief t h a t here was a cult that was a superstitio a n d not
a p r o p e r religion. As F r e n d has pointed out, charges of cannibal
ism, m u r d e r , a n d incest were not isolated slurs b u t related to images
of prava religio whose exemplar is to b e found in Livy's account of
the Bacchanalian riot of 186 B.C. a n d in which such excesses were
l s
Pliny Ep. X , 9 6 , 2 .
14
recorded as having o c c u r r e d . T h e revulsion of the m o b was a reac
tion to Christianity viewed as an exitiabilis superstitio, as Tacitus (Ann.
X V , 44,4) was to view it, a n d therefore to Christianity as a cultic
practice.
It is therefore to be emphasised that one strand in the parallelism
between C h u r c h a n d E m p i r e was a cultic strand. It was not simply
that Christians claimed a n allegiance to a n o t h e r b u t spiritual king
d o m , a n d that the E m p i r e misconstrued this as disloyalty. R a t h e r
they also participated in a cult t h a t was, like the Bacchanalian cult
described by Spurius Postumius Albinus, the consul of 189 B.C., vio
lating the divine law. Such violations upset the pax deorum a n d were
m a r k e d by prodigies requiring acts of augury in o r d e r to set right
a n a t u r a l o r d e r upset by the practices of a prava religio. W e shall
argue t h a t p a r t of the parallelism between Imperial a n d Christian
Cults was the issue of the pax deorum. Augustus as a u g u r h a d extra
ordinarily succeeded in securing this ritual a n d metaphysical pax in
the wake of the failure Republican magistrates. T h e superior Christian
pax dei was secured by Christ a n d p e r p e t r a t e d t h r o u g h the cultic acts
of the Christian c o m m u n i t y a n d its ministers according the Luke-Acts
( C h a p t e r 3), C l e m e n t Corinthians ( C h a p t e r 4), a n d Ignatius of Antioch
( C h a p t e r 6). T h e Christian cult was thus the rival m e a n s for obtain
ing the cultic objectives of the Imperial Cult, a n d r e p r e s e n t e d a
denial of the claims of the latter to have achieved such objectives
( C h a p t e r 2).
C y p r i a n ' s ideological response to Decius' universal decree did not
create the cultic parallelism b u t r a t h e r was the o u t c o m e of a long
line of development. M y thesis will seek to e x a m i n e the by C y p r i a n ' s
time longstanding parallel relations between the Early C h u r c h a n d
the Imperial Cult, which prima facie h a d quite different objectives,
a n d which historically a p p e a r e d a b o u t the same time a n d in conflict
with o n e a n o t h e r . T h e r e are two possibilities regarding the form that
such a relation could have taken, n a m e l y reaction or interaction. Let
m e begin by giving m y g r o u n d s for rejecting a purely reactive thesis.
14
Livy 3 9 , 8 - 1 9 cf. W . C . H . Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church,
(Oxford: Blackwell 1965), pp. 1 0 9 - 1 1 2 . T h e point w a s m a d e originally by R . M .
Grant, Pliny and the Christians, in HThR 41 (1948), p. 2 7 3 cf. S. Benko, Pagan
Criticisms o f Christianity, ANRW (1980) II, 2 3 , 2 , pp. 1 0 6 6 - 1 0 7 2 a n d R.L. Wilken,
The Christians as the Roman saw them, ( N e w H a v e n a n d London: Yale U . P . 1984),
pp. 2 5 - 3 0 .
8 CHAPTER ONE
PART C . C H U R C H O R D E R AS APOLOGIA: T H E REACTIVE THESIS
It is possible to present an account of the development of C h u r c h

O r d e r as a reactive apologetic to external mis-representation a b o u t
the true c h a r a c t e r of the Christian cult. T h u s Luke-Acts, C l e m e n t ,
J u s t i n , T a t i a n , A t h e n a g o r a s , a n d Tertullian defended Christianity
from the m o r a l charges b r o u g h t against it. T h e s e writers, so it is
argued, sought to establish the foundations for a legal a r g u m e n t for
the recognition of the Christian cultus as a so called religio licita,
t h o u g h the validity of the concept in R o m a n L a w has b e e n ques
tioned. Surely, therefore, a n apologetic a i m has influenced the devel
o p m e n t of C h u r c h O r d e r ? If the characteristic of a religio illicita is
t h a t it is n o true religio but a degenerate superstitio a n d , on the e x a m
ple of the Bacchanalian riot, a threat to public order, morality, a n d
the civil p e a c e , then any charismatic a p p e a r a n c e s must be played
d o w n or superseded by a n o r d e r e d ministry.
T h u s in the c o m m u n i t y exhibited by the Didache the ministry of
w a n d e r i n g apostles must be discounted, a n d p r o p h e t s replaced by
duly elected eTUGKorcoi a n d SHXKOVOI. At C o r i n t h w h e n C l e m e n t writes
in A . D . 95 any sign of disorder must be reduced, any o u t b r e a k of
frenzied disputes a b o u t O r d e r a n d succession must be p u t d o w n .
C l e m e n t exhorts the C o r i n t h i a n c o m m u n i t y to exhibit publically a n
authority structure consisting of an o r d e r e d 8ioc5oxr| of rcpeapuiepoi-
e7uoK07toi. Clearly o n e of his purposes was to suggest obliquely h o w
his Christian c o m m u n i t y might find a n acceptance within the a u t h o r
ity structure of the R o m a n e m p i r e . T h e priest of Dionysus h a d d o n e
as m u c h far m o r e directly w h e n he presented to the Alexandrine
magistrate the certificate stating w h o were his i m m e d i a t e two p r e
15
decessors in administering the Dionysiac cult. Within such a per
spective, the relationship between Christian a n d p a g a n cult is clearly
interactive, however reluctant the g r o u p in question m a y have b e e n
to a d m i t such influence expressly. ( C h a p t e r 3.)
T h e C h u r c h reacts to p a g a n society by simply rebutting its accu
sations of cannibalism, incest, a n d charismania. T h a t it reacts also
to the p a g a n cultus is considered purely co-incidental, as if the rela
tionship between that cultus a n d R o m a n society was purely contin-
'* E. B a m m e l , Sukzessionsprinzip im Urchristentum, in StEphAug 31 (1990), p p .

6 3 72.
gent. Y o u could be a m o r a l citizen, a n d therefore a g o o d a n d loyal

m e m b e r of the society of the R o m a n E m p i r e a n d not participate in
that cultus. T h e evolution of C h u r c h O r d e r was therefore equally
r e a c t i v e — a n a t t e m p t to set all things in o r d e r so as to be recog
nised as one of the religious options in a multicultural empire. As
such the C h u r c h simply wished to leave the p a g a n cultus alone whilst
n o - d o u b t converting its w a y w a r d m e m b e r s to the true faith. It cer
tainly could not interact with it so as to incorporate a n y of its con
cerns into its o w n structure.
T h e r e are a however n u m b e r of problems with such a perspec
tive stated in these terms:
1. It fails to a c c o u n t for the p h e n o m e n o n of stages in the develop

m e n t of C h u r c h O r d e r reflected in the development of the Imperial
Cult a n d vice versa. This was clearly the case with Christian, Cyprianic
O r d e r in comparison with D e c i a n Imperial O r d e r , a n d it is clearly
relevant to ask h o w true it was also for stages in d e v e l o p m e n t before
Cyprian.
2. It assumes that the responses of those w h o write the justification
for C h u r c h O r d e r — a n d thus in conceptualisation a n d reconceptu-
alisation actually shape i t — a r e in fact similar responses as those of
the apologists w h o are ostensibly claiming legal recognition from the
R o m a n state.
3. It undervalues the way in which the Apologists themselves, whilst
a p p e a r i n g as suppliants for legal recognition, actually attack in their
works the values of R o m a n society a n d the p a g a n cultus itself that
u n d e r p i n s those values. T h e apologists are not simply reacting to
R o m a n society b u t criticising a n d indeed u n d e r m i n i n g it, whilst being
p r e p a r e d to use p a g a n religious concepts radically reorientated for
their o w n Christian ends.
4. It fails to grasp h o w integral was that expression of R o m a n reli
gion which was the Imperial Cult to the R o m a n conception of soci
ety. T h e cultus itself u n d e r the Severans a n d finally u n d e r Decius
b e c a m e the s a c r a m e n t that constituted that society, a n d which forged
so m a n y disparate cultures into o n e social whole. Such a develop
m e n t reflected the unity a n d purpose first of a Stoic a n d then later
of a Neo-Platonic universe. W e shall trace the embryonically sacra
mental c h a r a c t e r from the inception of that cult with Augustus, a n d
emphasise how i m p o r t a n t his ius augurium as Pontifex Maximus was to
a society influenced by the widespread belief that its existing cultus
10 CHAPTER ONE
h a d failed in augurium a n d haruspicium to secure the pax deorum in the

events of the civil w a r (Chapter 2). W e shall observe the fully fledged
d e v e l o p m e n t of w h a t was initially e m b r y o n i c with Augustus into the
kind of p a g a n m o n o t h e i s m that paralleled Christian M o n a r c h i a n i s m
in the course of the second century ( C h a p t e r 7), a n d which were
reflected b o t h in Imperial a n d in C h u r c h O r d e r u n d e r Elagabalus
a n d Callistus (Chapter 8). Imperial religious functions were not there
fore simply a n accidental a p p e n d a g e t h a t could have b e e n different
a n d left unaltered a R o m a n society that could simply tolerate Chris
tianity if presented with a successful apologia.
At all events, the charge of superstitio r a t h e r t h a n religjto did not
survive the age of Septimius Severus. T h e charge of incest a n d c a n
nibalism a n d threats to social or cosmic o r d e r were almost u n h e a r d
in the persecutions of Decius T r a j a n , Valerian, a n d Diocletian. Yet
the C h u r c h was persecuted despite two developments t h a t p e r h a p s
ought to have lead to a reorientation of church-state relations. Firsdy,
the apologists r e b u t t e d the grosser slurs on the Christian n a m e , a n d ,
secondly, the success of a hierarchically governed, C h u r c h m a r g i n
alized the Montanists whose charismatic excesses could have other
wise suggested a Bacchanalian threat to public order.
W e shall therefore argue that the relations between C h u r c h a n d
State were interactive rather than reactive, a n d necessarily involved in
teraction with the religious a n d cultic face of a single politico-religious
unity. In t h a t interaction, neither p a r t y simply reacted to the other.
E a c h tried to take over a n d refashion the conditions a n d their justi
fication of each other's social a n d political existence.
M y quest is therefore for a sociological m o d e l in contra-cultural
theory that will enable discrete relations to be teased out a n d e x a m
ined. T h e study of b o t h institutions h a s b e e n bedevilled by t h e
assumption by historians until fairly recendy, encouraged by Eusebius,
that the form into which b o t h institutions developed finally a r o u n d
2 5 1 , u n d e r Cyprian of C a r t h a g e on the one h a n d , a n d Decius T r a j a n
o n the other, h a d b e e n w h a t they were from the very first. T h e r e
was n o d e v e l o p m e n t of either institution therefore to e x a m i n e , a n d
so no possibility of their d e v e l o p m e n t interacting with o n e a n o t h e r .
But given that b o t h institutions developed to some extent pari passu
from the age of a n d Tiberius onwards, let us e x a m i n e a sociologi
cal model that will enable the interaction between b o t h to be studied
as they developed alongside each other.
PART D . IMPERIAL AND CHRISTIAN ORDER:

CONTRA-CULTURAL RELATIONS
D u r i n g the 1950s C o h e n a n d his associates outlined a theory of how,

within the context of a wider culture, a subculture is formed from its
interaction with the wider culture. W e shall argue that such an inter
action is reflected in the relations between C h u r c h a n d State in the
early centuries. W h e n the C h u r c h b e c a m e a n imperium in imperio,
it h a d formed a counter-culture that h a d a b s o r b e d elements from its
host culture. A subculture, in terms of w h a t D u r k h e i m described as
a post-industrial society functioning o n the principle of organic sol
idarity, could live at peace with wider society. It could exist, like the
division of labour, as p a r t of a multiculturalism in which society
hangs together by its very diversity contributing to the unity of the
16
w h o l e . But sometimes the sub-culture b e c o m e s a contra-culture,
a n d at this p o i n t C o h e n a n d his associates w e r e to go b e y o n d
17
D u r k h e i m ' s original simplicity.
Delinquency, for example, was not simply r e g a r d e d as the reac
tion of the individual to a wider society that rejected that individ
ual, deprived h i m of rights, a n d created in h i m a feeling of alienation
or anomie. R a t h e r delinquency was a positive solution in which delin
quents created a contra-culture in terms of which they could achieve
the status a n d p o w e r that wider society h a d denied them. T h e contra-
culture accordingly c h a n g e d the scale of values of the culture with
which it interacted, reformulating a n d reconstructing its authority
relations a n d the rationale for the status a w a r d e d to authority figures.
T h u s a contra-culture was not p r o d u c e d by a reaction to the gen
eral culture that simply accepted the definitions of that culture regard
ing its status a n d role. M o r e positively the contra-culture was produced
by a n interaction that redefined the d e m a n d s of the host culture,
accepting some of t h e m a n d reformulating others.
T h u s , in the case of teenage gangs, status was a w a r d e d to those
16
For a discussion of D u r k h e i m i a n sociology a n d its implications for secular
and religious multiculturalism, see A. Brent, Cultural Episcopacy a n d E c u m e n i s m ,
Representative Ministry in C h u r c h History from the A g e o f Ignatius o f A n t i o c h to
the Reformation, with special reference to contemporary e c u m e n i s m , in Studies in
Christian Mission 6, (Leiden: E.J. Brill 1992), chapters 1-2 and 6.
17
A . K . C o h e n , Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang, (London: R o u t l e d g e and
K e g a n Paul 1955) a n d Sociological Research in D e l i n q u e n t Subcultures, in American
Journal of Orthopsychology, 2 7 , 4 (1957), pp. 7 8 1 - 7 8 8 .
12 CHAPTER ONE
w h o h a d " h e a r t " , w h o would risk their lives in acts considered by

wider society as foolhardy. T o b e cynically unfaithful in h u m a n rela
tionships etc. reversed accepted n o r m s of the value of trust. Such a
p h e n o m e n o n was described as inverse polarity. C r i m i n a l activity did
not conform to the utilitarian values of wider society, since there
was little material a d v a n t a g e in " b o r r o w i n g " cars for "laughs," a n d
this marks the non-utilitarian characteristic of a contra-culture. Malice,
in the case of delinquents manifested in gratuitous violence, was in
evidence against n o n - g r o u p m e m b e r s . A short run hedonism c h a r a c
terised b e h a v i o u r in which u n p l a n n e d anti-social acts spontaneously
took place. F u r t h e r m o r e , the g r o u p was characterised by a group
autonomy t h a t resisted any constraint except that which arises infor
mally from g r o u p m e m b e r s . Yet, in C o h e n ' s words, "it is not the
18
individual delinquent b u t the g a n g t h a t is a u t o n o m o u s . "
H a r g r e a v e s applied the same kind of sociological analysis to a sec
o n d a r y school organised in terms of streams r a t h e r t h a n sets. H e
detected in the four streams of a secondary m o d e r n school four dis
tinct subcultures t h a t went from the " A " stream w h e r e g r o u p n o r m s
a n d values were those of the official society, whereas streams " B " ,
" C " , a n d " D " showed variations o n the t h e m e of contra-cultures
inverting those n o r m s a n d values, a n d exhibiting versions of non-
utilitarianism, inverse polarity, malice, hedonism, a n d group autonomy. Malice
is shown in the d e e p hostility between A a n d D stream boys, a n d
in the stereotypes thus created. Inverse polarity is manifested in the
w a y in which esteemed m e m b e r s of a C or D stream are those w h o
d o not perform academically, d o n o t u n d e r t a k e voluntary tasks for
teachers, etc. "Messing" is d o n e by cultural isolates in the A stream,
whose m e m b e r s frown on it as purposeless destructiveness. Yet those
w h o d o not j o i n in such activities in the C a n d D streams are the
cultural isolates w h o d o not a d m i r e the aimlessness a n d uselessness
of such behaviour (non utilitarian). G r o u p punishments such as deten
tions reinforce g r o u p a u t o n o m y . T h e r e is a deferral of gratification
in A stream boys as opposed to the h e d o n i s m of "having fun" of
1 9
streams C a n d D .
18
A.K. C o h e n a n d J . F . Short, Research in D e l i n q u e n t Subcultures, in Journal of
Social Issues, 14,3 (1958), p p . 2 0 - 3 7 , discussed by D . M . D o w n e s , The Delinquent
Solution, (London: R o u t l e d g e 1966), p p . 2 2 - 3 0 , 2 0 2 - 2 0 8 .
19
D . H . Hargreaves, Social Relations in a Secondary School, (London: R o u t l e d g e a n d
K e g a n Paul 1967), pp. 1 6 4 - 1 7 6 ff.
W h e t h e r in C o h e n ' s teenage gangs, or in the C a n d D streams

of H a r g r e a v e s secondary school, it is to be emphasised, as we have
said, that the p h e n o m e n a are not to be r e g a r d e d as individual reac
tions of alienation to a wider culture that places t h e m low in its
hierarchy a n d their personal values low in its own scale. R a t h e r the
formation of a contra-culture is a positive interaction that creates a
positive solution to the p r o b l e m of social alienation. A society within
a society, framing alternative values, a n d a n alternative status sys
t e m , is c r e a t e d in w h i c h the individual c a n gain the status a n d
significance that wider society denies him.
In 1982 a n a t t e m p t was m a d e to apply c o n t r a cultural theory to
20
theories regarding the sociological significance of poverty a n d wealth.
Part of that attempt lead Walter to attempt a n analysis of the medieval
21
C h u r c h ' s attitude to poverty in the context of such a theory. W e
m a y follow Walter's suggestive remarks a n d use the analytic con
cepts t h a t we h a v e distilled from contra-cultural theory generally to
express the d e v e l o p m e n t of monastic m o v e m e n t s , lead by C l u n y in
the 9th century.
T h e m e n d i c a n t D o m i n i c a n s m a d e poverty a n d d e p e n d e n c y on
others the positive m a r k of status a n d so exhibited inverse polarity.
T h e d e v e l o p m e n t of rules of life for the c o m m u n i t y as a whole, a n d
their removal from episcopal control with direct access to the Papal
court, m a r k e d the creation of g r o u p a u t o n o m y . T h e r e was n o indi
vidual freedom as such, since either the formal or informal n o r m s
of the groups would p r o d u c e conformity, or indeed the individual
could b e c h a r g e d by external ecclesiastical authority. But the g r o u p
as a whole h a d achieved a n inviolate status.
T h e Franciscans in addition to the inverse polarity that m a d e
poverty r a t h e r t h a n wealth the m a r k of status a n d divine approval
also engaged devotionally in a kind of spiritual h e d o n i s m of i m m e
diate gratification. T o b e lost in the love of G o d exhibited by a nat
ural universe filled with benignly h u m a n attributes was considered
preferable to the life of career a d v a n c e m e n t by rational a n d calculated
plan. T h u s the contra cultural value of non-utilitarianism against the
utilitarianism of wider society is seen in evidence. In the developments
2 0
S. L e v e n t m a n (Ed.), Counterculture and Social Transformation: Essays on Negativistic
Themes in Sociological Theory, (Illinois: T h o m a s 1982).
21
E. Victor Walter, From Counterculture to Subculture: an Episode in the History
of Poverty, in L e v e n t m a n (1982), pp. 7 5 - 8 6 .
14 CHAPTER ONE
m a r k e d by the radical or Spiritual Franciscans, suppressed by J o h n

X X I I in the fourteenth century, non-utilitarianism is manifested in
the claim t h a t the renunciation of any p r o p e r t y is necessary to sal
vation. H e r e a contra-culture is seen reinforcing its inversal of the
values of wider society.
Certainly C y p r i a n ' s C h u r c h exercised g r o u p a u t o n o m y in reject
ing the constraints to worship the Emperor. Furthermore, the discipline
t h a t one did not sacrifice incense u n d e r sanction of e x c o m m u n i c a
tion arose informally from g r o u p m e m b e r s . It was that informality
t h a t p r o d u c e d the variety of a p p r o a c h e s to non-conformity that was
the cause of C y p r i a n ' s dilemma. T h e libellatici clearly h a d o n e view
of readmission to c o m m u n i o n , those w h o sought libelli pacis from the
22
confessors a n o t h e r , a n d the Novatians yet a t h i r d . C y p r i a n clearly
h a d to m a k e formal constraints that h a d arisen informally, in the
m a n n e r of contra-cultural groups.
I n d e e d o t h e r regular features of a contra-culture can be seen in
the martyrological texts themselves, to which I have already m a d e
reference. Inverse polarity is seen in that w h a t the host culture regards
as e x e c u t e d criminals are described, in the case of t h e Scillitan
M a r t y r s , by the contra-culture as " c r o w n e d (coronati) a n d "reigning
23
(regnunt)" as a consequence of their m a r t y r d o m . T h e day of their
ignominious d e a t h is, for P e r p e t u a a n d h e r c o m p a n i o n s , the day of
2
their victory (dies victoriae). *
Non-utilitarianism is clearly seen in the questions of magistrates
as to the use or point of not swearing or sacrificing to the E m p e r o r ' s
genius, as w h e n Perpetua's father appeals to h e r to avoid the fam
25
ily's social disgrace, a n d to care for the needs of h e r b a b y s o n .
T h e E i r e n a r c h H e r o d , a n d Nicetes his father, ask Polycarp: " W h a t
h a r m is there in saying ' C a e s a r is L o r d , ' a n d sacrificing, a n d the
26
rest of it, a n d so saving y o u r s e l f ? " Malice is shown, in references
in Acta Justini 1, to "the w r e t c h e d defenders of idolatry a n d their
impious decrees." W e find a short-term h e d o n i s m in Blandina's affir
mation that brings h e r "refreshment (avah]\\fi<;) a n d rest (dvdrcouoiq)."
(H.E. V , 1,19)
2 2
Cyprian, De Laps. 2 8 ; Ep. 3 0 , 3; 6 5 , 13 a n d 17.
23
Passio Scillitanorum 18,1 (Armitage R o b i n s o n (1891), p p . 86,16).
24
Passio S. Perpetuae 1 3 - 1 4 (Armitage R o b i n s o n (1891), p. 116).
2 5
Ibid. 3,1 (Armitage R o b i n s o n (1891), p p . 6 2 / 6 3 , 2 - 6 4 / 6 5 ) .
2 b
Pionius, Passio Polycarpi, 8,2 (J.B. Lightfoot, T h e Apostolic Fathers, L o n d o n :
M a c M i l l a n 1891).
T h u s we find contra-cultural features in early Christian descrip

tions of the clash between the Christian c o m m u n i t y as a cultic c o m
munity, a n d the R o m a n E m p i r e seeking sacramental unity t h r o u g h
its o w n cultic act of sacrificing incense to the genius of Caesar. But
w h a t of ministerial, sacerdotal O r d e r itself in b o t h I m p e r i a l a n d
Christian Cult?
I propose in the following chapters to n o w apply c o n t r a cultural
analysis systematically to the p h e n o m e n o n of the interaction between
C h u r c h a n d State d u r i n g the first two centuries specifically in terms
of the offices of those w h o superintended their two parallel cults.
M y thesis will b e that the d e v e l o p m e n t of C h u r c h O r d e r c a n be
u n d e r s t o o d as the creation of a contra-culture in which the values
of the d o m i n a n t culture are reversed, a n d m e m b e r s of that contra-
culture achieve a status denied to t h e m by wider society. It is in
response to the d e m a n d s of such a process that the suppression of
the charismatic takes place, a n d a stable a n d organised society is
created in C l e m e n t Corinthians a n d the Didache ( C h a p t e r 4). Ignatius
as the m a r t y r bishop a n d his procession from Antioch in Syria to
R o m e can be understood as m a r k i n g the interface between the P a g a n
a n d the Christian Cult. His office a n d sacrifice can b e seen to be
the creation of a reversal of images derived from the Imperial Cult
( C h a p t e r 5).
Features of C o h e n ' s definition of a contra-culture will m o r e o v e r
be seen also in Luke-Acts, Ignatius a n d the Apocalypse. W e find an
inverse polarity in the Apocalypse w h e r e by m e a n s of a reversal of
values the a p p a r a t u s a n d liturgy of the Imperial Cult is applied to
the heavenly worship of the true G o d . T h e n there will be the e x a m
ple of Ignatius the bishop w h o b o t h leads the Christian cultic p r o
cession to R o m e a n d t h e n b e c o m e s a sacrifice on the altar of the
Imperial Cult which seems almost thereby a p p r o p r i a t e d a n d Chris
tianised. H e r e we shall see a n inversion of cultic elements a n d a
b u r n i n g (hedonistic?) desire for m a r t y r d o m the glory of which well-
m e a n i n g R o m a n Christians m a y try to deprive h i m w h o d o not
grasp the full significance of the inverse polarity valued by their
_
contra-culture (Rom. 1 2). W e shall furthermore argue that the sac
erdotal imagery of the Imperial C u l t is influencing i c o n o g r a p h y of
ecclesial O r d e r both in Ignatius a n d in the Apocalypse, with the former
p r o d u c i n g inverse polar images of the latter. Luke-Acts too (Chapter 3)
will be shown to m i r r o r Augustan history, with the pax Christi p r o
d u c e d by the Christian, apostolic cult as the contra-cultural parallel
16 CHAPTER ONE
to the pax deorum p r o d u c e d by Augustus' augural act a n d witnessed

o n his m o n u m e n t , the Ara Pacis (Chapter 2).
But a contra-culture needs the m o d e l of the wider society with
which it is interacting in o r d e r to d e t e r m i n e w h a t values need to b e
r e c o n s t r u c t e d , w h a t system of privilege a n d h o n o u r needs to b e
reversed. H e r e we shall find D o m i t i a n a n d the further d e v e l o p m e n t
of the Imperial Cult providing the historical m a t r i x that determines
the character of w h a t develops in C h u r c h O r d e r at this particular
period. W e have a r g u e d here a similar relationship for the age of
C y p r i a n with c o n t e m p o r a r y developments in the Imperial Cult. Such
a process w e shall a r g u e to b e in evidence not only in C l e m e n t of
R o m e , but in his n e a r contemporaries in Luke-Acts, the Apocalypse, a n d
the Ignatian Letters (Chapters 3, 5 a n d 6). W e shall finally discuss
h o w a M o n a r c h i a n theology of the Trinity mirrors the M o n a r c h i a n
philosophical basis for the Imperial C u l t u n d e r the Severans, a n d is
reflected in developments b o t h in Imperial a n d C h u r c h O r d e r u n d e r
Elagabalus a n d Callistus (Chapters 7-8).
F r o m o u r analysis of the ideology of the communities presupposed
by these developments, we shall derive a framework for understanding
the subsequent Cyprianic developments with their own reflections of
imperial O r d e r a n d Imperial Cult.
CHAPTER TWO
T H E FOUNDATIONS O F T H E IMPERIAL C U L T
The religious character of the Augustan Revolution
T h e Augustan revolution was as m u c h religious as it was political.

Divination a n d the rites of the augur were constitutional as well as
religious necessities in a society in which b o t h religion a n d politics
were intertwined. T h e Imperial C u l t represents therefore b o t h a con
stitutional revolution a n d a religious reformation. T h e cult carried
associations with the legendary kings of R o m e that left its m a r k on
the R e p u b l i c a n constitution. T h e transformation of Republic to Prin-
cipate required therefore a transformation of the cult in which the
final exercise of the ius augurium was in the h a n d s of the henceforth
imperial a n d hereditary Pontfex Maximus. T h e history of the civil
wars, beginning with M a r i u s a n d Sulla, a n d e n d i n g with Actium h a d
m o r e o v e r impressed on R o m a n m i n d s the n e e d to achieve t h r o u g h
the cultus the pax deorum.
In the next three chapters we shall e x a m i n e first a n d early sec
ond century works, namely Luke-Acts, Clement, Corinthians, the Apocalypse,
a n d the episdes of Ignatius of Antioch. W e shall argue that these
writers express varieties of Christian, contra-cultural constructions mir
roring the R o m a n E m p i r e with its central cultic expression in the
Imperial Cult which was, with its new association with Fortuna Redux,
to m a k e wider eschatological claims. Preliminary to o u r discussion
in these future chapters we shall e x a m i n e here, in section A, the
growth of the concept of the Imperial Cult from its republican roots
to its u n i q u e association with Augustus. In section B we shall e x a m
ine the inception of that cult at the ludi saeculares of 13 B.C., a n d
the beginnings of its wider reception, particularly in Asia M i n o r b u t
also in the Latin West.
W i t h i n the literature of the first century B.C., Cicero's De Natura
Deorum bears witness to a Stoic justification for the practices of both
augur a n d haruspex. In early a n d m i d first century A . D . we shall find,
particularly in the case of L u c a n , b u t with reference to Livy too, a
historiography that reads the event of the lost a n d restored o r d e r of
18 CHAPTER TWO
n a t u r e a n d society in terms of a Stoic, hyloholistic theology of for-

tuna, fatum a n d taSycx;. W e shall show h o w the Augustan constitu
tional a n d cultic d e v e l o p m e n t s reflected such Stoic a s s u m p t i o n s .
Augustus' control of the Imperial Cult, secured t h r o u g h his office of
Ponttfex Maximus, h a d as its objective the obtaining of the pax deorum.
T h e explanation a n d justification of such a n objective was a philo
sophical theology informed by Stoicism.
W e shall follow the development of the Stoic theology u n d e r p i n
ning Augustus' specific cultic claim to control the ius augurium, along
side other features of the Augustan ideology. In particular, we shall
e x a m i n e h o w the concepts of pax, fortuna, a n d salus were linked with
expectations of a r e t u r n i n g golden age. T h e further synthesis also
took place w h e n the birth of b o t h Julius C a e s a r a n d that of O c t a -
v i a n / A u g u s t u s as his heir was also linked with fortuna redux. Both as
a result c a m e to be personally a n d individually described in w h a t in
the J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n tradition would be "Messianic" terms. In mak
ing such a claim I acknowledge the influence of the distinguished
art historian J o h n Eisner, w h o has recently a p p r o a c h e d the study of
the Ara Pacis emphasised a n alternative m o d e l of art to naturalism
t h a t takes a c c o u n t of the n a t u r e a n d i m p o r t a n c e of viewing in the
1
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of images.
In the cross c u r r e n t of multicultural concepts in the early R o m a n
E m p i r e , such a n artefact needs to be interpreted in the light of a
reconstruction of the p r o b a b l e dialogue between the viewer a n d art
object in w h i c h the u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the object is " p e r m a n e n t l y
incomplete a n d yet always temporarily fulfilled by the viewer's own
participation in the sacrificial rite." As Eisner claims: "viewers cre
atively c o n s t r u c t e d n u m e r o u s m e a n i n g s which might deconstruct,
u n d e r m i n e , or conflict with o n e another. A Jewish view, for instance,
or a P y t h a g o r e a n o n e might have b e e n very different from that of
1
J. Eisner, Cult a n d Sculpture: Sacrifice in the Ara Pacis Augustae, in JRomS
81 (1991), p p . 5 0 - 6 1 . Strong support has b e e n given to the pursuit o f such an art-
historical m e t h o d o l o g y b y o n e distinguished R o m a n historian, A n d r e w W a l l a c e -
Hadrill, in his review article ( R o m e ' s Cultural Revolution, in JRomS 7 9 (1989), p p .
1 5 7 - 1 6 4 ) of P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, trans. A. Shapiro,
(Ann Arbor: University o f M i c h i g a n Press 1990). As Wallace-Hadrill claims: ". . . it
is necessary for a n y o n e w h o wished to discuss Augustus to take the art-historical
material seriously. T h i s makes it the m o r e lamentable that the study o f R o m a n art
history has so tenuous a hold in British universities" (p. 164). See also K. Galinsky,
V e n u s , Polysemy, and the Ara Pacis Augustae, in AmJArch 9 6 , 3 (1992), pp. 4 5 7 - 4 7 5 .
THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE IMPERIAL CULT 19
2
a R o m a n priest." W h a t I wall b e seeking in the following discus
sion is a n exploration of some intersections of such various a n d multi
cultural dialogues with the i c o n o g r a p h y of the I m p e r i a l C u l t as
exemplified also in firstly P a g a n a n d then early Christian d o c u m e n t s .
Such intersections will be sufficiendy large in n u m b e r , I believe, to con
stitute a claim for some degree of normativeness of the picture that
I will develop.
PART A. REPUBLICAN ANTECEDENTS OF THE IMPERIAL CULT
T h e practice of worshipping deified e m p e r o r s , w h e t h e r alive or d e a d ,

was n o t p a r t of R e p u b l i c a n religious or political practice before
Augustus. But even in Republican times the principle was acknowledged
that it was the responsibility of public officials to seek the will of the
gods in divination. T o m a k e this possible, political figures were elected
to the office of pontifex, a n d their college was h e a d e d by a Pontifex
Maximus. It is clear from Cicero's treatise the De Natura Deorum that
taking the auspicia was a political as well as a religious r e q u i r e m e n t .
In this treatise, we have a dialogue b e t w e e n G a i u s Velleius a n d
Q u i n t u s Lucius Balbus, w h o represent respectively the Epicureans
a n d the Stoics, b u t w h o are otherwise u n k n o w n except for their
3
n a m e s , a n d Gaius C o t t a , the A c a d e m i c i a n in whose house the dia
logue is set (1,6). C o t t a i n d e e d should have found the discussion par
ticularly relevant, since, as Balbus is quick to point out, he has b e e n
elected pontifex, a n d has a solemn religious duty to the state cult.
T h e Middle A c a d e m y claimed that at most probability, b u t never
certainty was possible a b o u t the p h e n o m e n a l world. In opposition
to such a view, Balbus proposes by m e a n s of Stoicism to justify philo
sophically the religious rites a n d practices in which the wavering
C o t t a has to participate, although the latter has some doubts a b o u t
4
their final validity.
2
Eisner (1991), p. 5 2 .
3
In Cicero, De Orat. 3,78 Velleius is m e n t i o n e d as a friend o f L. Licinius Crassus,
and also the two Balbi.
4
De Nat. Deor. 2,2: "Est e n i m et philosophi et pontificis et Cottae de dis i m m o r -
talibus habere n o n errantem et v a g a m ut Academici sed ut nostri stabilem certam-
que sententiam."
20 CHAPTER TWO
2A 1. The political and constitutional significance of divination
As Balbus is quick to point out, C o t t a ' s participation in divination

a n d augury were not a matter of private conscience separate from his
civic duty as a magistrate. In his second consulate Tiberius G r a c c h u s
p r o c e e d e d with the election of his successors even t h o u g h the orig
inal returning officer h a d dropped dead. H e h a d to admit on reflection
that he h a d p r o c e e d e d irregularly because the tent in which he h a d
c o n d u c t e d the augury which validated his course of action was in
Scipio's p a r k outside the city b o u n d a r y . H e h a d a t t e n d e d a meet
ing of the Senate from this tent a n d h a d forgotten to take the aus-
picia on his return. In consequence, as a result of a formal reference
by the college of Augurs, the Senate caused the resignation of the
5
elected consuls Figulus a n d Scipio.
O n e observes here that divination was m o r e t h a n a kind of super
stition to b e practiced before major battles or a kind of p r a y e r for
success in a critical situation. R a t h e r it was a n integral aspect of the
ordinary, constitutional process. In this respect o n e supposes that the
rules of propriety in respect of divination at key m o m e n t s in the poli
tical process were not formally unlike the rules of propriety in con
sulting m o d e r n opinion pollsters.
A Prime Minister, having consulted the polls, a n d having found
t h a t they predicted a n election victory, might still lose. But h e would
stand a far better c h a n c e of r e m a i n i n g leader of his p a r t y a n d , if
the party was a major one in the n e w p a r l i a m e n t , L e a d e r of the
Opposition, because h e h a d d o n e so. A P r i m e Minister, w h o called
a G e n e r a l Election with every c o m p u t a t i o n of current of electoral
opinion against h i m a n d lost, would u n d o u b t e d l y experience aston
ished disbelief at his sheer recklessness a n d lack of j u d g m e n t .
But neither the former P r i m e Minister n o r his critics would neces
sarily understand the theories of mathematical probability, the techniques
of sampling a n d the underlying theory of sociological classification
a n d stratification which justified the use of such polls. Different experts
are indeed at variance a b o u t the precise justification of such second
o r d e r theories. But despite such lack of consensus on an overall the
ory, a n d i n d e e d independently of it, there arises a general n o r m a
tive expectation that such advice shall be taken in such a form.
5
Ibid. 2,4, see also C i c e r o , De Divinat., 2,74.
Such was clearly the case with the institution of the college of
pontiffs a n d augurs. T h e y were r e g a r d e d as having a regulatory role
6
u p o n the political institutions of R o m e . It was not simply a ques
tion of the divinatio augurum, of their powers of foretelling the future,
but of the disciplina, or discipline that they exercised over magistrates.
This disciplina was supported by a ius augurum, a. political prerogative
exercised by the augurs as of right. Cicero is therefore able to con
clude of this ius that: "even t h o u g h it was originally constituted as
a result of the good reputation that divination h a d (etsi divinationis
opinione principio constitutum sit), however afterwards it has b e e n p r e
served a n d retained by reason of the public benefit (tamen postea rei
publicae causa conservatum ac retentum)" (De Divinatione 2,75.)
F u r t h e r m o r e Cicero was to express the view in his dialogue De
Legibus t h r o u g h the c h a r a c t e r of M a r c u s that the ius augurium was of
the highest political significance a n d linked with auctoritas:
The greatest and most significant right in the state (maximum autem et
praestantissimum in re publico) is the right of augurs (ius est augurum) which
is linked to political authority (cum auctoritate coniunctum). . . For what
right is greater (quid enim maius est) if we examine legal right (si de iure
quaerimus), than to be able to adjourn (dimittere) committees and coun
cils (comitiatus et concilia) based on the highest constitutional or personal
power (a summis imperiis et summis potestatibus), or their decisions (insti-
tuta), or to rescind them if they have already been made (vel habita
rescindere).
Cicero, De Legibus, 2,31
This, as we shall see, was a constitutional point not lost u p o n Augustus

(Res Gestae c. 7) in assuming the ius augurium (2A 4.1.5). H o w e v e r we
should b e w a r e of thinking that it was merely a useful political device
not treated seriously by himself or his educated contemporaries. W h e n
Atticus suggests that the auspicia might have b e e n invented to b e of
merely political use, M a r c u s replies:
I think that the art of divination which the Greeks call tiavcucrj really
exists (divinationem, quam Graeci u.avxncr|v appellant, esse sentio) and part of
this which concerns birds and other signs (et huius banc ipsam partem,
quae est in avibus ceterisque signis), is part of our discipline (quod disciplinae
nostrae). For if we concede that the gods exist, and the universe is ruled
6
W . W a r d e Fowler, The Religious Experience of the Roman People from the Earliest Times
to the Age of Augustus, (London: MacMillan 1911), pp. 2 7 0 - 3 1 3 ; J . H . W . G . Liebeschuetz,
Continuity and Change in Roman Religion, (Oxford: Clarendon 1979), pp. 7 - 2 9 ; J. Linderski,
T h e Augural Law, in ANRW (1986) 11,16,3, pp. 2 1 4 7 - 2 3 1 2 .
22 CHAPTER TWO
by their will, that they are mindful of the human race, and that they
have power to give indications of the future, then I do not see any
reason for denying divination.
De Legibus 2,32
W e shall n o w see, in the context of the later republic, h o w such a

metaphysical position was given philosophical justification.
2A 2. Stoic justifications for the validity of cultic acts
In De Natura Deorum Cicero was to go o n to represent Balbus as

arguing a Stoic justification of why divination worked, a n d of why
it possessed the political function that it did. T h e universe was per
v a d e d a n d all things held together by a fiery b r e a t h that was rea
son (Xoyoq) a n d G o d . " T h e world for that reason was G o d a n d every
7
p o w e r of the world was contained within the divine n a t u r e . " T h e
divinity of the world must be assigned also to the stars t h a t exhibit
8
a like rational o r d e r . T h u s in the w o r d s of Cleanthes, in such a
material m o n i s m without the dualism of m a t t e r a n d Spirit: "All are
b u t p a r t of o n e stupendous whole, whose N a t u r e b o d y is a n d G o d
9
the soul."
Because, therefore, the ultimate constituent of m a t t e r was refined
fire, both spiritual a n d rational, therefore the m o v e m e n t of the world
was by providence (rcpovoioc). But pronoia was n o t to be personified
as a particular deity a n d thus ridiculed by the E p i c u r e a n Velleius
10
as " a n old h a g of a fortune teller." It is r a t h e r a function of the
flYeuoviKov or ruling principle which a n y n o n - h o m o g e n e o u s entity,
that is to say a n entity m a d e of parts, must possess in o r d e r to b e
held together. In animals or in plants it is the source of motions of
the appetites, located in the roots, in h u m a n beings it is intelligence,
7
De Nat. Deor. 2,30: "Quodcirca sapientem esse m u n d u m necesse est, naturamque
earn quae res o m n e s c o n p l e x a teneat perfectione rationis excellere, e o q u e d e u m esse
m u n d u m o m n e m q u e v i m m u n d i natura divina contineri."
8
Ibid. 2,39: "Atque hac m u n d i divinitate perspecta tribuenda est sideribus e a d e m
divinitas, quae e x mobilissima purissimaque aetheris parte gignuntur n e q u e ulla
praeterea sunt admixta natura totaque sunt calida atque perlucida, ut ea q u o q u e
rectissime et animantia esse et sentire atque intellegere dicantur."
9
A. Pope, Essay on Man, I p. 267 quoted in F. Copleston, A History o f Philosophy,
Vol. 1: Greece and R o m e , in Bellarmine Series I X (London: Burns Oates 1961), p. 388.
10
De Nat. Deor. 2,73: "Velut a te ipso hesterno die dictum est a n u m fatidicam
rcpovoiav a Stoicis induci, id est providentiam; q u o d e o errore dixisti quia existumas
a b iis providentiam fingi quasi q u a n d a m d e a m singularem quae m u n d u m o m n e m
gubernet et regat."
but in the universe as a whole it must be reason (ratio = A,6yo<;) which

11
rules the w h o l e . F r o m such a position it is b u t a short r e m o v e to
argue that since the o r d e r of n a t u r e can b e r e a d by the discerning
eye in the stars, so can the future b e read by those w h o u n d e r s t a n d
that rational o r d e r a n d w h o can therefore rationally submit to the
decree of fate found m a p p e d out there. If fate can be r e a d via such
rational o r d e r or A,6yo<; in the stars, then it c a n also b e discerned in
12
the entrails of sheep w h e n righdy cut u p a n d observed. T h u s Cicero
was to r e m a r k that the Stoic doctrine of determinism or fate, be
cause it was based u p o n the e n d o w m e n t of n a t u r e with m i n d , was
consistent with "oracles a n d everything else which is c o n n e c t e d with
13
divination."
T h u s the role played by augury a n d divination in the R o m a n con
stitutional scheme was legitimated in terms of a Stoic cosmology.
Physics was studied in G r a e c o - R o m a n philosophical schools in o r d e r
to achieve neither a disinterested u n d e r s t a n d i n g of n a t u r e n o r a tech
nology with which to control it. R a t h e r physics, like metaphysics,
was used to service theories of ethics. T h e r e was a n e e d to k n o w
the n a t u r e of the universe in o r d e r to discover h o w ethically the
b e h a v i o u r of h u m a n beings could fit within it. T h e E p i c u r e a n dis
covered that d e a t h , in the light of a n atomic theory of the universe,
was dissolution a n d that there was n o fear of eternal p u n i s h m e n t ,
a n d this as such was the purely ethical value of G r e e k atomism.
Lucretius notoriously, at the e n d of his great work, p r o d u c e d sev
eral quite conflicting explanations of the behaviour of a certain spring
without c o m i n g to a n y conclusion a b o u t w h i c h of t h e m was the
11
Ibid. 2,29: "Natura est igitur quae contineat m u n d u m o m n e m e u m q u e tuea-
tur, et e a q u i d e m n o n sine sensu atque ratione; o m n e m e n i m naturam necesse est
quae n o n solitaria sit n e q u e simplex sed c u m alio iuncta atque c o n e x a habere
aliquem in se principatum, ut in n o m i n e m e n t e m , in belua q u i d d a m simile mentis
unde oriantur a d p e t i t u s . . . Principatum a u t e m id dico q u o d Graeci fiyeuoviKov
vocant, q u o nihil in q u o q u e genere n e c potest nec debet esse praestantius . . . "
12
De Divinat. 1,11: "duo sunt e n i m divinandi genera, q u o r u m alterum artis est,
alterum naturae. Q u a e est a u t e m gens aut quae civitas, quae n o n aut extispicum
aut monstra aut fulgora interpretantium aut a u g u r u m aut astrologorum aut sortium
(ea e n i m fere artis sunt) aut s o m n i o r u m aut vaticinationum (haec e n i m d u o natu-
ralia putantur) praedictione moveatur? q u a r u m q u i d e m rerum eventa magis arbi-
tror q u a m causas quaeri oportere. est e n i m vis et natura q u a e d a m , q u a e turn
observatis longo tempore significationibus, turn aliquo instinctu inflatuque divino
futura praenuntiat."
13
De Fato 15,33: "Quodcirca si Stoicis qui o m n i a fato fieri dicunt c o n s e n t a n e u m
est huiusmodi oracula ceteraque quae ad divinationem pertinent c o m p r o b a r e . . ."
24 CHAPTER TWO
14
"true" explanation. So long as any explanation in terms of the atomic
theory fitted, then the universe was m a d e safe for E p i c u r e a n ethics.
Likewise the Stoic cosmology justified Stoic ethics. T o live according
to n a t u r e was to live according to the rational will of the world-soul,
a n d to submit to the decree of that rational will was to act rationally
a n d therefore freely.
But we have seen that there could be a political a n d even constitu
tional dimension to Stoic ethics in this respect. Divination b e c a m e
the way of reading the will of the world soul, w h e t h e r in the stars
or o n the lining of a sheep's stomach, a n d h o w the future according
to w h a t was read there would be d e t e r m i n e d by the operation of
right reason. I n d e e d political philosophy, in any age, as the ethical
justification of forms of h u m a n g o v e r n m e n t , has not unfairly been
regarded as a b r a n c h of ethics. In m o d e r n times the fact-value dis
tinction in ethics has lead to the distinction between political science
as the clinical study of the m a c h i n e r y of g o v e r n m e n t , a n d political
philosophy as the justification of the form of g o v e r n m e n t by which
h u m a n beings " o u g h t to be governed," given any n u m b e r of radi
cally different, possible governmental machines.
T h u s with Stoicism as a justification of divination as a feature of
a political constitution we find cosmology employed as a m e a n s of
explaining h o w people ought to live, not simply as individuals b u t
as a society. R o m a n magistrates n e e d e d the resources of divination
in o r d e r to perceive the divine, rational o r d e r of the world a n d to
d e d u c e the future from its present rational operations (pronoia). T h e y
n e e d this, n o t simply so that they as individuals can "live according
to n a t u r e , " b u t so t h a t they can align society with nature's inex
orably rational will, a n d so that society can freely a n d rationally
accept w h a t is its destiny to be a n d to achieve.
2A 3. Augury and divination: Imperial Cult as sacrament
In this respect Stoicism offered a kind of sacramental theology w h e n

applied to divination. Berger a n d L u c k m a n n p o i n t e d to the way in
which religion orders social reality. Experts arise in the construction
of universes of social reality, whose social function is to h a r m o n i s e
myths a n d p r o d u c e a picture of the n a t u r a l a n d supernatural world
into which h u m a n social relations, including political a r r a n g e m e n t s ,
14
De Rer. Nat. 6, 8 4 8 - 9 0 5 .
can be a n c h o r e d . T h u s the social o r d e r is b o t h h a r m o n i s e d a n d sta

bilised, a n d i m m u n i s e d against chaotic c h a n g e a n d disorder. H u m a n
societies thus a p p e a r to b e c o m e as u n c h a n g e a b l e a n d given as the
natural or supernatural o r d e r in a process that is obviously a n illu
15
sion. W e can see the social function of colleges of augurs in such
16
a light.
But such universes of discourse, p r o d u c e d by such experts, d o not
come into existence suddenly a n d perfecdy, but have their own history
of development. According to a Stoic universe of discourse, divination
sought to incarnate the supernatural order into present political plans
a n d proposals in o r d e r to give t h e m value a n d enable t h e m to reflect
the divine p u r p o s e (pronoia). T h e augurs, w h o read the future a n d
the divine will in such events as the flight of birds a n d the course
of t h u n d e r s t o r m s , were a distinct college in Cicero's time. T h e harus-
pices, w h o consulted the entrails of victims, only b e c a m e a college in
the time of Claudius a n d contributed further to such a project licensed
17
by Stoicism. At the close of the dialogue, in the course of the first
century before Christ, C i c e r o c o n c e d e d grudgingly his belief that
Balbus' Stoicism "seemed to be m o r e a p p r o x i m a t e d to the a p p e a r
18
ance of the t r u t h . " T h e r e were clearly as yet still powerful Epicurean
a n d A c a d e m i c alternatives t h a t w o u l d d e n y legitimation to such
politico-cultic acts as divination, a n d so deprive the o r d e r of R o m a n
society of such a comprehensive a n d totalising legitimation.
N o r indeed was yet the worship of the E m p e r o r p a r t of the sacra
mental b o n d which reinforced a n d renewed right reason (opGoq Xoyoq)
a n d law (vouxx;), a n d m a d e the citizen subject to the necessity of
the rational pronoia of Fate. W e shall observe a tendency, b e g u n by
Augustus, to connect the sacramental political acts of divination with
the E m p e r o r t h r o u g h reorganisation of the college of augurs a n d
15
P. Berger a n d T . L u c k m a n n , The Social Construction of Reality, (London: Penguin
1967), p p . 1 3 0 - 1 3 3 ff., and P. Berger, The Social Reality of Religion, (London: Penguin
1973), p p . 3 0 - 3 5 ff.
16
J. Bayet, Histoire politique et psychologique de la religion romaine, (Paris: Payot 1957),
pp. 5 8 - 5 9 : "Les haruspices interpretaient d'apres l'etat du flux sanguin, la couleur,
la conformation de telle o u telle partie du foie (pars familiaris, 'de chez nous'; pars
hostilis, 'du dehors'; o u neutre). Les exta pouvaient ainsi d o n n e r des indications sur
l'ordre, le desordre, le chaos de l'universe. Mais ils pouvaient, p o u r l'immediat, c o n -
seiller o u deconseiller une action."
17
Liebeschuetz (1979), p. 2 2 .
18
De Nat. Deor. 3,95: ". . . mihi Balbi ad veritatis similitudinem videretur esse
propensior."
26 CHAPTER TWO
pontiffs over which he was to preside as Ponttfex Maximus. But it was

to take three a n d four centuries until Decius Trajan, a n d finally Julian,
for the cult to be focused on a single sacerdotal act in which all cit
izens must legally participate. It was only then that finally a n d un
ambiguously this central act of worship b o t h symbolised imperial
unity a n d effected w h a t it symbolised t h r o u g h o u t the world which
R o m e ruled.
But initially most of the ingredients that were to develop into the
later, fully-fledged cultus were there. W e can see reflections of the
sacramentality of the acts of h i m w h o exercised the ius augurium, a n d
w h a t was believed to b e at stake in those acts, reflected in the his
toriography of two writers w h o described historical events in the
R e p u b l i c a n d late R e p u b l i c at the time of the transition to the
Principate or shordy afterwards.
2A 4. Livy and Lucan: Augury as political sacrament
Titus Livius (59 B . C . - 1 7 A.D.), b o r n in the y e a r of Julius Caesar's

first consulship, c o m m e n c e d writing his history in 27 B.C., five years
after Octavian's victory at Actium (31 B.C.). In Ab Urbe Condita 4,20,7
he records a conversation with Augustus in which the latter h a d
recalled a n inscription on a linen breastplate that he h a d read in
the temple of J u p i t e r Feretrius. H e r e "Augustus C a e s a r " is described
as "the founder or restorer of all the temples (templorum omnium con-
19
ditorem aut restitutorem)"
Livy, like L u c a n , a p p e a r s to have h a d republican sympathies that
were shown in the way in which he describes almost lovingly the
old republican constitutional forms. N o doubt he believed in Augustus'
interpretation of his acts, not as revolutionary, b u t as res publicae resti-
tutae. T h u s Livy was never p a r t y to any political m o v e m e n t to restore
those forms. It m a y be that he was satisfied by the way in which
Augustus notoriously cloaked his military autocracy by using such
republican tides as princeps (senatus), or his prerogatives in terms of
the republican imperium proconsular, or tribunicia potestas. But o n e w o n
ders w h e t h e r a m a n of his intelligence could ever have b e e n per
suaded by the kind of political strategist w h o assures us that he has
abolished neither the office of M o n a r c h , Prime Minister, n o r L e a d e r
of the Opposition, since he carries all three offices in his o n e person.
19
Livy 4, 2 0 , 7 .
T h e r e must, o n e feels, have b e e n something m o r e , which con

vinced h i m that the past age, by some fateful necessity, h a d gone
forever. T h a t conviction I a m going to suggest was a religious con
viction a b o u t the need for the pax deorum in a society which h a d lost
it. T h e e m p e r o r Augustus, as Pontifex Maximus, controlling the ius
augurium, alone could restore that peace a n d stability. It was indeed
a fateful necessity that Livy, t h o u g h not L u c a n , might have consid
ered to have existed not in reality b u t only in the m i n d s of the
superstitious masses. But it was a social reality that Livy found irre
sistible a n d u n a b l e to b e countered.
A similar t h e m e we shall trace also in the case of M a r c u s A n n a e u s
L u c a n u s ( 3 9 - 6 5 A.D.), w h o was involved in failed conspiracy to take
20
N e r o ' s life, in consequence of which he c o m m i t t e d suicide along
with his co-conspirators, his uncles Seneca a n d Gallio. W e shall see
in his case particular Stoic doctrines u n d e r p i n n i n g his belief in the
need for a cult of augury to secure the pax deorum which was also
linked with a single dominus. L u c a n himself h a d b e e n a p p o i n t e d
b o t h quaestor a n d augur. Since L u c a n conspired to replace N e r o with
a n o t h e r princeps, his aim was not to restore the republic. In his case
too, therefore, we witness the p h e n o m e n o n of s o m e o n e hostile to an
e m p e r o r , a n d indeed hostile to the m e m o r y of Julius Caesar, never
theless accepting the e n d of republican g o v e r n m e n t as such. H e r e
too we shall a r g u e that the Imperial Cult, as the m e a n s of achiev
ing the pax deorum, was critical in Lucan's historiography, a n d was
seen as a reality reflected in the natural o r d e r of things a n d not sim
ply as a purely social p r o d u c t .
W e shall see however t h a t b o t h works are problematic in view of
the fact that we c a n n o t be sure h o w they e n d e d . T h e tenth book
of Lucan's Pharsalia was left unfinished, a n d the closing books (46-142)
of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita have also b e e n lost, t h o u g h we d o have
fragments t h a t survive. Book 45 ends a b r u p t l y in 167 B.C. T h e
r e m a i n i n g lost books, used by D i o Cassius as his principle source,
continued until the Principate of Augustus a n d the d e a t h of Drusus
in 9 B.C. W e will n e e d therefore to try to reconstruct h o w Livy
would have completed his basic themes from the way in which he
began them.
W e shall begin with two passages which exemplify from the earlier
Martial, Epigr. 7, 21 a n d 2 3 ; Statius Silvae VII, 3 1 - 3 2 .

28 CHAPTER TWO
books of Livy h o w in fact h e would h a v e r e g a r d e d Augustus in the

later books h a d they survived. W e shall then e x a m i n e the specific
relationship between a u g u r y a n d the pax deorum a n d the perceived
p o p u l a r weight that this h a d in the late Republic, as exemplified in
Livy, supported as we shall see by Suetonius a n d Cassius D i o .
2A 4 . 1 . Livy, augury and the p a x d e o r u m

O n several occasions Livy makes it clear that a magistrate is respon
sible through the cultus for obtaining the pax deorum. T h e pax required
might be u p o n m a n - m a d e disasters such as w a r or civil war, b u t it
might also b e u p o n the destructive chaos of n a t u r e itself. In 4 6 4 - 4 6 3
B . C . Livy r e c o r d e d the ravages of disease in R o m e that followed
defeat in battle at the h a n d s of the Aequi a n d o t h e r losses (3,7,6).
21
T h e disease also was a case of divine displeasure, of the deum ira
T h e Senate orders individual prayers (3,7,7). T h e way in which the
disease passes is described as follows:
. . . litde by little, either because the peace of the gods had been ob
tained by request (pace deum impetrata) or because the more difficult
time of year had passed, bodies deadened by diseases began to recover
22
their health.
It is at first sight curious that Livy is sceptical a b o u t the obtaining

the pax deum impetrata by individual private prayer, in place of the
deum ira m a r k e d by the plague. Livy introduces here a small note of
scepticism since he admits a purely natural alternative. But Livy's
personal scepticism o n this a n d other occasions should not blind us
to the fact that he describes the significance for the general p o p u
23
lation of w h a t h e personally finds superstitious.
Generally, however, the pax deorum is obtained t h r o u g h the specific
instrument of official cult by m e a n s of a pontifex exercising the ius
21
3,6,5: ". . . urbem R o m a m subita d e u m ira m o r b o populari."
2 2
3,8,1: "inde paulatim seu pace d e u m impetrata seu graviore tempore anni iam
circumacto defuncta morbis corpora salubriora esse incipere."
2 3
1,31, 6 - 8 : Tullus " w h o previously had thought it less for kings to devote their
minds to sacred rites (sacris dedere animum), suddenly b e c a m e subject to all kinds o f
great and depraved superstitions (magnis parvisque superstitionibus), and filled the p o p
ulace with religious scruples (religionibus)." At the e n d of the Punic War, in 2 0 4 B . C .
w e read, 2 9 , 1 4 , 2 : "the situation had filled m i n d s with superstitious fears (supersti-
tionum), and they were inclined to believe portents (ad credenda prodigia)." Cf. also 1
pr. 7. For a discussion o f Livy'a approach to religion and for bibliography, see P.G.
Walsh, Livy: His Historical Aims and Methods, 2nd Ed. (Bristol: Classical Press 1989),
chapt. 3.
augurium. T h e pax deorum is normally associated with official augury

24
a n d not private p r a y e r . In 208 B.C., in the course of the eleventh
year of the First Punic W a r , the consuls were preoccupied with "a
n u m b e r of reported portents (prodigiis aliquot nuntiatisf for which "they
did not succeed in any straightforward expiation (non facile litabant)."
(27,23,1)
T h e T e m p l e s of F o r t u n a a n d M a r s at C a p u a h a d , along with
m a n y tombs, b e e n struck by lightening, a n d mice h a d g n a w e d the
gold in J u p i t e r ' s temple at C u m a e . A swarm of bees h a d settled at
C a s i n u m ' s forum, at C a e r e a vulture h a d flown into the temple of
J u p i t e r , a n d Volsinii's lake was stained with blood (27,23,2-4). E a c h
of such o m e n s were characteristic of the n a t u r a l signs in terms of
which augurs r e a d the future. Yet it was clearly the d u t y of the con
suls to obtain in the face of these o m e n s the pax deorum m a r k e d by
their reversal:
O n account of these prodigies (horum prodigiorum causa) for one whole

day (diem unum) supplication was made (supplicatio juit). For several days
(per dies aliquot) full-grown victims were slaughtered but without suc
cessful expiation (hostiae maiores sine litatione caesae), with the invited peace
of the gods asked for so long but not secured (diuque non impetrata pax
deum). On the heads of the consuls (in capita consulum) terrible conse
quences revolved even though the republic itself was unharmed (re pub
lico incolumi exitiabilis prodigiorum eventus vertit).
27,23,4
It was thus of political as well as of cultic i m p o r t a n c e that the vis

ible pax deorum was secured in response to w h a t a u g u r y h a d first
established. T h e consuls were clearly as responsible in 208 B.C. for
obtaining the pax deorum as Sulpicius Severus, the military tribune
h a d b e e n in 389 B.C. w h e n the Fabii were massacred at C r e m a r a
a n d the rout at Alia occurred. R o m e was destroyed because " o n the
day after the Ides of J u l y (postridie Idus Quintiles) he h a d not m a d e
an acceptable sacrifice (non litasset)" a n d two days later h a d exposed
the a r m y to the e n e m y "without securing the peace of the gods (neque
inventa pace deum)." (6,1,12)
It is i m p o r t a n t , in view of the later significance of a u g u r y for the
Imperial Cult, to point out that a u g u r y per se was not accepted but
only t h a t which conformed to R o m a n tradition. In 4 3 0 B.C., in
2 4
W a r d e Fowler (1911), pp. 3 0 0 - 3 0 1 ff.; Bayet (1957), pp. 5 9 - 6 0 ; Liebeschuetz
(1979), pp. 5 6 - 6 5 .
30 CHAPTER TWO
response to a plague that h a d broken out in succession to a d r o u g h t ,

strange sacrificial rites were i n t r o d u c e d into h o m e s in o r d e r to secure
the pax deorum. T h e r e was seen "in every street a n d shrine (in omnibus
vicis sacellisque) foreign a n d u n c u s t o m a r y rites of propitiation (peregrina
atque insolita piacula) for seeking the p e a c e of the gods (pacis deum
exposcendae)." (4,30,10) Accordingly the aediles were to see " t h a t n o n e
b u t R o m a n gods (non nisi Romani di) should be worshipped, n o r in
a n y other w a y t h a n the ancestral (neu quo alio more quam patrio cole-
rentur)." (4,30,11)
W e find furthermore this principle again emphasised in the course
of the w a r against H a n n i b a l (213 B.C.). H e r e it was not simply a
case of sacrifices more patrio per se but indeed a case of p r o p h e c y a n d
ritual such as might b e associated with augury. T h e r e was a " c r o w d
of w o m e n w h o were failing to follow the customs of the fathers in
their sacrifices (nec sacrificantum. . . deos patrio more)." (25,1,7) It was
p r o p h e t s (vates) as well as petty priests (sacrificuli) w h o were involved
(25,1,8), so that the augur's art was clearly in view. T h e religious
m o v e m e n t was p u t d o w n violendy by the p r a e t o r M a r c u s Aemilius
(25,1,11). His edict stated:
. . . whoever has prophetic books or prayers (quicunque libros vaticinos pre-

cationesve) or a written ritual for sacrifice (aut artem sacrificandi conscriptam
haberet), he should bring all those books and letters to him (eos libros
omnis litterasque ad se) before 1st April (ante kal Apriles defend), in order
that no one in a public or sacred place (neu quis in publico sacrove loco)
should sacrifice by means of a new or foreign rite (novo aut externo ritu
sacrificaret).
25,1,12
Clearly therefore the divination of the future (vates), a n d the ritual

intended to secure the pax deorum against prophecies of their ira, were
b o t h u n d e r the political control of the magistrates, w h o also were
to m a i n t a i n strictly their traditional R o m a n character.
T h u s Livy describes, albeit with sceptical references to the grounds
for believing the superstitio, the relationship between the cult a i m e d
at averting the ira a n d p r o d u c i n g the pax deorum impetrata, a n d the
25
political responsibility of magistrates. T h i s responsibility is m o r e -
2 3
Admittedly he reserves Tacitus' description o f early Christianity as prava religio
for the Bacchalian cult that produced the riot (29,16,6) from which the state reli
g i o n had delivered the masses (29,16,7). But in 1,31,8 the tradition (tradunt) is
recorded that the "sacrifice was b e g u n and c o n d u c t e d improperly (non rite initum aut
over specifically pontifical in that it extends to the minutiae of sacrifices

that must be performed more patrio. As the example of Aemilius shows,
such sacrificial practices implied the knowledge a n d even control of
the future. It extends moreover from the political to the natural o r d e r
in that the p o p u l a r m i n d associated n a t u r a l disasters with political
events, despite Livy's personal scepticism. T h u s far we can learn
from the full portion of Livy's work that survives d o w n to 167 B.C.
w h e r e it breaks off.
But c a n we glean any further information relevant for o u r inquiry
from the fragments of the remainder of his work that has not survived?
L u c a n , as we shall shordy see, despite Livy's personal scepticism,
agrees with h i m t h a t prodigies a n d o t h e r signs of the ira deorum
increased dramatically d u r i n g the course of the civil w a r from the
d e a t h of C a e s a r o n w a r d s . For L u c a n the existing cult was generally
r e g a r d e d as being unable, without reformation, to achieve the pax
deorum. Did Livy's original text therefore contain evidence that Augustus,
as Pontifex Maximus a n d superintendent of the cult of augury, was
popularly seen to b r i n g the solution to the specifically religious p r o b
lem of achieving the pax deorum, in a society otherwise unstable a n d
in a state of inevitable collapse? T h e Augustan p r o p a g a n d a m a c h i n e
developed a n d fostered t h a t p o p u l a r feeling in o r d e r to provide polit
ical legitimation for the Principate.
O f the existing surviving narrative of Livy, books 1 1 - 2 0 are also
lost, as well as the e n d i n g from 167 B . C . o n w a r d s , from books
4 6 - 1 4 2 . W e possess various O x y r h y n c h u s fragments alone with sum
maries from o t h e r sources of Books 3 7 - 1 4 2 . T h e s e therefore over
lap w h a t survives (37-45) a n d w h a t is lost (46-142), a n d which e n d
in 9 B.C. W e also have the work k n o w n u n d e r the n a m e of Julius
Obsequens, which is a book of prodigies at R o m e t h a t begins 190
B.C. a n d ends in 11 B.C.
W e will therefore ask the speculative question as to h o w in gen
eral terms Livy would have e n d e d his history in 11 B.C. a n d with
w h a t cultic c o n c o m i t a n t s h e w o u l d h a v e d e s c r i b e d the p e a c e of
Augustus from Actium in 31 B.C. o n w a r d s . W e can look firsdy at
h o w Augustus is described in the few references in Books 1 a n d 4,
curatum id sacrificium) with the result that, because of his "faulty c o n d u c t o f the rite"
(prava religione), Jupiter struck him with a thunderbolt. H e r e quite clearly prava reli
gio refers to improper as o p p o s e d to quite proper ceremonial activity and not to
bare religious belief.
32 CHAPTER TWO
a n d how o n the basis of this Livy could have described h i m in his

final Book 142. W e can try to gauge the cultic c o n c o m i t a n t s to
O c t a v i a n ' s victory from those a c c o m p a n y i n g o t h e r victories a n d
defeats t h r o u g h o u t Livy's history. Julius Obsequens will help us here,
since one of his sources was Livy's later books that have not sur
vived. W e are able from this work to view the kinds of prodigies
recorded from 167 B.C. onwards, in comparison with what preceded.
W e shall first see h o w Livy prefigures Augustus mysteriously in
his early chapters, a n d how he associates his figure with the augur's
office.
2A 4.2. Augustus' Early prefiguration: 8,6,9 and 5,23,4-11

In 340 B.C. T o r q u a t u s the consul p e r s u a d e d the senate to w a r with
the Latins after the d e a t h of Annius w h o h a d spurned R o m a n Jupiter.
In the field of battle:
There in the stillness of the night both consuls are said to have been
visited by the same apparition (visa species) of a man of greater than
human stature (viri maioris quam pro humano habitu) and more august
(augustiorisque) who declared that the commander of one side and the
army of the other must be offered to the Manes and Mother Earth
(Deis Manibus Matrique Terrae deberi).
8,6,9-10
T h e advice given by this vir augustior was clearly cultic a n d augural.

T h e y r e s p o n d e d with the decision t h a t "victims must b e slain to
avert the w r a t h of h e a v e n (averruncandae deum irae victimas caedi)" T h e
"entrails c o r r e s p o n d e d to w h a t h a d b e e n seen in the d r e a m (extis
eadem quae in somnio visa fuerant portenderentur)." (8,6,11) T h e prevision
of Augustus associates him therefore with the cult of augury.
W e m a y note several other such passages that prefigure Augustus
in the early chapters of Livy. Hercules is described as formamque viri
aliquantum ampliorem augustioremque humana. T o the god that bears this
h u m a n form is m a d e the promise that he should have the aram max-
26
imam dedicated by the "greatest nation on e a r t h . " (1,7,9) Livy would
2 6
See also Livy praef. 7; 5,41,8; 8 , 9 , 1 0 . T h e reference to Augustus is denied both
in these passages and those cited in m y text by Walsh (1989), pp. 1 5 - 1 6 support
ing H . Erkell, Augustus, Felicitas Fortuna, (Goteborg 1952), p. 19, but see L. Ross
T a y l o r , T h e Divinity o f the R o m a n E m p e r o r , in American Philological Association,
Philological Monographs, 1 (Connecticut 1931), p p . 1 6 4 - 1 6 5 w h o points out that in
Livy 1,7 Hercules and R o m u l u s in attaining Divinity are prototypes o f Augustus
have seen the fulfilment of this prefigurement in the dedication of

the Ara Pacis to Augustus (Augustae) on his return from Spain a n d
G a u l in 9 B.C., which was the very date o n which Augustus con
ducted his o w n lustrum of the city. T h u s we can see the dialogue
between Livy a n d the Ara conceptually integrated with his p e r c e p
tions a n d idealizations of Augustus a n d his divine p u r p o s e . It should
be further pointed out that Livy is quite fond of discrete allusions
to Augustus' later cult. For example, he cites the case of the irrev
erence of M a r c u s Furius Camillus, w h o s u b d u e d the Veii in 396
B.C., a n d describes h i m as maximus imperator omnium. At his adventus
the crowds t h r o n g e d in unusual n u m b e r s , t h o u g h not quite with the
cuncta ex Italia ad comitia mea confluente multitudine that m e t to elect
Augustus as Pontifex Maximus in Res Gestae c. 10.
F u r t h e r m o r e Furius rode into the city on a chariot d r a w n by white
horses in impersonation of Jupiter a n d the Sun G o d (Apollo; 5,23,4-11).
T h e latter, as we shall later see, was the dress of O c t a v i a n w h e n he
c o m m e m o r a t e d Actium in 28 B.C. T h u s this was the form of dress
that a M a r c u s Furius Camillus could only have w o r n with irrever
ence, b u t which the Augustus of s u p e r h u m a n proportions (visa species
viri maioris quam pro humano habitu augustiorisque) could n o w w e a r as
27
befitting his status n e a r i n g divinity (8,6,12).
2A 4 . 2 . 1 . Augustus: 1,19,1-3, 28,2,2 and the lost ending

W e c a n see m o r e o v e r a clear parallel between the legendary role of
N u m a a n d the historical role of Augustus, in relation to augury a n d
the pax deorum.
N u m a is p r o p o s e d as king (716 B.C.). H e insists that the gods be
consulted as follows:
Being summoned, he commanded that just as Romulus had obeyed

the augural omens in founding his city (augurato urbe condenda) and assum
ing regal power (regnum adeptus est), so too in his own case the gods
should be consulted. Accordingly an augur, who thereafter, as a mark
just as in H o r a c e Odes 111,14,1; I V , 5 , 3 5 ; Ep. 11,1,5. Both are called augustus, and
"in several passages in the early books Livy uses the w o r d augustus in contrast to
humanus in what w o u l d seem to be a conscious effort to call to m i n d the emperor's
position." See also L. Ross Taylor, Livy and the N a m e Augustus, in ClassRev 32
(1918), p p . 1 5 8 - 1 6 1 .
2 7
B . O . Foster in the L o e b edition remarks that he was probably mistaken about
popular resentment since the suggestion o f Jupiter in dress and chariot was cus
tomary. But this misses the point that Livy is making regarding Augustus a n d his
successors by pretending that Furius' behaviour was so unusual.
34 CHAPTER TWO
of honour, was made a priest of state in permanent charge of that

function (publicum id perpetuumque sacerdotium Jiiit), conducted him to the
citadel. . .
1,18,6
T h e augur took his lituus, the crooked staff, m a r k i n g out the right
a n d left sides of the heavens, a n d p o i n t e d to w h e r e the gods should
send signs, which accordingly they did (1,18, 7-10). Livy therefore
c o n n e c t e d special acts of a u g u r y with N u m a ' s second founding of
R o m e after Romulus. This fact on its own might not appear significant,
b u t Livy t h e n immediately associates the event with Augustus' estab
lishment of the principate:
When he was thus empowered with kingship (qui regno ita potitus), he
prepared to found the new city afresh (urbem novam . . . de integro condere
parat), that had been founded on force and armed might (conditam vi
et armis), upon law, and statutes, and morals (iure earn legibusque ac moribus)
. . . He thought it necessary that his warlike people should be softened
by the disuse of arms, and built the temple of Janus at the bottom of
the Argilentum, as an index of peace and w a r . . . Twice since Numa's
reign it has been closed: once in the consulship of Titus Manlius, after
the conclusion of the First Punic War; the second time, which the
gods permitted our own generation to witness, was after the battle of
Actium, when the emperor Caesar Augustus had brought about peace
on land and sea . . .
1,19,1-3
T h u s there is a parallelism between N u m a a n d Augustus, w h o also

sought to replace p o w e r based vi et armis with a n authority that was
founded iure earn legibusque ac moribus. F u r t h e r m o r e , the i n a u g u r a t i o n
of p e a c e was associated with the T e m p l e of J a n u s . W o u l d not Livy's
lost e n d i n g have exploited further this parallel?
Augustus himself gives direct confirmation t h a t this is the case in
the Res Gestae. H e records that on his r e t u r n from his successes in
Spain a n d G a u l :
The altar of the peace of Augustus (aram Pacis Augustae/pcou.6v Eipf|VT|<;

lepaoTfjq) the Senate, in thanks for my return (pro reditu meo/bnzp xr\c,
E\IT\<; inavobov) ordered to be consecrated in the Campus Martius, in
which it ordered that magistrates and priests and Vestal Virgins should
make an annual sacrifice.
The temple of Janus on the Quirinal, which our ancestors wished
to remain shut, when peace (pax) had been secured by victories through
out the whole Roman empire, by land and by sea, had been remem
bered to have been closed only twice from the foundation of the city
(a condita urbe) before I was born, this the Senate decreed should be
closed three times while I was princeps.
Res Gestae 12-13
This passage therefore clearly connects the a n n u a l sacrifices at the

Ara Pacis with augury a n d the pax deorum, a n d also with the T e m p l e
of J a n u s . T h e Res Gestae m a y only survive in o n e of its several r e p r o
ductions as the m o n u m e n t from Ankyra. But the original of that
inscription, by its own admission, was on two b r o n z e pillars set u p
2 8
at R o m e , p r e s u m a b l y in relation to the m o n u m e n t a l complex of
29
Solarium a n d M a u s o l e u m of which the Ara originally formed p a r t .
T h e remains of the Ara Pacis, dedicated in 9 B.C., w e r e identified
originally by F. von D u h n in 1879, u n d e r the Palazzo Fiano o n the
30
west side of the Via Flaminia, a n d accordingly reconstructed (Plate l ) .
O n the southern side of the altar Augustus a n d A g r i p p a (at that
time his designated successor), are b o t h depicted w e a r i n g veils that
are the symbols of priestly office: priests w o r e veils for sacrifice.
A r o u n d Augustus stand the pontifices a n d augures, with flamines in their
helmet-like leather h e a d covering, the galerus, with the point or apex
at the t o p . T h e cultic emphasis o n the pax deorum is quite transpar
ent. T h e Pontifex Maximus is Augustus himself, w h o , assisted by his
heir Agrippa, is to perform the rite himself that is to secure that
31
metaphysical pax.
In the iconography of the Ara Pacis, Augustus at first sight m a y
28
Res Gest. praef.: " . . . incisarum in duabus aheneis pillis, quae sunt R o m a e posi-
tae, e x e m p l a r subiectum."
2 9
E. Bianchi, Ara Pacis Augustae, ( R o m e : Fratelli Palombi 1994), p p . 7 - 8 . T h e
accuracy o f the reconstruction has b e e n questioned by N . H a n n e s t a d , in Tradition
in Late Antique Sculpture. Conservation-Modernisation-Production, in Acta Jutlandica
6 9 , 2 , H u m a n i t i e s Series 6 9 , (Aarhus: University Press 1994) w h o argues that c o n
tinuous reworking has r e m o v e d any original Augustan content to the friezes. But
see in reply A. Claridge, Late-antique reworking of the Ara Pacis and other i m p e
rial sculpture? in JRA 10 (1997), pp. 4 4 7 - 4 5 3 .
3 0
E. Peterson, Ara Pacis Augustae, in Sonderschriften des Osterreichischen Archaologischen
Instituts in Wien, B d II, (Wien: Alfred H o l d e r 1902), p p . 1 3 8 - 1 3 9 ; E. La R o c c a , Ara
Pacis Augustae in occasione del restauro delta fronte orientate, (Roma: "L'Erma" di Bretschneider
1983); G. K o e p p e l , D i e historischen Reliefs der romischen Kaiserzeit, V , Ara Pacis
Augustae, in BJb, 187 (1987), p. 102; D . Fishwick, T h e Imperial Cult in the Latin
West: Studies in the Ruler Cult o f the Western Province of the R o m a n Empire,
in EPRO 108 (1987) 1,1, p. 9 8 discusses the precise dating of the completion after
its original "constitution" in 13 B . C . S e e also ibid. p p . 2 0 3 - 2 0 6 .
31
Bianchi (1994) p p . 1 3 - 1 6 ; D . Castriota, The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Imagery
of Abundance in Later Greek and Early Roman Imperial Art, (Princeton: U . P . 1995), pp.
124-144.
36 CHAPTER TWO
a p p e a r to b e Pontifex Maximus a n d augur simply priest at a n altar of

a n augurium of extraordinary dimension that p r o d u c e s the golden age
over which Tellus, a n d Pax preside, in which the earth yields its a b u n
d a n c e (Plate 2). It might be t h o u g h t therefore that augury, the pax
deorum, a n d the aetas aurea form one distinct aspect of the religious
significance of Augustus quite different from that of his deification
as R o m a n e m p e r o r . T h e two strands are often considered to be quite
separate. M y a r g u m e n t here will be that nevetheless in the ideology
of the Imperial Cult b o t h strands were in fact conflated, at least in
m a n y instances of " t h e reciprocal relation of art-object a n d viewer,
viewer a n d art-object that creates a 'dialogue' out of which m e a n
32
ing is b o r n . "
33
Firsdy, as Fears p o i n t e d o u t , abstract qualities a n d virutes such
as Pax a n d Concordia were personified in the form of gods a n d god
desses. T h e Ara Pacis was therefore not simply the m e a n s of secur
ing pax t h r o u g h augurium b u t also the m e a n s of w o r s h i p p i n g t h e
goddess Pax herself. But note the addition of the adjective that points
to the divinity of the E m p e r o r himself (Augustus/lefiacToq). T h e full
tide of the altar is the Ara Pacis Augustae or the PCOJJXX; Eipr|vr|<; lePaaxriq.
Both the sacerdotal a n d augurial strand is thus in process of conflation
with that which asserts the e m p e r o r ' s divinity. T h e divine essence of
Pax loses its i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d is m a d e p a r t of the divine essence
of the E m p e r o r whose n a m e is Augustus.
Secondly the distinction between the priest of a cult a n d the divin
ity w o r s h i p p e d was n o t always strictly m a i n t a i n e d . Augustus m a y
a p p e a r depicted on the Ara Pacis as a priest veiled for sacrifice. But
Tiberius was so depicted in the T e m p l e at S m y r n a erected in his
h o n o u r as a priest of the cult of whose worship he was the object.
As Price points out, "the gods often held their own e p o n y m o u s priest
hoods, a n d are often shown m a k i n g sacrificial offerings," p r e s u m a b l y
34
to themselves.
W e must note therefore the centrality of the cult to the A u g u s t a n
settlement, a n d to the personal role of b o t h Augustus himself a n d
his successors in the sacral acts or auguria of that cult. Pax Augusta is
a n abstraction, personalised as a divinity, b u t related w h e n used as
3 2
Eisner (1991) p. 5 2 , and footnote 1 and related text.
3 3
J . R . Fears, T h e Cult o f Virtues, in ANRW 2,17,2 (1981), pp. 8 2 7 - 9 4 8 .
3 4
S.R.F. Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, (Cambridge:
U . P . 1984), p. 185.
a qualifying adjective to the e m p e r o r ' s own divinity. T h e r e would

therefore seem to b e a connection between the Res Gestae, Livy's con
cerns with prodigies a n d the cultic m e a n s for dealing with these
t h r o u g h augurium, a n d developing concepts of the e m p e r o r ' s o w n
divinity. T h e r e m a r k that the temple of J a n u s h a d only b e e n closed
twice a(b) condita urbe in Res Gestae 13 recalls, after all, the title of
Livy's o w n work. F u r t h e r m o r e , it will be impossible to separate the
augural a n d priesdy themes of the Ara with those of the process of
divinisation of the e m p e r o r himself. W e d o well therefore to ask
w h e t h e r such a role was not present in the lost e n d i n g of Livy.
N u m a ' s authority, moreover, as Livy describes it, was clearly related
to the official cult of augury, to the publicum id perpetuumque sacerdotium.
W e m a y well ask w h e t h e r it is n o t possible t h a t Livy e n d e d his his
tory by d r a w i n g similar features in the case of Augustus, particularly
to his securing the pax deorum after centuries of civil strife a n d divine
p o r t e n t s . C e r t a i n l y in the s e c o n d reference to Augustus we find
prefigured his claimed, universal reign of p e a c e . R e g a r d i n g Spain,
he records that in 206 B.C. it was only partly conquered a n d continues:
Accordingly the first of the provinces entered by the Romans (Itaque

ergo prima Romanis inita provinciarum), at least those of the mainland (quae
quidem continentis sint), are the last to be conquered in our own age by
the leadership and good fortune of Augustus Caesar (postrema omnium
nostra demum aetate ductu auspicioque Augusti Caesaris perdomita est).
28,12,12
W e c a n parallel the i m p o r t a n c e of the victory in Spain with the ide

ology of Augustus' nascent Imperial Cult. T h e a n n u a l sacrifices of
thanksgiving at the Ara Pacis were, according to Res Gestae c. 12, for
his r e t u r n (pro reditu/urcep xfjq eufjq £7cav68o\)) ex Hispania Galliaque. T h e
sacerdotal r a t h e r t h a n imperial role, witnessed as we have seen in
the south panel of the Ara, would also support this conclusion.
Livy's lost e n d i n g cries out for the feature that o t h e r sources by
themselves would b e sufficient to establish. R o m a n political theology
c o n n e c t e d Augustus' ius augurium with his office of Pontifex Maximus,
a n d also with his historical role as achieving the pax deorum w h e r e
others h a d failed. Before therefore we look at Livy's t r e a t m e n t of
prodigies, let us record two writers w h o connect Augustus' office spe
cifically with this augural function. In both Suetonius a n d Dio Cassius
we have later references to the original significance of Augustus' title
a n d role in connection with the ius augurium.
38 CHAPTER TWO
2A 4.2.2. Suetonius Augustus 7

Suetonius, writing in the reign of H a d r i a n (A.D. 120), clearly regards
the divine tide of Augustus, taken by O c t a v i a n , as closely connected
with his a u g u r a l function. T h i s m a y reflect the extension of the
Imperial C u l t u n d e r D o m i t i a n that we shall describe a n d evaluate
in a later chapter. But the iconography of the Ara Pacis h a d reflected
such a function, as we shall argue further (2B 1). Suetonius m a y
have used Livy as a source, a n d we m a y therefore here too catch
the tenor a n d tendency of Livy's lost ending.
Suetonius records t h a t O c t a v i a n took C a e s a r ' s n a m e u n d e r his
great uncle's will, a n d that of Augustus, o n the advice of M u n a t i u s
Plancus. R a t h e r t h a n call himself R o m u l u s as founder of the city,
he chose the n a m e Augustus. T h e reason that Suetonius gives con
nects that tide with the ius augurium:
He preferred to be called Augustus (Augustus potius vocaretur), not only

with a new but more significant surname (non tantum novo sed etiam
ampliore cognomine), but also because religious places which are conse
crated by an "augur's" ritual (quod loca quoque religiosa et in quibus augu-
rato quid consecratur) are called "august" (augusta dicantur), either from the
increase or from the movement and feeding of birds (ab auctu vel ab
avium gestu gustuve) just as Ennius informs us when he writes (sicut etiam
Ennius docet scribens):
Afterwards Rome had been founded by an august augury
(Augusto augurio postquam incluta condita Roma est).
Suetonius, Augustus, 1
T h u s Suetonius r e g a r d e d the tide Augustus as m e a n i n g a n d implying

someone associated with the office of augur a n d the practice of augurium.
W e shall now, from a different perspective, see h o w D i o Cassius
also makes this connection.
2A 4.2.3. Dio Cassius 37,24,1 and (Epitome) 51,20,4

D i o wrote his work, of which a large p a r t survives only in the form
of a n Epitome (51-77), d u r i n g the reign of Alexander Severus a n d
e n d e d it at his own second consulship in 229 A . D . It seems clear
that until the e n d of the Second Punic W a r D i o has an alternative
source to Livy. But from then o n w a r d s , there is a clear d e p e n d e n c e
on the latter as is shown by the overlap with the books that survive
for the period until 167 B.C. w h e n Livy's a c c o u n t breaks off. D i o
35
explicity refers to Livy, Sallust, a n d Arian as his sources.
67,12,4; 40,63,4; 69,51,1.

Millar has described Dio's a c c o u n t of the reign of Augustus as

36
"the most complete a n d satisfactory one that we h a v e . " T h e ques
tion of Dio's sources is a complex o n e . T h e r e is a dispute regard
ing w h e t h e r 5 3 , 1 7 - 1 9 m a r k s the transition from Livy's lost e n d i n g
a n d the beginning of the lost history of Aufidius Bassus, or w h e t h e r
to the contrary the break with Livy comes at Book 54. But since
the passages on which I will rely are before either putative point of
37
d e p a r t u r e , this dispute n e e d not detain us h e r e .
In view of w h a t we have a r g u e d to be the role of the prodigia in
Livy as a n index of the b r e a k d o w n of R e p u b l i c a n constitutional
order, we m a y b e confident that D i o , at least in his explanation of
the m e a n i n g of Augustus' n a m e , is following Livy. Stoic natural the
ology as a theology of the augurium is specifically reflected in b o t h
accounts. D i o does not h o w e v e r follow Suetonius, a n o t h e r of his
38
sources, in his derivation of the n a m e of "Augustus." M e n t i o n i n g
O c t a v i a n ' s desire to be called R o m u l u s , repressed in favour of this
tide, Xiphilinus' Epitome claims that the title refers to " w h a t is m o r e
t h a n h u m a n (nkz\6\ xi r\ Kccxd dvGpcoTcoix;)," a n d to h o w precious a n d
sacred objects are described (rcdvxa yap i d evxiudxaxa m i xd iepcoxaxa
auyouaxa 7rpoaayopeuexai). F u r t h e r m o r e , it is the equivalent of Sebastos
(lepocoxoq) in Greek, which comes from the verb "to revere (aepd£-
eoGai)." (53,16,8) T h u s this title does not immediately suggest a n y
connection with the n a m e of " a u g u r " as it did in Suetonius.
Yet D i o (Xiphilinus) makes the connection in a n o t h e r way, a n d
one t h a t relates his account to the underlying theology of L u c a n ' s
Pharsalia, if not Livy's. D i o records a short respite from w a r d u r i n g
the events of the First T r i u m v i r a t e in 6 3 B.C. It is at this point that
he refers to the augurium saiutis, the sacred ritual for securing salva
tion or safety, for the celebration of which these events call. H e
claims: " . . . they even held the so called augurium salutis, after a very
39
long interval. For this of course is a kind of a u g u r y . " H e explains
that permission was sought w h e t h e r they could ask for prosperity,
3 6
F. Millar, A Study of Cassius Dio, (Oxford: Clarendon 1964), p. 8 3 .
3 7
In favour of the former, see M . A . Levi, D o p o Azio: appunti sulle fonti augus-
tee: D i o n e Cassio, in Athen. 15 (1937), p. 3; in favour o f the latter see F.A. M a r x ,
D i e Q u e l l e n der Germanenkriege bei Tacitus und D i o , Klio 2 9 (1936), p. 9 4 . S e e
also Millar (1964) p p . 8 3 - 8 7 ff.
3 8
Millar (1964) p p . 8 5 - 8 7 .
3 9
3 7 , 2 4 , 1 : coaxe m i TO oicoviouoc TO Tfjq hyeiaq covouocopivov 5 i a 7cdv\> noXkov
Tcoifjaai. TOVTO 8e 8f| uavTe(a<; Tiq xponoq EOT{.
40 CHAPTER TWO
a n d that this special augural rite would only be offered on a day in

which there was a complete military cessation (37,24,2). T h u s dur
ing civil w a r it was impossible to celebrate this rite. T h e i r a t t e m p t
nevertheless o n this occasion is thus described:
Nevertheless it was in some way possible at that time for the divina
tion to be held (TO oicoviouxx eiceivo rcoir|9f)vai), but it was impure (ox>
(xevToi KocBotpov eyevexo). For certain birds flew from the unlucky quar
ter, and for this reason they repeated the augury (dvejiavTevaavTo).
Other unlucky omens too occurred.
Dio 37,25,1
A m o n g s t these were thunderbolts from a clear blue sky, e a r t h q u a k e s ,

a n d ghosts (ei8coA,d xe 7toMxx%60i dvBpcorccov e(pavida0r|).
D i o therefore records the firm belief that d u e to civil w a r , the
m e a n s for securing by a u g u r y the pax deorum w e r e n o t effective.
W h e n e v e r they w e r e tried, they p r o v e d to b e c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e :
augury at that time only resulted in further supernatural disturbances.
But when his Epitomist, Xiphilinus deals with his account of Augustus,
a n d the o p e n i n g of the doors of the temple of J a n u s , which as we
have seen Livy most certainly described, he is able to show h o w
Augustus has achieved the pax deorum a n d p e r f o r m e d the augurium
salutis with favourable o u t c o m e . O f all the h o n o u r s t h a t C a e s a r
(Augustus) received, this was the most significant:
Nevertheless the action which pleased him more than all the decrees
was the closing by the senate of the gates of the temple of Janus,
implying that all their wars had entirely ceased, and the taking of the
augurium salutis (TO oicbviauxx TTI<; i)y£(a<;), which had at this time fallen
into disuse for the reasons that I have noted.
Dio (Xiphilinus) 51,20,4
Xiphilinus has already explained that C a e s a r (Augustus) by n o w con

trolled the state cult, a n d although h e does not use the title Pontifex
Maximus, w h i c h by his time was an ecclesiastical title, he neverthe
less tells us that Augustus could "choose as m a n y priests as he wished
a n d appoint them in office (iepeocq... ocovq a v del eGeAriaei TtpoaipeioOai
7cpoaKaTeaxr|aavTo)." (51,20,3) T h u s for D i o there is a direct con
nection between Augustus' role in history, the Imperial Cult, a n d
the cultic m e a n s of achieving the pax deorum t h r o u g h a u g u r y that
a p p e a r s t o reflect w h a t he found in Livy as the p r i m a r y source for
this p a r t o f his work.
W e shall shortly see that the pax deorum, that fails in the civil w a r
together with the augury whose function it is to secure it, is a t h e m e

too of Lucan's Pharsalia. But let us briefly now see whether Livy shows
any indication of subscribing to such a theology of history as well.
2A 4.2.4. Livy and Augustus: portents and auspicia

In 4,20,7, of which we have already m a d e m e n t i o n , Livy credits
Augustus with rebuilding the temples as the conditor et restitutor omnium
templorum. In Res Gestae c. 19 a n d 21 he boasts, a m o n g s t other things,
of erecting the temples of Apollo in the Palatine, of Divus Julius in
the Circus Flaminius, a n d at the Capitol of Juppiter Triumphans a n d
Juppiter Tonans. H e also restored sacred o r n a m e n t s to the shrines of
"all the provinces of Asia." (c. 24) It must be a d m i t t e d in Livy's case
that the n a t u r e a n d type of prodigies are similar t h r o u g h o u t his work,
a n d n o difference in this respect a p p e a r s in Julius Obsequens as events
d r a w n e a r e r to the d e a t h of C a e s a r in 44 B . C . But the sheer vol
u m e of these prodigies, occurring n o w every o n e year or two, shows
a d r a m a t i c increase on his earlier books. T h e century before the
civil w a r was o n e in which the ira deorum increased, requiring stronger
a n d diviner m e a n s of securing their m o r e lasting pax.
Prodigies from time to time t h r o u g h o u t Livy's history are recorded
with such features as lightening striking temples, showers of earth or
stones, a mule p r o d u c i n g a colt, a twelve y e a r old h e r m a p h r o d i t e
executed by o r d e r of the haruspices, a rain of blood, a n e w island in
the sea, a mule with three feet, J u n o ' s image shedding tears, turn
ing heads of images of the gods d u r i n g a n e a r t h q u a k e , absence of
vultures over corpses, blood trickling from land, wool growing from
trees, w a t e r dripping from a statue, a kite d r o p p i n g a weasel in the
Senate, a m e t e o r seen in the sky, a n d a boy b o r n with four h a n d s
40
a n d feet, e t c .
T h e cultic m e a n s of dealing with such prodigia so as to restore the
pax deorum are from time to time recorded in answer to such prodi
gia. But, from the beginning until 176 B.C., the records of divina
tion are records of continually successful conduct of the ritual whether
it records favour or hostility for a p r o p o s e d course of action. For
e x a m p l e , in 340 B.C. Decius a n d Manlius the consuls offer sacrifice
a n d the haruspices are present to inform t h e m of w h e t h e r the gods
have b e e n propitious:
4 0
1,20,7; 4,21,5; 5,14,4; 5 , 1 5 , 1 ; 2 4 , 1 0 , 1 3 ; 2 7 , 3 7 , 6 - 8 ; 4 1 , 1 6 , 6 , etc.
42 CHAPTER TWO
The haruspex is reported to have indicated to Decius that the head of

the liver (caput iocineris) had been cut on the friendly side (a familiari
parte caesum): otherwise the victim had been accepted by the gods (alio-
qui acceptam dis hostiam esse); Manlius had succeeding in gaining propi
tiation (Manlium egregie litasse).
8,9,1
But from 215 B.C., although some auspicia are still successful, e x a m
ples are i n t r o d u c e d in which the auspicium fails or encounters great
difficulty. In 215 B . C . in the w a r against H a n n i b a l , Fabius did not
venture to lead his armies across the river Volturnus:
. . . he was concerned at first (occupatus primo) that he should repeat the

auspicia (auspiciis repetendis); then with portents (dein prodigiis) which were
reported one after another (quae alia super alia nuntiabantur) and while
he was making expiation (expiantique) the haruspices continually replied
that it was by no means easy to gain propitiation (ea baud facile litari
haruspices respondebant).
23,36,9-10
T h e cult itself was beginning to fail to achieve the pax deorum that
was the object of expiare a n d litari, a n d to fail because the cultic rit
ual itself was unsuccessful.
In 212 B.C., in the midst of the Punic W a r , the consul Tiberius
G r a c c h u s experienced a m o r e serious failure of the a p p a r a t u s of
haruspicium:
As Gracchus was sacrificing (sacrificanti) before he left Lucania, an

unfavourable portent (triste prodigium) occurred. When sacrifice had been
accomplished (sacrificio perpetrato), two snakes glided stealthily up to the
entrails (ad exta) and set about devouring the liver (adedere iocur). When
for that reason the sacrifice was repeated (sacrificium instauraretur) on the
advice of the haruspices (haruspicum monitu), and the entrails were pre
served with greater care (intentius exta reservarentur), they relate that a
second and third time the snakes slithered forward, and, having tasted
the liver (libatoque iocinere) escaped unharmed. Though the haruspices had
forewarned that the portent applied to the general (ad imperatorem id
pertinere prodigium) and that he should beware of the hidden plans of
men, still the impending fate could not be averted by any foresight
(nulla tamen providentia fatum imminens moveri potuit).
25,16,1-4
T h u s for Livy the cultic means for securing success show contamination
a n d failure at a critical m o m e n t in R o m e ' s history, at the pivotal
m o m e n t for that history a n d its subsequent d e v e l o p m e n t that was
the w a r with C a r t h a g e . T h i s passage is of interest for the further
reason t h a t Livy reveals that, b e y o n d his scepticism a b o u t the myths

of the gods, there lies a Stoic conviction of the natural o r d e r a n d
41
the way in which N a t u r e loses its h a r m o n y .
Livy continues with some examples of favourable uses of the cult.
In 209 B.C. the auspicia are unfavourable in that they give w a r n i n g ,
b u t still there is not failure of the ritual itself. T h u s Fabius is p r e
42
served through augury from Hannibal's trickery. Similarly in 27,26,14
Marcellus simply ignored the hostia caesa iocur sine capite a n d is defeated,
without any failure of the cult itself. In the M a c e d o n i a n w a r in 200
B.C. the Consuls' ritual (rem divinam rite peractarri) finds approval by
the haruspices w h e n they p r o n o u n c e the exta to be laeta. T h e y even
on this occasion claim t h a t the entrails " p o r t e n d extension of the
borders, victory a n d t r i u m p h (prolationem finium victoriamque et triumphum
portendi)" (31,5,7) Similar scenes are witnessed in 191 B.C. as well
43
as in 172 B . C . But it remains possible that, given a n event such
as the civil w a r from 4 4 B.C. o n w a r d s , a n d the decades that lead
u p to it, Livy should have recorded the failures of the augurium a n d
haruspicium, a i m e d at securing the pax deorum that h a d e m e r g e d in
the earlier crisis of the Punic W a r . In that case a far stronger expi
ation a n d cleansing of the city would be required, in the form of
a n Augustan Imperial Cult that would have the support of fortuna,
fatum, a n d providentia that Tiberius G r a c c h u s h a d lacked in 212 B.C.
As I have already m e n t i o n e d , from 171 B . C . o n w a r d s o u r only
source that will enable us to study Livy's use of prodigia is Julius
Obsequens.^ H e r e we find some evidence of a n intensification b o t h of
prodigia a n d the incapability of the R e p u b l i c a n cult to deal with t h e m
without reformation. In 176 B.C. the liver of a n animal, sacrificed
by the consul, melted away (Julius Obsequens 9 cf. Livy 41,14,7). T h e
Consul Postumius in 152 B . C . found n o h e a d on the liver of a large
n u m b e r of sacrificial animals whilst sacrificing before d e p a r t u r e for
battle (17). In the same year, all magistrates a n d priests resigned
41
W a l s h (1989), p p . 5 4 - 6 1 .
4 2
2 7 , 1 6 , 1 5 : "Fabio auspicanti, priusquam egrederetur a b T a r e n t o , aves semel
atque iterum non addixerunt. Hostia q u o q u e caesa consulenti deos haruspex caven-
d u m a fraude hostili et ab insidiis praedixit."
4 3
3 6 , 1 , 3 : "ea o m n i a sacrificia laeta fuerunt, primisque hostiis perlitatum est, et
ita haruspices responderunt, e o bello terminos populi R o m a n i propagari. . . ." Cf.
also 4 2 , 2 0 , 2 - 4 .
4 4
T h e numbers cited are from the edition by A . C . Schlesinger a n d R . M . G e e r ,
in vol. 14 o f Livy in the Loeb Classical Library ( L o n d o n / M a s s a c h u s e t t s : H e i n e m a n n /
Harvard 1967).
44 CHAPTER TWO
w h e n haruspices prophesied that they would all die following a whirl

w i n d that destroyed a gilded statue in front of the temple of J u p i t e r
(18). While the auspices were being taken, in 137 B.C., the chickens
escaped a n d fled (24).
At J u l i u s C a e s a r ' s sacrifice as dictator (44 B.C.), the exta were
discovered to be devoid of a h e a r t (exta sine corde). (67) But Gaius
Octavius, as he entered R o m e to be enrolled in the gens Julia, appeared
s u r r o u n d e d by a rainbow-like arc. A c o m e t a p p e a r e d as h e sacrificed
at the temple of his divine m o t h e r , V e n u s . A howling of dogs was
h e a r d by night before the house of the Pontifex Maximus, a m o n g s t
m a n y other portents (68). But at this point, in 42 B.C., Julius Obsequens
breaks from the lurid details only to recount, n o t in the usual y e a r
or two afterwards, b u t in 17 a n d 11 B.C. some small details con
cerning a n e a r t h q u a k e a n d the swarm of bees a r o u n d D r u s u s .
W h e r e Julius Obsequens fails, D i o from his source enables us to con
tinue Livy's story. In 4 7 , 4 0 , 1 - 5 he lists the portents of 42 B.C. in
lurid details, but t h e n goes on to point to cultic irregularity w h e n
he records t h a t the praefectus urbanus celebrated the festival of J u p i t e r
Latiaris that was neither his prerogative, n o r was it ordinarily observed
at that time.
W e see therefore that the scene was set for the religious refor
m a t i o n of the Imperial Cult. T h e g r a n t i n g to Augustus of the ius
45
augurium could have prefigured in Livy's final b o o k . W h e n we n o w
t u r n to L u c a n ' s t r e a t m e n t of the events of the civil war, we are o n
firmer g r o u n d . H e r e , less speculatively, it can be established that
L u c a n clearly conceived the supernatural character of the pax Augusta,
which he saw as the achievement of the pax deorum t h r o u g h the ius
augurium of the Imperial Cult. F u r t h e r m o r e , t h a t concept of pax is
u n d e r p i n n e d by a Stoic metaphysic of fatum a n d fortuna, a n d by the
c o n c e p t of a rational, metaphysical o r d e r t h a t unites the rational
action of n a t u r e with the rites of the haruspicium performed to divine
the future a n d indeed in some sense to control it. It is therefore to
L u c a n ' s t r e a t m e n t of such themes that we n o w turn.
2A 4.3. Lucan's Stoic theology and haruspicium

Livy was u n d o u b t e d l y sceptical a b o u t the myths a n d legends of the
gods a n d their cult, although his grasp of Stoic concepts of fatum
A:>
Res Ges. 7,2: pontifex m a x i m u s , augur, X V virum sacris faciundis, VII virum
e p u l o n u m , frater arvalis, sodalis Titius, fetialis fui.
a n d fortuna was slight. W e saw in connection with Tiberius G r a c c h u s

in 212 B.C. that Livy was p r e p a r e d to set fatum a n d fortuna against
the operations of augurium a n d haruspicium, a n d to argue that the for
m e r h a d vanquished the powers of the latter. L u c a n will not agree
to such a possibility.
L u c a n does not introduce into his epic poetry, quite contrary to
convention, the intervention of gods a n d goddesses. T h e s e he r a t h e r
replaces with the Stoic conception of fatum a n d fortuna u n d e r p i n n e d
by the Stoic m o n i s m of n a t u r e or (puaiq as the m a t t e r whose ulti
m a t e c h a r a c t e r is Xoyoq a n d which is therefore reasonable, divine
a n d e n d o w e d with purpose. But t h o u g h he will dismiss a n a n t h r o
p o m o r p h i s m that conceals the true n a t u r e of the divine W h o l e a n d
its operation, he will not dismiss also the cult of augurium a n d harus
picium, a n d so set this against fatum a n d fortuna as Livy h a d d o n e .
T h e reason is to be found in the Stoicism of his uncle, Seneca,
with w h o m he was to b e involved in a conspiracy against N e r o that
would cost b o t h of t h e m their lives. Seneca replies to the question
of the way in which things such as auspicia reveal future events with
out b e i n g deliberately sent to d o so by some a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c a l l y
conceived divine agency in the following way:
You make God too lazy and the administrator of something trivial, if
he is the disposer of dreams to some people but exta to others. The
latter nonetheless are conducted under the resources of the divine (ista
nihilominus divina ope geruntur), even if the wings of birds are not directly
guided by a god (si non a deo pennae avium reguntur), nor the entrails of
catde shaped by their very axe (nec pecudum viscera sub ipsa securi for-
mantur). The scroll of fate is unwound on a different, rational princi
ple (alia ratione fatorum series explicatur), which issues everywhere indications
of the future (indicia venturi ubique praemittens), some of which are pro
pitious to us (ex quibus quaedam nobis familiaria) and others unknown
(quaedam ignota sunt). Whatever has happened is a sign of some future
event (Quicquid Jit, alicuius reijuturae signum est). Chance events and ran
dom occurrences without Xoyoc, (fortuita et sine ratione vaga) do not allow
divination (divinationem non recipiunt); in whatever subject matter there is
order (cuius res ordo est), there is also the possibility of prediction (etiam
praedictio est).
Seneca Quaestiones Maturates 2,32,4
T h e wings of birds are not directed by the god (non a deo pennae avium
reguntur), but divine resources are still involved (divina ope geruntur).
T h a t divinity is the i m m a n e n t ratio or Xoyoc, of the world a n d because
the world consists of an orderly series of events, the future is predictable
(cuius res ordo est, etiam praedictio est) a n d can b e read in present objects
46 CHAPTER TWO
such as exta or flights of birds. Divination therefore becomes a ratio

nal possibility. Seneca has clearly forged a necessary link between
ordo (in contrast to fortuita et sine ratione vaga), ratio (Xoyoq), fatum a n d
divinatio. H e has also demythologised his theology in the process. W e
shall n o w see this perspective reflected in L u c a n ' s historiography.
2A 4 . 3 . 1 . Lucan's Pharsalia and the p a x d e o r u m

L u c a n in Pharsalia, 1, 5 2 2 - 6 0 5 describes the natural turmoil of the
civil w a r b u t also emphasises its supernatural counterpart. T h e chaos
of society was m i r r o r e d in a chaos in n a t u r e . T h e images of the
Lares in h o m e s b e g a n to sweat (57), a n d wild beasts left the woods
by night a n d m a d e their lairs in the city ( 5 5 9 - 5 6 0 ) . M o n s t r o u s births
took place (562-563). T h e ancient, Sybilline prophecies, foreboding
ill (diraque per populum Cumanae carmina vatis), w e r e r e p e a t e d again
(volgantur). ( 5 6 4 - 5 6 5 ) A Fury with a flaming pine tree held d o w n
wards with hissing hair a n d of gigantic size stalked the city (572-574).
T h e ghosts of Sulla a n d of M a r i u s , themselves the former destroy
ers of the civil p e a c e , were seen to walk again a m i d these super
natural disorders:
. . . e medio visi consurgere Campo

Tristia Sullani cecinere oracula manes,
Tollentemque caput gelidas Anienis ad undas
Agricolae Marium jracto fugere sepulchro.
46
Lucan, Pharsalia, 1, 5 8 0 - 5 8 3 .
A cultic note is s o u n d e d in the passage by the use of the t e r m tristia.

Tristis, as we have seen in connection with Livy's account of Tiberius
G r a c c h u s in 212 B.C., often contrasts with laeta as a n adjectival
description of a n unfavourable as opposed to favourable consulta
1
tion of the exta} T h e i n h a b i t a n t s of A r i m i n u m , w h e n they see
Caesar's legions having crossed the R u b i c o n , cry over their "city
walls d a m n e d because of their unlucky site (o tristi damnata loco)," a n d
sigh for " d e e p p e a c e a n d tranquility (pax alta. . . tranquilla quies)." (1,
248-250)
A r r u n s the old Etruscan haruspex is n o w s u m m o n e d (Tuscos de more
vetustolacciri vates), of w h o m it is said:
. . . From the centre o f the C a m p u s Martius was seen to rise,

T h e shade o f Sulla prophesying inauspicious things,
A n d rearing his h e a d beside Anio's cool streams,
Marius burst from his sepulchre and put the farmer to flight.
Livy, 2 5 , 1 6 , 3 - 4 , q u o t e d above p. 4 8 ; 2 7 , 2 6 , 1 4 .
.... Quorum qui maximus aevo

Arruns incoluit desertae moenia Lucae,
Fulminis edoctus motus venasque calentes
Fibrarum et monitus mantis in aere pinnae.
48
1, 585-588.
H e orders the b u r n i n g of the monsters "which n a t u r e , at variance

with herself, h a d b r o u g h t forth (discors protulerat natura)" (589-590)
Clearly the ratio or Xoyoq that follows a progression of ordo was not
n o w present in N a t u r e which has lost its pax.
T h e pontiffs, w h o alone clearly have the authority (pontifices, sacri
quibus est permissa potestas), including the " F l a m e n sporting a r o u n d his
pointed cap on his exulted h e a d (tollens apicem generoso verticeflameri)"
(604) p e r f o r m the c e r e m o n y of purification t h a t h e r e c o m m e n d s
a r o u n d the pomerium, or city b o u n d a r y (591-595), just as Livy h a d
49
frequendy described a similar practice following prodigia tristia. But
according to L u c a n , w h o m a y have h a d some support in Livy's lost
closing books, they are unsuccessful. For A r r u n s is finally to fail to
achieve the pax deorum.
H e tries expiation over the r e m a i n s of the fallen t h u n d e r b o l t s
(606-610). H a v i n g performed of all these rites, he tries to perform
a sacrifice. T h e bull's neck, w h e n subjected to a blow of the knife,
p r o d u c e d a terrible v e n o m instead of red blood (diffusum rutilo dirum
pro sanguine virus). (609-615) H e is mortified (palluit attonitus), a n d con
sults the entrails to see there, n o t the peace, b u t the a n g e r of the
gods (iram superum raptis quaesivit in extis). (617) Q u i t e a p a r t from the
sickly a n d deformed organs, a second lobe is growing u p o n o n e lobe
of the liver (617-629).
T h u s A r r u n s , maximus aevo of all the Etruscans, fails to secure the
pax deorum b u t only their ira, even t h o u g h h e is edoctus in the science
of the haruspex. F u r t h e r m o r e , the pax r a t h e r t h a n the ira is m a r k e d
by the observation of a chaotic n a t u r a l o r d e r of things. T h e ghosts
of Sulla a n d of M a r i u s h a d walked again, w o m e n h a d given birth
4 8
. . . o n e of w h o m of greatest age,
Arruns dwelt in the deserted site o f Lica,
Learned in thunderbolt's clash and in the w a r m entrails,
A n d in danger heralded aloft the air by each w i n g e d bird that
wanders there . . .
4 9
E.g. Livy 3 9 , 2 2 , 5 : "Hostiis maioribus consules procurarunt u r b e m q u e lus-
traverunt"; 4 5 , 1 6 , 6 : "Et aliorum prodigiorum causa . . . sacrificatum est et urbs lus-
trata." Julius Obsequ. 12: "Urbe lustrata p a x d o m i forisque fuit."
48 CHAPTER TWO
to monstrous children, a n d A r r u n s ' conclusion from his observation

of the strange a n d monstrous exta was that the infernal gods h a d
entered the b o d y of the slaughtered bull (caesique in pectora tauri inferni
venere dei). (633-634) Clearly the obtaining of the pax deorum required
the correction of discors natura.
2A 4.3.2. Lucan's explanation of the ira d e o r u m

Nigidius Figulus n o w makes clear w h a t is at stake (638-672). T h e
universe m a y be forever governed by n o law (nulla cum lege per aevum/
mundus, et incerto discurrunt sidera motu), or by a fate from n o w o n hos
tile to R o m e a n d h u m a n i t y (aut, si fata movent, urbi generique paratur/
humano matura lues)." (641-645) T h e person of the E m p e r o r himself
m a y not yet be, before Decius T r a j a n , r e g a r d e d generally, even by
the Greek city-states that sought to establish his cult, as the sacra
m e n t a l b o n d that established political a n d natural o r d e r t h r o u g h o u t
a n empire that sought to encompass the world. But it is significant
t h a t L u c a n regards the p r o b l e m of securing political o r d e r at R o m e
as a c o n c o m i t a n t of righting t h r o u g h its official c u l t — t h r o u g h the
pontifices, sacri quibus est permissa potestas—an upset a n d chaotic natural
o r d e r (discors natura), which has consequences therefore for the h u m a n
race (urbi generique. . . humano).
According to L u c a n (Figulus), a political solution would go h a n d
in h a n d with a religious a n d cultic solution. T h e political chaos of
the civil w a r of some seventy years before O c t a v i a n was thus b u t a
reflection of the mysterious cosmic chaos which was the ira deorum.
Both n e e d e d to be righted, a n d by a difficult, mysterious process,
the pax deorum obtained. T h a t pax will only c o m e with a dominus (cum
domino pax ista venit). (670) R o m e ' s freedom (civili tantum iam libera bello)
(672) is b u t a reflection of cosmic disorder: it is b u t the civil w a r as
a reflection of constellations straying from their courses (cur signa mea
tus/deseruere suos mundoque obscura feruntur?). (664)
In setting the scene for his epic p o e m o n the civil w a r L u c a n has
therefore effectively ruled out the kind of role for the gods which
50
they were given by Vergil in imitation of H o m e r . T h e gods play
5 0
S.H. Braund, Lucan: Civil War: Translated with Introduction and Notes, (Oxford:
Clarendon 1992), pp. xxii-xxiii; F.M. Ahl, Lucan: An Introduction, (Ithaca and L o n d o n :
Cornell 1976) remarks perceptively, p. 2 8 3 : " T h e role o f the gods in traditional
epic is superseded by a kind of Stoic hylozoism; the O l y m p i a n s yield to the work
ings of natural p h e n o m e n a . For b e t w e e n m a n and nature there is still a b o n d that
n o longer exists b e t w e e n m a n and the gods."
n o direct p a r t in the action: they d o not intervene to give succour

or e n c o u r a g e m e n t to the heroes in the tale. T h e y are replaced by
the Stoic concepts of fortuna, fatum, or fata. T h u s the centrality of the
cult of augury at the o p e n i n g of the work is of great significance in
describing the ultimate m e a n i n g of the historical events. T h e pax deo
rum a n d the ira deorum, reflected in the natural as well as in the civil
order, play a significant role in d e t e r m i n i n g the ultimate c h a r a c t e r
of R o m a n political life. T h u s L u c a n ' s Stoicism demythologises his
account, b u t leaves it nevertheless with a (puoiq which is ultimately
e n d u e d with Xoyoc;, b u t with a n opGoq Aoyoq fractured by the mys
terious supernatural forces at work within b o t h n a t u r e a n d h u m a n
society.
T h u s L u c a n p r o d u c e d a theology explicitly in Stoic terms that
justified b o t h the e m p e r o r as Pontfex Maximus a n d p r o c u r e r of the
pax deorum. His success was m o r e o v e r ironical in view of his clear
51
mistrust of N e r o ' s a m b i t i o n s , a n d his clear regrets at the loss of
52
republican liberty. But his doctrine of fate, justified in terms of
Stoicism, with its clear implications for the legitimacy of augury a n d
divination, seems to have m a d e w h a t h a d c o m e to pass necessary
a n d inescapable. His conspiracy, after all, was not a i m e d at the
restoration of the republic, b u t simply the removal of the tyrant N e r o
in favour of a n o t h e r princeps.
L u c a n ends his clearly unfinished work in the year 4 8 - 4 7 B.C. This
is unfortunate for o u r p u r p o s e since we d o not know o n w h a t note
he was to conclude his epic. S o m e c o u n t e r p a r t seems required to
the ira deorum described so vividly in such lurid hues. By w h a t suc
cessful m e a n s , as the c o u n t e r p a r t to A r r u n s ' failure, was the final
pax deorum to be secured? Surely by m e a n s of something like the
augurium salutis that D i o (Xiphilinus) h a d claimed that Augustus suc
cessfully celebrated w h e r e older, R e p u b l i c a n magistrates, h a d failed?
W h e r e a n d w h e n was enacted the successful cleansing of the pomerium,
a n d the sacrifice of a bull which w e n t normally with this ceremony?
51
L u c a n , Pharsalia 1, 2 6 5 - 3 3 0 ff.
)2
In view of this I find t o o strong J . C . Bramble, Lucan, in E J . K e n n e y and
W . V . Clausen (eds.), The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, Vol. 2: Latin Literature,
(Cambridge: U . P . 1982), p p . 5 4 3 - 5 4 5 : "there is nothing in the p o e m to warrant
the hypothesis o f a growing discontent with Caesarism," quoted in Braund (1992),
p. xvi. It is h o w e v e r true that N e r o w o u l d have identified himself with P o m p e y as
opposed to Caesar in view of his great-great grandfather Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus,
Pompey's general w h o is described most favourably in Pharsalia 2, 4 7 8 - 5 2 5 , see
Braund (1992), p. xv.
50 CHAPTER TWO
In w h a t form, according to L u c a n , was T a c i t u s ' message of pax et

princeps finally represented in the aftermath of 44 B.C.? By w h a t cul
tic m e a n s otherwise could natura discors b e restored to its n a t u r a l
order? By the census a n d suovetaurilia of 9 B.C. c o m m e m o r a t e d on
the side of Augustus' Ara Pacis (Plate 6), to which we have seen Livy
53
points in 1,19, 1-3 a n d 28,12,12 (2A 4 . 2 . 1 , see also 2B l ) ?
W e shall never k n o w for certain because L u c a n was forced to
c o m m i t suicide after a failed a t t e m p t o n N e r o ' s life, along with his
uncles Seneca a n d Gallio. It is however impossible that for h i m per
sonally the answers were all tragic, a n d that n a t u r e h a d forever lost
its benign order. H e did after all imply in Book 1 that the sequel
in Book 10 would h a v e been that n a t u r e was set right. Fate would
provide in civil society a reflection of n a t u r e at h a r m o n y with itself
in which pax was a c c o m p a n i e d by a dominus (1, 670). T h e work m a y
have been intended to e n d with the d e a t h of C a t o , or that of Caesar,
or the battle of Philippi or that of Actium. F r o m m y a r g u m e n t it
will be clear why I w o u l d support the r e t u r n of Augustus from Spain
a n d the dedication of the Ara Pacis in 9 B.C. as its logical conclu
sion: the theological assumptions of its Stoic determinism required
the fully recovered pax deorum that the Ara clearly celebrated a n d
54
secured. It is impossible, furthermore, given the history of the hered
itary, imperial pontifices maximi from Augustus o n w a r d s that he would
not have seen that pax in terms of a n Imperial Cult that exercised
the republican political functions of the ius augurium n o w a d o p t e d
a n d reformed by the Principate.
Let us n o w see h o w Augustus claimed the role of Pontifex Maximus
a n d both the philosophical a n d cultic requirements for the pax deorum.
2A 5. Augustus, the p a x d e o r u m , and the ius a u g u r i u m
W e have established a clear connection between the ius augurium a n d

the pax deorum. W e have shown the rational justification of that con-
5:1
For the argument that the Ara depicted a suovetaurilia, see C.A. Ralegh Radford,
S o m e R e c e n t Discoveries in R o m e a n d Italy, in JRomS 2 9 (1939), p p . 4 5 - 5 6 , see
also 3B 1 and Plate 6.
5 4
R . T . Bruere, T h e S c o p e o f Lucan's Historical Epic, in CIPl 4 5 (1950), p p .
2 1 7 - 2 3 5 , is the principle supporter o f this p o i n t o f v i e w , for references a n d a
discussion of w h i c h see Ahl (1976), p p . 3 0 8 - 3 1 4 ff. In o p p o s i n g this view Ahl (pp.
3 1 0 - 3 1 1 ) , misrepresents the role o f Nigidus Fibulus' "cum d o m i n o pax ista venit"
as in s o m e w a y advocating freedom against a dominus, w h i c h I have argued w a s
quite contrary to Lucan's Stoic determinism.
nection in terms of Stoic metaphysics regarding eiuocpuivr) or fatum

or fortuna, a n d ratio or opGoq Xoyoq in Stoic theology. M o r e o v e r we
have established a strong sense in the literature of the Augustan age
that the civil w a r h a d constituted a supernatural disturbance in the
o r d e r of n a t u r e as well as society unparalleled in R o m e ' s history.
Such a disturbance r e q u i r e d a n equally unparalleled setting right
t h r o u g h the m e d i u m of the imperial augurium. W e have seen such a
theological diagnosis of constitutional failure in L u c a n a n d Livy, a n d
55
in writers such as Seneca or D i o .
T h e traditional cult, n o m o r e t h a n the traditional constitution, h a d
established either religious or civil peace. Augustus was required to
perform a n act of augury which would be sufficiently powerful, as
the existing cult was not, to cope with this disorientation of the nat
ural o r d e r of things, a n d thus to provide the sacramental m e a n s of
setting b o t h n a t u r e a n d society right. As we have seen, Augustus
m a d e possible according to D i o the celebration of the augurium salutis,
a n d his n a m e for Suetonius was synonymous with one w h o possessed
the ius augurium (Augustus — augur, augurium).^
In Res Gestae c. 4,2 Augustus claims that his "successful military
achievements, by land a n d by sea, directly or t h r o u g h legates (res a
me aut per legatos meos. . . terra marique prospere gestas)," are u n d e r " m y
favourable omens (auspicis meis)," accordingly translated ociaioic; oicovoiq
in the G r e e k inscription of the Res Gestae whose original position was
on two b r o n z e columns associated with the Ara Pacis from the reign
of Tiberius o n w a r d s . T h e r e h a d b e e n m e n t i o n in c. 3 of the oath
sworn to him personally (sub sacramento meo) by "three thousand R o m a n
citizens." T h e Ara Pacis is not yet the altar on which his divinity is
directly worshipped, with the p e a c e of the e m p e r o r supplicated with
incense a c c o m p a n i e d by a n o a t h of imperial loyalty as it was to
b e c o m e in the reign of Decius T r a j a n (A.D. 251). It is as yet the
i m m o r t a l gods w h o are to be t h a n k e d for his victory, by decree of
the Senate (ex senatus consulto), a n d n o t his divine personage itself. But
we have a r g u e d that the a p p r o p r i a t i o n of the divine a n d personal
ized Pax by the qualification Pax Augusta shows the discrete assimi
lation of Pax to the e m p e r o r ' s o w n divinity.
5 5
For nature responding to the chaos a n d order o f civil society see Lucan, Phar
salia, 4, 4 9 - 1 3 0 , especially e.g. 1 2 1 - 1 2 6 , where ". . . parvo Fortuna viri contenta
pavore, plena r e d i t . . . " and " . . . servatoque loco rerum discessit ab astris u m o r , et
ima p e t i t . . ."
%
Ross T a y l o r (1931), p p . 1 5 8 - 1 5 9 .
52 CHAPTER TWO
In c. 7,3 we read: Pontifex Maximus, augur, XV virum sacris faciundis,

VII virum epulonum, frater arvalis, sodalis Titius, fetialis fui. T h u s as p a r t
of the process that linked divination with the p e a c e of the G o d s ,
Augustus was to reorganise the four major colleges (fetiales, Salii,
Sodales Titi, a n d the jratres Arvaks). T h e ability of these colleges through
a u g u r y to affect the political process was radically reduced. After 4 4
B . C . there was only o n e case of the t e m p o r a r y blocking of a n elec
57
tion, a n d two consultations of the Sibylline b o o k s . T h e i r m a r k of
submission to h i m as newly hereditary Pontifex Maximus was to m a k e
sacrifices annually at the Ara Pacis a n d o n imperial anniversaries at
the Ara Numinis Augusti on the Capitol a n d in the T e m p l e of Mars
58
Ultor. T h e achievement by society of the pax deorum was from n o w
59
o n to be t h r o u g h the office of the princeps.
T h a t his office as Pontifex Maximus, t h o u g h de iure for life, was n o w
to be de facto hereditary is implied in c. 10:
I refused the office of Pontifex Maximus when the people offered me

that priesthood (poputo id sacerdotium deferente mihi) which my father had
held, so that I should not replace my still-living colleague. After some
years, when he [Lepidus] who had occupied this priesthood (quod sac
erdotium) at the outbreak of the civil war had died, I accepted it, dur
ing the consulship of P. Sulpicius and C. Valgo [ 1 2 B.C.], from all
Italy when such a multitude had gathered together for my comitia as
never before was reported at Rome.
Clearly it was not a n office from which Augustus would admit, fol
lowing his self-serving example, that a person could be deposed by
p o p u l a r constitutional m e a n s . It was not a n o r d i n a r y b u t a n extra
ordinary gathering t h a t h a d conveyed the tide o n him. In assuming
the position of Pontifex Maximus he h a d united the R o m a n Religion
60
organically in his p e r s o n .
F r o m earliest times, the ius divinum was exercised by the college
of pontiffs a n d augurs. Indeed, before the development of republi-
5 7
W a r d e Fowler (1911), p p . 4 3 5 - 4 3 7 ; Liebeschuetz (1979), p. 6 3 .
5 8
Ross T a y l o r (1931), p. 199 a n d p p . 2 2 2 - 2 2 3 .
59
Ibid. p. 6 5 .
6 0
Bayet (1957), p. 179: "Lepide mort, August fut plebiscite G r a n d Pontife. Et
soudain il affirma des droits exorbitants sur la fonction. N o n seulement il n e descen-
dit pas au F o r u m o c c u p e r la d e m e u r e officielle de sa charge, pres de la Regia; mais
il nationalisa p o u r y suppleer une partie de sa d e m e u r e du Palatin; y consacra
officiellement u n e statue et un autel de Vesta; unit le culte de la deesse a celui d e
ses Penates."
can g o v e r n m e n t , the president of that college seems to have b e e n

the king, a n d the leges regiae were a b o u t the ritual a n d m o r a l m e a n s
of achieving the pax deorum, before the publication of the Twelve
61
T a b l e s . T h e king, originally, advised by the two augurs w h o with
h i m constituted a college, possessed this right to take the auspices
2
(habere auspicia)? T h e ius divinum that h a d passed to the Pontifex Maximus
with the advent of republican g o v e r n m e n t was n o w to pass again to
63
a hereditary r u l e r , even t h o u g h Augustus might cloak his m o n a r
chical principles u n d e r the republican forms of princeps, tribunicia potes-
64
tas, imperium proconsulare e t c . His very title of a reconstructed imperator
in preference to rex further emphasised the continuity of autocracy
legitimised in republican forms. But as Liebeschuetz p o i n t e d out, the
i m p e r a t o r h a d the responsibility of taking the auspicia with the result
that the lifelong a n d hereditary Pontifex Maximus was n o w the reli
gious equivalent of the n o w lifelong a n d hereditary imperator. If polit
ical p o w e r was to be for life, then clearly religious p o w e r with which
it was inextricably associated must be so too. T h e result was thus
the further concentration of b o t h secular a n d spiritual p o w e r in the
65
h a n d s of a single p e r s o n .
F r o m his assumption of the final control of the ius divinum as Pon
tifex Maximus certain eschatological a n d e v e n — t o transpose a J u d a e o -
Christian concept into a p a g a n c o n t e x t — " m e s s i a n i c " consequences
thereby followed. T h e reorganisation of the cult in terms of the extra
o r d i n a r y pax of a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y princeps was the solution to the
6 1
W a r d e Fowler (1911), p p . 2 7 2 - 2 7 3 .
6 2
Ibid. pp. 3 0 1 - 3 0 1 .
6 3
B a y e t (1957), p . 101: " . . . ce G r a n d Pontife n e put p r e n d r e c o m p e t a n c e
religieuse "royale", a cote du Rex Sacrorum, qu'apres la fin de la monarchic: a lui
alors appartinrent la haute m a i n sur le foyer public, voisin de la Regia; sur le cal-
endrier et les fetes; le choix des Vestales, du Flamen Dialis; la discipline sacerdotale;
la surveillance des religions familiales et du culte des morts. . . . Pourvu du droit
d'auspice et de c o m m a n d e m e n t (auspicium et imperium), il dominait l'ensemble de la
religion . . ."; E. Pais, Le relazioni fra i sacerdozi e le magistrature civili nella
Republica romana, in Ricerche sulla storia e sul diritto publico di Roma, I, ( R o m e 1915),
pp. 2 7 3 - 3 3 5 : " C o n Augusto si chiude il ciclo dei rapporti dei sacerdoti de fronte
ai magistati c u r u l i . . . C o n A u g u s t o si ritorno alio stesso periodo regio, q u a n d o Pau-
torita sacra, il c o m a n d o militare e la giurisdizione civile si trovavano riunite nella
unica persona del rex." ( Q u o t e d Bayet 1971), p. 2 7 6 footnote 2.
6 4
Res Gest. 6,2; 10,1 cf. R. S y m e , The Roman Revolution, (Oxford: U . P . 1960), pp.
3 1 3 - 3 3 6 ff.
b
* L i e b e s c h u e t z (1979), p. 10: " T h e constitutional authority w h i c h entitled a
R o m a n magistrate to give orders, the imperium, had a religious counterpart, the
auspicium, which entitled its holder to receive divine c o m m u n i c a t i o n s o n behalf of
the c o m m u n i t y by taking the auspices."
54 CHAPTER TWO
theological p r o b l e m of how to secure a n extraordinary pax deorum

from quite extraordinary dissolution of the natural order: the chaos of
n a t u r e m i r r o r e d the political chaos, to which the prodigia that m a r k e d
the failure of the republican auguria a n d haruspicium bore witness. T h u s
Augustus was duly authorised to use the sacramental means of augurium
to continue the incorporation of political society into a n a t u r e whose
order, in terms of 6p06<; Aoyoq, h a d b e e n extraordinarily restored. It
was a golden age of pax a n d fortuna t h a t was accordingly n o w c o m
ing about. W e shall n o w trace some literary examples of h o w this
n e w construction of social reality was accomplished.
2A 6. Augustus' Messianism and the p a x d e o r u m
In Res Gestae c. 11 we read of the altar of Fortuna Redux, consecrated

by the senate before the temple of Honor a n d Virtus at the C a p e n a n
G a t e , in thanksgiving for Augustus' safe return (pro reditu meo). I m
mediately following, in c. 12, we also find that Augustus describes
the pax that he brings in the context of a r e t u r n i n g age of p e a c e ,
plenty a n d happiness. T h a t context can be read already in the early
work of Vergil. In Eclogues 4 we read of a new age, associated with
the ancient kingdom of Saturn, in which the Virgin Astraea or Justice
is to return, having b e e n the last of the gods to leave the earth.
T h e "last age (ultima aetas)" foretold by the Sibylline books (Cumaei
carminis) h a d c o m e , which was the age of the race of iron (ferrea).
N o w with the birth of the boy-child (nascenti puero), the golden age
returns to the earth (aetas aurea mundo), a n d with it the k i n g d o m of
Saturn a n d Astraea goddess of Justice (iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnina
regno). T h u s the aetas aurea is associated with a divine child b o r n of
a Virgin. T h e puer is addressed as: " d e a r offspring of the gods (cara
deum suboles), great source of g r o w t h from J u p p i t e r (magnum incre-
mentum lows)" (I. 49) Although we m a y describe this ode as " m e s
sianic," it is i m p o r t a n t to r e m e m b e r that the golden age that is here
in view is n o t one that exists eternally as the goal of history, b u t is
66
r a t h e r a r e t u r n i n g golden age (Eclogues 4, /. 4 - 1 0 ) . " T h e great series
6 6
A J . Boyle, The Eclogues of Virgil: Translated with Introduction, Notes, and Latin Text,
(Melbourne: H a w t h o r n Press 1976), p p . 1 1 1 - 1 1 2 mentions that, according to the
Sibylline oracles, there were to be ten ages with the last ruled by Apollo. T h e Great
Y e a r (magnus ordo) is an astrological reference to the completion o f a vast period o f
time c o m p l e t e d w h e n the planets o c c u p i e d the positions they had held at the begin
ning of the world. See H e s i o d , Works and Days, a n d cf. Plato Repub. 4 1 5 A - C . See
of the centuries is b o r n a n e w (magnus ab integro saeculorum nascitur

99
ordo). (I. 5)
In Dan. 2 , 3 3 - 4 5 the eternal k i n g d o m comes after the iron age, as
the final goal of history. But, in the Stoicism represented by Z e n o
a n d Poseidonius, history is cyclic a n d has n o final goal. Livy was
67
influenced by Polybius, w h o h a d written a history of R o m e u p until
146 B.C., the underlying historiography of which represented such
a Stoic philosophy of historical d e v e l o p m e n t . As Aristode (Pol. 6,7)
h a d said, each g o o d form of g o v e r n m e n t h a d its pathological c o u n
terpart in which m o n a r c h y b e c a m e tyranny, aristocracy b e c a m e oli
garchy, timocracy b e c a m e plutocracy, a n d d e m o c r a c y b e c a m e m o b
rule. T h e best form of g o v e r n m e n t existed as a m e a n b e t w e e n two
extremes, as quite frequently ethical virtues were a m e a n b e t w e e n
two vices. Such was Aristotle's preferred noXueia in which stability
68
was achieved t h r o u g h the m i x e d constitution.
Polybius h a d taken this Aristotelian s c h e m a a n d p r o d u c e d from it
a theory of historical development a n d c h a n g e . M o n a r c h y (uovapxioc),
which a p p e a r s to represent the a m o r a l exercise of p o w e r by o n e per
son in a state of n a t u r e w h i c h first generates (yevvaxai) kingship
69
(paaiAeia), b u t t h e n takes the d e g e n e r a t e d form (\iExaâXkox>cr\q 8e
Tocuiriq eiq xa auuxpufj ram) of t y r a n n y (rupavviq). T h i s in t u r n gen
erated ((puexai) aristocracy (apioxoicpaxia) w h i c h declined (xauxrjc;...
£Kxpa7ceiar|q) into oligarchy (6Xiyap%{a) which g e n e r a t e d d e m o c r a c y
(8r|uoKpaxia) which declined into m o b - r u l e (6%XoKpax(a) which p r o
70
d u c e d in t u r n kingship once a g a i n .
T h e cyclic process of c h a n g e , like the Stoic eiuocpuivr), could not
be reversed. But it could be delayed so as to p r o d u c e lengthy periods
of stable a n d e n d u r i n g forms of g o v e r n m e n t . Livy h a d spoken of a
historical decline in morals which over the centuries h a d p r o d u c e d
personal ruin a n d the destruction of all things (1 praef. 9 a n d 12). A
also R . G . M . Nisbet, Virgil's Fourth Eclogue: Easterners a n d Westerners, in BICS

25 (1978), p p . 5 9 - 7 8 .
6 7
H . Trankle, Livius und Polybios, (Basle/Stuttgart: S c h w a b e 1977); T.J. Luce, Livy:
The Compostion of his History, (Princeton: U.P.); L. Bessone, La tradizione liviana, in
Contributi didattici di storia antka, 3, (Bologna: Patron 1977); E. Lefevre a n d E. Olshausen,
Livius: Werk und Reception: Festschrift fur Erich Burck zum 80. Geburtstag, (Miinchen: Beck
1983).
6 8
Polybius, Historiae, 6 , 4 , 5 - 1 0 ; 6,57,9.^
6 9
Ibid. 6,4, 7: " T h e first (rcpcbxri uev ot>v) is m o n a r c h y which exists naturally and
unformed (dtKaxaaKevox; KOU (pDaiKcoq a\)v{axaxai u o v a p x i a ) . "
70
Ibid. 6,9, 1 0 - 1 4 .
56 CHAPTER TWO
significant m e a n s for achieving such a relative stability was Augustus'

augural office a n d acts, central as we have a r g u e d that these were
to the Imperial Cult. Indeed, such a cult was a sacramental neces
sity given the instability promised by a cyclic view of history: spir
itual p o w e r was exercised over the course of history by the Pontifex
Maximus w h o controlled the cultic m e a n s of securing a n d protract
ing the pax deorum. Certainly Vergil in the F o u r t h Eclogue has tran
scended such a cyclic view which it otherwise presupposes. W e are
far closer in these lines, as Nisbet has pointed out, to the J u d a e o
Christian idea that: " w h e n a n e w creation is complete there is n o
71
second d e t e r i o r a t i o n . "
But Vergil here associates the aetas aurea, whose turn in the cycle
of Fortuna has c o m e r o u n d , uniquely with the birth of a boy-child
(nascenti puero; I. 8). T h a t birth is associated with the return of the
Virgin Astrea (Virgo) a n d the kingdom of S a t u r n , a n d the "descent
of a new offspring from highest heaven (nova progenies caelo demittitur
alto; I. 5-6)." T h e child:
will receive the gift of the life of the gods and will see gods,
ilk deum vitam accipiet divosque videbit,
mixed with heroes and himself by them will be seen,
permixtos heroas et ipse videbitur Mis,
and will rule the globe that he sets at peace by his paternal virtues
pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem.
I 15-17
T h e r e follows a natural order that arises devoid of serpents a n d their

poison, w h e r e goats p r o d u c e milk in a b u n d a n c e a n d there n e e d be
n o fear of lions. T h e earth untilled a b o u n d s with fruit (/. 18-25).
But the past repeats itself in the future, a n d there is a second Tiphys,
a s e c o n d v o y a g e of A r g o , a n d a s e c o n d Achilles sent to T r o y
(/. 2 6 - 3 6 ) . But w h e n the child becomes a n adult, trade by sea will
cease because every land will b e self-sufficient in a b u n d a n c e . Yoke
a n d oxen, a n d p r u n i n g hook, shall be cast aside. L a m b s will p r o
duce wool of different colours (/. 3 7 - 4 5 ) . Such is the picture of the
aetas aurea ushered in with the birth of the child. T h e pax deorum
accomplished by the child has now e x t e n d e d to all the globe, a n d
extends b e y o n d the restored m o r a l o r d e r of h u m a n society to the
natural o r d e r itself (pacatumque reget patriis virtutibus orbem).
Nisbet (1978), p. 6 1 .
It is interesting to inquire w h o m Vergil intended the child to be.

Asinius Pollio, the consul w h o in 40 B.C. negotiated the treaty of
Brundisium uniting A n t h o n y a n d Octavian,. is m e n t i o n e d in the text
72
(/. 12). But clearly the identification with his n e w - b o r n child would
have b e e n highly embarrassing if not actually d a n g e r o u s for Pollio
in view of the masters w h o m he clearly served. Either, as has most
plausibly been suggested, Vergil refers to the expected child of O c t a
73
vian a n d Scribonia, or the child is simply a n ideal bucolic i m a g e .
But according to w h a t has b e e n described by Nisbet as the 'eastern'
interpretation of the Eclogue, Vergil does n o t necessarily n e e d to
have a n y particular birth in m i n d . T h e r e were a whole variety of
eastern religious expectations a n d connotations, from the Alexandrian
festival of Helios w h e r e the initiated proclaimed the increase of light
following a V i r g i n b i r t h , t h r o u g h H o r u s b o r n of Isis, to J e w i s h
Messianism (Is. 7,14). T h e image of the divine child is p a r t a n d par
74
cel of the description of a millennial future.
T h e identity of the puer is however for o u r purposes irrelevant. By
the time that Vergil h a d written the Georgics (29 B.C.), h e h a d b e c o m e
75
friend of M a e c e n a s a n d m e m b e r of his circle a r o u n d O c t a v i a n . In
Georgics 1, 2 4 - 4 2 , he clearly reflects, two years after Actium, the
ambiguity intentionally cultivated by the I m p e r i a l C u l t r e g a r d i n g
C a e s a r ' s divinity. N o t yet divine, Vergil nevertheless p o n d e r s o n :
tuque adeo, quern mox quae sint habitura deorum

concilia, incertum est, urbisne invisere, Caesar,
terrarumque velis curam te maximus orbis
auctorem Jrugum tempestatumque potentem
accipiet, cingens matema tempora myrto,
7 2
C . Bailey, Religion in Virgil, (Oxford: Clarendon 1935), p. 192, saw it purely in
terms o f the e x p e c t e d heir o f Octavian. Boyle (1976), p. 113 lists other possibilities
as (i) the hoped-for child o f A n t h o n y a n d Octavia (sister o f Octavian), (ii) Asinius
Gallus, Pollio's baby, (iii) A i o n Hellenistic g o d o f time and renewal, (iv) Marcellus,
Octavia's son by a previous marriage.
7 3
W . Berg, Early Virgil, (London: A t h l o n e Press 1974), p p . 1 6 7 - 1 7 2 presents the
solution that puer is an ideal i m a g e throughout the Eclogues for his bucholic heroes,
his shepherd poets w h o must h a v e child-like souls. D a p h n i s has this title in Eclogues
5,54, cf. 4,11 where he is "adornment o f the world a n d a d o r n m e n t o f the age." T h e
iuvenis in Eclogue 1 and the puer iuvenis and D a p h n i s are deified heroes. Vergil's rela
tion to Pollio was literary a n d not political, and he was h o n o u r i n g h i m with allu
sions to his poetry (pp. 1 5 8 - 1 6 2 ) .
7 4
Nisbet (1978), p. 6 2 .
7 5
Bailey (1935), pp. 187 196.
58 CHAPTER TWO
an deus immensi venias maris ac tua nautae

numina sola colant, tibi serviat ultima Thuk. . .
76
/. 2 4 - 3 0
Clearly here the puer whose birth was responsible for the pax deorum
shown in the natural o r d e r in which earth yielded its b o u n t y a n d
w h o would rule the globe in Eclogue 4,17 (reget patriis virtutibus orbem)
has b e c o m e O c t a v i a n . In Georgics 1,27 it is O c t a v i a n w h o , w h e n
accepted by the gods into their n u m b e r , will prove to be b o t h the
"increaser of the crops (auctorem frugum)" a n d "the master of the sea
sons (tempestatumque potmtern)", a n d welcomed as such by the "great
world (maximus orbis)" (I. 26) But apparently the gods h a v e not yet
decided to a d m i t O c t a v i a n to their ranks. Later Vergil chastises the
gods on O c t a v i a n ' s behalf for their envy of h i m (/. 5 0 2 - 5 0 3 ) , a n d
entreats t h e m : "Prevent not this y o u n g m a n (iuvenem) from aiding a n
age u p t u r n e d (everso . . . succurrere saeculo)" (I. 5 0 0 - 5 0 1 ) T h e puer has
77
b e c o m e a iuvenis, like D a p h n i s in the Eclogues.
W h e n Vergil writes the Aeneid ( 2 9 - 1 9 B.C.), Augustus duly emerges
as bringer of the golden age a n d at least destined for divinity. T r o j a n
C a e s a r shall descend from J u l i u s " w h o shall limit his e m p i r e with
the ocean, a n d his fame with the stars." (1,287) W h e n V e n u s his
m o t h e r welcomes h i m to heaven, then "the harsh ages shall soften
w h e n wars have ceased (aspera turn positis mitescent saecula bellis)" (1,291)
T h u s in the famous lines Vergil can sing the p r o p h e c y of the Sibyl
h e a r d in the underworld:
Hie vir, hie est, tibi quern promitti saepius audis,

Augustus Caesar, divi genus, aurea condet
saecula qui rursus Latio regnata per arva
Saturno quondam. . . .
78
6,791-794
7 6
"And Y o u O Caesar, what the councils o f the gods will decide for y o u ere
long, only in this is uncertain, whether y o u c h o o s e to look to the care o f the city
and o f [all] lands, and the mighty world w e l c o m e y o u as the a u g m e n t o r o f their
crops a n d the potentate o f the seasons, w r e a t h i n g your b r o w with y o u r divine
mother's myrde, or w h e t h e r you c o m e as g o d o f the vast sea and sailors worship
your divinity alone, to y o u farthest T h u l e will s u b m i t . . ."
7 7
See note 4 9 above. S e e also Georg. 3, 1 3 - 4 4 ; 4 , 5 6 0 . S e e also H o r a c e Epode 16;
O v i d , Metamorph., 15, 8 6 7 - 8 7 0 . Cf. Ross T a y l o r (1931), p p . 1 7 5 - 1 8 0 .
78 « T h i j h
s s t e i i
m a r i 5 m w h o m you have often heared promised, Augustus
s s n e
Caesar, son o f G o d , w h o shall found the golden age o n c e more over the fields
where Saturn o n c e reigned . . . "
T h e golden age has c o m e r o u n d again in the cycle of fortuna or

eiuocpuivri, a n d a specific person is to bring it—Augustus the vir a n d
neither the puer n o r the iuvenis. T h e golden age as at the first, a n d
the k i n g d o m which S a t u r n rules, have r e t u r n e d in the u n e n d i n g
cycle. W e here see the miraculous achievent of the pax deorum through
the imperial, augurial rites. T h e pax that he has thus executed sub
dues n a t u r e as well as societies, a n d has stabilised a n d m a d e rela
tively p e r m a n e n t the r e t u r n of the golden age.
It was necessary for Augustus to control the a p p a r a t u s of p r o p h e c y
along with augurium a n d haruspicium. In Res Gestae 7 , 3 Augustus h a d
listed his m e m b e r s h i p of the quindecim virum sacris faciundis whose
responsibility it was to consult the Sibylline books. His m e m b e r s h i p
a m o u n t e d to control of that body. As Suetonius points out (Augustus
3 1 , 1 - 2 ) , on the d e a t h of Lepidus he assumed this office, a n d col
lected a n o n y m o u s oracles including some parts of the Sibylline oracles
of which he clearly i n t e n d e d to provide his o w n a p p r o v e d version.
H e b u r n e d m o r e t h a n two t h o u s a n d books of oracles in general cir
culation, but also r e m o v e d some of the books of the Sibylline ora
cles themselves. T h e definition of the saecula aurea, a n d the conditions
for its existence a n d c o n t i n u a n c e were securely u n d e r his control.
Vergil h a d lived to see neither the deification n o r the i n a u g u r a
tion of the saecula aurea, which took place in 1 7 B . C . o n e year after
his d e a t h , as we shall n o w briefly discuss.
PART B. T H E INAUGURATION AND RECEPTION OF

THE IMPERIAL C U L T
A Sibylline oracle was p r o d u c e d which prophesied the celebration

of the ludi saeculares in o r d e r to inaugurate the new age ( 1 7 B . C . ) .
This was one positive fruit from Augustus' m e m b e r s h i p of the quin-
decimviri sacris faciundis before his assumption of the position of Pontifex
Maximus on Lepidus' d e a t h ( 1 3 B . C . ) . H o r a c e c o m p o s e d the Carmen
Saeculare for this occasion, in w h i c h special h o n o u r was given to
Apollo a n d D i a n a , the p a t r o n gods of Augustus on the Palatine hill.
T h e r e was a local temple of Apollo in the vicinity of the field of
Actium on which O c t a v i a n w o n the critical battle in 3 1 B . C . As one
of the acts of c o m m e m o r a t i o n , this temple was extended, a n d coins
were struck in Asia M i n o r showing O c t a v i a n wearing a laurel crown
fashioned like that of Apollo. But in R o m e itself the temple of Apollo
60 CHAPTER TWO
was dedicated next to Octavian's h o m e on the Palatine (9th O c t o b e r ,

28 B.C.), o n the doors of which displayed the form of Apollo Vindex.
In the library adjoining the temple were to be found a statue of
79
O c t a v i a n , habitu ac statu Apollonis (Suetonius, Aug. 29,3). As we have
seen, this was the form of dress which a M a r c u s Furius Camillus
could only have w o r n with irreverence (Livy 5 , 2 3 , 4 - 1 1 ) , b u t which
the Augustus, of s u p e r h u m a n proportions (visa species viri maioris quam
pro humano habitu augustiorisque), could n o w w e a r as befitting his status
n e a r i n g divinity (8,6,12).
T h u s the first point of a long line of d e v e l o p m e n t was established
that was to lead to the E m p e r o r being regarded as Apollo, Sol Invictus,
of a universal imperial a n d p a g a n religion. Apollo was the god w h o ,
according to Propertius, h a d established by his c o m m a n d to Octavian
80
a n e w world o r d e r as mundi servator. It was Apollo w h o h a d presided
81
at A c t i u m . W e should however note t h a t dedication of the Forum
Iulium a n d t h e temple of Divus Julius in 29 B.C. emphasised the con
nection with Vergil's filius dei, genus deorum a n d thus b o u n d eschato-
logy a n d cult securely together. T h e carmen saeculare invoked Apollo
82
a n d not J u p i t e r C a p i t o l i n u s . Let us see h o w the Ara Pacis p r o v e d
to b e a n icon of this development.
2B 1. The A r a Pacis and the p a x d e o r u m
T h e Ara Pacis, dedicated in 9 B.C., gave p r o m i n e n c e to Augustus

a n d Agrippa as veiled sacerdotes a b o u t to preside over the sacrifice as
p a r t of the augurium pacis that provided the pax deorum. T h i s was the
event that we have a r g u e d was anticipated by b o t h Livy ( 1 , 1 9 , 1 - 3 ;
28,12,12) a n d by L u c a n as the o u t c o m e to the latter's unfinished
epic of the Civil W a r (2A 4.2.1 a n d 4.3.1). T h e iconography of the
Ara associated these cultic acts with the beginning of the saeculum
aureum. O n the left p a n e l of the eastern side we find a depiction of
Tellus (Plate 2), whose loins a b o u n d with the increase of the earth
promised as in Vergil, Eclogues, 4, 1 8 - 2 5 . In the Carmen Saeculare,
c o m p o s e d for the Ludi Saeculares of 17 B.C., H o r a c e h a d taken u p
this t h e m e a n d sung:
7 9
Fishwick (1987), 1,1 p p . 8 1 - 8 2 .
8 0
Propertius 4,6,37.
8 1
See also Vergil, Aen. 8 , 7 0 4 - 7 0 5 : "Actius haec cernens arcum intedebat Apollo
d e s u p e r . . ."
8 2
Fishwick (1987) 1,1 p. 88.
Fertilis Jrugum pecorisque Tellus

spicea donet Cererem corona
nutriant fetus et aquae salubres,
et Iovis Aurae. . .
83
Carmen Saeculare, 2 9 - 3 3 .
O x e n a n d sheep a c c o m p a n y Tellus in the p a n e l while two n y m p h s ,

one with a swan a n d the other a d r a g o n , the Aurae Velificantes, sym
bolise air a n d w a t e r respectively (Plates 3 a n d 4). M o r e o v e r , the
internal decorations of the enclosing wall continue this t h e m e of the
saeculum aureum. T h e u p p e r strip of this decoration "is p u n c t u a t e d by
twelve luxuriant garlands, m a d e u p of different kinds of fruit—grapes,
figs, apples, pears, olives, plums, pine cones, p o m e g r a n a t e s — a n d even
84
spontaneous vegetation—oak, ivy laurel, a n d p o p p i e s . " T h u s the
saeculum aureum is the unmistakable a n d intentional point of the icono
g r a p h y of the augurium pacis. A r o u n d the h e a d of Tellus' child clus
ter the p r o d u c e of s u b e r a b u n d a n t n a t u r e (Plate 5).
In 13 B.C., on Lepidus' d e a t h Augustus b e c a m e Ponttfex Maximus.
It was at this point that he h a n d e d over the official residence of the
Pontfex Maximus in the forum to the Vestal Virgins, a n d t u r n e d his
own house into the T e m p l e of Vesta. H e r e , illuminated by a fire
that was ever b u r n i n g , worship was offered to Vesta a n d the Penates
85
of A u g u s t u s . It is i m p o r t a n t to note how, with the removal of his
own house a n d its household gods from the private to the public
d o m a i n , Augustus h a d given the c o m m o n practice of ancestor wor
ship a new a n d public focus. O a t h s were n o w to be sworn by his
divine Genius. It was the swearing by the Genius of the e m p e r o r that
was the essential feature of that cultus opposed by early Christianity.
2B 2. Lares and Penates: From M a n e s to Genius
In 30 B.C. the senate h a d passed a decree that a libation be p o u r e d

to O c t a v i a n ' s Genius at every b a n q u e t , b o t h public a n d private (Dio
51,19,7). T h u s the cult of the Genius of O c t a v i a n found its way into
8:
* Fertile in crops and cattle shall M o t h e r Earth,
c r o w n Ceres with her garland of w o v e n corn,
m a y they increase the produce those healthy rains,
a n d Jove's gentle winds.
8 4
G. Sauron, Le Message symbolique des rinceaux de l'Ara Pacis Augustae, in
CRAI 126 (1982), p p . 8 1 - 1 0 1 ; Zanker (1990), pp. 1 7 2 - 1 8 3 ; Galinsky (1992), pp.
4 5 8 - 4 6 8 ; Bianchi (1994), p. 2 5 .
Bf
' R o s s T a y l o r (1931), pp. 1 7 7 - 1 7 9 .
62 CHAPTER TWO
private houses, since libations h a d b e c o m e a regular feature of the

86
R o m a n d i n n e r . N o w in 12 B.C., w h e n h e h a d b e c o m e Pontifex
Maximus, the e m p e r o r ' s Genius was m a d e p a r t of the official oath of
87
the state. Altars were dedicated to the Lares Augusti (Plate 10).
O n e critical feature of R e p u b l i c a n , R o m a n religion, which should
not be overlooked, was the household cults to ancestral genii, a n d to
the Lares a n d Penates, the so-called gods of h e a r t h a n d h o m e . T h e
h e a r t h of the house was sacred, festooned with flowers at each phase
of the l u n a r m o n t h , at Kalendae, Nonae a n d Idus. T h e r e b u r n e d the
fire that was considered sacred. H e r e each day the paterfamilias offered
a portion of food, assigned to the sacrificial flames, for the Genii of
88
the d e p a r t e d of the family, w h o were the semi-divine Lares et Penates
T h o u g h doubts have b e e n expressed a b o u t the precise historical
origin of the cult, O v i d (Fasti 3,55,57) portrays the developed form
89
of the cult of the goddess Larentia as a festival of the d e a d . The
private c e r e m o n i e s for the Lares t h a t O v i d describes seem to b e
ancient. It m u s t be r e m e m b e r e d that originally the Di Manes were
shadowy a n d only vaguely personal beings, m a d e fully personal only
by the d e v e l o p m e n t of a concept of personal immortality in the first
century B.C. Clearly the d e p a r t e d c a n n o t be venerated as individ
ual personalities before the d e v e l o p m e n t of the idea of p e r s o n a l
immortality has taken place. A l t h o u g h therefore it might b e true
that: "Generally however, w h e r e the souls are t h o u g h t to be present
o n e m a d e a sacrifice to t h e m , " this could only be possible w h e n
such souls were conceived as distinct a n d distinguishable personal
entities, that is to say w h e n the concept of personal immortality h a d
90
achieved a clear articulation.
8 6
Ibid. pp. 1 5 1 - 1 5 2 .
8 7
F. B o m e r , D e r Eid b e i m Genius des Kaisers, in Athen. 4 4 (1966), p p . 7 7 - 1 3 3 .
8 8
Bayet (1957), p. 65: "La grande fete du G e n i u s est a l'anniversaire de nais-
sance du paterfamilias. M a i s originallement le G e n i u s est bien autre: principe de
feconite genetique, c o m m e l'indique son n o m , et assurant par l'individu auquel il
est attache la perpetuite des generations."
8 9
E. Samter, Familienfeste der Griechen und Romer, (Berlin: R e i m e r 1901), pp. 1 1 5 - 1 1 7
w h e r e he concludes: " D a n u n das Fest Larenta, die Larentalien, ein Totenfest ist,
so ist aus seiner Bedeutung ein Schluss auf den gleichartigen Charakter des Larenkultes
erlaubt." W i s s o w a (1890) had argued against the derivation o f the cult from the
worship of the souls o f the departed, p. 119.
9 0
Ibid. p. 121: "Uberall aber, w o die Seelen a n w e s e n d gedacht w e r d e n , opfert
m a n ihnen. D a r u m w e r d e n die Seelen der A h n e n v o n d e n R o m e r ausser a m G r a b
u n d im H a u s e auch a m K r e u z w e g verehrt." S e e also E. J o b b e - D u v a l , Les Morts mal-
faisants: "Larvae, Lemures" d'apres le droit et les croyances populaires des Romains, (Paris:
Recueil Sirey 1924), p p . 2 - 6 .
T h e change from the Di Manes as a generalised collectivity of the

d e p a r t e d to a designation of a personal surviving soul is m a r k e d well
in examples taken from the excavations u n d e r St. Peter's of the
p a g a n tombs that stood originally on the Vatican hillside. A n individ
ual n a m e following this general designation shows the conservatism
of funerary epitaphs in evoking a world view that has been transcended.
Cicero's description of the d r e a m of Scipio Africanus (De Republica
6,10) in which h e is alive a n d with the immortals in the milky way,
or the individual souls described in A e n e a s ' visit to the u n d e r w o r l d
in Vergil, Aeneid, 6, is a whole conceptual world away from epitaphs
such as sit sibi terra levis ("may the earth rest light u p o n you") a n d
the a m o r p h o u s union with the earth goddess expressed in such lines
as: cinis sum cinis terra est terra dea est ergo ego mortua non sum ("I a m ash,
91
ash is earth, earth is divine, therefore I a m not d e a d " ) . T h e rep
resentations of such inhabitants of the V a t i c a n mausolea as M a r c i u s
H e r m e s or M a r c i a T h r a s o n i s , or the imagery of the isles of the
blessed or the Bacchic m e n a g e r i e w h e r e the individual would repose
in eternal blessedness, all revealed a culture which, from the late
92
first century B.C., h a d b e c o m e obsessed with personal i m m o r t a l i t y .
T h i s change to a conviction of personal immortality u n d o u b t e d l y
served to give sharper definition to the genii of h e a r t h a n d h o m e , the
Lares a n d Penates, w h o w e r e n o longer the generalised spirits of the
d e a d b u t could be regarded as distincdy surviving individuals. It was
this individualism that Augustus could n o w deploy in m a k i n g the
e m p e r o r worship of the eastern cults consistent with R o m a n religious
tradition. In 7 B.C. he set u p the Lares Compitiales, the "Lares at the
crossroads" w h e r e he set the image of his o w n Genius amongst the
93
statues. W e have preserved a n altar on which ministri of a compi-
tum are depicted holding statuettes of the Lares a n d Genius Augusti
(Plate 11).
W e m a y n o w see how, in the unfolding logic of the Imperial Cult,
deified individual qualities could n o w form a c o h e r e n t connection
between the new public cult of the Augustan Lares a n d the saeculum
aureum.
91
CIL 6,4, 2 9 6 0 9 a n d 9, 3 1 8 4 discussed in J. T o y n b e e a n d J. W a r d Perkins, The
Shrine of St. Peter and the Vatican Excavations, (London: L o n g m a n s G r e e n 1956), pp.
109-116.
9 2
Ibid., pp. 7 3 - 9 3 .
m
Ross T a y l o r (1931), pp. 1 8 4 - 1 8 6 ; Fishwick (1987) 1,1 pp. 8 4 - 8 5 .
64 CHAPTER TWO
2B 3. The cultic deification of virtues
T h e s h a r p e n i n g of individuality of the Lares, their transformation

from the Di Manes (the "Ghost Gods") into distinct, personalised genii,
enabled a n e w public cult of the e m p e r o r ' s individual qualities to
be formed. Such qualities as Concordia, Pax, Fortuna, or Salus in turn
connected well with the messianic qualities of these virtues as char
acterising the saeculum aureum. Let us sketch briefly our justification
for such a n assertion.
Cults of virtues were established in R e p u b l i c a n times. W e find for
example the temple of Concordia, built in 216 B.C., vowed by the
p r a e t o r L. Manlius for deliverance from sedition, of Salus a n d Victoria
after the S a m n i t e W a r s , a n d of Fors Fortuna built by Sp. Carvilius
94
after his c a m p a i g n at C o m i n i u m a n d in E t r u r i a . As such the deifi
cation of such virtues in early R o m a n religion was of a piece with
similar practices in the Hellenistic East. H e r e we find cults of N{KT|,
Eipr|vr|, niaxiq, Euaepeua, Euvouia, OiXav6pco7ua, OiAoaTopyia, a n d
95
AiKaioauvr].
T h e cult of Genius Publicus m o r e o v e r was to form a bridge between
the private a n d h o m e - b a s e d libations a n d the genii of d e p a r t e d ances
96
tors, a n d public personifications of Afîioq in the Greek city states.
N o w the divine essence worshipped was not that of shadowy, indi
vidual spirits in process of d e v e l o p m e n t into full personalities by the
late Republic. R a t h e r it was the collective personality of the social
group. F u r t h e r m o r e the cult of the goddess R o m a as a personification
of R o m e itself was clearly linked with such an objectification of the
collective personality.
At first such deified virtues were seen as the god or goddess that
a c c o m p a n i e d the republican general. But from the time of Sulla
o n w a r d s the Hellenistic tendency was not simply to see the deified
virtues as a c c o m p a n y i n g , b u t indeed as being incarnate in, the ruler
himself. Sulla a d o p t e d the tide of Felix for himself after his victories
in 82 B.C.. F r o m that time he wrote his n a m e as L. Cornelius Sulla
Felix. Likewise his associate, Q . Caecilius Metellus Pius, used the
97
title of Pius in his n a m e . Cicero, in Pro Lege Manilia (6 B.C.), dis-
9 4
Livy 2 2 , 3 7 , 5 ; 2 2 , 3 3 , 7 ; 10,46,14. See also Fears (1981), p p . 8 3 4 - 8 3 5 .
9 5
X e n o p h o n , Cyrop., 1,1,3; 8 , 1 , 2 1 - 2 , 2 8 ; 8,6,23; 8 , 4 , 6 - 8 ; 8 , 5 , 1 - 1 6 . Cf. Fears (1981),
pp. 8 4 9 - 8 5 0 .
%
Ibid. pp. 8 5 1 - 8 5 2 .
97
Ibid. p. 8 7 7 .
tinguished between virtutes populi Romani a n d virtutes imperatoris w h e n

he claimed that the gift of Fortuna along with P o m p e y ' s other super
98
h u m a n attributes (haec divina atque incredibilis virtus imperatoris) could
only be theirs by accepting P o m p e y himself as their incarnation. As
he says:
. . . since you are able to put in charge of the war a commander (impe
ratorem) in whom is a remarkable knowledge (in quo sit eximia scientia) of
war, exceptional virtue (singularis virtus), brilliant authority (clarissima auc-
toritas), exceptional fortune (egregia fortuna), why are you hesitating, O
Romans, from using this great benefit which is offered and granted
you by the immortal gods, in order to preserve and increase the
Republic?
Pro Lege Manilia, 16."
T h u s Virtus a n d Auctoritas could also be said not simply to be cum eo

b u t r a t h e r in quo sit. Salus was also to a p p e a r on coins in p r a y e r for
100
P o m p e y ' s personal recovery in 50 B . C .
Res Gestae 12 records the erection of an altar not simply to Pax
but to Pax Augusta. T h e i c o n o g r a p h y of the altar's relief shows "the
epiphany of Pax, Felicitas, Concordia a n d Pietas in the person of Augustus
101
a n d his restoration of the R o m a n a n d universal o r d e r . " His achieve
m e n t of the extraordinary pax deorum, required by the extraordinary
convulsion of n a t u r e as well of society that was the civil war, was
therefore t h r o u g h the existence of these divine entities exclusively in
himself alone. Tiberius was to provide the final c o n s u m m a t i o n of
this d e v e l o p m e n t in 10 A . D . w h e n he rededicated the temple of
Concordia specifically as t h a t of Concordia Augusta. S u c h adjectival
qualifications such as Juno Sospita or Janus Quirinus defined "the sphere,
functional or t e m p o r a l , in which the deity has manifested h e r char
102
acteristic p o w e r . " F r o m Tiberius o n w a r d s we find examples of the
continued qualification of each individual deity in the cult of virtues
that shows their gradual assimilation by the g o d h e a d of the Imperial
9 8
Cicero, Pro Leg. ManiL, 13.
9 9
Ibid. p. 8 8 2 : ". . . the Virtues work their beneficent influence u p o n the R o m a n
People through the person o f the charismatic saviour; these Virtues are e m b o d i e d
in his person, and thus u p o n his safety d e p e n d s the welfare of the c o m m o n w e a l t h . "
For a full discussion, see J . R . Fears, T h e T h e o l o g y o f Victory at R o m e , in ANRW
2,17,2 (1981), p p . 7 9 7 - 8 0 0 .
100
Ibid. pp. 8 8 2 - 8 8 3 .
101
Ibid. p. 8 8 5 .
102
Ibid. p. 8 8 6 .
66 CHAPTER TWO
Cult. Such virtues h a d thereby ceased to be separate divinities, b u t

n o w b e c a m e as it were p a r t of the collective personality of the divine
emperor.
T h u s the golden age prophesied in Vergil a n d inaugurated, with
its characteristics such as Fortuna, Providentia, Salus, Concordia, Pax,
Victoria etc., can be located as flowing from the divinity of the emperor.
T h e cult of R o m a herself, originating in the Hellenistic East, could
n o w be assimilated in the West to the Imperial Cult itself. T h e per
sonality of individual e m p e r o r s could n o w be identified with the cor
103
porate personality of the R o m a n E m p i r e . Augustus a n d his successors
are thus m a d e the sacramental sign by virtue of which the golden
age has r e t u r n e d , a n d by which its c o n t i n u a n c e is g u a r a n t e e d . But
such a state of p e a c e a n d felicity does not simply require the pres
ence of the e m p e r o r , b u t also his p e r f o r m a n c e of cultic, s a c r a m e n
tal a n d augural acts.
T h e central concept of the e m p e r o r as Genius Publicus enables h i m
to act as b o t h priest a n d god of his o w n cult a n d to sacrifice as it
w e r e to himself. As we have seen, the saeculum aureum is i n a u g u r a t e d
by a n augurium pacis which n o o n e else h a d b e e n able to perform.
I n d e e d others t h a n L u c a n ' s Figulus h a d tried a n d failed. Sulla, at
the c o m m e n c e m e n t of the extraordinary metaphysical disturbance
t h a t was the civil war, was shown on his coins simply as a m e d i a -
tior t h r o u g h w h o m Felicitas a n d Concordia operated. As with Metellus
Pius before h i m , the j u g a n d the lituus, those symbols of the ius
104
augurium, are also s h o w n . T h u s Sulla p r o d u c e s such virtuous social
conditions b y a n augural act that is in o n e sense sacramental. W e
105
find a similar iconography in connection with P o m p e y ' s c o i n a g e .
Finally, Augustus was to c o m b i n e messianic a n d augural themes
within his o w n person. F r o m 19 B.C. we find such examples as por
trayals of C a p r i c o r n with a c o r n u c o p i a of plenty together with, in
some issues, the augur's lituus. O n the Gemma Augustea at V i e n n a there
is c o m m e m o r a t e d the scene in 12 A . D . w h e n Tiberius t h r e w him
self at Augustus' feet, on r e t u r n from G e r m a n y , whilst the former
106
was presiding over the ceremonies (Plate 13). Roma a p p e a r s along-
1 0 3
R. Mellor, T h e G o d d e s s R o m a , in ANRW 2,17,2 (1981), pp. 9 8 4 - 9 9 8 ff.
1 0 4
Fears (1981), p. 791 a n d Plate I V , 2 2 ; p p . 8 8 0 - 8 8 1 a n d Plate 111,17.
105
Ibid. p. 8 0 3 and Plate V I , 3 4 .
1 0 6
Suetonius, Tiberius, 20: "Ac prius q u a m in Capitolinium flecteret, descendit e
curru seque praesidenti patri ad g e n u a summisit." Cf. Mellor (1981), p p . 1012 1013
and Plate I a n d Ross T a y l o r (1931), p p . 2 2 6 2 2 7 .
side representations of Victoria, Oikumene, a n d Tellus. Alongside Roma

sits Augustus with the cornucopic sign of Capricorn over his head, a n d
in his right h a n d is the lituus. Fortuna is depicted c r o w n i n g him. T h e
divine augur has issued in the golden age as he sits already amongst
107
the gods a n d looks down on lesser m o r t a l s . N o w h e r e is m o r e clearly
to be seen the sacramental character of the Imperial Cult which through
its ritual maintains the extraordinary pax deorum. O n the altar of the
Lares Augustus is depicted as augur with lituus (Plate 7).
Let us now see h o w the Imperial Cult was received in Asia M i n o r
as well as Palestine a n d Syria. H e r e we c a n e x a m i n e the material
fabric of the cult whose i c o n o g r a p h y a n d the religious message that
it b o r e was to set the scene in which early Christianity developed.
It was in the context of Asia M i n o r that, in particular, Luke-Acts,
C l e m e n t Corinthians, the Apocalypse, a n d the Ignatian Letters were all
to be written.
2B 4. The reception of the Imperial Cult in the East
T h e reception of the Imperial Cult in Asia M i n o r confirms an embry

onic systematic theology of the Imperial Cult that we have outlined
in which the Stoic taSyoq determines all things by npovoioc, or by
108
Fatum or Fortuna. Such was the ultimate philosophical or m e t a
physical justification which was left w h e n all demythologising imagery
of any personal deity h a d been excised, as L u c a n h a d wished to
excise it. But we have seen h o w t h a t metaphysic serviced a n escha-
tology, cyclic in character, in which the age of iron a n d b r o n z e could
return to gold once m o r e . W e have also seen also h o w the ideo
logy of the divine e m p e r o r m a d e that golden age d e p e n d e n t b o t h
on the e m p e r o r ' s person, in that h e i n c a r n a t e d its qualities of salus,
fortuna, pax, etc., a n d on the cultic rites of the auspicium. T h r o u g h an
107
Fears (1981), p. 8 1 0 : " T h e icononography of the G e m m a itself boldly proclaims
this intimate c o n n e c t i o n of Capricorn a n d triumph, marking the feclicitas a n d vir
tus o f Augustus, w h i c h have brought about the restoration of the golden age for
mankind. . . . Flanked by R o m a a n d c r o w n e d by Fortuna, the e m p e r o r holds in his
right h a n d the lituus, the m e d i u m through w h i c h the will of the gods is manifest
in his person and the e m b l e m o f those auspices by w h i c h Tiberius has triumphed."
1 0 8
I say "a systematic theology" rather than "the" because I take Eisner's point
((1991), p. 52) that reactions to imperial worship in general were never c o m p l e t e
"and yet always temporarily fulfilled by the viewers o w n participation" in not only
the sacrificial rite but also in the general developing a n d incomplete theological dis
course that gave m e a n i n g to that rite. W e have here the p h e n o m e n o n of polysemy
to w h i c h Galinsky (1992) pointed.
68 CHAPTER TWO
extraordinary act of augury he h a d thus been able to restore a golden

age of o r d e r to b o t h n a t u r e a n d political society that h a d previously
collapsed into evil a n d irrational chaos.
T h e celebration of this Pax Augusta on the Ara that thus b o r e his
divine n a m e was associated not simply with a limited, R e p u b l i c a n
augurium salutis b u t with Augustus' r e t u r n from Spain a n d G a u l (pro
reditu meo/bnep xr\q E[ir\q ercavoSou; Res Gest. 11) b e a r i n g a universal
p e a c e that was n o w ( 1 6 - 1 3 B.C.) inseparable from his o w n person
as the Pax Augustea. First the Ara Fortunae Reducis/$(&\ibqTv%r[ql(>y^pio"o)
was erected at the P o r t a C a p e n a (19 B.C.), after successful c a m
paigns in Sicily, G r e e c e , Asia, a n d Syria, with a n n u a l sacrifices. T h e n
followed in 13 B.C. the consecration of the Ara Pacis itself in the
C a m p u s M a r t i u s (Res Gest. 12), followed by its dedication in 9 B.C.
at the conclusion of a lustrum a n d a suovetaurilia, the implications of
which we discuss in o u r next c h a p t e r (3B 1).
T h e response of the province of Asia expressed in the decrees a n d
letter of its proconsul in 9 B.C. mirrors a systematic theology, justified
in terms of Stoic metaphysics. H e r e we find the ancient a u g u r a l
quest for the pax deorum united with d r e a m s of a golden age of plenty
a n d p e a c e , a n d with a single bringer of that age. T h e date itself
shows the i n a u g u r a t i o n of the Imperial C u l t there was co-terminus
with the consecration of the Ara Pacis in the C a m p u s M a r t i u s itself.
T h e saeculum aureum that n o w begins for the cities of Asia M i n o r
needs a n e w C a l e n d a r that begins with the b i r t h d a y of Augustus.
T h e d o c u m e n t , copies of w h i c h w e h a v e from P r i e n e , A p a m e a ,
E u m e n i a , a n d D o r y l a e u m , reads as follows:
. . . from previous gods we have received favour (rcapd xcov rcpoxepov

7tapeiA,f|<panev . . . xcov 0ecov £\)|iev£<; mi) . . . whether the birthday of the
most divine Caesar is more pleasant or more beneficial (rcoxepov f|8e(cov
fj dxpeA.ip.coxepa eaxiv f| xov Getoxdxov Kaiaapoq yeveGXioq f|U£pa) which we
would jusdy consider to be a day equal to the beginning of all things
109
(r\v xr\ xcov rcdvxcov dpxfi ionv SiKcdcoq dv elvai imcAdpoijiEv) . . .
Lines 1 - 6 .
At this point there is note of hesitancy in the text a b o u t the real

c h a r a c t e r of this n e w dpxn. T h e proconsul of Asia seems to hesitate
1 0 9
V. Ehrenberg a n d A . M . J o n e s , Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and
Tiberius, (Oxford: C l a r e n d o n 1955), n o . 9 8 , cf. also OGIS 4 5 8 ; SEC 4 , 4 9 0 . R . K .
Sherk (Ed. a n d Trans.), R o m e and the Greek East to the D e a t h of Augustus, in
Translated Documents of Greece and Rome, 4, E. Badian a n d R. Sherk (Eds.) (Cambridge:
U.P. 1984), n o . 101 p p . 124 127.
lest h e b e overwhelmed by t h e force of his o w n rhetoric. Is the dpxr|

one in which t h e natural world is set right from its previous m e t a
physical collapse, o r is it merely a question of the b e g i n n i n g of a
new political order? H e thus continues:
If not [the beginning of all things] in nature, at least in the order of

the useful, (ei jnf| xr\ cptxjei, xcp ye xpr|0"{|icp) for even if there is nothing in
a fallen condition (ei ye oi)8ev oiyyi Siarceucxov) and changed into an
unfortunate condition ( m i eiq dx\)xe<; |iexapePr|K6<; OXTIILICX) that he has
not set right (dvcopGcoaev), he has given to the whole world a different
appearance (exepcxv xe e8coKev navel xcp KOGJICO 6\|/tv), which would [as a
world] have gladly welcomed its destruction (r|8taxa d v 8e£a|ievcp cp0opdv)
had not for the common good fortune Caesar been born (ei \ir\ xo
KOIVOVrcdvxcovei)x{>XTI|LICX erceyevvriOri Kociacxp).
Lines 6-9.
Despite therefore a certain reluctance a b o u t full c o m m i t m e n t to the

metaphysics of t h e saeculum aureum, t h e t h e m e s of the deified quali
ties of T\)%r| (eiq aTu%e<; TO KOIVOV 7idvxcov e\)Ti>xr||ia) a r e still found asso
ciated with the beginning of a n e w political o r d e r in which matters
have b e e n "set right (dvcopGcoaev)."
If w e t u r n from the letter of t h e proconsul to the 1st D e c r e e of
the K o i n o n of Asia, also in 9 B . C . , w e also find evidence that Stoic
metaphysics gives intellectual justification to t h e connections b e t w e e n
Fortuna, a u g u r y a n d the saeculum aureum. T h e reason Augustus' birth
day begins the n e w C a l e n d a r is that:
The Providence that has divinely ordered our life (f| 9e(coq Siaxd^ccacx
xov piov f||j.cov Ttpovoia), has brought us regard and honour (o7ccru8f|v
eiaeveyKaîevri m i quAaTUiiav) and arranged our life with perfect good
ness (TO xeXr|6xaxov xcp pico 8IEKOA|LIR|aev dyaGov) when it brought to us
Augustus (eveyicauevri xov lepaaxov), whom Providence has filled with
virtue for the benefit of mankind (ov eiq etiepyecriav dvGpamcov ejcXripcoaev
dpexfjq) and granted both to us and to those after us as our saviour
(cooTtep f||ieiv KCXI xoiq ^leO' f|uo:<; acoxfjpex xaptaa|ievr|) who has made war
to cease and ordered the world with peace (xov navoavxa uev K6XE\IOV,
KOAUR|Govxa 8e eipr|vr|v).
Lines 32-37.
T h u s w e have Stoic npovoioc c o m b i n e d b o t h with the reign of p e a c e

a n d t h e personal m e d i a t o r of that peace ( l e p a a x o v . . . KoaurjaovTa
8e E I P R J V N V ) . T h e D P E T C U a r e n o longer individual deities b u t divine
1 1 1
111
T h i s theme is also found in an inscription from Athens in 1 A . D . , see ibid.
no. 128 p. 9 5 (IGRR 4,180; CIG 3642) where Ilpovoia is identified with Julia Augusta.
70 CHAPTER T W O
characteristics with which npovoia has filled Augustus ( o v . . . ercWipcooev

dpexfiq). T h e divinity Salus or Icoxr|p{a does n o t simply a c c o m p a n y
Augustus, b u t is identified with the person of h i m w h o is ocoxf|p, as
112
he is also in other similar inscriptions. As the passage continues,
Caesar is associated with an ercupaveta (ercicpaveic;), ekniq a n d euayyeXia
which surpass all other hopes a n d promises m a d e . T h u s we find con
cepts held b o t h by the Imperial Cult a n d by the writers of the N e w
113
T e s t a m e n t (/. 37-40).
A similar inscription from Halicarnassus at this time substitutes
for the idea of n p o v o i a the even stronger Stoic concept of " t h e eter
nal a n d u n d y i n g n a t u r e of the universe (n aicovioq Kal dGdvaxoq xou
114
rcavioq cpuaiq)." In the words that follow, the E m p e r o r is linked as
pater patriae with the h o m e l a n d of the Goddess R o m a (rcaxepa u£v xfiq
eauxou rcaxplSoq Beaq Tcburiq), as well as identified with " t h e F a t h e r
Zeus (Aia 8e rcaxpcoov) a n d saviour of o u r c o m m o n h u m a n race ( m i
acoxfjpa xou KOIVOU xcov dv0pco7ccov yevouc;)." (/. 6-7) F u r t h e r m o r e , the
virtues are once again associated with t h e divine mediation of the
saeculum aureum t h r o u g h Augustus w h e n it is claimed that " . . . cities
( K O X E K ; ) . . . flourish (dvBouaiv) with G o o d G o v e r n m e n t (Evvouia),
Concord ('Ouovoia), a n d Prosperity ( m i Euexrjpia), a n d the flower
a n d harvest of all good (dicuT| xe m i cpopd rcavxoq eaxiv dyaGou)." D i o
Cassius might well inform us that, " w h e n the senate a n d people once
m o r e contributed m o n e y for statues of Augustus, he would set u p
n o statue of himself, b u t instead set u p statues (eiKovaq) of Salus
Publica (Tyieiaq Aruioaiaq), Concordia fOuovoiaq), a n d Pax (Eipf|vr|<;)."
(54,33) These divine qualities according to this inscription were already
in a state of n e a r identification with his divine, augural powers in
bringing in the saeculum aureum.
F r o m the West, from N a r b o in G a u l , A . D . 12-13, we have corro
boration of the augural t h e m e that we have emphasised in connec
tion with t h e Imperial Cult. A votum perpetuum is m a d e to the Numen
of Augustus. A n altar was erected in the forum of the city at which
sacrifice was to be m a d e for the n u m b e r of years after the 9th K a l .
O c t o b e r , (23rd September), o n which day, his birthday: " T h e blessed
1 1 2
Cf. the decrees M y r a in Lycia IGRR 3,721 (= Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s (1955)
no. 88): Ti(3epiov K o u o a p a Geov l e p a a x o v 0ecov lepaoxcov m o v a\)XOKpdxopa y n q m i
GaXdacmq, xov evepyexrjv m i acoxfjpa xov avvrcavxoc; K o a u o i ) , Mvpecov 6 8fjuo<;.
1 , 3
Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s (1955) n o . 9 8 lines 3 5 - 4 1 .
1 1 4
Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s (1955) n o . 9 8 a /. 3; IBM 4 , 1 , n o . 8 9 4 , line 1.
F o r t u n e of the age m a d e h i m ruler of the world (saeculi Felicitas eum

orbi terrarum rectorem edidit)" N o t only then, b u t on Idus Januar. (7th
J a n u a r y ) , the day on which he first assumed the fasces, incense a n d
wine are to be offered because: " o n that day first he entered u p o n
115
(auspicatus est) the e m p i r e of the world (imperium orbis terrarum):'
If we return once again to the East, we find at Gytheion in L a c a o -
nia a n inscription a n d a letter regarding the extension of the cult to
include Tiberius. Augustus is called here " g o d the son of the god
C a e s a r (Oeou Kaioapoq Geou uiou), Saviour w h o brings liberty (Icorfipoq
116
'EXeuGepiou)." J u l i a Augusta is e q u a t e d with Tu%r|, a n d G e r m a n i c u s
with Ndcr). T h e s e examples could be extended. W e have p r o d u c e d
therefore sufficient examples for the m o m e n t to establish o u r case
for various, different strands in the conceptual discourses that were
coalescing to form theologies of imperial worship. T h e discourse of
augury a n d priesthood were being j u x t a p o s e d with messianic themes.
M o r e o v e r the Stoic theology of divination a n d Fortuna was also mak
ing its o w n contribution to p a r t of the iconography of the cult of
e m p e r o r worship in cities b o t h of the Eastern a n d W e s t e r n E m p i r e .
Let us d r a w some preliminary observations for the rise of early
Christianity from w h a t has p r e c e d e d .
2B 5. Implications of the Imperial Cult for early Christianity
W e saw in the decree of the K o i n o n of Asia a n example of the ide

ology of the Imperial C u l t in Asia M i n o r t h a t was to prefigure in
the Apocalypse, a n d which was p a r t of the scene in which b o t h Luke-
Acts a n d the letters of Ignatius of Antioch m a d e their a p p e a r a n c e .
T h e K o i n o n that speaks for all Asia M i n o r reflects the theology of
the cult that I have described in this chapter. W e find a pax deorum
achieved by a n extraordinary act of augury that issued in n o tem
p o r a r y eipr|vr| b u t the p e a c e of the golden age. W e find Stoic con
cepts of npovoia a n d of (puaiq intellectually justifying both the augurium
a n d the c o m i n g of that age. W e find concepts of acoxripia t h r o u g h
a acorn,p expressed in that cult. L a t e r (3D 3.2) we shall discuss fur
ther inscriptions such as o n e from Sardis in which a new addition
1 , 3
Ehrenberg and J o n e s (1955) no. 100 A, lines 2 0 - 2 7 = ILS 112 = IGRR 4 , 1 7 5 6 ,
I; Fishwick (1991) 2,1 p. 4 8 2 .
1 , 6
S e e also a papyrus fragment o n an association for an imperial cult ibid. no.
118 p. 9 3 and an inscription (A.D. 1) from Tentyrae, Egypt (OGIS 659) where
'EA,e\)6epio<; is also found, ibid. no. 116, p. 9 3 .
72 CHAPTER TWO
to the cult is a c c o m p a n i e d by the "good news" of its proclamation.

" T h e city is evangelised (euayyeîaOri fi noXiq)" a n d "prayers for salva
tion (KOCTEDXCXC; . . . uicep xfjc; acorn, pioc<;)" are offered "by sacred heralds
117
(8id iepoKTipuKcov)."
At other places in Asia M i n o r such as Halicarnassus, a n d G y t h e u m ,
we found too such titles proclaimed in the inscriptions a n d in the
prayers of the cult as acorn,p, eipr|vri, eXevQepioq, viicr), vibq xov Geou,
eXniq, uyteia, ouovoux, rcpovoia, £7u<pdveia, euayyeAia etc. T h e cul
tural a n d religious terrain in which early Christianity developed was
thus saturated by such concepts deeply e m b e d d e d in the material
a n d iconographic fabric of G r a e c o - R o m a n civilisation. N o r did this
simply apply to Christian writings e m a n a t i n g from Asia M i n o r itself.
H e r o d the G r e a t h a d erected in C a e s a r e a itself ( 2 0 - 1 9 B.C.) a tem
ple in which stood a colossal statue of Augustus constructed on the
model of the O l y m p i a n Zeus a n d a further statue to R o m a , on that
118
of H e r a at A r g o s . C a e s a r e a Philippi was to be the scene of the
confession of Peter regarding J e s u s not only as the Christ, b u t as the
Son of the Living G o d (ML 8, 2 7 - 3 0 ) .
It will be o u r objective n o w to a t t e m p t to assess, by looking at
late first a n d second century Christian writings, the effect of this
Imperial Cult in terms of h o w early Christians shaped their c o m
m u n i t y a n d its structures in reaction (whether conscious or not) to
the b a c k g r o u n d of the Imperial Cult.
1 . 7
Ehrenberg and J o n e s no. 9 9 = /. Sardis 7,1,8, /. 1 2 - 1 4 ; Price (1984), p. 6 6
and p. 2 5 9 cat. no. 5 6 .
1 . 8
J o s e p h u s , Bell.Jud. 1, 4 1 4 cf. Antiqu. 15,339; Fishwick (1987) 1,1 p. 129 and
147.
CHAPTER THREE
IMPERIAL IDEOLOGY AND T H E ORIGINS OF

CHURCH ORDER
Reformed Judaism in Luke-Acts and the Christian p a x dei
In this c h a p t e r a n d the next two, we shall deal with the develop

ments in the life of the early C h u r c h which mirrored the the Imperial
Cult as it developed in the social a n d political context of p a g a n
R o m e . W e shall deal in this c h a p t e r exclusively with Luke-Acts, for
which we accept a date after N e r o , but before D o m i t i a n , of a b o u t
1
85 A . D . W e shall, in C h a p t e r 4, consider the c o m m u n i t y of C l e m e n t
at R o m e a n d their relations with the Imperial Cult b o t h intellectu
ally a n d practically, in c o m p a r i s o n with the circle of in Asia M i n o r
in D o m i t i a n ' s time, to which Luke-Acts was addressed. In C l e m e n t ' s
Corinthians the d e m a n d s for order are self-consciously constructed after
R o m a n models a n d express the very concerns with natural a n d social
chaos t h a t the Stoic metaphysic of the Imperial Cult h a d sought to
address. W e shall then ( C h a p t e r 5) consider w h a t we will argue to
be the Domitianic text of the Apocalypse, a n d its quite different a p
proach to the Imperial Cult. T h e Apocalypse mirrors Domitian's changes
in the Imperial Cult, a n d , in a m a n n e r different from Luke-Acts, for
mulates a distinctive c o n t r a culture that reverses the images a n d val
ues that define the concept of p o w e r in the host culture.
In C h a p t e r 6 we shall find reflected in Ignatius of Antioch, p a r
ticularly in his Romans a n d Ephesians, the martyrological aspect of a
c o n t r a culture. Ignatius described the ministerial representatives w h o
j o i n e d h i m from various C h u r c h e s as a cultic procession. T h e p r o
cession has the features of a Christian Eucharist, as its m e m b e r s lead
Ignatius across Asia M i n o r to the a r e n a at R o m e . T h u s we shall be
able to complete o u r a r g u m e n t that the O r d e r of the Imperial Cult
finds a form a n d a n i c o n o g r a p h y reflected in the O r d e r of the
1
For a defence of this dating, see P.F. Esler, C o m m u n i t y and Gospel in Luke-
Acts: T h e social a n d political motivations o f Lucan theology, in SNTMS 57 (1987),
pp. 2 7 - 3 0 .
74 CHAPTER THREE
C h r i s t i a n C u l t as it e m e r g e s in the early s e c o n d c e n t u r y . T h a t
reflection was destined to continue a n d to develop into a new form
in the confrontation between C y p r i a n a n d his fellow-bishops, a n d
the R o m a n E m p i r e of Decius T r a j a n .
But let us t u r n first of all in this c h a p t e r to the reformulation of
early Christian eschatology in Luke-Acts. W e shall argue that the p u r
pose of t h a t reformulation was to enable the a u t h o r to define the
O r d e r a n d worship of the Christian cultus analogously with that of
the Imperial.
W e shall e n d e v o u r to answer two critical questions:
1. Why did Luke reshape Christian eschatology so that he could defer

the expectation of the day of judgement to an indefinite future? (Lk.
21,24d; Acts 1,7)
2. Why, furthermore, did Luke, clearly a deutero-Paulinist in the gen
eration after the death of his community's founding aposde, stress that
Christianity was the fulfilment of Judaism in a way that was even more
sympathetic to the latter than even Paul's final position (in contrast to
Galatians) in Romans 9—12?
T h e traditional answer to 2. has b e e n that Luke's two-volume work

was i n t e n d e d to be a n ecumenical d o c u m e n t , reconciling differences
between Paul's churches a n d the original J e r u s a l e m c o m m u n i t y . W e
could respond by pointing out that Paul never really attacked J u d a i s m
in the way this view presupposes, b u t in fact stressed its continuity
in terms of fulfilment. But t h e n we must ask w h y Luke should stress
t h a t continuity w h e n writing for a gentile a u d i e n c e . T h e traditional
answer has always b e e n suspect in terms of historical m e t h o d since
it implies that late first century communities developed according to
the logic of his Christian c o m m u n i t y ' s own internal discourse t h a t
was only minimally related historically a n d culturally to the devel
2
oping wider, p a g a n culture. Luke is supposed to be solely c o n c e r n e d
with healing internal divisions within the c o m m u n i t y in o r d e r to
m a k e the c o m m u n i t y stronger a n d m o r e self-secure.
M o r e recent literature has, moreover, acknowledged the p r o b l e m
2
T h e most recent statement o f this case, with bibliography, is J. Jervell, Luke and
the People of God: A new Look at Luke-Acts, (Minneapolis: Augsburg 1972), p p . 1 5 3 - 1 8 3 ,
criticised in R. M a d d o x , T h e Purpose of Luke-Acts, in FRANT 126 (1982), c h a p
ter 3. For an earlier and provisional treatment o f the t h e m e s of this chapter, see
A. Brent, Luke-Acts a n d the Imperial Cult in Asia M i n o r , in JThS 4 8 , 2 (1997), p p .
I l l 138.
IMPERIAL IDEOLOGY AND THE ORIGINS OF CHURCH ORDER 75
that Israel is recognised in Luke-Acts in a way that surpasses even

3
Paul as the necessary precursor to Christianity. Lk. 1-2 locates the
origins of Christianity in the circle of such priests a n d p r o p h e t s of
the J e r u s a l e m T e m p l e as Z a c h a r i a h a n d A n n a . W o u l d even the Paul
of Romans 9 - 1 1 have b e g u n a Gospel addressed to gentile Christians
in the words of Lk. 1,5 (eyevexo . . . iepeuq xiq ovojiaxi Zaâpiaq)? C e r
tainly, in order to explain such features in Luke as a deutero-Paulinist,
H o u l d e n postulated the existence of "pre-Marcionite M a r c i o n i t e s " as
influencing the quite un-Pauline significance of the T e m p l e in Luke-
Acts} I reject as p u r e hypothesis such a n u n d o c u m e n t e d m o v e m e n t
within the early C h u r c h . I propose instead to p r o d u c e d o c u m e n t e d
evidence from the literature a n d b a c k g r o u n d of the Imperial Cult
to support m y claim that the fulfilment of the object of republican
religion by Augustus was the real counterfoil to Luke's picture of
Christianity as the fulfilment of the cult of the T e m p l e of J u d a i s m .
T h e traditional answer to 1 is that the delay of the Parousia caused
Luke to reshape primitive eschatology so as to provide a space for
5
the C h u r c h in normal history. But a p h e n o m e n o n such as Montanism
or millenarianist groups d e m o n s t r a t e that the delay of the Parousia
did n o t of itself necessarily p r o d u c e such a perceived need for a
space for the c h u r c h in n o r m a l history.
Esler's recent study of the i m m e d i a t e historical a n d social back
g r o u n d to Luke-Acts has focused o n the need to replace the thesis of
Luke-Acts as apologia, founded on the dubious legal notion of the quest
6
for status as a religio licita, with a thesis a b o u t legitimation. Focusing
3
V . Fusco, Luke-Acts and the Future o f Israel, in NT 38,1 (1996), pp. 1-17.
J.L. H o u l d e n , T h e Purpose o f Luke, in JSNT 21 (1984), p p . 5 3 - 6 5 criticised M a d d o x
(1982) for his attempts to modify what h e saw as the extreme view o f the centrality
o f j u d a e i s m represented by such writers a s j e r v e l l (1972) and G . D . Kilpatrick, T h e
Gentiles a n d the Strata of Luke, in Verborum Veritas, (Ed.) O . B o c h e r and K. H a a k e r
(Wuppertal: 1970).
4
H o u l d e n (1984), p. 6 2 . S e e also J. Jervell, Retrospect and Prospect in Luke-
Acts Interpretation, in SBL.SPS 3 0 (1991), p. 3 8 4 . For further bibliography, see
F. B o v o n , Etudes lucaniennes. Retrospective et prospective, in RThPh 125 (1993), pp.
125- 129, w h o poses two questions: "Le premier. . . . La Loi mosaique est-elle encore
valide p o u r Luc?. . . . Le s e c o n d dirige le regard vers la position sociale de Luc."
3
H . C o n z e l m a n n , The Theology of St. Luke, translated by G. Buswell (London:
Faber 1961), pp. 2 0 2 - 2 0 6 .
fa
T h e existence o f a formal legal status o f a religio licita was originally proposed
by Harnack and W e n d t . For references a n d further support for this point o f view
see C o n z e l m a n n (1961), pp. 1 3 7 - 1 4 4 . T h i s view has b e e n questioned recently by
M a d d o x (1982), pp. 9 1 - 9 3 and Esler (1987), p p . 2 1 1 - 2 1 4 .
76 CHAPTER THREE
o n Luke's gospel in the present chapter, I wish to argue that the legi
timation thesis is only partially true a n d possibly misleading. Legiti
m a t i o n in sociological discourse normally refers to the way in which
o n e g r o u p , in its o w n self-interests, justifies its privileged position in
power relations to another. I wish to emphasise here that the particular
theology of Luke is a political theology in terms of which T h e o p h i l u s
a n d his g r o u p did not simply justify their position to others b u t to
themselves.
T h e i m m e d i a t e historical a n d social context in which T h e o p h i l u s
a n d his circle found themselves was o n e in w h i c h the values of
Imperial O r d e r were reflected in the developing Imperial Cult in
Asia M i n o r , w h o s e origins a n d d e v e l o p m e n t we h a v e t r a c e d in
C h a p t e r 2. T h a t continuing development reinforced, u n d e r D o m i t i a n
in the last q u a r t e r of the first century, the ideology of a religious
reformation that had accompanied a political revolution under Augustus
7
from 31 B . C . o n w a r d s . T h a t religious reformation emphasised the
religious role of the e m p e r o r as the fulfilment of the R e p u b l i c a n cult
(as opposed to its abrogation), originally c o n d u c t e d by elected m a g
istrates w h o also held its priesthoods. Christianity, as c o m m e n d e d by
8
Luke to T h e o p h i l u s ' circle, was J u d a i s m fulfilled. But Luke envisaged
that fulfilment, to use Bovon's p h r a s e , as ' u n e contrepartie religieuse'
specifically to the religious claims implied by Augustus' constitutional
reforms: it was not simply a general parallel with Imperial univer-
9
salism, as Bovon originally t h o u g h t .
I will argue that T h e o p h i l u s ' circle inherited the values of a n i m p e
rial o r d e r a n d p e a c e that b o r e the form of Stoic metaphysics in
which n a t u r e a n d society were one. Its m e m b e r s accepted the im
perial values, deified as Virtues, of Victoria, Pax, Concordia, Salus etc.,
7
For d e v e l o p m e n t s o f the Imperial Cult in Asia M i n o r specifically in the eighties
such as cults to D o m i t i a n at Ephesus and Laodicaea, see S.R.F. Price, Rituals and
Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor (Cambridge: U.P. 1984), pp. 140, 1 8 3 - 1 8 5 ,
197-198, 255.
8
F. B o v o n , Israel, die Kirche u n d die Volker im lukanischen Doppelwerk, ThLiZ
108 (1983), col. 4 0 4 : "Die Entwicklung des Kaiserkultes ware eine weitere, wir-
kungsvollere Losung, der bunten Vielfalt der unterworfenen Volker eine ideologi-
sche Einheit zu verleihen . . . W i e verhalt sich die chrisdiche vocatio gentium zu
dieser Eingliederung der Volker in die romischen Strukturen?"
9
B o v o n (1993), p. 128: "La defense et l'illustration de 1'universalisme au l o n g
de toute ceuvre de Luc represent, a m e s yeux, une contrepartie religieuse des ambi
tions imperiales romaines."
since they h a d b e e n conditioned socially to take seriously the claim

t h a t a n originally imperfect r e p u b l i c a n religious cultus h a d b e e n
reformed a n d perfected by the Augustus as princeps. T h e use of the
methodology of narrative criticism in N e w T e s t a m e n t studies will
help us here since we will seek to reconstruct the ideal r e a d e r for
the text that Luke has r e s h a p e d in terms of the images of the i m p e
10
rial i d e o l o g y . W e shall a r g u e t h a t Luke h a s r e f o r m u l a t e d early
Christian eschatology, initially in chapters 1-3, in a w a y that reflects
the impress of the ideology of the saeculum aureum in the Imperial
Cult. F u r t h e r m o r e , we shall witness t h r o u g h o u t his work conceptual
reflections of pax, concordia a n d providentia that b e a r witness to a con
cern with the theological implications of Augustan settlement. In con
sequence of such social conditioning, Theophilus a n d his circle shrank
with h o r r o r at the prospect of a r e t u r n to civil chaos m a r k e d by the
events that lead to A c t i u m (31 B.C.), a n d which they saw as the
culmination of a century of increasingly devastating civil wars. U n d e r
the influence of such a historiography of decline, they experienced
their metaphysical terror associated with the ira as opposed to the
pax deorum.
Luke's solution was to e n c o u r a g e t h e m to see Christianity, as the
fulfilment of J u d a i s m (2) which paralleled Augustus' fulfilment of that
to which the religious practices of Republican magistrates h a d aspired,
n a m e l y the divine pax in b o t h n a t u r e a n d society. T h e O r d e r of the
Christian c o m m u n i t y , constituted by a n apostolate whose Koivcovioc
c o n t i n u e d the teaching a n d healing ministry of J e s u s along with the
b r e a k i n g of b r e a d (Acts 2,42), was the true m e a n s of p r o d u c i n g the
pax dei, in contrast to Augustus' pax deorum (the enx yf^/ev o u p a v S
eipr|VTi; Lk. 2,24; 19,38). H e r e we find, in the context of imperial
order, a refashioned Christian version of the Augustan saeculum aureum.
Consequently Lk. 1-3 r e s h a p e d primitive Christian eschatology by
r e m o v i n g themes of tribulation, chaos, a n d of the future role of the
Son of M a n in j u d g m e n t , so as to p r o d u c e , for T h e o p h i l u s ' circle,
a Christian, present c o u n t e r p a r t to the imperial p e a c e , a n d the cul
tic m e a n s for securing this (1).
10
S e e e.g. M . C . de Boer, Narrative Criticism, Historical Criticism, and the Gospel
of J o h n , in JSNT 47 (1992), p p . 3 5 - 4 8 and the criticisms o f S. Motyer, A M e t h o d
in Fourth Gospel Studies: A W a y out o f the Impasse, in JSNT 66 (1997), pp. 2 7 - 4 4 .
78 CHAPTER THREE
PART A. LUKE-ACTS: TRADITIONAL ESCHATOLOGY TRANSFORMED
T h e uniqueness of the eschatology of Luke-Acts c a n n o t be overesti

m a t e d . I will a r g u e that this u n i q u e n e s s is highly influenced by
Augustus' saeculum aureum secured t h r o u g h the reformed Imperial Cult
that was perceived, following o u r discussion in C h a p t e r 2, to b e
alone able to secure the pax deorum (2B). But first let us establish that
uniqueness in its o w n right by c o m p a r i n g L u k a n eschatology with
t h a t of Matthew a n d Mark, before we offer any particular account of
the influences that p r o d u c e d it.
3A 1. Mark and the primitive kerygma
T h e r e is very little a t t e m p t o n the p a r t of either Matthew or Mark

to relate their story to secular history. M a r k notoriously begins his
gospel with the ministry of J o h n the Baptist, like those primitive
Christian sermons exemplified in the m o u t h s of some of the twelve
aposdes, the d e a c o n Stephen, a n d Paul in Acts. T h e r e is n o birth
story a n d the gospel begins as it were from n o w h e r e . But Mark's
purpose is to d o m o r e than r e p r o d u c e the primitive kerugma in ex
11
panded form.
In comparison with its total length, a large section of Mark is taken
u p with the Apocalypse of ML 13. Earlier, before the scene of the T r a n s
figuration, J e s u s h a d declared that there were some standing there
w h o would not taste of death until they h a d seen the kingdom of G o d
c o m e in p o w e r (ML 9,1). Originally the Transfiguration might have
c o u n t e d as the realisation of that declaration. But for M a r k the c o m
ing of that kingdom is to be w h e n the events of his Apocalypse are ful
filled, namely when the armies of Titus surround Jerusalem in A.D. 65
at the time w h e n h e writes from R o m e . J e r u s a l e m was n o t yet
destroyed b u t the news r e a c h e d the R o m a n c o m m u n i t y that it was
a b o u t to b e , a n d t h e n the " a b o m i n a t i o n of the desolation" would
be set u p in the T e m p l e as the day of the L o r d set in blood a n d
fire. After describing the shaking of the powers of nature in earthquake
a n d famine, the expansion of error, a n d persecution a n d betrayal,
ML 13,14 continues:
11
J. Schniewind, Zur Synoptiker Exegese, in ThR 2 (1930), pp. 1 2 9 - 1 8 9 and
C . H . D o d d , The Apostolic Preaching and its Developments, (London: M a c M i l l a n 1956),
pp. 16 32 ff., cf. H. Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels, Their History and Development,
(London: S C M 1990), p p . 2 6 2 9 ff.
But when you shall see the Abomination of the desolation (TO (35e^\)yua
Tfjq epT)ucoaeco(;) [Dan. 9,27; 12,4; 10] standing where it ought not
(£OTT|K6T(X onox> ov 8ei), let the reader grasp the meaning, then let those
in Judaea flee to the hills . . . For in those days shall be the tribula
tion (8A.i\jnq) such as not come about from the beginning which God
created until now [Joel 2,2].
T h u s the R o m a n c o m m u n i t y , having experienced N e r o ' s persecu

tion in R o m e (13,9-13), h e a r e d the news from J e r u s a l e m of the grad
ual crushing of the revolt by Titus. T h e a u t h o r informs t h e m that
N e r o is a b o u t to fulfil the mysterious sacrilege prophesied by Daniel,
the TO p8eta)Y|ia zf\q epriuxbaecog. It is the i m m e d i a t e consequence of
this i m m i n e n t a n d strange act that the last events of the world's his
12
tory a r e to occur ( 1 3 , 2 0 - 2 8 ) .
F a r from Mark's gospel therefore, as the theory of the interpreter
of St. Peter suggests, being written for a generation to come w h o would
otherwise lack Peter's teaching n o w that he h a d been m a r t y r e d , the
13
a u t h o r expected n o future history for which to w r i t e . His c o m m u
nity was the c o m m u n i t y of the E n d time, with n o need for a continu
ing authority structure with a continuing tradition h a n d e d d o w n . For
him there was to be n o future history of this world, a n d therefore
there was little n e e d to write the events of J e s u s ' ministry, d e a t h a n d
resurrection as d a t e d events in a history that would continue. His
written a c c o u n t was a reassurance to the R o m a n c o m m u n i t y that
they h a d little longer to wait, a n d the eschatological events justify
ing their faith would soon take place.
W e shall n o w see that Matthew deals with the p r o b l e m of the delay
of the parousia, which h a d not immediately followed the destruction
of J e r u s a l e m , quite differently from the way that Luke-Acts was to
propose.
12
S.G.F. Brandon, Jesus and the êalots: A Study of the Political Factor in Primitive
Christianity, (Manchester: U . P . 1961), pp. 3 8 7 - 3 9 1 dates Mark post 71 A . D . o n the
grounds that account of the rending o f the veil in ML 15, 38 reflects the writer's
experience of the triumphal procession o f Vespasian at R o m e in w h i c h the purple
temple-curtains were included in the spoils a n d were afterwards deposited with
copies o f the T o r a h in the imperial palace, see J o s e p h u s , Bell. Jud. 6, 3 8 7 - 3 9 1 and
7,162. But even if this were the case, the historical closeness o f the R o m a n c o m
munity to the events o f w h i c h they as yet had n o certain account could still result
in what had h a p p e n e d nourishing the i m m i n e n t apocalyptic expectations to which
Mark bears witness.
13
Papias apud Eusebius H.E. 111,39,15 is clearly legendary and based u p o n the
priority o f Matthew as an apostolic authority.
80 CHAPTER THREE
3A 2. M a t t h e w ' s heightened apocalypticism: a hope frustrated
Matthew was written at a similar time to that of Luke-Acts, b u t with a

considerably different purpose. Redaction criticism has shown reflected
in the various pericopes conflicting traditions b e a r i n g the marks of
transmission t h r o u g h rival groups in a divided Christian c o m m u n i t y .
Egalitarian, clericalist, a n d charismatic groups vie with o n e a n o t h e r ,
a n d Matthew's solution is presented in the person of a bridge-builder
a n d reconciler, w h e t h e r actual or ideal, w h o will bring the groups
14
t o g e t h e r . But the shadow of the E n d T i m e still hovers over the
author's perspective. T h e Twelve Apostles are sent forth, a n d J e s u s
assures t h e m that, t h o u g h they will experience persecution, they will
be beaten in synagogues a n d lead before synagogue courts a n d h a n d e d
over to gentile magistrates for p u n i s h m e n t , nevertheless:
Go not into the way of the pagans, and do not enter a city of the
Samaritans; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. . .
You shall not have completed the cities of Israel until the Son of Man
10
shall come.
But the a u t h o r of Matthew knew at the time of his writing, in the

late eighties in Antioch in Syria, that J e r u s a l e m h a d been destroyed.
T h e use of that gospel by early writers associated with Syria a n d
Antioch clearly determines this as his place of origin. T h e citations
16
of this gospel by Ignatius of Antioch (circa 107 A . D . ) , a n d partic
ularly the a p p e a r a n c e of single bishops in his writing w h e r e Matthew's
clericalist faction has only presbyters a n d teachers, reveal the mid-
eighties as the most likely date. Ignatius' single bishops have at the
later time seemingly absorbed the charismatic functions of one of
17
the opposing g r o u p s .
But t h o u g h J e r u s a l e m has b e e n destroyed, this does not lead h i m
to tone d o w n or limit the scope of the M a r k a n apocalypse. ML 13,
with its 37 verses has been e x p a n d e d into two chapters, Mat. 2 4 - 2 5 ,
14
R.E. Brown and J.-P. Meier, Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Catholic
Christianity, ( N e w York: Paulist Press 1983), p p . 5 7 - 7 2 cf. A. Brent, Pseudonymity
and Charisma in the Ministry of the Early Church, in Aug. 2 7 , 3 (1987), pp. 3 6 9 - 3 7 4 .
15
Mat. 1 0 , 1 - 2 3 .
Ignatius, Ephes. 14,2 (Mat. 12,33); Smyrn. 1,1 (Mat. 3,15); 6,1 (Mat. 19,12); Polycarp
2,2 (Mat. 10,16).
C. Trevett, Prophecy and Anti-Episcopal Activity: A Third Error C o m b a t t e d
by Ignatius? in JEH 3 4 (1983), pp. 165 171, for qualifications of which see, Brent
(1987), pp. 3 4 7 376.
with 51 a n d 4 6 verses respectively. T h e c h a p t e r s owe their e x p a n

sion to parables of the Last J u d g e m e n t , such as the Days of N o a h
(24,37-42), the Lazy Servant (24,43-51), Wise a n d Foolish Virgins
(25,1-13), the T a l e n t s ( 2 5 , 1 4 - 3 0 ) , a n d the S h e e p a n d the G o a t s
(25,31-46). But w h e r e ML 13,14, in its reference to t h e TO pSeûyua
xf|<; epTjuxooecoc; £<JTT|K6TGC OKOV O U 8ei, refers to w h a t stands in its tem
ple before the i m m i n e n t destruction of J e r u s a l e m , Mat, 24,15 simply
transfers the p r o p h e c y to w h a t will stand "in a n holy place (ev TOTCCO
ayico)" unspecified. T h e Markan apocalypse is still to b e fulfilled i m m i
nently even t h o u g h , since the J e r u s a l e m temple already n o w b e e n
destroyed, the particular place w h e r e its fulfilment is to begin can
no longer be specified.
But for the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts, this conception of the E n d time
found in one of his early Christian sources, Mark, c a n n o t a n d will
18
not be any longer sustained.
3A 3. Luke'5 transformation of the apocalyptic tradition
Whilst not abrogating the original apocalyptic description of the com

ing of the E n d , Luke dissociates this description from the destruction
of J e r u s a l e m . All references to the shadowy a n d mysterious p8eta)Y|i(x
Tfjq epr||itt>G£co(; are omitted. In Lk. 2 1 , 2 0 - 2 4 we read:
When you shall see Jerusalem encircled by armed camps, then know
that its desolation (f| epr|ucflGi<; ai)Trj<;) has drawn nigh . . . and Jerusalem
shall be trodden down by the pagans until the times of the pagans
(Kaipoi eOvcov) are fulfilled.
O n l y after the unspecified a n d p r o t r a c t e d K a i p o i eOvcov will the heav

enly powers b e shaken a n d the signs seen (21,25-27). T h e epf|(icooi(;
of J e r u s a l e m is taken out of salvation history a n d placed securely in
secular history in which the c h u r c h is to have a mission a n d o r g a n
isation that e n d u r e s in secular time.
T h e particularly L u c a n a c c o u n t a n d doctrine of the Ascension also
implies this. J e s u s is lifted u p i n t o h e a v e n from w h e n c e in the
unspecifiable future he will one d a y return. (Acts 1,9.) F o r forty days
18
D . E . N i n e h a m , The Gospel of St. Mark, (London: A. and C. Black 1968), p. 3 5 4
footnote: "St. Luke's version is not a verbatim reproduction of the original but an
attempt, alternative to St. Mark's, to deal with a well-known prophecy of profana
tion which had not b e e n fulfilled with reference to the temple." Cf. G.B. Caird,
St. Luke, (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1963), pp. 2 3 1 - 2 3 2 .
82 CHAPTER THREE
before, o n e question that is highlighted is the question a b o u t t h e

occurrence of the apocalyptic events, b u t Jesus will give n o answer,
let alone a n y assurance of their immediacy, b u t r a t h e r points to a
continuing t e m p o r a l mission in which t h e c h u r c h c a n e x p a n d from
J e r u s a l e m to S a m a r i a a n d indeed to the uttermost parts of the earth
(1,6-8). Present a n d future time n o longer coalesce imperceptibly
into o n e as the E n d remorselessly floods into the present, as in early
Christian eschatology. T h e apostles a r e n o t to stand gazing into
heaven (1,9-11), as if for the i m m i n e n t return of Jesus, b u t a r e to
repair the organisation of a n indefinetly continuing c o m m u n i t y by
replacing J u d a s with Matthias in o r d e r to bring the n u m b e r of t h e
apostles back u p to twelve (1,15-26).
T h u s , according to C o n z e l m a n n ' s original thesis, the a u t h o r of
Luke-Acts h a s r e m o v e d the present from a n y i m m e d i a t e contact with
the eschaton. H e has thus created a space for the existence of a c o m
munity which will function in secular history with an ecclesiastical
O r d e r that will preserve its identity a n d continuity. But let us n o w
examine h o w the C h u r c h O r d e r for which the a u t h o r n o w makes
provision was shaped against t h e b a c k g r o u n d of the imperial recon
struction of secular history by his p a g a n contemporaries, a n d which
it in consequence reflected.
PART B. LUKE-ACTS IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPERIAL HISTORY
Luke introduces his birth narrative with a chronological note linking

Christ's birth with Augustan history in his story of the census (2,1-3).
In 3,1 the ministry of Jesus is r e c o r d e d as beginning "in t h e fifteenth
year of Tiberius C a e s a r , " h e n c e 30 A . D . , with Pontius Pilate n a m e d
as the " g o v e r n o r " (Tiyeuoveuovio*;) of J u d a e a , H e r o d as tetrarch of
Galilee, Philip of Ituraea, a n d Lysanias of Abilene. T h e action of
Claudius in expelling the J e w s from R o m e is recorded, in explana
tion of the presence of Aquila a n d Priscilla (Acts 18,2). Gallio is m e n
tioned as "pro-consul (avBuTcdiou) of A c h a e a " (18,12), with w h o m
we have already m e t as L u c a n ' s uncle w h o c o m m i t t e d suicide with
h i m on the failure of their conspiracy to take N e r o ' s life (2A 4). W e
also meet with Porcius Festus, succeeding Felix as governor (Tiyejicov).
19
(Acts 2 3 , 2 5 - 2 7 ; 2 4 , 2 7 )
W e know further what transpired regarding Festus and his succession by Cestius
Florus from J o s e p h u s , Antiqu. 2 0 , 197 2 0 3 ; B.ell. Jud. 2 , 1 6 6 .
But we do well to ask w h e t h e r this interaction with secular his

tory is purely c h r o n o g r a p h i c , or w h e t h e r there is some further p u r
pose reflected in the choice of at least some of these dates a n d figures.
Such a purpose, moreover, m a y reflect in some way the concerns
reflected in the imagery of the Imperial Cult as we have outlined
in o u r second chapter.
3B 1. The Augustan census ofhk. 2,1-2
It is easy to dismiss this passage for historical reasons for which no

d o u b t it ought to be dismissed. For this author, unlike Matthew, M a r y
did not originally live with J o s e p h in Bethlehem, only to m o v e to
N a z a r e t h from the house in which J e s u s was b o r n d u e to the malig
nancy of H e r o d a n d Archelaus (Mat. 2 , 1 ; 11; 13; 2 2 - 2 3 ) . Instead
the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts envisages J o s e p h a n d M a r y living in N a z a r e t h ,
a n d , in o r d e r to explain the fulfilment of Micah 5,2, invokes the
Augustan census. It is quite impossible that there was any census
involving each person within the E m p i r e r e t u r n i n g to their birth
20
place. T h e r e were however provincial censuses.
T h a t each R o m a n citizen t h r o u g h o u t the world h a d to enrol for
sacrifice at the altar of the Imperial Cult was to await the later gen
eral citizenship law of Caracalla in 212 A.D., which m a d e the Decian
persecution (251 A.D.) possible as we shall see. But t h a t at this time
"the whole world should be enrolled (drcoYpacpeaGai rcaaav TT^V OIKOU-
uivr|v)" in consequence of a "decree (86y|ia)" of Augustus is p r o b
lematic apart from the additional p r o b l e m of migration to one's place
of birth. A m o r e local census u n d e r Cyrenius as governor of Syria
would seem m o r e credible. Certainly we have r e c o r d e d in J o s e p h u s
a census c o n d u c t e d with great opposition by this governor in A . D .
21
6 or 7. But why should this local census (avxr] f| arcoypOMpri) be asso
ciated with some general world-wide edict of Augustus by the a u t h o r
of Luke-Acts? A careful e x a m i n a t i o n of the motivation for his exag
geration will expose his discrete purpose.
T h e a u t h o r of Luke-Acts clearly wished to associate the birth of
Jesus with Augustus, the m e n t i o n of whose n a m e in connection with
2 0
P.A. Brunt, Roman Imperial Themes, (Oxford: C l a r e n d o n 1990), pp. 3 2 9 - 3 3 1 .
21
J o s e p h u s Antiqu. 2 0 , 1 0 2 . For a discussion of the relation b e t w e e n this census
and Lk. 2 , 1 - 3 see E. Schurer, G. V e r m e s , and F. Millar, The History of the Jewish
People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.-A.D. 135), (Edinburgh: T . & T . Clark 1973),
p. 381 a n d pp. 4 1 6 - 4 2 7 . S e e also J . M . C r e e d , The Gospel According to St. Luke,
(London: M a c M i l l a n 1930), pp. 2 8 3 1 .
84 CHAPTER THREE
the this particular account of the birth of the true Messiah is evocative
of m a n y of the themes of the Imperial Cult to which we d r e w atten
22
tion in o u r second c h a p t e r . W e have seen how, particularly in the
Asia M i n o r of the Proconsular decree of 9 B.C., Augustus' birthday
was celebrated as the beginning of the saeculum aureum (r\ xou Geioxd-
xou Kouaapoq yeveGA.ioq fijiepa iiv xr\ xcov rcdvxcov ap%r\ ior|v . . .). (2B 4)
Asia M i n o r was of course the scene of m u c h of the second half of
Luke-Acts.
R e g a r d i n g the role of census taking, Augustus states:
In my sixth consulate [28 B.C.] I conducted a census [censum populi]

of the people with my colleague Marcus Agrippa. I held a lustrum after
an interval of forty-two years. At this lustrum, 4,063,000 Roman citizens
were registered (censa sunt capita). I performed a second lustrum in the
consulship of Gaius Censorinus and Gaius Asinius [8 B.C.] acting
alone, by virtue of consular imperium. At this lustrum 4,233,0000 Roman
citizens were registered. I held a third lustrum, by virtue of a consular
imperium, with my son, Tiberius Caesar, as my colleague, in the con
sulship of Sextus Pompeius and Sextus Appuleius [A.D. 14]. At this
lustrum 4,937,000 Roman citizens were registered.
Res Gestae '8,2
It is i m p o r t a n t , however, to emphasise that, as the w o r d lustrum sug

gests, there was a religious dimension to such acts. T h e lustrum was
properly the completion of the census, as is seen in Livy's a c c o u n t
of Servius, o n e of the legendary founders of the R o m a n constitution
(534 B.C.). T h e lustrum here refers to the "purification" of the citizen
b o d y after its n u m b e r s h a d b e e n d e t e r m i n e d [censu perfecto), a n d the
capacity of each person in the rank n o w allotted t h e m to contribute
to the cost of the w a r against the Vei. T h e c e r e m o n y (suovetaurilia)
was performed in the C a m p u s Martius w h e r e a pig, sheep, a n d bull
were sacrificed (Livy 1,44,2). It was this c e r e m o n y that was depicted
in relief o n the Ara Pacis (2A 4.2.1 a n d 2B 1 a n d Plate 6).
W e have a r g u e d in our second c h a p t e r that, in his reconstruction
of the cult within the reconstruction of the constitution, Augustus
2 2
For Luke's use of secular chronography to such a parallel b e t w e e n Jesus' king
d o m and that o f Augustus, see C . Talbert, Literary Patterns, T h e o l o g i c a l T h e m e s ,
a n d the G e n r e of Luke-Acts, in SBLMS 2 0 (1974), pp. 4 4 - 4 5 ; R . E . Brown, The
Birth of the Messiah, (Garden City N Y , Doubleday 1977), pp. 2 4 1 - 2 4 3 . T h e s e reflections
are also taken up in his account o f Luke-Acts as apologia pro imperio to a Christian
group by P.W. Walasky, "And so W e C a m e to R o m e " : T h e Political Perspective
of St. Luke, in SMTSMS 4 9 (1983), pp. 25 -28. See also K. Wengst, Pax Romana and
the Peace of Jesus Christ, trans. J. B o w d e n , (London: S C M 1987),'pp. 8 9 105.
presupposed a kind of systemadc theology in which the different cul

tic functions of the state were b r o u g h t u n d e r his control as Pontifex
Maximus a n d thus h e a d of the Imperial Cult. W e a r g u e d that the
saeculum aureum could only return a n d be g u a r a n t e e d long e n d u r a n c e
by a particular act of augurium, which he uniquely performed a n d
which D i o m e n t i o n e d as the augurium pacis (2A 5). T h e pax deorum
proved constantly elusive to the R e p u b l i c a n cult, even t h o u g h , fol
lowing various outbreaks of the strangest prodigies, ritual attempts
h a d b e e n m a d e to obtain it (2A 4.1).
W e m a y n o w a d d that a lustrum of the city was performed fol
lowing m a n y of these outbreaks in o r d e r to set the metaphysical
order right again a n d to p r o d u c e the required pax t h a t was to be
the achievement of Augustus alone. W e have countless examples of
23
this in Livy. W e have a r g u e d that implicit in Livy is the notion
that such examples b e c a m e increasingly m o r e frequent as the polit
ical b r e a k d o w n of the R e p u b l i c was reflected in the increasingly
chaotic supernatural order. Arruns moreover required the purification
of the city limits, its sacred b o u n d a r y the pomerium, b u t to n o avail
when he saw what the haruspicia indicated (Lucan Pharsalia 1, 593-595).
(2A 4.2)
It would be easy of course to secularise the process of the census
a n d cut it off from its religious roots so as to m a k e a lustrum after
24
p o r t e n t quite different from a lustrum after a c e n s u s . T h e roots of
both is in the apotropaeic function of the cult, as the suovetaurilia
25
clearly i n d i c a t e d . T h e reformed cult in which Augustus as Pontifex
Maximus achieved the pax deorum, n o w almost equivalent to the saecu
lum aureum, requires a census.
T h o u g h the lustrum is related originally to the imperium proconsulare
a n d not to the office of Pontifex or augur, they are in process of asso
ciation t h r o u g h the a p p r o p r i a t i o n of these offices, o n c e held by
different republican magistrates, by the same e m p e r o r . T h e evidence
for this process of association is the iconography of the Ara Pacis
itself. T h e suovetaurilia in the C a m p u s Martius (Livy 1,44,2) provided
the scene a r o u n d Servilius, o n e of the traditional founders of the
n
Livy 3 9 , 2 2 , 4 - 5 ; 4 2 , 2 0 ; Julius Obsequ. 13; 44; 4 6 ; 4 9 ; 52; 6 3 .
2 4
T h i s point is well m a d e by Berve, Lustrum, in PWK 13, 1-2 cols. 2 0 4 0 - 2 0 5 9 ,
see e.g. 2 0 4 1 : " M a n wird durchaus an eine 'sakral-profane' Einheit als Wurzel zu
denken h a b e n , die auch der realistische Charakter der romischen Religion u n d die
Heiligkeit des Staatsrechtes geradezu fordert. . ."
25
Îbid. cols. 2 0 4 3 2 0 4 6 .
86 CHAPTER THREE
constitution of old R e p u b l i c a n R o m e . Within the enclosure a r o u n d

the altar, we find the Dedicatio of 9 B.C. the iconography of which,
2
as R a d l e g h R a d f o r d argued, took the form of a suovetaurilia. ^ Clearly
this c e r e m o n y follows the second lustrum recorded in Res Gestae 8,2
in the consulship of Gaius Censorinus a n d Gaius Asinius (8 B.C.).
T h u s the Ara Pacis, in Augustus' respublicae restitutae, has depicted on its
frescoes the new suovetaurilia of the new Servius celebrated once m o r e
in the C a m p u s M a r t i u s w h e r e the Ara originally stood (Plate 6).
But new connections are m a d e with the Ara's iconography, which
clearly relates the saeculum aureum to the pax of n a t u r e as well as of
society, a n d that deified peace was m e d i a t e d t h r o u g h Augustus as
the Pax Augustea. T h u s previous disparate images are being c o m b i n e d
in the developing a n d legitimating discourse of the Imperial Cult.
Using the i c o n o g r a p h y of the Ara Pacis as a c o m m e n t a r y on the Res
Gestae at this point, we can therefore d e m o n s t r a t e that Augustus's
second lustrum was followed by a suovetaurilia celebrated as a critical
t u r n i n g p o i n t in R o m e ' s history with a truly Livian significance.
Indeed, as B u c h n e r has shown, we c a n n o t divorce the purpose of
the construction of the Ara from the Horologium n o r indeed from the
whole comples in the C a m p u s Martius which included the Mausoleum
27
a n d the Ustrinum of A u g u s t u s .
Eisner makes n o reference to Ralegh Radford's identification of
28
the suovetaurilia on the Ara Pacis. But in any case, I would accept
his general thesis t h a t the significance of such a n artefact does not
rest on the received "naturalism" in art-historical interpretation which
entails that, because art imitates n a t u r e , then each figure must refer
to a specific historical situation. I have referred to the origins of the
2 6
C.A. R a l e g h Radford, S o m e recent discoveries in R o m e and Italy, in JRomS
2 9 (1939), p. 4 9 : "The reconstructed upper frieze o n the t w o sides of the enclosure
is a historical record of the procession o n the occasion o f the solemn Consecratio
in 13 B.C., a c e r e m o n y in which the Flamines, magistrates, senators, a n d m e m b e r s
of the imperial family took part. Within, the frieze around the altar records the
D e d i c a t i o in 9 B . C . and the ritual laid d o w n for periodic sacrifices. O n l y a small
part of this frieze survives, but sufficient to s h o w that the scene represented is the
Suovetaurilia." See also P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, (trans.
A. Shapiro), (Ann Arbor: U . of M i c h i g a n 1990), pp. 7 2 - 7 3 and fig. 57; p. 144
fig. 116.
2 7
E. Buchner, Die Sonnenuhr des Augustus: Nachdruck aus RM 1976 und 1980 und
Nachtrag iiber die Ausgrabung 1980/1981, (Mainz a m Rhein: Philip v o n Zabern 1982),
pp. 3 4 5 - 3 4 8 .
2 8
J. Eisner, Cult and Sculpture: Sacrifice in the Ara Pacis Augustae, in JRomS
81 (1991), pp. 5 0 - 6 1 .
iconography, accepting that such a n a p p r o a c h is not so m u c h w r o n g

as limited. T h e Livian t h e m e s of lustrum a n d suovetaurilia w e r e to
b e c o m e p a r t of the general a n d o p e n - e n d e d conceptual organisation
of images, only loosely related to a n y one individual. T h e y entered
a n d formed p a r t of a collective a n d ongoing social response in which
the p e r c e p t i o n of any o n e individual contributed to b u t was not
exhaustive of the whole. "A Jewish view, for instance, or a Pythagorean
one might have been very different from that of a R o m a n p r i e s t . . .
T h e sacrificial process . . . of which the A r a Pacis was the setting,
was p e r m a n e n t l y incomplete a n d yet always temporarily fulfilled by
29
the viewer's o w n participation in the sacrificial r i t e . " I propose see
ing the discourse in which Luke-Acts operates as e m b o d y i n g a subset
of general a n d o p e n - e n d e d imperial images, not every o n e of which
will be consistent with every m e m b e r of the general set. W e can a d d
the n a m e of the Christian T h e o p h i l u s a n d the third Evangelist to
different kinds of persons, like Eisner's J e w i s h sage or P y t h a g o r e a n
philosopher, whose reactions to the developing iconography of the
Imperial Cult in Asia M i n o r , in parallel with that of R o m e , were
similiarly o p e n - e n d e d .
W e can n o w begin to see why the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts wished to
give a local census of Q u i r i n u s such a universal, world-wide per
spective, quite a p a r t from the a d d e d , migratory feature which could
bring ordinary residents of N a z a r e t h to Bethlehem. H e has taken a
m e m o r y or record of the census of Quirinus in 6 - 7 A . D . a n d applied
this to the birth of Christ, even t h o u g h there was clearly n o c h r o n o
logical connexion between this event a n d the reign of H e r o d the
Great, n o r indeed with the suovetaurilia at R o m e in 9 B.C. that h a d
followed the lustrum of 8 B.C. T a k i n g a narrative-critical a p p r o a c h ,
we m a y say that he n e e d e d to parallel for his readers in T h e o p h i l u s '
circle the birth of Jesus with the founder of the Imperial Cult, a n d
thus to c o m p a r e the religious claims m a d e by the former with his
claims for the latter.
Luke needed a census in J u d a e a — e v e n t h o u g h this only occurred
in 6 - 7 A . D . — i n o r d e r to parallel the lustrum at R o m e in 8 - 9 B.C.
His desire to lead his readers to associate the imagery evoked by
chronologically unrelated events has lead h i m to confuse his c h r o n
ology. In this parallel, Luke was strangely prophetic, a n d showed a
sensitivity to w h a t the Imperial Cult implied a n d into w h a t it was
Ibid. p. 5 2 .
88 CHAPTER THREE
to develop finally, u n d e r Decius T r a j a n (A.D. 251). According to

this later conception, the Imperial Cult r e q u i r e d a census of all those
Caracalla h a d m a d e citizens (A.D. 212) in o r d e r that their partici
pation in the Imperial Cult could thus be secured with the object
of securing once again the pax deorum. A 86YUOC was therefore required
that drcoypdipeaGou rcaoav TTIV oiKou|Li8vr|v, even t h o u g h in Caracalla's
or in Decius' case the place of residence a n d not a j o u r n e y to the
place of birth to be enrolled was to p r o v e sufficient.
Let us n o w p u r s u e this possibility further, a n d see h o w the a u t h o r
of Luke-Acts presupposes, in contrast to his earlier a n d traditional
apocalyptic archetypes, an eschatology closer to the pre-occupations
of the vision of Vergil's F o u r t h Eclogue a n d the role that it c a m e
to play in the Imperial Cult (2A 6).
3B 2. Cultic background of the altar of incense in Lk. 1,5-2,52
T h e scene that s u r r o u n d s Christ's birth, a c c o r d i n g to the a u t h o r , is

a cultic o n e . T h e narrative opens with a n angelic visitation by a n
altar of incense. In fact the verb Guuiacjou occurs once a n d the n o u n
Ouuiociia twice within two sentences which read:
It happened while [Zachariah] was exercising his priesthood (EV xcp

iepaxeveiv) in the daily order (xf\ xdêi xfjq ecpriuepiac;) before the Lord,
he was chosen by lot to offer incense (ekaxe xov 0\)(iidaai) according
to the custom of priestly officiants, when he entered the temple of the
Lord, while all the multitude of the people were praying outside at
the hour of incense (e^co xfj copra xov 6v|Liid|iaxo<;). And the angel of the
Lord appeared standing on the right hand side of the altar of incense
(xov 8i)aiaaxr|pio\) xov 6\)uidu.axoc;).
Luke 1 , 8 - 1 1
As we shall see w h e n we discuss the Apocalypse, incense was a char

acteristic feature of the Imperial Cult a n d is clearly reflected in the
imagery there. H e r e we should note that the practice of offering
incense was p a r t of the O l d T e s t a m e n t cultus, a n d that the a u t h o r
refers primarily to o n e particular practice from that cultus which he
has selected for a particular p u r p o s e . A a r o n b u r n s incense on the
altar before the T a b e r n a c l e veil every m o r n i n g a n d there is n o cultic
a r r a n g e m e n t by h o u r s (Exodus 3 0 , 1 , a n d 7). In 1 Chronicles 1 3 , 1 0 - 1 1 ,
however, we r e a d of the priests a n d levites w h o , in their daily divi
30
sions (£(pr|U£p{ai<;), b u r n incense to the L o r d early in the d a y .
For their 2 4 divisions see 1 Chron. 23,16; 2 8 , 1 3 and J o s e p h u s Antiqu. 12, 2 6 5 .

But it is interesting also to note that the Jewish cultic act of offering
of incense with w h i c h Luke-Acts chooses to begin t h e a n n o u n c e
m e n t of the forerunner of the Messiah was also characteristic of the
Imperial Cult. T h e inscription from G y t h e u m regarding the decree
of Tiberius refers to three images (eiKovaq) of divine Augustus C a e s a r
(9eou lePcccTou), Julia, a n d Tiberius Augustus, displayed on three suc
cessive days. It t h e n continues:
. . . let a table (xpaneâ) be set up by him in middle of the theatre

and let an incense charger (or altar) (Gvuiaxfipiov) be placed upon it
(E7UK£{C0CD) and let the councillors and all ranks together offer sacrifice
(£7ci0\)excoaav) before the players ( a K p o d u a x a ) enter for the safety (xfjq
31
xcov f|ye|i6vcov acoxripicc*;) of the rulers.
W e have, moreover, a b r o n z e statuette from L u g d u n u m depicting a

priest of the Imperial Cult holding a n incense box in his left h a n d
a n d with his right depositing a few grains o n a n altar (Plate 15). A
statuette conveys the image of a characteristic pose of the office of
32
the person d e p i c t e d . T h e image of a n act of censing for a priest
of the Imperial Cult is as characteristic as that of the depiction of
a medieval priest performing m a n u a l acts at Mass with the H o s t in
his h a n d s .
Augustus is depicted on one cult statue wearing a R o m a n toga
b u t veiled as a priest with a patera (y\akx\) in his right h a n d , which
33
was used to hold incense as well as wine or other cereal offerings.
H o w e v e r , there are clear associations between the (pidXr) a n d incense
in early Christian images as Apoc. 5,8 makes clear. T h e r e are clear
references to incense associated with the Imperial Cult at G y t h e u m
34
in A . D . 15 a n d at P e r g a m o n circa A . D . 1 3 8 . T h e b u r n i n g of incense
a n d libations was already c o m m o n in the Hellenistic ruler cult in
35
Ptolemaic Egypt before its a d a p t a t i o n to e m p e r o r w o r s h i p . T h e r e
is arguably, therefore, a clear association between the Imperial Cult,
the practice of general ruler-worship from which it was derived, a n d
31
S.R.F. Price, Rituals and Power. The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, (Cambridge:
U . P . 1984), p. 2 0 8 .
3 2
D . Fishwick, T h e Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult
of the Western Province of the R o m a n Empire, in EPRO 108 (1991) 1,1, p. 133
footnote 2 4 6 a n d Plate 19, a n d 2,1 p. 5 0 4 a n d pp. 5 6 5 - 5 6 6 .
3 3
Price (1984), p. 185 and Plate 1 b.
34
SEG 11,922 9 3 3 (Gytheum); Ehrenberg and J o n e s (1955) no. 102 (a); IGRR 4,
3 5 3 b 2 0 attests the use of incense o n Trajan's altar at P e r g a m o n .
3 5
Fishwick (1991) 2,1 p. 5 1 3 .
90 CHAPTER THREE
the offering of incense a n d wine in the p a g a n religious cultural her

36
itage of T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle (Plate 14).
T h e a u t h o r of Luke-Acts therefore has selected from the J e w i s h cult
a particular act that evokes particular c o m p a r i s o n by gentile read
ers in Asia M i n o r a n d in Syria, a n d even by J e w i s h r e a d e r s in
C a e s a r e a Philippi w h e r e the H e r o d i a n temple of Sebaste stood, with
the Imperial Cult. It is arguable that the Imperial Cult represents
the real, p a g a n backcloth for his seemingly Jewish backcloth, if Luke
is written after A . D . 70 w h e n the J e w i s h T e m p l e rites have b e e n
abolished. I n d e e d , the Jewish backcloth would have h a d n o value
for Luke as a deutero-Paulinist unless J e w i s h imagery could be re-
serviced as a contra-cultural response to p a g a n ritual. It is with the
Hellenistic, p a g a n incense-ritual with which his readers would b e
familiar. Yet in the o p e n - e n d e d , developing conceptual discourse of
participants in the cult, n e w J u d a e o C h r i s t i a n concepts are n o w
devised a n d assimilated with p a g a n ones. Eisner's formulation of art-
historical interpretation has clearly general relevance. W e have seen
however t h a t the Ara Pacis of Augustus (2B 1) h a d expressed icono-
graphically the message of a Messianic golden age well reflected in
the literary works of his court poets (2A 6). W e shall n o w see h o w
t h a t golden age is n o w reflected by the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts a n d the
r e f o r m e d J e w i s h cult t h a t he sets in c o n t r a s t with the r e f o r m e d
R o m a n cult of a divine a n d augural e m p e r o r .
3B 3. Eschatological promise and the reformed Jewish Cult
W e have already outlined the way in which the a u t h o r has b r o k e n

with traditional apocalyptic descriptions, not so m u c h denying t h e m
b u t simply insulating the present from their effect by placing t h e m
in a far a n d indefinite future. T h e kind of golden age eschatology
with which h e replaces this apocalyptic imagery is being fulfilled in
the present by the birth a n d ministry of J e s u s the Messiah. But it
should be n o t e d that the a n n o u n c e m e n t of that golden age is m a d e ,
not t h r o u g h J o h n the Baptist alone even without his apocalypse of
blood a n d fire. T h e forerunner is given a supernatural birth even
t h o u g h of a different kind to that of J e s u s .
Such also was the position argued in M . Nilsson, GGR? 2, p. 3 3 7 .

Both are a n n o u n c e d in the context of the temple cult a n d its priest

(Zachariah) a n d female prophetess. Female prophetesses were not
usually associated with the Jewish Cult, unlike the Sibyl in the R o m a n
cult. T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t of the golden age is t h r o u g h the m e d i u m
of cultic h y m n s (Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, etc.), like the Carmen Saeculare
of H o r a c e . T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t of J o h n ' s birth that makes Z a c h a r i a h
d u m b took place in the temple at the altar of incense (Lk. 1,5-25).
His aged wife Elizabeth, miraculously with child given h e r age, m a y
leave the temple precinct to visit M a r y in N a z a r e t h in Galilee, a n d
there she m a y h e a r from M a r y ' s lips the Magnificat (1,26-56). H e
m a y recover his voice at the birth of J o h n a n d sing his h y m n of
thanksgiving (1,57-80).
But the scene will return, after the Angels' Song, to the S h e p h e r d
and the birth of Christ (2,1-21) once m o r e to the T e m p l e , where M a r y
a n d J o s e p h take the Christ child in o r d e r to offer the sacrifices for
purification a n d there S y m e o n will sing the Nunc Dimittis (2,22-35).
A n n a pursues h e r w i d o w h o o d in the temple from which she never
departs, a n d w h e r e she fasts a n d prays, like the Sibyl, telling w h a t
has occurred to all w h o await r e d e m p t i o n in J e r u s a l e m (naciv xoiq
f
7ipoo8exoii£vot<; Xmpqoiv IepouoaA,f||n; 2 , 3 6 - 3 9 ) . Finally the special
material of Luke-Acts ends at this point with the y o u n g Christ in the
T e m p l e astounding the teachers in the T e m p l e (1,41-52).
But given that it is a reformed cult of J u d a i s m from which arises
the h o p e of the golden age, in w h a t terms is such a n age expressed,
which, like Augustus' augurium pacis, the cult will t h r o u g h its central
figure u s h e r in (2B 1)? W e shall n o w see t h e close c o n n e c t i o n s
between the imagery of the various cultic h y m n s a n d that of the
Imperial Cult.
3B 3 . 1 . eipf|vr|, ocoxrip and the p a x d e o r u m in Luke-Acts
W e h a v e already d r a w n attention to the way in which such virtues

as Eipr|vr]-/fex, 'Ouovoiot—Concordia are not merely i n d e p e n d e n t deities
but are associated, as they h a d b e e n from Sulla's time, with the per
sonality of the imperator (2B 3). It was necessary therefore n o w to
have the Augustan presence in o r d e r to secure the saeculum aureum
in which these virtues would be realised. Similar t h e m e s are n o w
reflected in the special time that has come r o u n d , the eviauxov Kupiou
S E K T O V which, in the a u t h o r ' s own special additions to Mark a n d Q,
is w h a t Jesus begins his ministry by "heralding (icr|pu£ai)." (Lk. 4,18)
92 CHAPTER THREE
T h i s passage by itself parallels the Imperial Cult without there

a p p e a r i n g at first sight to exist any necessary connection b e t w e e n
such a contingent a n d parallel t h e m e . T h e reference is to the free
ing (A,\>xpcoci<;) of the land every 50th year, the y e a r of J u b i l e e (Lev.
25,10). T h e parallel in the Imperial C u l t is with a Stoic r e t u r n of
the golden age after the disintegration into iron, after w h i c h the
cycle of history makes its full t u r n to the saeculum aureum with Fortuna
Redux. W e h a v e e x a m i n e d h o w the metaphysics of such a notion was
i n c o r p o r a t e d into the fundamental assumptions of the Imperial Cult
(2A 6). But like Augustus, a n d unlike O l d T e s t a m e n t forshadowings,
the evuxuTov Kupiou 8eicx6v a n d the c o n s e q u e n t Xmpwoiq is m a d e
d e p e n d e n t for its fulfilment o n a u n i q u e p e r s o n , J e s u s . T h u s the
a p p e a r a n c e of contingency in the parallelism is mistaken. T h e r e is
a direct connection b e t w e e n the use of O l d T e s t a m e n t p r o m i s e a n d
the matrix of the ideology of the Imperial C u l t which shapes the
envisaged fulfilment of that promise.
IcoTTipia was a n o t h e r of these virtuous conditions associated with
the extraordinary pax deorum which Augustus as augur was to achieve.
Z a c h a r i a h prophesies on the birth of J o h n his son the fulfilment of
p r o m i s e d Auxpcoaiq in that G o d has "raised u p the h o r n of salvation
for us (acoxripiaq TIJIIV; Lk. 1,69)." H e r e again acoxripia has a n O l d
T e s t a m e n t b a c k g r o u n d w h e r e such phrases as "salvation from o u r
enemies (acoxripiav e£ e^GpSv; 1,71)" are derived from 2 Sam. 2 2 , 3 ,
a n d Ps 1 7 , 1 8 - 1 9 in the process of his construction of a h y m n (Lk.
1,71-72). In p r e p a r i n g the way for the L o r d J o h n is "to give know
ledge of salvation (xou Souvcu yvcooiv ocoxripiaq) to his people (xcp Xa&
auxou) in the forgiveness of their sins (ev dcpeaei 6c|iapxicov; 1,77)."
H e r e also the O l d T e s t a m e n t b a c k g r o u n d reveals a fulfilled J u d a i s m
which parallels the imperial ideology b u t shows n o necessary con
nection with it.
But when we turn to Luke's association of the divine plan (rcpoyvcooK;,
pou^T|) with t h e m e s of acoxr|p{a a n d ocoxrip, we find m o r e t h a n a
merely contingent parallelism b u t r a t h e r a m o r e positive connection.
Squires has emphasised the at least partial roots of Luke's concept
of providence in the linguistic usage of Kpovoia in Hellenistic uni
versal histories such as D i o d o r u s Siculus a n d Dionysius of Halicar-
37
nassus. But there is a m o r e direct connection in the association of
17
J . T . Squires, T h e Plan of G o d in Luke-Acts, in SINTS m o n o g r a p h series 76
(Cambridge: 1993), pp. 15 17; 3 8 - 4 6 ; 103 108.
npovoia with ocoxrip in the ideology of the Imperial Cult. It is this

association in the template of imperial ideology that arguably deter
mines Luke's association of such O l d T e s t a m e n t t h e m e s as he con
structs these a r o u n d J e s u s as acoxf|p.
W e have already noted from the K o i n o n of Asia's decree in 9 B.C.
the description of Augustus as the o n e "Providence (npovoia) g r a n t e d
to us as o u r saviour (coarcep Tijieiv m i x o i q ixeO'fuxaqocoxfipaxapiaaiievri)
w h o has m a d e w a r to cease a n d o r d e r e d the world with peace (xov
38
rcauaavxa jiev 7i6A,euov, Koouriaovxa 8e eipr|vTw)." W e h a v e examples
too from Sardis b e t w e e n 5 - 2 B.C., a n d G y t h e i o n in L a c o n i a in
T i b e r i u s ' reign (2B 4). W e m a y note further examples in the case
39
of Antiochus I V a n d J u l i u s C a e s a r .
T h e passage continues:
through the compassion of our God,

in which the dawn (&vaxoA,t|) from on high has visited us,
to appear to those seated in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide (Kax£\)0\)vai) our feet into the way of peace (eiq 686v eipf|vt|<;).
Luke 1,78-79
T h e feeling of gloom a n d despondency, of darkness a n d the s h a d o w

of d e a t h , is not to be attributed to a n expression of the feeling of
Israel u n d e r enemy occupation. W e r e that the focus of these sentiments,
they would not have b e e n included in this highly crafted literary text
addressed to T h e o p h i l u s , a R o m a n of some rank, as is shown by
40
his b e i n g addressed as " Y o u r Excellency (icpdxiaxe Geotpita)," a b o u t
w h o m we shall have some m o r e to say later (3C 2). T h e t h e m e is
not of revolutionary chaos or n a t u r a l convulsion b u t of a golden age
3 8
Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s (1955), p p . 8 2 - 8 3 n o . 9 8 (b) lines 3 4 - 3 6 and IB 4.
3 9
S e e also M . P . Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen Religion in HA 5,2,2 (1974),
pp. 3 7 1 - 3 7 2 for examples in the case o f Caesar a n d Antiochus IV. Cf. Fishwick
(1987) 1,1 pp. 1 1 - 1 2 , 27, 4 8 , 5 0 .
40
Lk. 1,3. L. Alexander, T h e Preface to Luke's Gospel. Literary convention and
social context in Luke 1 . 1 - 4 a n d Acts 1.1, in SINTS m o n o g r a p h series 78 (1993),
p. 133: ". . . Kpdxiaxoq was applied properly to people o f equestrian rank. But it is
n o w accepted tht it is found with wider application . . . and so its use does not
prove that T h e o p h i l u s was a R o m a n official." But Luke uses this w o r d only in o n e
other place, Acts 2 3 , 2 5 , where Claudias Lysias addresses his letter: xcp KpaxCaxcp
fiyeuovi 0T|A,iia. Clearly Luke understands this term as that of a high ranking official,
and therefore in a sense consistant with OGIS 6 1 4 , 4 - 5 (governor o f Arabia); 6 2 9 , 1 6 8
(Corbulo); 6 6 7 , 4 (prefect o f Egypt); J o s e p h u s , Antiqu. 2 0 , 1 2 (governor o f Syria). See
also R . L . Fox, Pagans and Christians, (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1986), pp. 4 3 0 - 4 3 1 .
O n T h e o p h i l u s as a real person and not a p s e u d o n y m for a "typical" Christian,
see Alexander (1995), pp. 1 8 8 - 1 9 0 ff.
94 CHAPTER THREE
of guided o r d e r (raxeuGuvai) in the p a t h of p e a c e (eiq 686v eiprivriq).

T h e r e are n o concessions here to the traditional eschatological themes,
derived from ML 13 a n d found in Lk. 2 1 , 7 - 2 8 . T h e drcoMxpcoai<;
of 21,28, set in the context of the "signs in the sun a n d m o o n . . .
distress of nations in perplexity at the r o a r i n g of the sea a n d the
waves m e n fainting with fear a n d with foreboding of w h a t is c o m
ing on the world; for the powers of the heavens will b e s h a k e n "
(25-26), is clearly different from the context of the A,t>xpcoai<; of 1,68
which is set in the context of acpeaiq a n d eipr|vrj (1,77-79). As a n
expression of a people oppressed seeking freedom from the R o m a n
yoke, it w o u l d have b e e n far m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e for the a u t h o r of
Luke-Acts to have retained the apocalyptic framework of Mark, as
Matthew does (3A 1-2).
T h e sense of npovoia too in the "destiny (n npovoia) which fulfils
41
the prayers of a l l " is reflected in the homily attributed to Peter in
Acts 2,23 w h e r e J e s u s ' betrayal by J u d a s a n d the Crucifixion is "by
the p r e d e t e r m i n e d counsel (zr\ cbpiopivTi PorAii) a n d foreknowledge
(rcpoYvcoaei) of G o d . " In the Proconsul of Asia's letter, it is fitting that
Caesar's b i r t h d a y should m a r k the entry of magistrates into office,
since this "signifies (8r|ôv6xi) of the r a n k thus m a r k e d out (ouxcoq
xfjq xdêcoq 7ipoxexrj7icouivr|<;) that it is according to a divine wish ( m x d
42
xivaGeiav pouA,r|oiv)." Jesus according to Acts 2,22 is "a m a n depicted
(a7co8e8eiy|Lievov) by G o d to you by miracles a n d w o n d e r s a n d signs."
His entry into office, as it were, t h r o u g h the resurrection is here
viewed as p a r t of the divine p l a n or p u r p o s e .
As we saw from the letter of the proconsul of Asia in 9 B.C. (2B 4),
Augustus " h a d set right (dvcopGcoaev)" by the "good fortune (euxuxrjua)"
of his birth (yeveQXioq fijiepa) a world whose collapsed form has b e e n
43
transformed into a fortunate condition (eiq euxuxeq uexapePrjKoq axnua).
T h a t "setting right" was associated conceptually with the Augustus'
augural act in p r o d u c i n g an extraordinary pax deorum (2A 5). In Lk.
1,79 there is a similar "setting right" in connection with eipr|vr| or
pax in the description of J o h n as "guiding (icaxeuGuvai) o u r feet into
the way of p e a c e (eiq 686v eipr|vr|<;)." W h e n she is healed, the crip
pled w o m a n is described as "being set right (or stood upright =
dvcop0co9ri)," uniquely in the N e w T e s t a m e n t , in Lk. 13,13.
41
Ehrenberg and J o n e s (1955) 9 8 a . line 6 and IBM 4 , 1 , n o . 8 9 4 .
42
Ibid. no. 9 8 (a) line 15.
4 3
Ibid. no. 9 8 (a) line 6 and IB 4.
F u r t h e r m o r e those "seated in darkness a n d in the shadow of d e a t h "

in Lk. 1,79 are m e m b e r s of the world described in the proconsul of
Asia's letter as o n e that "would have gladly w e l c o m e d its destruc
44
tion (TI8IOTCX av 8ef;auevcp cpGopav)." T h e birth of Augustus h a d b e e n
the " b e g i n n i n g of the good life of n a t u r e a n d of society (dpxfiv TOU
(iiou Koci ifjq ^cofiq), which is the e n d a n d limit of feeling regret (xou
45
jiexapiêaGou)." Likewise in the angels' song to the shepherds, peace
(eipr|vr|) is a n n o u n c e d " u p o n earth a m o n g s t m e n with w h o m G o d is
46
well pleased (ev ravGpcbrcoiq eu8oK{a(;; Lk. 2 , 1 4 ) . " Finally S y m e o n in
the Nunc Dimittis links his d e p a r t u r e "in p e a c e (ev eiprivp)" with "thy
salvation (TO acoTripiov aou; 2 , 2 9 - 3 0 ) . "
But the presence of salvation, p e a c e , a n d the saeculum aureum was
associated, according to Vergil's F o u r t h Eclogue, with the birth of a
child w h o (/. 15), possessed the "life of the gods (deum vitam)." By the
time he wrote Aeneid 6, 7 9 1 - 7 9 4 , Vergil associated the divine person
age with Augustus Caesar, genus divorum, qui condet saecula aurea (2A 6).
Augustus m o r e o v e r was quite literally fdius dei since he was not only
C a e s a r ' son b u t also of the gens Julia whose divine ancestor h a d b e e n
V e n u s . It would be quite w r o n g to u n d e r r a t e the strong religious
impression m a d e by such expressions a n d attributes o n the w a y in
which the E m p e r o r was r e g a r d e d in Asia M i n o r in the late first cen
47
t u r y . Let us n o w e x a m i n e the L u k a n parallels with such imperial
titles. O n c e again we shall note that it is the imperial ideology that
controls his selection of O l d T e s t a m e n t t h e m e s a n d provides the pat
tern into which he fits t h e m .
3B 3.2. Virgin Birth and Jesus as Son of God (Lk. 2,26-35)

T h e a u t h o r of Luke-Acts did not invent the story of the Virgin Birth.
A v a r i a n t of that same tradition is found in Mat. 1,18-25. O n the
generally accepted, four d o c u m e n t hypothesis, Luke did not k n o w
44
Ibid, line 8.
45
Ibid, line 1 0 - 1 1 .
4 6
S e e also Nilsson (1974), p. 3 7 1 .
4 7
T h u s I find quite facile B.W. J o n e s , The Emperor Domitian, (London: Routledge
1992), p p . 1 0 8 - 1 0 9 where he regards Domitian's divine appellation as: "all but
incredible . . . terms used by flatterers such as Martial, Statius, Juventius Celsus (or
Pliny) to secure a favour from an autocrat hardly constitute p r o o f that they were
instructed or required to use them . . . " I have followed here the general thesis of
Price (1984) and Fishwick (1987) that it is w r o n g to secularize R o m a n politics and
to marginalize the religious dimension in this way. S e e also K. Scott, The Imperial
Cult under the Flavians ( N e w York: A r n o 1975), pp. 102 103 and footnote 7 above.
96 CHAPTER THREE
M a t t h e w ' s special material, or vice versa. But there are significant

differences.
Firsdy, in Lk. 1,32, w h a t M a r y is to conceive is to be called "Son
of the Highest (vibq uOioxou)," a n d therefore Son of G o d already by
conception. M o r e o v e r this tide is linked with not only the " t h r o n e
of David his F a t h e r " a n d rule "over the house of J a c o b forever,"
b u t also with an everlasting kingdom, since: "of his kingdom (xfiq
paoitaiocq auxou) there shall be n o e n d (OUK eoxoci xeXoq; 1,32-33)."
But in Mat. 1,18-25 this connection is not m a d e .
J e s u s is referred to simply as "king of the J e w s " in the question
of the M a g i (2,1-2). T h e a d o r a t i o n of the M a g i foreshadows the
h o m a g e of the Gentiles to be given to Israel's Messiah. M a r y is to
have a child a n d " w h a t is begotten (yevvrjGev) is of the H o l y Spirit
( E K 7CV£U|XCXTO<; eaxiv ayiou; 1,20)." His n a m e J e s u s implies that "he
shall save (ocbaei) his people from their sins." (1,21) Matthew here
uses the verb ocooei r a t h e r t h a n the Augustan title ocoxrip which, as
we have seen, is used by the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts (3B 3.1). T h e child
is b o r n in Bethlehem (the city of David) (2,5-6). In Matthew w h a t is
yevvr|0ev eic rcveujiotToq . . . aytou is not c o n n e c t e d therefore with the
tide mbq xou Geou. T h e child "begotten of the H o l y Spirit" is a mir
acle that indicates M a r y ' s purity, so that J o s e p h shall not " p u t h e r
away," (1,20) a n d simply fulfils a Messianic p r o p h e c y (Is. 7,14) a b o u t
a virgin a n d a child called E m m a n u e l (1,22-23). Yioq xou Geou is not
therefore c o n n e c t e d in Matthew with the m o d e of Christ's virginal
birth n o r therefore with the golden age as both in Augustan litera
ture a n d in Luke-Acts. J e s u s is called " S o n of G o d " in Mat. 2,15, but,
as with the divine voice at his baptism first in Mat. 3,17 as in Mk.
1,11, the tide has the sense of a d o p t i o n r a t h e r . t h a n birth, in allu
sion to the a d o p t i o n of Israel in Hos. 11,1 or the king as Israel's
representative in Ps. 2,7. T h u s in Matthew n o conclusion is d r a w n
from the V i r g i n Birth to J e s u s ' divine status o t h e r t h a n t h a t of
48
Messiah in fulfilment of Is. 7 , 1 4 .
T h e a d o p t i o n of the Augustan equation genus divorum (= Jilius dei -
saeculum aureum) is, therefore, by the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts alone. M a r y
asks h o w this can be since she has not carnal knowledge of a m a n
4 8
For a further discussion and full bibliography, see J. N o l l a n d , N o Son-of-God
Christology in M a t t h e w 1 . 1 8 - 2 5 , in JSMT 62 (1996), pp. 3 - 1 2 .
(Lk. 1,34) a n d therefore invites Gabriel's r a t h e r clinical a n d techni

cal explanation. H e replies:
The Holy Spirit (rcveuua ayiov) shall come upon you (ikevoETca ini a e ) ,
and the power of the Highest (mi 5\>va|ii<; \)\j/iaTO\)) shall overshadow
you (enioKiaoEi AOI); therefore that holy thing which is born ( 8 1 6 m i
XO yevvcouevov ayiov) shall be called a son of God (ICA.r|9T|a£Tai vxbq 0 e o v ) .
Luke 1,35
Clearly the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts, just like the Augustan poets, wishes

to show h o w the figure at the centre of his Christian cult is quite
literally divine by procreation, a n d in n o analogical o r allegorical
sense. In Eel. 4,6, the m o t h e r of the child to b e b o r n was a Virgo, a n d
her seed the " d e a r offspring of the gods (cara deum suboles)" (I. 49) so
that TO yEvvcouEvov clearly parallels suboles.
O u r comparison of M a t h a e a n a n d L u k a n accounts of the Virgin
Birth show that not every selection a n d development of O l d Testament
proof texts will yield the sense in which Luke uses his divine titles.
Luke affirms the use of O l d T e s t a m e n t concepts of acorn p i a in support
of his tide of acoTr|p because he c a n thereby construct a parallelism
with the imperial ideology, just as h e does w h e n he interprets O l d
T e s t a m e n t prophecies of the Virgin Birth as a divine p r o c r e a t i o n .
But it is not the case t h a t the a u t h o r will take o n the categories
of the Imperial Cult without radical reinterpretation. It is not a p a g a n
cultus with which we are presented b u t a reformed J e w i s h o n e in
which J e s u s ' Messiahship stands realised. C o n t r a - c u l t u r e s to some
extent p r o d u c e m i r r o r images of their host culture: they reverse the
categories a n d values of w h a t they reflect. A n d this is w h a t is clearly
h a p p e n i n g here. Luke is h o l d i n g u p to T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle
inverse m i r r o r images of their p a g a n culture that reverse the cate
gories a n d values of w h a t those images reflect.
It has often b e e n pointed out that the language of Lk. 1,35 almost
self-consciously rules out a n y h u m a n l y conceived activity of G o d on
M a r y ' s w o m b , such as w h e n Anchises fathered by the seduction of
V e n u s Aeneas a n d thereby the gens Julia (Vergil Aenid 1, 6 1 7 - 6 2 0 ) .
T h e divine activity in the miraculous birth is described in highly
abstract terms. T h e a n t h r o p o m o r p h i s m of "shall c o m e u p o n you
( E X E U O E T C U £7ci a e ) " is all b u t obliterated by m a k i n g the subject of this
verb "holy spirit (7W£uuoc ayiov)." T h e equivalent expression in different

terms, in the second stanza of a H e b r e w p o e m , likewise makes it
clear that JWEUUXX otyiov is the depersonalised " p o w e r of the Highest
98 CHAPTER THREE
(8t>vaui<; i)\|nGTorj)" a n d its action is d e v o i d of directly physical con

49
tact ("shall overshadow you (eTuoKidoei GOI)").
It is strictly therefore t h r o u g h this depersonalised process that the
"holy t h i n g which is b o r n (816 KGU TO yevvcojaevov ayiov) shall be called
a son of G o d (KA,r)6r|a£Tai vibq GEOU; Lk. 1,35)." Yet as we have
pointed out, there was no such connection b e t w e e n the title son of
G o d a n d d i v i n e p r o g e n y in the tradition which p r e c e d e d Luke, a n d
n o justification from his O l d T e s t a m e n t material. His theology of
the Virgin Birth is the result of the impress of the template of i m p e
rial ideology u p o n t h a t material. Mk. 15,39 places that title in the
m o u t h of the centurion w h e r e the a u t h o r uses it as a double-entendre:
his readers knew w h a t the title really m e a n t , without any concession
such as Luke makes to a p a g a n theology of d i v i n e procreation. T h e
a u t h o r of Luke-Acts is therefore creating a metaphysical sense in which
J e s u s can b e seen as a divine p r o g e n y in self-conscious reflection on
the position of Augustus in the Imperial Cult. H e refashions the con
cepts of that cult a n d the c o m m u n i t y at the centre of which it stood
in o r d e r to present his own contra-cultural image that identifies his
own c o u n t e r g r o u p .
But we shall n o w e x a m i n e a third strand in the cultic h y m n s , a n d
aetiological stories associated with it, in terms of the contra-cultural
response of the community of Luke-Acts to Augustan concept of Victoria,
its messianic associations, a n d its divinisation from a n abstract t e r m
into a personal one.
3B 3.3. Victoria and the Magnificat (Lk. 1,46-55)

W e saw h o w in the republican cult Victoria was t u r n e d into one of
the divine personalities of the e m p e r o r . W e observed m o r e o v e r the
iconographic expression of this process in the inscriptions o n the
gemma Augustea w h e r e R o m a a p p e a r s alongside r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of
Victoria, Oikumene, a n d Tellus. Alongside Roma sits Augustus with the
cornucopic sign of C a p r i c o r n over his h e a d , a n d in his right h a n d
is the lituus. Fortuna is depicted c r o w n i n g h i m (2B 3 a n d Plate 13).
T h u s Victoria a n d Salus were qualities achieved t h r o u g h the sacerdo
tal qualities of the figure of Augustus, genus divorum, standing as p r e
siding priest of a cult which sacramentally c o u l d secure the saeculum
aureum.
4 9
V . Taylor, The Historical Evidence for the Virgin Birth, (Oxford: C l a r e n d o n 1920);
Brown (1977), p p . 3 1 4 3 1 6 .
T h e r e is n o necessary connection, in a logical sense, between the

concepts of Victoria a n d Salus in battle, a golden age, a h u m a n figure
of divine a n d supernatural p a r e n t a g e , a n d a series of sacred acts
centred u p o n a cult. In terms of traditional Christian theology post
C h a l c e d o n , M a r y ' s virginity a n d the m a n n e r of her conception has
significance for the theology of incarnation. But there is as a back
g r o u n d to the original a c c o u n t in Luke n o n e of the latter theologi
cal a n d philosophical concerns of Chalcedon. W i t h o u t such a context,
there is n o necessary connection between the A n n u n c i a t i o n a n d the
contents of the Magnificat. T h a t h y m n , from the centre of the Christian
cultus, considered as J u d a i s m reformed, does not have M a r y m e d i
tating o n a n d glorying in the two natures m a d e o n e in w h a t she
conceives.
R a t h e r she interprets the significance of the genus dei, the uioq TOU
Geou which she bears, in terms of a military victory. T h o u g h for
mally speaking the actual t e r m Victoria (Ndcrj) is not explicity used,
o t h e r t e r m s indicative of such a divine a b s t r a c t i o n a r e . M a r y ' s
TarcelvcoGK; has b e e n e n d e d by G o d w h o is 6 Suvaxoq, a n d w h o has
"shown (ercornaev) the might (Kpdioq) of his a r m (ev ppaxiovi auxou)"
a n d "scattered the p r o u d (8ieoK0p7uoev urcepcpdvouq; Lk. 1,48-51)."
" H e h a s cast d o w n (icaOeitav) t h e m i g h t y (Suvdaxaq) from their
thrones (anb 0p6vcov; 52)." Previously the promised birth of M a r y ' s
child has b e e n associated with the Gpovoq a n d fiaoiXeia of D a v i d
which, like the ideal imperium Romanum, will have n o e n d (Lk. 1,32-33).
F u r t h e r m o r e , Z a c h a r i a h ' s thanksgiving for the birth of J o h n the
Baptist sets the themes of acoxripia, XuTpcoaiq, a n d acpeaic; in the mil
itaristic context of the Kepctq acorn, piocq w h i c h gives deliverance e£
exGpcov (1, 6 9 - 7 0 ; 73). T h o u g h n o t specifically n a m e d , the kind of
emotional investment in the deified Victoria was not absent from the
worship of M a r y ' s child by T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle.
W e can, following partially a narrative-critical a p p r o a c h , construct
the ideal r e a d e r from such passages a n d find that o u r construc
tion is informed by the cultural a n d historical template which orders
the t h e m e of Victoria (Niicn,) in the Imperial Cult. S u c h a template
makes intelligible h o w T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle would regard the
record of the events of a supernatural birth a n d a divine Child which
ushers in a reign of Pax or eiprivn. as alternative images to those of
the Imperial Cult (Plate 5). T h a t cult, from 9 B.C. o n w a r d s , trans
figured the landscape of religious architecture a n d culture in the Asia
M i n o r of the provenance of the Lukan writings, as well as at Caesarea
100 CHAPTER THREE
50
Philippi in Palestine itself. Some traditional, Jewish prophetic elements
might contribute to that picture, such as the vision of the G o l d e n
Age in Is. 2 , 1 - 4 , or 11,1-11 w h e r e n a t u r e is at peace, p a r t of which
involves a y o u n g child leading wild animals without danger. But in
the latter case there is no a messianic child b o r n supernaturally w h o
is the sacramental sign of that saeculum aureum.
Elijah is m e n t i o n e d in the latest recension of Malachi b u t there
the scene is of j u d g e m e n t a n d purification, a n d not of p e a c e a n d
security. Lk. 1,15-17 applies the description of Elijah (Mai. 3,22-23)
to J o h n , b u t without the addition of t h r e a t e n e d j u d g e m e n t (\ix\ eABco
m i rcaxd^co xfiv yf|v dp8r|v). T h e original description of the messenger
is o n e of terror (Mai. 3,2~6). T h u s the description here of the future
ministry of J o h n the Baptist blends with the eipr|vii of a J u d a e o -
Christian saeculum aureum without themes of j u d g e m e n t associated with
J o h n elsewhere (Mat. 3 , 7 - 1 2 ; ML 1,6-8). Lk. 3 , 7 - 1 5 modifies the
j u d g e m e n t a l picture of J o h n , even t h o u g h he retains the " w r a t h to
c o m e , " (7) by the addition of m o r e peaceful features. J o h n , shorn of
Elijah's dress a n d diet, exhorts the giving of food a n d clothing to
those in need. Tax-collectors are not to exact m o r e t h a n their al
lotted a m o u n t . R o m a n soldiers are to b e content with their wages
(10-14). T h e L u k a n G o l d e n Age has n o such elements of j u d g e
ment, but has instead a supernaturally b o r n Divine Child, a n d themes
of Victoria a n d Pax. I n d e e d , j u d g e m e n t a n d purification would have
b e e n as alien to the b a c k g r o u n d to Luke's own material in chapters
1-3 as the fasces securesque would have b e e n to the lictors pointedly
depicted without t h e m on Augustus' Ara Pacis (2B1). T h u s the tem
plate which relates such disparate themes into a logically interrelated
whole is that of the Imperial C u l t whose foundation is a s a c r a m e n
tal, augural act initiating a n d p e r p e t u a t i n g the saeculum aureum.
But it would be w r o n g to u n d e r s t a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t of L u k a n
imagery as simply cloning in Christian terms that of the Imperial
Cult with which the e n v i r o n m e n t both of political culture a n d archi
tecture was clearly saturated. T h e writer of Luke-Acts, we are argu
ing, should not be understood as producing a picture of an alternative
3 0
Caesarea Philippi is not given in Lk. 9 , 1 8 - 2 0 as the location o f Peter's c o n
fession of Jesus' Messiahship. Luke wishes to correct a seditious misreading o f ML
8 , 2 7 - 3 3 . T h e pax Christi is the Christian counterpart to the pax Augusta w h i c h points
to the proper fulfilment o f its true aspirations rather than d e n y i n g them completely.
See Brent K i n m a n , Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem in the C o n t e x t of Lukan T h e o l o g y
and the Politics of His D a y , in AGJU 27 (Leiden: Brill 1995), pp. 8 9 9 0 .
society with which to replace the present. T h i s is a charge that we

might lay rather at the a u t h o r of the Apocalypse, as we shall see. A
contra-culture is not an alternative culture, as we m u s t n o w — a n d
in a L u k a n context—explain.
PART C . LUKAN IMAGES OF C ONTRA-CULTURE
A creation of a contra-culture is a symbiotic strategy leading to social

integration rather t h a n anomie. A contra-culture is not a m i r r o r image
of the culture that it reflects, with different persons replacing the
authority figures with the authority structures that they inhabit a n d
their w e b of relationships left unaltered. In that respect a contra-
culture is not a revolutionary alternative ( C h a p t e r 1, p p . 1 1 - 1 4 ff.).
C o h e n ' s juvenile gangs, for e x a m p l e , were not challenging the status
quo b u t creating a solution which enabled t h e m to live symbiotically
within it. T h e i r reversal of society's values was p a r t of the creation
of a social reality which gave t h e m status that b r o a d e r society denied
t h e m , a n d thus in one way protected that society from revolution
ary destruction. T h e consequence of the delinquent solution as such
was not a revolutionary solution.
Similarly Luke-Acts represents a contra-cultural solution which is
social integrative, overcoming as it does the psychological state of
anomie in the inhabitants of that contra-culture a n d thus reducing
pressures towards actual a n d disruptive anomia within the host culture
in which it is found. T h a t the themes of Victoria a n d Pax are not to
be interpreted in a politically revolutionary way is m a d e quite clear
by Luke's radical adjustment, u n i q u e amongst the synoptic evange
lists, of the apocalyptic message of J o h n the Baptist w h e n the latter
is recorded as exhorting the giving of food a n d clothing to those in
need. Tax-collectors are not to exact m o r e than their allotted a m o u n t .
R o m a n soldiers are to be content with their wages (Lk. 3 , 1 0 - 1 4 ) .
But let us n o w e x a m i n e h o w the theoretical perspective of contra-
culture informs b o t h parts of Luke-Acts. W e begin briefly with the
Lukan eschatology (3C 1) a n d follow with a m o r e extended treat
m e n t in Acts (3C 2).
3C 1. The imperial banquet (Lk. 1,52-53; 3,1)
Pax a n d Victoria in the context of the reformed Judaistic cult, a n d its

promised golden age ushered in by a Son of G o d b o r n of a Virgin,
were not exact m i r r o r images of the Imperial Cult which they thus
102 CHAPTER THREE
reflected in the form of their preferred distortions. T h e reformed,

J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n cult provided a solution for the h u n g r y a n d meek
w h o were satisfied with good things with the rich sent away e m p t y
(Lk. 1,52-53). T h e Virgin's child, w h o is the sign of the saeculum
aureum of AuTpcoaiq, eiprivr) a n d acoxripia, is b o r n in a m a n g e r (Lk.
1,11), like the h u n g r y a n d the oppressed. Luke's scene is thus his
contra-cultural creation of a scheme of significance in which the dis
possessed a n d marginalised are given their own, new construction of
reality that assigns t h e m dignity a n d status withheld by " n o r m a l "
society. As such Luke was inviting Theophilus a n d his circle to accept
also the egalitarian d e m a n d s of the J e s u s M o v e m e n t , possibly over
51
looked by P a u l .
T h e " j u d g e m e n t " which might be seen in Lk. 1,52-53, w h e r e the
mighty are t h r o w n d o w n a n d the h u m b l e a n d m e e k exalted, fits far
m o r e closely with parallels in the Augustan revolution t h a n with O l d
T e s t a m e n t themes of j u d g e m e n t . But the beneficiaries in M a r y ' s song
of laycripm a n d Auxpcoaiq have n o c o u n t e r p a r t in the social revolu
tion m a r k e d by the advent of the Imperial Cult a n d its celebration
of Nucr|. In the latter it was not the h u m b l e a n d meek, b u t leading
freedmen a n d m e m b e r s of the Ordo Equester w h o benefited from the
Augustan revolution.
As Z a n k e r points out, these groups previously without social sta
tus could n o w achieve social recognition t h r o u g h the religious respon
sibilities of priesthoods. T h e sacrificial procession depicted on the Ara
52
Pacis displays the newly constituted, leading aristocracy. For example,
the equestrians were m a d e priests of the cult of the Lupercalia. Moreover,
leading freedmen (liberti) gained religious functions a n d correspond
ing social status t h r o u g h the cultic shrines of their various guilds
a n d as magistri in the cults of the Compitalia which were the 265 vici
or city-districts created by Augustus in 7 B.C., a n d for which we
have c o m m e m o r a t i v e altars (Plate 8). Even worthy slaves could p a r
ticipate as ministri at these shrines w h o thereby achieved the status
of public office a n d could record their new status by their partici
pation in processions on imperial feast days. T h e Altar of the Lares
shows p r o b a b l y Augustus h a n d i n g over two statuettes of the Lares
51
G. Theissen, Sociology of Early Palestinian Christianity, trans. J. Bowden, (Philadelphia:
Fortress 1982), pp. 7 - 3 0 .
5 2
Zanker (1990), p. 123.
53
to the ministri of a compitum (Plate 9). T h e latter w e a r slaves' dress.
T h e reference to b a n q u e t i n g in Lk. 1, 52~53 is significant in view
of o u r location of the L u c a n eschatology a n d its mythology in the
imagery of the Imperial Cult. Civic b a n q u e t s , like civic games, were
linked to cultic celebrations of imperial birthdays in the lectionary
54
that Fishwick posits a n d attempts to reconstruct. Part of the largesse
required of the prestigious priests of the Imperial Cult was the p r o
vision of lavish civic b a n q u e t s . T h e s e too, like those w h o held the
priesthoods at R o m e , were using such offices as a m e a n s of u p w a r d
social mobility from the increasingly wealthy groups of freedmen a n d
t r a d e s m e n . Luke has a vision of a n even m o r e radical revolution as
a c o u n t e r p a r t to that of Augustus. In the case of the latter, the p r e
viously mighty are t h r o w n from their seats by a n increasingly pow
erful, mercantile a n d trading class newly admitted to power. Augustus
is depicted on o n e altar as presenting a statue of M i n e r v a to the
magistri of a guild of woodworkers (Plate 12). For the former it is the
p o o r a n d h u m b l e that benefitted from the c h a n g e d status b r o u g h t
a b o u t by the reversal of power.
A decree of the provincial council of Asia, a copy of which is p r e
served in an inscription from H y p a e p a , records the choir of Asia
holding a b a n q u e t after h y m n s a n d sacrifices in h o n o u r of Tiberius'
55
b i r t h d a y . In the games which p r e c e d e d such b a n q u e t s , with the
procession of imperial images from a Sebasteion to the games t h e m
selves, the rich would have places of h o n o u r a r o u n d the presiding
governor, with the e m p e r o r ' s chair occupied by his image if he was
56
not there in p e r s o n . T h e newly e m e r g i n g ranks a n d degrees of
political authority represented a n d reinforced social integration within
the n e w imperial order. But the o r d e r that was celebrated here was
a new social order. T h e p a y m e n t for the cult a n d associated games,
a n d the priesthood a w a r d e d for such a benefaction, formed p a r t of
a social p h e n o m e n o n of u p w a r d mobility. Augustus' revolution, unlike
Luke's, h a d not p r o p o s e d to "exalt the h u m b l e a n d m e e k . " But, as
m y references to Z a n k e r have shown, that revolution h a d certainly
raised seats of h o n o u r for a social class that h a d not possessed t h e m
5 3
Zanker (1990), p. 131 a n d p. 133 fig. 109.
5 4
Fishwick (1991) 2,1 pp. 4 8 2 - 5 0 1 .
55
Ibid. p. 5 8 6 , citing IGRR 4, 1608c. S e e also 3 C 3.2.
06
Ibid. p. 5 7 5 cf. F. Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World, (London: D u c k w o r t h
1977), p. 36 and p. 365; J. G a g e , Apollon Romain, in BEFAR 182, (1955), pp. 2 5 7 - 2 9 6 ;
Martial Ep. 3.
104 CHAPTER THREE
before, but which could rise socially t h r o u g h its benefactions to a

new cult celebrating a political revolution. T o that extent Luke's escha
tology reflected the Augustan settlement.
Before Decius T r a j a n (A.D. 251) participation was voluntary a n d
without a n y legal compulsion to participate. But social pressure, as
Tertullian's later De Corona was to indicate, could have the same
practical conclusions of d r a w i n g hostile attention to non-participants
57
a n d the drawing u p of charges of scelera or of contumacia against t h e m .
F u r t h e r m o r e , Pliny's remarks show that, as a social event, the cult
would not simply have m a d e T h e o p h i l u s as a provincial aristocrat
a n d his associates feel constrained, b u t also m e m b e r s of the general
populace w h o did not participate in the w e a r i n g of festal garlands
or the general adulations a n d horseplay of a public holiday.
T h u s Christianity as the reformed cult of J u d a i s m changes the
o r d e r of prestige as the divine Child b o r n of the Virgin issues in
the new age. T h e eschatological b a n q u e t is to exult to its positions
of h o n o u r the Tocrceivoi a n d the Tceivcovxeq. T h e s e themes m o r e o v e r
can be found outside the birth stories in the specifically L u k a n m a t e
rial that interleaves the Gospel tradition as he takes it over. T h e
beginning of the euayyeXiov with J o h n the Baptist, as in Mark a n d
the early Christian homiletic preserved in the speeches of Peter etc.
in Acts, is m a r k e d by the C h r o n o l o g y of imperial history. In Lk. 3,1
that beginning is given "in the fifteenth year (ev exei 8 e 7cevTeKai8eKdicp)
of the consulship (xfj<; T i y e u o v i a q ) of Tiberius C a e s a r , " b u t there are
mentioned also the offices of b o t h Pilate (proconsul of J u d a e a ) , H e r o d
(tetrarch of Galilee, I t u r e a a n d Trachontis), Lysanias (tetrarch of
Abilene).
T h e n , in the specifically Lucan account of the Rejection at Nazareth
(Lk. 4,16-30), we see the divine Child n o w grown, w h o has already
a p p e a r e d at the centre of the old T e m p l e cult. T h e r e he astonished
the teachers of t h a t cult with his u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the L a w (Lk.
>7
A . N . Sherwin-White, T h e early persecutions and R o m a n Law again, in JThS
3,2 (1952), p. 2 1 0 with w h i c h at least in this respect agrees G . E . M . D e Ste. Croix,
W h y were the early Christians persecuted? in Past and Present, 2 6 (1963), p. 10 where
he says: "In fact e m p e r o r worship is a factor o f n o independent importance in the
persecution o f Christians." S e e also A . N . S h e r w i n - W h i t e , W h y w e r e the early
Christians p e r s e c u t e d ? — A n A m e n d m e n t , in Past and Present, 27 (1964), p p . 2 3 - 2 7 ;
G . E . M . D e Ste. Croix, W h y were the early Christians p e r s e c u t e d ? — A Rejoinder,
in Past and Present, 27 (1964), pp. 2 8 - 3 3 ; F. Millar, T h e Imperial Cult and the
Persecutions, in Culte des Souverains dans I'Empire Romain, in Entrentiens 19 (1972),
pp. 143 175.
2,46-48). N o w he a n n o u n c e s (4,19) in the synagogue the "year of

the L o r d ' s favour (evuxuxov Kupiou 8eicx6v)." T h u s the L u k a n saecu
lum aureum, b e g u n with the divine Child, n o w is c o n t i n u e d by the
M a n . U s i n g the words of Is. 6 1 , 1 - 2 c o m b i n e d with 58,6, he is able
to define the eviocuxov icupiou SEKTOV as one in which there would be
" p r e a c h i n g the good-news to the p o o r (EvayyeXicacQax Kicoxoiq), . . .
proclaiming release to the prisoners (icripuâi aixuataoxoiq acpeaiv) a n d
seeing-again to the blind (iccci xucpAoiq &vdpA,e\|nv), . . . to set at lib
erty those w h o are oppressed (drcooxeiAm xe9pa\)a|Lievo\)(; ev acpeaei)."
T h a t we are dealing with L u c a n special material h e r e thus enables
us to forge links with the eschatology of Lk. 1-2, a n d h e n c e with
the imagery of the Imperial Cult a n d its saeculum aureum. T h e K o i n o n
of Asia h a d , o n the m o t i o n of the high-priest Apollonius son of
Menophilos from Aizanoi, in a n inscription to which we have already
frequendy referred, claimed that n p o v o i a " h a d g r a n t e d t h e m a n d
their successors a saviour (xoiq u£0' fiuaq ocoxfjpa xapiaau£vn,)'' in
Augustus " w h o h a d m a d e w a r to cease (xov rcauoavxa jiev rcotauov)
a n d h a d a d o r n e d p e a c e (icoouriaavxa 8e eipf|vr|v)." T h e s e sentiments
we saw reflected in Lk. 1,55,71,77,79; 2,11,14,29. But the decree of
the K o i n o n h a d also stated that "Caesar, on his a p p e a r a n c e (ercKpccveiq
8e) h a d exceeded the hopes of all those w h o h a d received glad tid
ings before us . . . (xdq ekniSaq xcov rcpotaxPovxcov [euayyeAaa rcdvxcov
58
urc£p]e9r|K£v)." T h e restoration of the text c a n b e justified with ref
erence to at least two further inscriptions, o n e from the Peloponnese
referring to a priest sacrificing (Guaavxa) in view of " g o o d news
(euavyefXia])," c o n c e r n i n g the imperial family (imep OIKOU navzbq x[cp]
Iepa-[ox(p]), a n d a n o t h e r from S a m o s in the time of Augustus refer
ring to a festival (fipipav eua[vyeX,iov]) celebrating g o o d news from
5 9
Rome.
W h e n the good news of the g r a n t i n g of permission for a n Imperial
Cult is b r o u g h t to a city such as Sardis, the city is described as
60
"evangelised." W h e n Luke says euayyeWaaaGai rcxcoxoiq in the con
text of his contra-cultural eschatology, we m a y locate his "good news"
in such a context. But for h i m the euocvyeAaa are not for the benefit
of the n e w wealthy leaders of the city states of Asia M i n o r or of
3 8
Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s (1955) 9 8 (= OGIS 458), /. 3 7 - 3 8 , cf 2 B 4.
5 9
Both are cited in Horsley New Documents III, p. 13. T h e P e l o p o n n e s e inscrip
tion is reconstructed in L. Moretti, ArcCl 5 (1953), p p . 2 5 5 - 2 5 9 , a n d the S a m i a n
in IGRR 4, 1708.
m
IGRR 4, 1756 1. 14: eixxvyeXiaGTi f| noXiq. See also 3 D 3.2.
106 CHAPTER THREE
Syria, whose position was being redefined by the Augustan revolution,

b u t for the poor. Priesthoods of the Imperial Cult itself h a d b e e n
a n i m p o r t a n t vehicle for individuals to increase their personal status
amongst the freeborn u r b a n elite of those cities. A rising individual
could use such priesthoods to publicize their n e w rank m a r k e d by
the possession of the rcpoeSplou at the events that were p a r t of the
61
celebrations of the Imperial C u l t in the theatres a n d a m p h i t h e a t r e s .
But we must r e m e m b e r that Luke-Acts is a two v o l u m e d work, a n d
its separation by the position of the F o u r t h Gospel in the usual o r d e r
of New Testament contents has p e r h a p s served to obscure this fact. W e
must n o w address the essential continuity of the themes that Luke
impressed u p o n his traditional material as they are found in Acts.
3C 2. Images of contra-culture in Acts
T h e reintroduction of T h e o p h i l u s as the R o m a n of rank to w h o m

the two v o l u m e d work is addressed has been the focus of attention
for hypotheses regarding the apologetic character of Luke-Acts. T h o u g h
the first volume gives no great indication of the apologetic interests
of the a u t h o r , it might nevertheless be a r g u e d that Acts m o r e t h a n
compensates.
T h e foundation of the apologetic thesis is u n d o u b t e d l y the way in
which wise R o m a n magistrates are r e p r e s e n t e d as always u n d e r
standing t h a t any civil unrest is never the fault of Christian mis
sionaries but is due to the factitiousness of unwanton Jewish opposition.
W i t h o u t such a foundation, it is difficult to lay too m u c h stress o n
the rank of T h e o p h i l u s , since the words of Lk. 1,3-4 suggests t h a t
this particular Kpaxiaioq has already received catechetical instruction
(ivoc emyv&q rcepi <bv Karnxri^S AoycDV ™\v ococpdêiav). This would hardly
therefore suggest a p a g a n magistrate needing to be convinced of the
harmlessness of Christianity in order to give it the protection of being
62
declared a religio licita.
Let us for the m o m e n t consider such a n apologetic interpretation.
3 C 2 . 1 . The interpretation of Acts as apologia

In Acts 1 8 , 4 - 1 7 the famous events take place at C o r i n t h w h e r e Jewish
opposition a n d b l a s p h e m y ends Paul's n o r m a l practice of p e r s u a d i n g
Zanker (1990), pp. 1 2 9 - 1 3 1 ; p p . 319 328.

See footnote 6.
by public a r g u m e n t J e w s a n d Hellenists every S a b b a t h in the syna

gogue (v. 4). Paul transfers his p r e a c h i n g to the house of Titus J u s t u s
w h i c h " b o r d e r e d o n t h e s y n a g o g u e ( o u v o u o p o u a a xr\ ouvayoyfi;
v. 7)." Crispus the apxiauvdycoyoq is converted with his household
a n d they are baptised (v. 8). But after six m o n t h s " t h e J e w s cause
a n u p r o a r against Paul (Kaxerceaxriaav 6uo6\)|Lia86v xcp Ilautap), a n d
bring h i m to court (fiyocyov auxov eni xo Pâxx)." T h e presiding p r o
consul of Achaia is Gallio (TaXkmvoq 8e dv0U7tdxorj ovxoq xfj<; 'Axaioc<;;
v. 12).
Gallio, in the scene which follows, rejects the charges of illegal
ity, a n d claims that they a r e purely "disputes a b o u t a discussion
r e g a r d i n g n a m e s (^r|xf||Liaxd e a x w rcepi Xoyov icai ovojidxcov) a n d y o u r
particular law (K<X! VOJIOU xou KCC6' uudq)." In c o n s e q u e n c e , he refuses
to act as j u d g e ( i c p r c r ^ eyo) xouxcov ou pouXoum eivai; v. 15). In final
e x a s p e r a t i o n h e expels t h e m from the i m m e d i a t e a r e a w h e r e he
sits in j u d g e m e n t , while n e a r b y a n d within his view Sosthenes the
d p x i G D v d y c o y o q is b e a t e n , whilst Gallio looks o n with indifference
{v. 16-17).
T h e scene described h e r e in detail exemplifies a t h e m e n o w well
developed in s u m m a r y t h r o u g h o u t Acts. In 17, 5 - 9 the J e w s are held
responsible for "stirring u p the rabble (6%Ao7ioif|oavx£<;) a n d causing
u p r o a r in the city (eOopupouv xfjv 7i6A,iv)" of Thessalonica, with the
result t h a t the city magistrates (rcotaxdpxou) fined J a s o n a n d others in
Paul's absence, b u t nevertheless released t h e m . In 14,2 the J e w s of
I c o n i u m are held responsible for " c o r r u p t i n g the hearts of the gen
tiles (eKaKcooav xdq xj/uxdq xSv eGvSv)." At Antioch (13,50) "the J e w s
incite ( r c a p c o x p u v a v ) pious w o m e n of noble r a n k (aePouivaq y u v a i K a q
xdq euaxriiiovaq) a n d the leading citizens (xouq rcpcoxouq xfjq KOêcoq)
a n d a r o u s e d a p e r s e c u t i o n (e7cr|yeipav 8icoyuov) against P a u l a n d
B a r n a b a s . . ." At Lystra it is "Jews from I c o n i u m a n d A n t i o c h " w h o
p e r s u a d e the crowds, that h a d hitherto treated t h e m as almost divine,
to stone t h e m (14,19).
T h e seemingly h i d d e n , apologetic message is that a n y civil unrest
attributed to Christianity was in fact d u e to J e w i s h agitation, a n d
that Gallio h a d d e m o n s t r a t e d the attitude of the wise magistrate.
Such a message seemed reinforced by the closing chapters of Acts.
H e r e it is expressly claimed that Felix was favourably impressed by
Paul (v. 2 4 - 2 5 ) in the face of accusations by Tertullus at the insti
gation of Ananias the high priest of disturbing the p e a c e a n d insti
gating axdaeiq (24,1-9). Felix therefore could have given n o credence
108 CHAPTER THREE
to these charges a n d only wished for a bribe in o r d e r to release h i m

(v. 26).
Paul makes his famous appeal to C a e s a r before Porcius Festus,
Felix's successor a n d thus p r e e m p t s a n y further judicial proceedings
at his h a n d s (25,1-11). Agrippa too hears him, a n d both gentile gov
e r n o r a n d Jewish king c o n c e d e d that h a d he not m a d e his appeal,
he could have b e e n released (26,30). But there are a n u m b e r of
problems with regarding Acts as a straightforward apology, however
m u c h there m a y b e e n clearly peripheral apologetic concerns implied
63
in that w o r k .
3 C 2.2. Modifications of the apologetic thesis

T h e p r o b a b l e date of Luke-Acts, d e m a n d e d by most source critical
a p p r o a c h e s regarding the compilation of the Gospels, is A . D . 7 5 - 8 5 .
T h e use by Luke of Mark's gospel, itself datable a r o u n d A . D . 6 5 ,
requires Luke to be writing after the persecution of N e r o in which
Paul died. W h y is there n o record of Paul's trial a n d execution before
N e r o ? T h e apologetic thesis in some of its forms has lead in con
sequence to the d e m a n d that Acts must have b e e n written before
t h a t event, a n d therefore before A . D . 6 5 . In o t h e r forms it has
required the hypothesis that the trial a n d execution of Paul h a d to
be deliberately suppressed, otherwise the apologetic force of w h a t the
a u t h o r wrote would b e lost. If furthermore, as J a c k s o n a n d Lake sug
gested, Paul was acquitted simply because of a time lapse of two years,
then such a verdict of not-proven r a t h e r t h a n of innocence would
64
not have helped his c a s e . But either of these argumentative moves
clearly face insuperable difficulties, the first because of the impossi
bility of the early date in the light of cogent, source-critical, h y p o t h e
ses, a n d the second because simply ignoring Paul's m a r t y r d o m would
not deprive it of its force against a p r i m a r y apologetic case.
T h e o p h i l u s could not fail to have k n o w n of the fate of Paul at
6 3
For a full discussion o f the apologetic motive and its limitations, together with
a summary o f literature, see Esler (1987), ch. 8, with w h o s e conclusion I a m clearly
in substantial agreement, namely that Luke-Acts is c o n c e r n e d with constructing a
legitimation for a c o m m u n i t y .
b 4
F.J. Foakes Jackson a n d K. Lake, The Beginnings of Christianity, Part 1: The Acts
of the Apostles, (London: M a c M i l l a n 1933) 1, 4 pp. 3 4 8 - 3 5 0 . For bibliography and
a discussion o f the various solutions to this problem see Walaskay (1983), p p . 1 8 - 2 2 ,
w h o concludes with C u l l m a n n from C l e m e n t , Cor. 5 that the author was embar
rassed because the charges against Paul arose from within the Church.
the court of C a e s a r N e r o , a n d indeed the stress t h r o u g h o u t Acts on

Paul's R o m a n citizenship would have emphasised the need to m a k e
due inquiries should he have b e e n uncertain of w h a t h a d actually
transpired. But T h e o p h i l u s , a n d the instructed Christian circle that
he represented, would have b e e n fully a w a r e of the possibility of
being b r o u g h t before the magistrate themselves, should there have
been a n y question of their sacrificing as p a r t of the Imperial Cult,
or even, as was m o r e likely at their time, from charges resulting
from suspicions a b o u t the true motives for their non-participation
(3C 1). T h e purpose of Luke-Acts was to strengthen a n d reassure this
i n n e r - C h u r c h g r o u p of their association with the h u m b l e a n d meek,
a n d to convince t h e m that they were h o n o u r e d a n d valued in terms
of the contra-culture, against which there was n o justification for
such imperial hostility. T h e y well knew of the charges on which Paul
was c o n d e m n e d b u t of which they would have experienced unease
at being r e m i n d e d . T h e y knew such charges b u t wished for quiet
ness a b o u t t h e m in view of their own difficult position, just as Luke
well knew the ideology of the Imperial Cult, m i r r o r e d in his escha
tology with its Virgin a n d divine Child, b u t chose to m a k e only
oblique references to that ideology (3B 3.2).
3C 2.3. Acts and the existence of the Imperial Cult

W e r e a d of events at Ephesus, o n e of the centres of the Imperial
Cult along with S m y r n a a n d Tralles, where the officials, the Asiarchs,
have b e e n r e g a r d e d as b o t h leaders of the K o i n o n of G r e e k city
65
states t h r o u g h o u t Asia a n d also high-priests of the Imperial C u l t .
T h i s conclusion has b e e n challenged recently on the grounds that
there is epigraphic evidence for several Asiarchs in Ephesus a n d
Tralles at one time which would not be consistent with the equiv
66
alence of this office with that of dpxiepeuq xfiq 'Aoiocc;. But notwith-
6 3
A l t h o u g h they were originally simply high priests o f the cult o f the goddess
R o m a , they b e c a m e high priests o f the imperial cult w h e n her cult was assimilated
to that o f the emperors, see L. Ross Taylor, T h e Asiarchs, in F.J. Foakes Jackson
and K. Lake, The Beginnings of Christianity, Part 1: The Acts of the Apostles, (London:
M a c M i l l a n 1933), vol. V, p p . 2 5 6 - 2 6 2 ; G . R . H . Horsley, T h e N e w T e s t a m e n t and
the Ephesian Inscriptions, in A T 3 4 (1992), pp. 134 141; Horsley, New Documents
IV, pp. 4 6 - 5 5 . See also SEG 36, 1518; 4 2 , 1029; 1097.
Strabo, X I V , 1,42, cf. SEG 3 8 , 1973 w h i c h cites this inaccurately as 2 , 4 2 , and
which summarises R.A. Kearsley, T h e Asiarchs, in T h e Book of Acts in Its G r a e c o -
R o m a n Setting, (Ed. W.J. Gill and C . G e m p f ) , in The Book of Acs in Its First Century
Setting, Vol. 2 (Michigan and Carlisle: E e r d m a n s / P a t e r n o s t e r 1994), pp. 2 6 3 376.
110 CHAPTER THREE
standing w h e t h e r or not these offices were the same, there was at

the time of writing a n dpxiepetx; of the Imperial Cult. Luke avoids
direct m e n t i o n of such an official of the cult that would have been
a present reality by A . D . 7 5 - 8 5 to b o t h the a u t h o r a n d T h e o p h i l u s
67
to w h o m his work was addressed. Both would be keen to avoid open
conflict with that cult, just as they were anxious to be worshippers
in the new, reformed Jewish cult whose eschatology fulfilled all its
aspirations regarding acoxr|p{a, eipf|vr|, rcpovoia etc.
T h e avoidance of such a clash was possible, at least before the
Domitianic developments of that cult, which, we shall argue later,
can be soundly d o c u m e n t e d from the literary evidence. I n d e e d it is
arguable t h a t there was a certain novelty in Pliny's act of inviting
Christians to sacrifice, ture ac vino, before the E m p e r o r ' s image (imag-
ini tuae) as a test of w h e t h e r they were truly criminals (Pliny, Ep. X ,
96,5). T h e risk of being c h a r g e d by the state at this time was not
from non-participation in the cult which h a d n o organised enforce
m e n t at this time as a deliberate test of loyalty to the state, as it
was to b e c o m e in the time of Decius. R a t h e r the risk c a m e from
the charge of O T C X O K ; . 68
It should be r e m e m b e r e d that Tacitus, in his account of N e r o ' s

persecution, shows that this was the m a i n claim. Prior to their cruel
deaths in N e r o ' s circus, there h a d b e e n a trial in which Christiani
are described as m a d e defendants (rei), a n d as being e x a m i n e d in a
judicial context w h e r e "by their evidence (indicio) a large multitude
of t h e m were convicted (convicti) not so m u c h for the charge of incen
diarism (in crimine incendi) but of h a t r e d of the h u m a n race (odio humani
69
generis)." In Suetonius Claudius 25,4 we r e a d that the J e w s were
expelled from R o m e because "they were always causing u p r o a r at
the instigation of Chrestus (impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis)." In
Suetonius Nero 16,2 we read: "Christians were afflicted with p u n
ishment (afflicti suppliciis Christiani), a class of m e n of a new a n d malev
olent superstition (genus hominum superstitionis novae ac maleficae). In each
of these cases there is n o issue of being unwilling to participate in
the Imperial Cult. R a t h e r the crime (flagitiurri) w a r r a n t i n g (supplicia)
is o n e of a superstitio malefica. T h u s Suetonius repeats T a c i t u s ' charge
b7
SEG 4 3 , 7 4 6 . T h e title dpxiepeix; xfjq 'Aciocq is first attested from Miletus
( A . D . 40).
()8
See C h a p t e r 1 footnote 14.
m
Tacitus, Annul. X V , 4 4 , 3 and 5, cf. Wilken (1984), p p . 4 8 5 0 .
(XV,44,4) of exitiabilis superstitio. It has often been p o i n t e d out that

superstitio, in terms of a degenerate form of religion, exemplified in
Dionysiac mania, was a threat to public o r d e r as recorded by Livy
in terms of the Bacchanalian riot. T h u s superstitio, axaciq, tumulare,
a n d flagitia were conceptually linked.
Primarily, therefore, the potential conflict between C h u r c h a n d
State was over the perceived threat of the former as a threat to p u b
lic o r d e r because it was a superstitio. But again it must be stressed
that, although the focus m a y not yet have b e e n directly the scene
before the altar of incense of the Imperial Cult, the set of assump
tions b e h i n d that cult were not far from the scene. T h o u g h essen
tially the judicial focus m a y have b e e n on the cidciq caused by a
superstitio, nevertheless there was always the further question as to
w h a t it was a b o u t a particular superstitio that lead to O T C X O K ; . T h e 70
latter, as we have seen, was clearly linked to the pax deorum t h a t it

was the purpose of the Imperial Cult to secure, following a century
of R e p u b l i c a n constitutional disintegration (2A 4.1-2).
D e Ste Croix was therefore quite mistaken in describing the Imperial
Cult as having "almost n o independent i m p o r t a n c e in the persecution
71
of the C h r i s t i a n s . " T h e pax deorum n o longer h a d a relationship of
contingency (if that is what is m e a n t by "independent") to the Imperial
Cult, a n y m o r e t h a n the cult of divine virtues h a d a contingent rela
tionship with the worship of the e m p e r o r ' s person, for the reasons
established by Fears' analysis of the d e v e l o p m e n t of the former cult
from the a s c e n d a n c y of Sulla t h r o u g h J u l i u s C a e s a r to Augustus
(2B 3). Pliny's order (Ep. X , 96,5) that accused Christians deos adpellerent
et imagini tuae. . . ture et vino supplicarent n o longer referred u n a m
72
biguously to different entities that could be contingendy s e p a r a t e d .
7 0
L.F. Janssen, "Superstitio" a n d the Persecution o f the Christians, in VCh 33,2
(1979), p p . 1 3 1 - 1 5 9 , explores fully the conceptual relationship b e t w e e n concepts of
humanitas a n d the nomen Romanum that must always survive (superstes), and what were
perceived to be Druidical a n d Gallic denials o f such a R o m a n a n d imperial real
ity, w h i c h bear striking similarites with charges o f odium generis humanae, superstitio
prava, Jlagitium, etc. associated with bearing the nomen Christianum. Such religions or
rather superstitiones were clear denials o f both imperial O r d e r a n d R o m a n citizen
ship. S e e also R . L . Wilken, The Christians as the Romans saw them, ( N e w H a v e n and
L o n d o n : Yale U . P . 1984), p p . 4 1 - 4 4 .
71
D e Ste Croix (1963), p. 10, m y italics.
7 2
In the light o f Fears' discussion, the inadequacy is e x p o s e d o f the statement
in D e Ste Croix (1963), p. 10: "It is true that a m o n g our records of martyrdoms
emperor-worship does crop up occasionally; but far m o r e often it is a matter of
sacrificing to the gods . . . A n d w h e n the cult act involved does c o n c e r n the emperor,
112 CHAPTER THREE
F u r t h e r m o r e , the enthusiasm of the worshippers in the Dionysiac

rites indicated that they were possessed by spiritual ecstasy. But in
the Christian superstitio was it not that the worshipper o w e d alle
giance to a n o t h e r king? Certainly the H e g e s i p p a n fragment t h a t
describes the descendants of J e s u s avowing a purely spiritual king
d o m w h e n s u m m o n e d before D o m i t i a n reflects in legend the fact
that some such connection was d r a w n at this time (Eusebius, H.E.
111,20,3-4). W e find continued in Acts reflections of the ideology of
the Imperial Cult that we d o c u m e n t e d in Luke (3C 1).
In the light of o u r first chapter, it is i m p o r t a n t to realise that the
notion of political cxdciq like eipr|vr| h a d a metaphysical context, p a r
ticularly in Stoicism. T h e century of civil strife was r e g a r d e d as a
metaphysical disturbance reflected in the n a t u r a l order a n d requir
ing an extra-ordinary augurium salutis in o r d e r to secure the pax deo-
rum (2A 4.1.3; 2A 5-6). T h e concerns of the Imperial Cult a n d its
participants w e r e related therefore to OTOLGK; a n d its s a c r a m e n t a l
removal. T h e Christian community represented by Theophilus needed
for their legitimation not simply an apologetic a c c o u n t which assured
t h e m that they were not threatening by their worship both the o r d e r
of n a t u r e a n d the o r d e r of society b o u n d together by the Stoic holis
tic a n d p n e u m a t i c metaphysic. T h e y n e e d e d r a t h e r a m o r e positive
assurance regarding the "discourses of their catechesis." (Lk. 1,4) T h e y
needed to have their convictions strengthened by an articulate account
which showed, as we have a r g u e d regarding the first three chapters
of Luke, a r e f o r m e d J e w i s h cult w h i c h fulfilled all the messianic
promise of the Augustan cult, a n d secured society's true eipr|vr| a n d
oqrnpia, in which J e w a n d Greek, high a n d low, rich a n d p o o r were
included equally.
W e shall n o w show that the specific charges as they are given
against Paul both reflect a n d continue this perspective with which
Luke began a n d which Acts thus continues.
3 C 2.3.1. Tertullus' case against Paul; Acts 24,1-9

Firstly we should note the c h a r a c t e r of the conceptual discourse in
which Tertullus makes his charge. W e should m o r e o v e r treat that
discourse seriously a n d not simply dismiss his speech as a m e r e
it is usually a n oath by his Genius (or in the East by his Tt>xr|) or a sacrifice to
the gods on his behalf." For the essential fluidity of terminology witnessed in the
use o f divus, deus and Oeoq, see S . R . F . Price, G o d s a n d Emperors: T h e Greek
Language of the R o m a n Imperial Cult, in JHS 104 (1984), pp. 7 9 - 9 5 .
IMPERIAL IDEOLOGY AND THE ORIGINS OF CHURCH ORDER 1 13
rhetorical flourish. It does not m a k e sense to regard the words of

v. 2 - 3 as simply a captatio benevolentiae. This was not, after all, a speech
that a n y o n e actually gave verbatim. R a t h e r it was a s u m m a r y of
charges that Luke sought to rebut. H e deals with these charges by
his use of the literary devices of expressing t h e m in speeches o n the
lips of the m a i n protagonists. For Luke these words are i n t e n d e d to
reveal the c h a r a c t e r of the opposition as m o r e t h a n merely users of
polished rhetorical devices. In these w o r d s h e shows u n r e f o r m e d
J u d a i s m in alliance with an Imperial Cult both of which could achieve
neither of their objectives without a Christian transformation. Tertullus
thus addresses the E m p e r o r ' s representative:
Since we enjoy great peace owing to you (rcoAAfjc; eipr|VT|<; xuyxdvovxeq

8ia GOV), and since by your Providence restorations are being carried
out (Kal 8iop0co|Lidxcov yivouivcov . . . 8ia xfj<; afjq npovoiaq) for this nation,
in every way and in every place we welcome it, your Excellency Felix,
with all thankfulness.
T h u s the very concepts eipr|vr|, rcpovoia, a n d 8i6p0cojLia, associated with

the I m p e r i a l C u l t in the decrees of the K o i n o n of Asia, set the context
to the accusations against Paul. Augustus " h a d set right (dvcop0coa£v)''
political a n d even natural disorder, just as Festus is credited with
8iop0cb|iaxa. n p o v o i a , o n e of the personified abstractions associated
with the person of deified e m p e r o r s (2B 3), h a d p r o d u c e d a acoxf|p,
w h o h a d a r r a n g e d a world of eipr|vr| (3B 3.1 a n d footnote 23).
F r o m Luke's contra-cultural perspective a saviour h a d c o m e , if
not exactly t h r o u g h npovoia, at least t h r o u g h "the p r e d e t e r m i n e d
counsel (xf) (bpiouivr) PouAij) a n d foreknowledge (npoyvcoaei) of G o d . "
(Acts 2, 23) J o h n , in p r e p a r a t i o n for this ocoxf|p, engaged in his own
8iop0co|ia in that his mission was xou Kaxeu0uvai xouq nobaq fijicov eiq
686v eipr|vr|<; (Lk. 1,79). F u r t h e r m o r e eipr|vr| was a political p e a c e set
in the eschatological context of the Divine Child that brings the age
of fulfilment (Lk. 1,14).
But it is not simply the ideology of the Imperial Cult that the
author seeks to refashion with his new discourse in which the euayyeAAOV
of his new a n d reformed cult legitimates the position of T h e o p h i l u s
a n d his g r o u p . T h e express charge is that the new religion upsets
the o r d e r of npovoia, eipf|vrj a n d 8iop0coua by fomenting axdaiq within
J u d a i s m . Paul is " a m o v e r of unrest ( K i v o u v x a axdaeiq) a m o n g s t all
the J e w s t h r o u g h o u t the inhabited world (n&oiv xoiq 'IouSaunq xoiq
K a x d xfw oiKouuivnv), a n d the leader of the faction of the N a z a r e n e s
114 CHAPTER THREE
(7ipCDT0GT(XTr|v T£ Ttjq xcov Noc^copoticov aipeaeox;)." " H e has tried to defile

the sanctuary of the T e m p l e (TO iepov erceipocaev (kPr|A,G)aai; v. 5 - 6 ) "
a c c o r d i n g t o t h e false a l l e g a t i o n t h a t h e h a d t a k e n t h e gentile
T r o p h i m u s of Ephesus there (21, 2 8 - 2 9 ) .
For Luke it is not therefore only the Imperial C u l t that the Gospel
surpasses while satisfying its basic h u m a n aspirations for p e a c e a n d
order. Lk. 1 also p o r t r a y e d a n older J u d a i s m b e i n g replaced by a
reformed a n d r e n e w e d cult, b e g i n n i n g with Gabriel's a p p e a r a n c e at
a n altar of incense (z;. 9). Let us p u r s u e that t h e m e n o w as it evolves
in opposition to J e w i s h charges.
3 C 2.3.2. Felix, Agrippa and the p a x dei (Acts 22-23)

T h e a u t h o r has already established that a n unreformed J u d a i s m could
not secure the pax dei, a n d Tertullus' charges are to support this the
sis. T h e proceedings against Paul begin before the S a n h e d r i n (Acts
73
2 2 , 3 0 - 2 3 , 1 0 ) . H e r e the pax dei of the Divine Child a n d the promised
n e w age r e m a i n e d unsecured by J u d a i s m . W h e n Paul claims the sup
p o r t of Pharisaism for the doctrine of the resurrection of the b o d y
the result is division (eaxioOri T O 7iXf|9o<;) a n d cxaoiq (eyevzTO oxaoiq/
KoXXr\q 8e yivojievriq czacetoq; v. 7 a n d 10). H e r e , c o n t r a r y to the
apologetic thesis, the a u t h o r admits OTCXOK; as a result of Paul's words.
But the axaoiq is a c o n s e q u e n c e of a n u n r e f o r m e d religion such as
the J u d a i s m that Paul opposed, just as GXOLOK; was the p r o d u c t of
the u n r e f o r m e d R e p u b l i c before Augustus.
Such a t h e m e m o r e o v e r has b e e n constantly reiterated t h r o u g h
out Luke-Acts. J u d a i s m u n r e f o r m e d c a n n o t secure the pax dei, a n d
c a n n o t achieve the eschatological o r d e r in n a t u r e a n d in society a n d
so fulfil the aspiration of those w h o sought the pax deorum t h r o u g h
the Imperial Cult. Eipr|vr| is characteristically used by Luke, often in
reformulation of his traditional material, in connection with the sta
bility of the political as well as the n a t u r a l world. In addition to Lk.
1,79; 2,14,29 already discussed, we have some parallels with the few
74
references in other gospels, b u t some significant additions of the
author's own.
7 i
W h e t h e r this was because that b o d y h a d the authority to i m p o s e the death
penalty without the consent of the civil power, or w h e t h e r it met as a council o f
advice for Claudius Lysias remains unclear, see H J . Cadbury, R o m a n L a w a n d the
Trial of Paul, in F J . Foakes Jackson, The Beginnings of Christianity, Part 1: The Acts of
the Apostles, (London: M a c M i l l a n 1933), vol. V , p p . 2 9 7 - 3 3 8 , especially p p . 3 0 2 - 3 0 5 .
74
eipr|vr| occurs o n c e only in ML 5 , 3 4 (= Lk. 7,50; 8,48), and four times in Jn.
14,27, 16,33, a n d 2 0 , 1 9 , 2 1 , 2 6 (= Lk. 24,36). In all of these instances, the reference
In parabolic additions in Lk. 11,21 the a r m e d strong m a n ' s posses

sions a r e consequently held ev eipf|vr|. In 14,32 the king sends a n
embassy a n d epcoxa xd rcpoq eipf|vr|v. T h e latter p h r a s e is then used
in 19,42 in o r d e r to describe w h y the u n r e f o r m e d J e w i s h cult h a d
failed. "Jesus d r e w n e a r to the city [ J e r u s a l e m ] a n d wept over her
(£KA,GO)G£V ETt'cxuxTiv) saying " W o u l d t h a t even you h a d k n o w n in this
day (ei eyvcoq ev xx\ fiuepoc xccuxn KOCI GV) the things that m a k e for p e a c e
(xd npbq eipr|vr)v)." T h e immediately p r e c e d i n g context makes it clear
that this p h r a s e refers to the specifically L u c a n eipr|vr| a n n o u n c e d by
the angels to the shepherds a n d p r o c l a i m e d by S y m e o n as the c o u n
terpart to Augustus' saeculum aureum that h a d achieved the pax deo
rum t h r o u g h the Divine Child of Vergil's shepherds (2A 6). Luke alters
the position of J e s u s ' l a m e n t in his M a r c a n source so that we h e a r
his w o r d s only after those of t h e c r o w d of disciples (rcArjGoq xcov
jLiaGnxcbv) at the T r i u m p h a l Entry. T h e latter's words themselves Luke
has refashioned. T h e i r p r o c l a m a t i o n direcdy parallels w h a t the angels'
song at B e t h l e h e m h a d p r o m i s e d (Lk. 19,37-38). In v. 38 we read:
Blessed is the king (pccoitaix;) who comes in the name of the Lord,
peace in heaven (ev oupavcp eipr|vr|) and glory in the highest (Kal 86£a
ev \)\|/{axoiq).
Eiprivn ev oupavcp thus parallels the eipf|vr] ercl yfjq of Lk. 2,14.
In n o n e of the other Gospel parallels is the insertion into the pilgrim
Ps. 118 that of a n unqualified paaiA,eu<;. I n d e e d , Mat. 21,9 reads in
its place xcp uico AauiS, a n d Mk. 11,10 speaks of a kingdom b u t n o king
75
(fi epxouivri PaoiXeicc xou rcaxpoq TIJLICOV Aau(8). O n l y Jn. 12,13 a p
proaches the Lucan usage with the qualified 6 paoitaix; xov 'Iopar|A,. T h e
author's m o n a r c h has no nationality, but he stands like the Divine Child
of Lk. 1-2 at the centre of a reformed cult bringing the pax dei just
as the figure of Augustus h a d stood on the on the G e m m a securing
with his a u g u r ' s w a n d the pax deorum. (2B 3, 3B 3.1 a n d Plate 13).
is to the psychological calm p r o d u c e d through Jesus' spiritual presence. In Mat.

10,13 it is used in the sense o f righteous indignation w h i c h can b e given or withheld
to the advantage or disadvantage o f those w h o receive the mission of the T w e l v e .
O n l y in Mat. 10,34 (= Lk. 12,51) is it used in the sense o f social disturbance.
7 5
Walaskay ((1983), p. 9) righdy criticises C o n z e l m a n n ' s characterization o f the
Lucan alterations as non-political, in order to favour his interpretation o f Luke-Acts
as apologia pro ecclesia ad imperium. Cf. C o n z e l m a n n (1961), p. 139. For other e x a m
ples inconsistent with a political apology before a R o m a n magistrate, see Lk. 6,15
and Acts 1,13; Lk. 2 2 , 3 5 - 3 8 ; 19,38 a n d Acts 1,6 all discussed in Walaskay (1983),
pp. 1 6 - 1 8 .
116 CHAPTER THREE
T h e goal of the T r i u m p h a l Entry was indeed the Last Supper,

for which its events have p r e p a r e d the way. T h e a u t h o r n o w chooses
to introduce here the t h e m e of the authority structure of the reformed
Jewish cult that J e s u s is creating t h r o u g h his d e a t h .
3 C 2.3.2.1. T h e Last S u p p e r a n d the reformed Jewish cultus

T h e Twelve are entrusted with the kingdom in the following words:
And I entrust to you (K&Y<» 8iax{6e|xai \)|iTv) even as my Father has

entrusted to me (mGox; 8ie9ex6 not) a kingdom (PaaiXe(av) in order that
you may eat and drink with me in my kingdom (ev xf[ pocoiAeia uo\))
and sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (ml m8r|oea0e
£7il 0p6vcov Taq ScoSeica (p-uA.aq Kplvovxeq TOV 'Iopar|A,).
Luke 22,28-30
T h e final words a r e traditional (QJ a n d found in Mat. 19,28 in a

different context. H e r e the promise to sit o n twelve thrones j u d g i n g
the twelve tribes is n o t associated with the fiaoxkeia b u t the naXiy-
yeveala, a n d there is n o reference to the Messianic b a n q u e t . T h u s
Luke wishes to associate these words with the O r d e r a n d organisa
tion of the reformed c o m m u n i t y , a n d with t h e central cultic meal
t h a t replaces original J u d a i s m . But this gospel suggests in t u r n a con
tra-cultural c o u n t e r p a r t to the sacrificial gathering at the Imperial
Cult, with its celebration of the social hierarchy of the imperial city
state, a n d t h e Christian saeculum aureum foreshadowed in chapters
1-2, in w h i c h the h u n g r y would b e fed a n d the rich sent away
empty. W h e t h e r o n e accepts the textual tradition which omits Lk.
22,19b~20 o r that which retains it, there remains nevertheless a fore
taste of the eschatological b a n q u e t . T h e breaking of b r e a d by the
c o m m u n i t y of the Twelve (Acts 2,46) partially fulfils that eschatology.
T h e dispute about greatness occurs immediately before the promise
of the twelve thrones to the Twelve (Lk. 2 2 , 2 4 - 2 7 ) . H e r e once again
there is a significant recasting of the tradition by the a u t h o r in p u r
suance of his special theme. T h e parallel passages, both Mat. 2 0 , 2 0 - 2 8
a n d ML 1 0 , 3 5 - 4 5 , a r e addressed in the former case to the specific
claim of t h e m o t h e r of the sons of Z e b e d e e , a n d in the latter to
J a m e s a n d J o h n themselves. I n Lk. 22,24 the dispute is a general
o n e a b o u t "which of t h e m should b e greatest." T h u s Matthew a n d
Mark's specific question of a position for two individuals in a n assumed
hierarchical authority structure (Mat. 20,23; ML 10,40 = oiq TITOIUOCG-
Tcti) is transformed b y Luke into the quite general question of the
kind of structure of authority itself in the c o m m u n i t y a n d its cult.
T h e apxovxeq xcov eOvcov a n d the neydtan are described in Mat. 20,25

a n d Mk. 10,42 in identical terms. But in Lk. 22,25 Luke readapts
these words diplomatically for T h e o p h i l u s . H e does not refer to a
single PaoiXeuq a n d thus does not single out the E m p e r o r too bla-
tandy. R a t h e r the expression oi paoitaiq xcov eBvcbv cushions the blaten-
ness of such a direct reference by the obliqueness of a general plural.
T h e r e a d a p t a t i o n of Kocxeôuoidôuoiv to eôuoidôvxeq enables Luke
76
then to a d d euepyexou icatan)vxai. Euepyexriq was the characteristic
term for the benefactor of a G r e e k city-state in Asia M i n o r , a n d the
t e r m was particularly used of s o m e o n e w h o e n d o w e d a temple a n d
cult to the E m p e r o r . O n c e again we see the contra-cultural images
in the reformed cult of J u d a i s m with its reverse reflections of social
structure a n d order. T h a t o r d e r was represented a n d celebrated in
the assigned seating places for the b a n q u e t ensuing from cultic sacri
fice. It is in such a context that Luke chooses to locate the reversal
of role-values, in which the greater in age (6 uei^cov) must b e c o m e
as the y o u n g e r (6 vecoxepoq) a n d the (consular) ruler (6 Tiyoujxevoq) as
the o n e w h o serves at table (6 8IOCKOVCOV; Lk. 2 2 , 2 6 - 2 7 ) . Unlike in
Mat. 2 0 , 2 6 - 2 7 a n d Mk. 1 0 , 4 3 - 4 4 , there is n o hint t h a t you c a n be
c o m e great a n d a leader in the c o m m u n i t y by first b e c o m i n g h u m b l e .
Jesus asserts rather that to be great at the Messianic/Imperial b a n q u e t
would b e to recline (dvociceiuevog), yet he is not great because he
himself does not recline b u t is a m o n g s t t h e m as one w h o serves (eyo)
8e ev uiocp ujicov eijii ox; 6 SIOCKOVCOV; Lk. 22,27).
T h a t reformed cult can n o w b e shown to exhibit the pax dei as a
c o u n t e r p a r t to the pax deorum.
3C 2.3.2.2. T h e pax dei a n d the early c o m m u n i t y in Acts

T h e Twelve, as the foundation of the reformed cult, are a t t e n d e d
by those w h o " c o n t i n u e d with o n e accord ( r c p o o K o c p x e p o u v x e q ouoGu-
|xcc86v) in the temple (ev xcp iepcp), breaking b r e a d at h o m e . . ." (Acts
2,46). T h i s takes place in the c o m m u n i t y of equals promised by M a r y
(Acts 2 , 4 4 - 4 5 ; 4 , 3 2 - 3 7 cf. Lk. 1,52-53) in contrast to the dynasts of
the city states of Asia M i n o r whose imperial sacrificial b a n q u e t s cel
e b r a t e d rank a n d power. It is in the Portico of S o l o m o n that the
"signs a n d w o n d e r s (ar||ieia Kai xepaxa)" take place " t h r o u g h the
h a n d s of the apostles (8id xcov xeipcov xcov drcooxotaov)" w h e r e "they
7(i
Walaskay (1983), p. 36 regards the removal o f m x a from the M a r c a n K o c x a -
icupievaiv and mxeôvGidôvoiv as a modification of the severity o f these expressions.
118 CHAPTER THREE
were all of o n e accord (6uo0\)|Lia86v; Acts 5,12)." T h e reformed cult

thus continues its presence, as with A n n a a n d Z e c h a r i a h , in the shell
of the old: it demonstrates its unity a n d lack o f a x d a i q i n its 6uo0\)-
ua86v, a w o r d that is here r e p e a t e d a second time in the context of
the old T e m p l e .
T h e promise "to set right o u r feet in the way of peace (Kaie\)0\)vai
xovq noSaq eiq 686v Tfjq eipr|vr|q)" is thus continued. But so also is the
t h e m e that the pax dei, as the c o u n t e r p a r t to the pax deorum, is m a r k e d
by absence of strife a n d unity (6uo0i)|Lia86v) in the reformed cult that
emerges out of J u d a i s m . Augustus' cult h a d similary e m e r g e d out of
R e p u b l i c a n religion that possessed cults of individual Virtues, b u t
which were n o w collectively associated with the c o r p o r a t e personal
ity of the e m p e r o r . T h e cult of Virtues, like Christianity as reformed
J u d a i s m , was m a r k e d by Concordia ('Ouovoioc), Disciplina, Simplicitas
(d(peA,6ir|<; cf. Acts 2,46 see also 2,42, etc).
It is as the representative of the reformed cultus that b e g a n with
A n n a a n d Z e c h a r i a h that Paul appears before b o t h Festus a n d H e r o d
Agrippa at the conclusion of Acts. Before the former he rebuts the
charge of Tertullus t h a t the reformed cultus c a n n o t satisfy the con
tra-cultural r e q u i r e m e n t s of achieving w h a t the Imperial C u l t set out
to achieve in terms of the pax dei (2A 2.1). But the m a i n people
addressed in his speech in the presence of Porcius Festus w h o has
by this time replaced Felix (Acts 24,27) are the latter. A g r i p p a a n d
Bernice a p p e a r here as the representatives of u n r e f o r m e d J u d a i s m
(25,13-26-32).
As C a m p e n h a u s e n has p o i n t e d out, Paul stands here as the sur
viving apostolic witness, the original Twelve n o w having vanished
from the scene. I n d e e d , the Twelve always were shadowy figures in
Acts: they function as literary constructs that s u p p o r t the distinctive
77
L u c a n theology that overlays earlier m a t e r i a l . T h e Paul that n o w
stands alone insists to Agrippa that he represents the reformed cul
tus of A n n a a n d Z e c h a r i a h :
7 /
A n earlier tradition o f the church o f Jerusalem a n d their eschatological expec
tations significance m a y nevertheless have b e e n present in the material that the
author uses. S e e H . v o n C a m p e n h a u s e n , D e r Urchristliche Apostelbegriff, in StTh
Vol. 1 Fasc. I—II (1947), p p . 9 6 - 1 3 0 ; 1 3 3 - 1 4 4 . Idem. Kirchliches A m t und geistliche
V o l l m a c h t , in BeitrHistTh 14 (1963), chapter 2; W . Schmithals, D a s Kirchliche
Apostelamt. Eine Historische Untersuchung, in FRIAMT 6 1 , (1961). Acts is really
not the acts o f the T w e l v e Apostles, but of Peter, J a m e s , J o h n , and Paul.
9
And now for the hope of the promise (in iXnibi xf|<; eiq xcnx; rcaxepac;
fmcov inayyekiaq) made by God to our fathers I stand condemned (icpivo-
uevoq), to which our Twelve Tribes (TO 8co8eKaqn)A,ov f|u.cov) hope to
attain worshipping in intense expectation (ev EKTeveia) day and night,
concerning which hope I am under indictment (eyKatanjiiai) by the
Jews, O king.
Acts 26,6-7
T h u s the scenes in the closing chapters of Acts conclude w h a t the

o p e n i n g chapters of Luke b e g a n . J o h n the Baptist, son of the priest
Z a c h a r i a h faithfully serving at the altar of incense, was destined to
exoiudoai K\)p{co Xabv KaTeGKeuaouivov (Lk. 1,17). T h e conception of
Jesus was the action of G o d (|xvr|a0f|vai eXeovq) in fulfilment of his
promise to the fathers (KOCGGX; iXafa]oev npbq xovq naxepaq rjjicov), the
very p r o m i s e s (ETC' iXnibi xr\q eiq xohq naxepaq fjuxov inayyeXiaq) for
which Paul here was o n trial. R e g a r d i n g J o h n , Z a c h a r i a h speaks of
Tiovfjaou eXeoq \iexa TCGV 7 i a x e p c o v Kai uvnaGfjvou 8ia6r|icn<; ayiaq cruxou
(1,72-73). W e have seen h o w the Twelve, w h o continue the reformed
cultus in the T e m p l e in Acts, by providing the pax dei which u n r e
formed J u d a i s m could not provide, would sit on twelve thrones j u d g
ing the twelve T r i b e s of Israel (3C 2.3.2.1). Paul here affirms that
he is the representative of TO 8co8eKd(p\)ôv i||icov, which is the m a r k
of the o r d e r e d , reformed cult which J e s u s i n a u g u r a t e d at the first
Eucharist.
W e thus see that the a u t h o r ' s legitimation of the c o m m u n i t y of
78
T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle has b e e n on at least two fronts. H e gives
assurance to that c o m m u n i t y that it is not a Bacchanalian superstitio,
a n d that indeed in Christ the e n d of o%ic\ia a n d axdaiq has c o m e
since, in Peter's words to Cornelius, divisions between J e w a n d Gentile
have b e e n dissolved by the w o r d "which p r e a c h e s p e a c e (eiiayye-
ta£6|i£vo<; eiprivnv) t h r o u g h J e s u s Christ." (Acts 10,36) O n the con
t r a r y , axacxq a n d oxiauxx w e r e t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of u n r e f o r m e d
J u d a i s m that o p p o s e d its reformation in Christ. T o this e n d the
a u t h o r was p r e p a r e d to leave in the b a c k g r o u n d any further w a y in
which the reformed cult could clash with the Imperial Cult over
e m p e r o r worship, even t h o u g h the social reality of the latter was
7 8
A third front w o u l d be that constituted by the followers o f J o h n the baptist,
w h o , the author assures us, accepted the eschatology o f the Christian saeculum aureum
shorn o f traditional apocalyptic, a n d w h o s e followers readily went over to the c o m
munity o f Jesus {Acts 18,25; 1 9 , 1 4 ) .
120 CHAPTER THREE
present t h r o u g h o u t Asia M i n o r , as it would have been obliquely in

the trial a n d m a r t y r d o m of Paul at R o m e before N e r o .
But a n i m p o r t a n t question for o u r account n o w emerges. If both
before the S a n h e d r i n , before Felix, a n d before Agrippa a n d Festus
the Imperial Cult was the backcloth to w h a t Luke-Acts proclaims both
a b o u t p a g a n i s m a n d t h e J u d a i s m which Christianity reformed, w h y
is there such a silence a b o u t the Imperial Cult itself in the cities of
Asia M i n o r that Paul visits, a n d in particular at Ephesus?
3C 2.3.2.3. Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19,21-40)

N o w h e r e was the silence m o r e deafening t h a n at Ephesus w h e r e , in
Acts 1 9 , 2 1 - 4 0 , there is recorded a disturbance (v. 2 3 : xdpotxoq) that
almost leads a n indictment for GTOLOIC, (V. 40: K I V 8 \ ) V £ U O U £ V eyicataioGai
axdaeax;). T h e riot of the silversmiths over the attack on their trade
in connection with t h e cult of Artemis is described in high relief.
T h o u g h the Imperial Cult experienced u n d e r D o m i t i a n a consider
able development specifically in Ephesus, as we shall see (5A 2), never
theless it was already established there in m o r e t h a n r u d i m e n t a r y
form in Paul's time. T h e r e was a Sebasteion or cult r o o m , a vdoq,
79
within the xejievoq of the Artemisium, a temple of Augustus within
80
the city itself dating from 27 B . C . , a n d a n earlier temple of R o m a
81
a n d Julius C a e s a r . T h e Sebasteion was the work of P. Vedius Pollio
u n d e r private instructions from Augustus to incorporate his cult into
82
G r e e k temples u n d e r guise of financial a n d legal reorganisation.
Clearly Ephesus h a d been at the very centre of the developments
which first associated the E m p e r o r with a n existing cult w h e t h e r of
R o m a , the Virtues, o r of Artemis, a n d then by slow degrees syn-
thesised the worship of o n e with the other.
Certainly Acts 19,35 knows of the distinguished title of "temple-
keeper (vecoKopoq)" held by the city, although it focuses o n being
vecoKopoq xfjq u£YaA,r|<; 'ApxeuiSoq. Yet w h e r e assimilation with e m p e r o r
79
IBM 5 2 2 = ILS 9 7 a n d CIL 3 , 7 1 1 8 . For further bibliography see Price ( 1 9 8 4 ) ,
p. 2 5 4 a n d 1 3 4 footnote 7 .
8 0
/. Eph. 1 1 1 , 9 0 2 = SEG 2 6 , 1 2 4 3 ; /. Eph. 4 0 4 = SEG 3 9 , 1 2 1 0 . S e e also Price
(1984), p. 254.
81
D i o Cassius, 5 1 , 2 0 , 6 : K a i a a p 5e ev xovxcp xd xe aXXa expr|uax{£ei, m i xeuevrj
xfl xe 'Pcouri m i xcprcaxpixcp K a i a a p i , iipcoa oruxov 'IOXJAAOV o v o u d a a q , ev xe 'Ecpeocp
m i ev N i m i a yeveoBai ecpfjKev ai)xai yap xoxe a i KOXEIC, ev xr\ ' A a i a m i ev xe xf|
Bi(h)v(a 7cpoexexiur|vxo. m i xovxoix; |iev xoiq 'PCOUOUOK; xoiq n a p ' auxoiq e r c o i K o v o i xiuav
upoaexaê • xoiq 5e 8f| êvoiq, "EXXr\va<; atpaq eTcimAiaaq, eaDxcp x w a , xoiq uev 'Aaiavoiq
ev nepydjico, xoiq 8e BiGvvoiq ev NiKout|8e{a, xeueviaai e7iexpe\|/e.
82
SEG 4 0 , 1 0 0 1 .
worship h a d p r o c e e d e d as at Ephesus, there would b e "a union of

83
n e o c o r a t e s . " Although evidence for this tide specifically for a city
with a n imperial temple is clearer in the time of D o m i t i a n , H a d r i a n ,
a n d Caracalla, those developments were founded on earlier assimi
84
lation. T h e Asiarchs have b e e n identified contentiously with priests
of the Imperial Cult, a n d certain of these officials are described in
Acts 19,31 as Paul's friends (xive<; 8e xcov 'Aaiapx&v, ovxeq auxcp (pitau).
A n d this was in a principle city, after P e r g a m o n , of the K o i n o n of
Asia which h a d issued the decree of 9 B.C. to which we have m a d e
85
frequent reference, a n d which possessed shrines of the Imperial Cult
86
there u n d e r Claudius a n d N e r o .
O n the apologetic thesis, the omission of such references would
be to defend Christianity before the magistrate. T h e defence, how
ever, would be, as it is presented in Acts, to say the least, poorly
constructed. R a t h e r , we have argued, the apologetic motif should be
s u b s u m e d u n d e r a n d m a d e subsidiary to Luke's general p u r p o s e in
legitimating the social construction of reality of T h e o p h i l u s a n d his
Christian g r o u p . T h e r e n e e d not be any final clash between the
R o m a n e m p i r e a n d the faith t h a t they avow. If n o t until u n d e r
D o m i t i a n , then at least until Pliny's correspondence, sacrificing in
the Imperial C u l t was n o litmus test for Christian loyalty to the
e m p i r e . T h e earlier q u e s t i o n w a s r a t h e r w h e t h e r a d h e r e n c e to
Christianity lead to the Bacchanalian supersitio that lead to oxdaiq
a n d thus upset the pax deorum. It could therefore be supposed that
Christians were absent from imperial festivals in consequence of such
a malign intention.
Luke-Acts has shown that, to the contrary, T h e o p h i l u s ' faith leads
to the true eiprivri, the pax dei, with ocoxripia, viicri a n d a saeculum
aureum promised to the Jewish Fathers a n d fulfilled in a reformed
cult in which a n e w age has d a w n e d t h r o u g h a Divine Child b o r n of
divine p a r e n t a g e by m e a n s of a h u m a n Virgin. At o n e point Festus
might accuse Paul of b e h a v i n g like a Bacchic m a e n a d , w h e n he says:
"You are raving, Paul (umvr), UavXz), your m a n y words have t u r n e d
your m i n d to a frenzy (xd nokka a e ypduâxa eiq uxxviav 7cepixpe7cei)."
But Paul is recorded as replying, in the full context of the discourse
8 3
Foakes Jackson and Lake (1933) 1,4, p. 2 5 0 .
84
Ibid. 1,5 pp. 2 4 4 - 2 5 6 ; Price (1984), pp. 6 5 - 6 6 ; p p . 7 2 - 7 3 ; Fishwick (1987),
1,1 p. 2 2 .
8 5
IB 4 and 2 C 1.
8(>
Ross Taylor (1933), p. 2 5 7 .
122 CHAPTER THREE
of legitimation c o n s t r u c t e d by the a u t h o r : "I a m not r a v i n g (o\>

umvouou). . . but I speak the words of truth a n d of self-discipline
(aXXa aXi)Qeia<; m l acocppoouvriq priuaxa a7co(p98yyo|iai; Acts 26,24)."
T h e o p h i l u s a n d his c o n t e m p o r a r i e s h a d b e e n b r o u g h t u p in a
p a g a n background, o u d i n e d in o u r first chapter, of a civil w a r requir
ing an e x t r a o r d i n a r y act of augurium, in o r d e r to set right a disor
d e r e d n a t u r e as the metaphysical c o u n t e r p a r t of a disordered e m p i r e
(2A 5). T h e s e keenly felt, religious aspirations, w e r e witnessed by the
ideology of the Imperial Cult found in Vergil, H o r a c e , O v i d , a n d
L u c a n , a m o n g s t others, a n d by the inscriptions such as t h a t of the
K o i n o n of Asia. S u c h religious aspirations could n o w find their sat
isfaction in the new, reformed J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n cult, with its contra-
cultural reversal of imperial p o w e r a n d privilege. Luke will therefore
not allow his p u r p o s e to be destroyed by suggesting a h e a d o n col
lision b e t w e e n Christ a n d C a e s a r in which the o n e must nihilate the
other. R a t h e r t h a n being nihilated, imperialist religious aspirations
m u s t be better satisfied a n d fulfilled by the exxxyyeAaov xoiq rcxcoxoiq
(Lk. 4,18).
But although the possibility of ultimate conflict between the reli
gious needs of the e m p i r e a n d those of Christianity is placed in the
b a c k g r o u n d , the possibility of t h a t clash is nevertheless still tactfully
represented, as we shall n o w see.
3 C 2.3.3. Implied references to the Imperial Cult

W e shall n o w e x a m i n e a n u m b e r of passages in which the Imperial
C u l t a n d its ramifications are implied, even t h o u g h the a u t h o r has,
for the reasons that we have given, suppressed a n y overt references.
3 C 2.3.3.1. T h e d e a t h of H e r o d A g r i p p a (Acts 12,21-22)

In C a e s a r e a the temple of Tt>%r| or Fortuna h a d b e c o m e assimilated
with the genius of Caesar, by the process of gradual imperial deification
87
t h a t we have described. T h e scene takes place " o n a C a l e n d a r date
(xotKxfi filêpa)." H e r e we have, arguably, the festival of the dies natalis
8 7
Eusebius, Mart. Pal. 11,30; Josephus, Antiqu. 16,136, cf. K. Lake, T h e Chronology
of Acts, in Foakes J a c k s o n a n d Lake (1933) 1,5 p p . 4 5 0 - 4 5 2 cf. L. Levine, Caesarea
u n d e r R o m a n Rule, in SJLA 1 (1975), p p . 2 7 - 2 9 . S e e also A. R a b a n , T h e Harbours
of Caesarea Maritima: Results of the Caesarea Ancient H a r b o u r Excavation Project,
1 9 8 0 - 1 9 8 5 , in BAR International Series (1989) 4 9 1 , p p . 5 1 - 5 3 ; Idem. Kouodpeia fj npbq
Sepaaxcp Xiuevi: t w o harbours for two entities? in Caesarea Papers, Straton's T o w e r ,
H e r o d ' s H a r b o u r , a n d R o m a n a n d Byzantine C a e s a r e a , ( M i c h i g a n : A n n Arbor
1992), in JRA Suppl. Ser. 5 (1989), p p . 6 8 - 7 4 ; E. Krentz, Caesarea a n d early
Christianity, in JRA, Suppl. 5 (1989), p p . 2 6 1 2 6 5 .
of Augustus at C a e s a r e a , or if not his Quinquennalia c o m m e m o r a t i n g

his defeat of A n t h o n y in the m o n t h of August that bears his n a m e .
T h e scene is therefore, from the outset, s u r r o u n d e d by repressed
images of the Imperial Cult. H e r o d a p p e a r s like a divine m o n a r c h
of the G r e e k city states of Asia M i n o r a n d Egypt "clothed in royal
r a i m e n t (evSuoduevoq eo&nxa paaiA,ucf|v), a n d , having taken his j u d i
cial seat (raGiaaq erci xou pfiuaxoq), h e m a d e a speech (eSruiriyopei) to
t h e m . " T h e Sfjuoq retorts t h a t they h e a r "the voice of G o d a n d not
of a m a n , " a n d in consequence H e r o d is eaten with w o r m s because
" h e did not give glory to G o d . "
As Eusebius (H.E. 11,10,3), following J o s e p h u s (Ant. 19,343-351)
well knows, H e r o d ' s activity on this occasion was his celebration of
"spectacles in h o n o u r of C a e s a r (cuvexeA,ei 8' evxauGa Gecopiaq eiq XTVV
Kaioapoq xiuf|v)." F u r t h e r m o r e , H e r o d "knew that the festival was
for the latter's safety (urcep xfjq e K e i v o u ocoxripiaq eopxr|v xiva xauxrjv
ercioxdnevoq) a n d at it were assembled (Kal n a p ' auxriv TiGpoioxo) a
multitude of those in office a n d of high r a n k in the province (xcov
Kaxd xf^v ercapxiav ev xeA,ei Kal rcpoPeprjKoxcov eiq dcîav TcArjGoq)." Clearly
the g a m e s (Gecopiaq), associated with the e m p e r o r ' s safety (ocoxrjpiaq),
at which the events of Acts 12,21-22 took place, are held at C a e s a r e a
w h e r e a temple of his cult was to be found. T h o s e games there
fore imply a celebration in connection with that cult. T h e r e is thus
implicit in this example a w a r n i n g to the circle of T h e o p h i l u s that
the worship of divine rulers is quite foreign to the J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n
traditions. A similar e x a m p l e against w h a t is r e g a r d e d as a typical
p a g a n (as opposed to a Jewish) tendency is given at Lystra: Paul a n d
B a r n a b a s are identified with H e r m e s a n d Zeus, a n d the priest of
Zeus expresses willingness to offer t h e m sacrifice. T h e y vehemently
object with the traditional monotheistic Jewish a r g u m e n t in rebuttal
(Acts 14,11-18).
T h u s T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle are tacidy w a r n e d that t h o u g h
there n e e d be n o conflict between their religious convictions a n d the
Imperial Cult, such a conflict might arise. In their reformed Jewish
cult they h a d received the true m e a n s for obtaining the pax dei b o t h
for themselves a n d for the e m p i r e , a n d with pax the true saeculum
aureum initiated by the Divine Child w h o was the only true filius dei.
W h e t h e r the o x d o i q w a s in society or reflected metaphysically in the
world of n a t u r e , the true eipr|vr| a n d viiai was t h r o u g h Bethlehem
a n d finally the T r i u m p h a l Entry a n d the blood of the cross. But
though they might avoid the appellatio that called on all m e m b e r s of
124 CHAPTER THREE
a particular Asiatic city state to worship on one or several of the

m a n y birthdays celebrating the divination of Augustus a n d his heirs—
a n d with full confidence (dacpdXeioc, Lk. 1,4) that they were obtain
ing the pax dei by better m e a n s — , nevertheless there was a d a n g e r
that the cult might develop further. Pliny, if not D o m i t i a n , was to
show h o w it could b e c o m e a full-blown loyalty test a n d lead inevitably
to a clash of allegiance.
T h a t the a u t h o r was a w a r e of such a possibility is shown in the
next passage that we shall consider.
3 C 2.3.3.2. Acts 17,7 a n d 18,13

H a v i n g c h a r g e d the J e w s at Thessalonica with a BopuPoq, the a u t h o r
recounts h o w J a s o n a n d others are h a u l e d before the politarchs for
having given house-space to "those w h o have placed in a state of
agitation ( d v a a x a i c o a a v T e q ) the civilised world (TTJV oiKoi)|ievr]v)." (Acts
17,6) This was the self-same oiKouuivri or R o m a n Empire that receives
the 86yuxx r e g a r d i n g the census in Lk. 2 , 1 , which we a r g u e d would
have b e e n associated, in terms of a G r a e c o - R o m a n religious con
text, with the ritual lustrum of the city b o u n d a r i e s over the reforms
of which Augustus took control (Res Gestae 8,2) in b e c o m i n g Pontifex
Maximus (3A 1.1). Luke has assimilated—and in so d o i n g distorted—
a n event which, if historical, was a census that p e r t a i n e d to Syria,
with a n event involving the oiKO\)|i8vr| in which Augustus himself was
88
immediately involved a n d with it by implication his cult. Furthermore,
this self-same oiKouuivri is r e c o r d e d as worshipping along with all
Asia, Artemis of Ephesus, b u t in a context in which the universal
c h a r a c t e r of that worship was b e c o m i n g increasing g u a r a n t e e d b y the
association of the E m p e r o r with the cult of this goddess (Acts 19,27).
In this context therefore we can r e a d the accusation of J a s o n , a n d
Paul a n d his c o m p a n i o n s to w h o m the latter h a d given shelter:
All these are acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar (omoi navxeq
dTtevavTi TCOV SoyiidxcQv Kouoapoc; rcpdaaouai), saying that there is a
different emperor, Jesus (potoiAia exepov Aiyovxeq elvai 'Inaovv).
Acts 17,7
T h i s passage clearly c a n n o t be used to support the view t h a t Luke-

Acts is addressed as an apology to a R o m a n magistrate. T h e politarchs
simply d o not j u d g e the accuracy of the accusation at all, nor h e a r
See footnotes 2 0 and 21 above.

any formal reply. T h e y simply dismiss J a s o n , a n d the b r o t h e r h o o d

then sends Paul a n d Silas away by night to Beroea (v. 8-9).
W e saw that the a u t h o r has already m a d e clear J e s u s ' claim to
k i n g s h i p , a n d t h a t claim w o u l d h a v e b e e n readily a c c e p t e d b y
T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle. In that respect they clashed with the ends
of the state. But Luke can reassure t h e m that the clash is with the
perceived cultic a n d religious m e a n s to achieving the state's religious
ends, a n d not the ends themselves. T h u s discretely opting out of the
Imperial Cult does not conflict fundamentally with the social, religious,
a n d political ends of such a society. T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle could
not of course avow allegiance to imperial authority only in a n o n -
religious, secular sense: their universe of discourse did n o t m a k e the
89
distinction between the secular a n d the s a c r e d . T h e object of p a r
ticipating in the Imperial Cult a n d using the special act of augury
was to secure the pax deorum, the saeculum aureum a n d the divine Child
leading to the fulfilment of promises of acorn, pioc etc., a n d these were
p r o p e r religious e n d s . But the true fulfilment of those ends was
t h r o u g h the true counterparts to their m e a n s found in the reformed
Jewish cult.
Discretely, therefore, a n d in the language of tangential reference,
the I m p e r i a l C u l t is p r e s e n t as a potential source of clash with
Theophilus' circle which m a y nevertheless still be avoided. Christianity
itself, as expressed in Luke, will never upset the pax deorum a n d never
therefore require imperial intervention at the cultic level in o r d e r to
set the world right. T h e y might simply avoid conflict as the politarchs
at Thessalonica h a d d o n e .
But although in the sunlight of his Christian-imperial eschatology
Luke might convey feelings of great optimism to T h e o p h i l u s a n d his
circle, he nevertheless encapsulates his concern a b o u t other aspects
of their legal position in the passages that we shall n o w examine.
3C 2.3.3.3. Legal Obligation a n d C u s t o m : Acts 1 6 , 2 0 - 2 1

H a v i n g a r g u e d that Luke-Acts is a reconstruction b o t h of G r a e c o -
R o m a n a n d Jewish social reality so as to legitimate Christianity in
the R o m a n E m p i r e , we are n o w in a position to read the message
of this further text t h r o u g h the eyes of T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle, to
m
T h a t the clarity a n d validity of the m o d e r n distinction b e t w e e n the secular
and the religious are only apparent can be seen if o n e tries to apply the distinc
tion in the specific areas o f abortion, denominational education, euthanasia etc.
126 CHAPTER THREE
w h o m the Imperial Cult, w h e t h e r in R o m e or Asia M i n o r , would

have clearly b e e n of religious significance.
W e need to consider w h a t message Theophilus would have derived
from the incident at Philippi in which Paul a n d Silas are b r o u g h t
before the dpxovxeq/axpccxriYoi. T h e slave owners of the exorcised
m a i d charge that:
These men are causing disturbance to our city (oi)xoi oi avGpcojcoi

eKxapdaoovciv f||icov xfjv noXiv), and as Jews ('Io\)8aioi imdpxovxeq mi)
are proclaiming customs (mxayyeM.o'uaiv e&n,) which it is unlawful for
us to accept or practice being Romans (d OX>K eêaxiv f)(iiv rcapaSexeaOai
o\)8e rcoieiv Tcouaioiq ot>civ).
Acts 16,20-21
Paul a n d Silas, after a miraculous freeing from their prison b o n d s ,

are finally released by officials w h o are e m b a r r a s s e d that they have
publicly b e a t e n u n c o n d e m n e d R o m a n citizens. T h i s fact h o w e v e r
does not of itself acquit t h e m from the m a i n charge. W h e t h e r they
were J e w s w h o were R o m a n citizens or not, a n d w h e t h e r they h a d
caught the magistrates off-guard on another matter, the central charge
nevertheless r e m a i n e d .
T h a t central charge was that t h o u g h J e w s might be e x e m p t from
G r a e c o - R o m a n religious customs, Gentiles were not, particularly those
with R o m a n citizenship t h r o u g h o u t the G r e e k city states of Asia
M i n o r . A n d this leads us directly to the m e a n s by which J e w s could
avoid the r e q u i r e m e n t , w h e t h e r purely social or legal, to take p a r t
in the Imperial Cult, a n d thus to refrain from a p p e a r i n g in proces
sional white, following the supplicatio, with myrtle wreathes o n their
h e a d s a n d myrtle b r a n c h e s in their h a n d s . T h e g r o u n d s of the social
acceptability of non-participation, later with Decius T r a j a n to b e c o m e
the legal acceptability, was ancestral custom. In the specific words
of the charge against Paul:
This man persistendy persuades people (dvarceiBei oi)xo<; zovq dvGpamouc;)

contrary to the law (rcapd xov VOJIOV) to worship God. (aepea9ai xov 0e6v).
Acts 18,13
T h e o p h i l u s , Kpdxiaxoq, a n d his circle, living in Asia M i n o r in the

eighties of the first century, would have found this a r g u m e n t of great
significance for their personal circumstances (3B 3.1). S t a n d i n g at
the forefront of the successors to the G r e e k city states in c o m m u n i
ties such as Ephesus, P e r g a m o n , Antioch in Pisidia, etc., they well
knew that there was n o legal compulsion on t h e m to participate in
the Imperial Cult. Yet the Hellenistic culture that h a d formed their
perspectives on the world was one to which that cultus was critical.
T h e A u g u s t a n revolution h a d p r o d u c e d t h e pax deorum, a n d re
o r d e r e d the cosmic a n d metaphysical dislocation of the natural o r d e r
witnessed in a century of civil wars with which countless prodigious
natural disasters were associated (2A 4). T h e r e was a strongly felt
m o r a l a n d patriotic compulsion to continue w h a t h a d been cele
b r a t e d in the decrees of the K o i n o n of Asia a n d elsewhere (2B 4).
But they h a d b e e n catechetized a n d received into the post-Pauline
communities in Asia M i n o r , a n d were n o w Christians.
H o w could their new faith enable their reintegration into the c o m
munity from which it h a d alienated t h e m ? H o w could this perceived,
social-psychological n e e d for the celebration of social o r d e r after
bloody social strife, fulfilled in the Imperial Cultus that h a d secured
the pax deorum, n o w experience new fulfilment by the new religion?
O n e w a y w o u l d b e to identify their religion as a valid form of
J u d a i s m , a n d thus the social acceptability of non-participation be
u n d e r s t o o d a n d acknowledged by their society. But historically Paul
h a d suggested, at least to the Galatians, a radical disjunction between
the L a w a n d Christ on whose cross the c o m m a n d m e n t s h a d b e e n
destroyed (Gal. 3 , 1 0 - 1 4 ) . T h e radical c h a r a c t e r of this disjunction
9 0
h a d b e e n considerably softened in Rom. 9 - 1 1 . But here the Gentile
mission was still emphasised as distinct from the Jewish, with the lat
ter to experience purely eschatological fulfilment, despite the m e t a p h o r
of the grafting of the wild olive onto the original stem (Rom. 11,17-24).
T h e deutero-Paulinist a u t h o r of Luke-Acts offers a reconstruction
of the theology of the historical Paul. T h e Christian cultus into which
T h e o p h i l u s has b e e n catechetized is the J e w i s h cultus, b u t a reformed
Jewish cultus (3B 1-3). If the non-participation of unreformed Israel
is socially acceptable, a fortiori a reformed Israel should be, which is
the true fulfilment of patriarchal promised from time i m m e m o r i a l .
But the reformed cult has gone far b e y o n d the social acceptability
of a merely passive non-participation. Luke-Acts offers a positive rea
son for non-participation, namely that the p u r p o s e of the Imperial
Cult, namely the pax deorum a n d the sacramental m e a n s for the con
tinuance of the saeculum aureum is far better achieved t h r o u g h the
eiprivTi of Bethlehem (3B 3.1-3) a n d the T r i u m p h a l E n t r y (3C 3.2.1),
Brown and M e i e r (1983) chapt. 2.

128 CHAPTER THREE
a n d the V ( K T | a n d acoxripia that follow from the birth of Child from

the Virgin, a n d his d e a t h a n d resurrection.
Such a n ideology thus o p e n e d the prospect for T h e o p h i l u s a n d
his g r o u p to overcome their alienation a n d positively, t h r o u g h the
creation of a contra-culture, to reintegrate themselves into the social
fabric of their societies by m e a n s of a new religion that would achieve
the perceived objective of those societies. As such, the ideology was
d o o m e d to fail a n d the a t t e m p t prove to be in vain. But the L u c a n
writing r e m a i n an e n d u r i n g testimony to such a failed a t t e m p t .
A c c o r d i n g to Fox a n d others T h e o p h i l u s m a y have witnessed the
91
trial a n d also p e r h a p s the execution of St. P a u l . T h e y could have
comforted themselves in the light of the imagery of Luke-Acts that
even a less tyrannical e m p e r o r t h a n N e r o w o u l d not h a v e b e e n
justified in executing Paul for oxaoiq a n d for teaching non-ancestral
religious customs. T h e pax t h a t Sebastos h a d c l a i m e d t h r o u g h his
reformed cult, Christ h a d achieved t h r o u g h his. T h i s comforting re
assurance h a d a n c h o r e d the questioned legitimacy of the reformed
Christian in the u n a m b i g u o u s legitimacy of the J e w i s h cult. But the
re-assurance was n o w to collapse with the final exclusion of a n y r e p
resentative of Christianity on the roll of Jewish n a m e s that h a d paid
the tax for the destroyed T e m p l e at Aelia directly into the treasury
as required by law.
Vespasian h a d imposed the Jiscus Iudaicus on every J e w of at least
20 years of age. W h a t they h a d previously paid to the T e m p l e at
J e r u s a l e m destroyed in the crushed revolt was n o w p a i d into the
92
imperial t r e a s u r y . A c c o r d i n g to Suetonius, this tax applied to all
93
J e w s observing their ancestral eGr|. Domitian now encouraged d e n u n
ciations of those w h o lived as J e w s without m a k i n g o p e n professions
as well as those w h o concealed their J e w i s h origin. Keresztes argues
convincingly that the former class indicated gentiles w h o were con
sidered to b e converts to J u d a i s m to w h o m the infamous physical
inspection for circumcision would not necessarily apply. T h e aep6|Li£voi
94
often stopped far short of conversion to full J u d a i s m . It was the
9 1
R.L. Fox, Pagans and Christians in the Mediterranean World from the second century to
the conversion of Constantine, (Harmondsworth: P e n g u i n 1986), p p . 4 3 0 - 4 3 2 ff.
9 2
J o s e p h u s , Bell. Jud. 1,152.
9 3
D i o Cassius 6 5 , 7 , 2 ; Suetonius, Domit. 12,2 cf. P. Keresztes, T h e J e w s , the
Christians, a n d the E m p e r o r D o m i t i a n , in VCh 27 (1973), p p . 1 - 2 8 to w h i c h I a m
heavily indebted for m y c o m m e n t s here.
9 4
Keresztes (1973), p. 5 quoting G. La Piana, Foreign G r o u p s in R o m e during
scandal of these denunciations that N e r v a e n d e d a n d which forms

the significance of t h e inscription FISCI IVDAICI CALVMNIA SVBLATA
95
s.c. It should b e r e m e m b e r e d that prosecutions u n d e r R o m a n crim
inal l a w d e p e n d e d heavily o n such informers in t h e absence of a
regular police-force.
Dio Cassius 6 8 , 1,2 refers t o t h e senatus consultum u n d e r N e r v a t h a t
prohibited accusations for following " a Jewish w a y of life ('IooSaiKoq
pioq)." But with this was clearly bracketed also accusation of daepeioc.
Impiety towards t h e E m p e r o r a n d t h e gods is n o t normally to b e
associated with t a x evasion, b u t clearly it h a d b e e n in some cases.
T h e s e , as Keresztes argues, could n o t have b e e n J e w s b y race w h o
were entided to practice their ancestral religion without participa
tion in a n y p a g a n cult including t h e Imperial Cult. T h e y must have
therefore have b e e n gentiles leading a 'IOU8(XIK6<; pioq.
Dio Cassius 6 7 , 14,1-2 mentions t h e famous Domitianic case of
Flavius C l e m e n s a n d Flavia Domitilla w h o were accused of dGeoxrjq
because they h a d strayed into xd xcov 'IouSocicov r\Qr\: in consequence
Flavius w a s executed a n d Flavia banished to P a n d a t e r i a . Included
with t h e m as victims of D o m i t i a n ' s terror w e r e m a n y others w h o
are described as " t u r n i n g away to J e w i s h customs (eq xd xcov 'IcuSaicov
T]0r| eôiceAAovxeq)." It w a s conversion that D o m i t i a n w a s therefore
attacking.
W e need not here re-open the hoary debate o n the specific question
as to w h e t h e r Flavius a n d Flavia were Christians r a t h e r t h a n J e w s .
T h e o p h i l u s a n d his g r o u p in Asia M i n o r were Christians, b u t in a
society in which they would b e readily identified phenomenologically
with leading a 'IouSocncoq ptoq. U n d e r D o m i t i a n Gentiles converting
to such a life were clearly considered socially deviant, with t h e result
that initial claims that they should b e p u n i s h e d for n o n - p a y m e n t of
the fiscus Judaicus w a s then followed b y charges of daePeia a n d of
being dGeoi. I n d e e d it could well b e a r g u e d that, as good d e u t e r o -
Paulinists, such uncircumcised aepojievoi were unlisted o n t h e rolls
of Jewish synagogues a n d unrecognised b y those following t h e bira-
choth kaminim. T h u s they could n o t have paid t h e fiscus Judaicus even
though they h a d wished to d o so. Yet now, accused u n d e r Domitian's
the First Centuries o f the Empire, in HThR 2 0 (1927), p p . 2 7 5 - 3 9 0 a n d G.F. M o o r e ,

Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era, (Harvard: U . P . 1927), p. 5. M o r e
recently see SEG 3 9 , 1 8 4 0 - 1 8 4 1 ; 4 0 , 4 1 , 9 1 8 ; 1840; 4 2 , 7 2 6 ; 1226; 1813; 4 3 , 1 2 9 8 .
5
" Keresztes (1973), p. 6.
130 CHAPTER THREE
policy for not having paid the tax whilst they followed a 'IO\)8OCIK6<;
pioq, they w e r e in a cleft stick. T h e fact of their conversion could
be held against t h e m a n d the charge of acefieia accordingly follow.
T h u s the scene at Ephesus in Acts 1 6 , 2 0 - 2 1 finds reflection in
these D o m i t i a n i c events as T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle experienced
them. T h e aePouevoi of Asia M i n o r were R o m a n citizens w h o , despite
their contra-cultural ideology, were r e g a r d e d as having n o legal right
to the L u k a n reformed J u d a i s m that encapsulated their imperialist
aspirations to be g o o d citizens as well as good Christians. In the last
analysis Luke will a d m i t that he leaves u n a n s w e r e d w h a t the legacy
of Paul was to d o for t h e m in their o w n day as it h a d in the days
of the Ephesian magicians. As a J e w Paul h a d p e r s u a d e d t h e m to
b e c o m e ae|36|xevoi, "contrary to the law to worship G o d (rcccpa xov
vouov ae(3ea6ai xov 0e6v)," a n d thus to accept "e9r| u n p e r m i t t e d to
R o m a n s (a OUK eêaxiv fijiiv rcapaSexeoGai. . . Tcojialoiq ouaiv)." In
Domitian's time it was thus also un-permitted e9r| that lead to charges
of d a e p E i c c for a temple tax which was not only u n p a i d but for which
n a m e s h a d b e e n absent from synagogal registers that would have
otherwise have implied obligation to m a k e such p a y m e n t .
Let us n o w summarise the point to which this c h a p t e r has lead us.
PART D . C H U R C H O R D E R AND IMPERIAL SOCIETY
W e have thus a r g u e d that Luke-Acts represents ideology b u t not in

the sense of the apology of a n individual or group to a hostile R o m a n
magistrate. W e agree thus far with Esler that this work represents
96
in-house legitimation a n d not apology.
But the general concept of legitimation is to be s h a r p e n e d specific
ally in terms of a sociological theory of contra-culture. T h e g r o u p
legitimates itself by constructing an alternative frame of reference
with a related alternative scale of values that justified b o t h its sig
nificance a n d indeed its very existence. But that reconstruction is
parasitic nevertheless o n the social construction of reality of the host
culture, which provides the r a w material out of which to construct
the reversal of images. T h o s e images we have seen to be the c o m
plex of ideas of augury, of census a n d of lustrum, of pax deorum, of
9 6
Esler (1987), pp. 2 2 0 - 2 2 3 .
saeculum aureum, of victoria a n d concordia which cluster a r o u n d the devel

oping ideology of the Imperial Cult.
T h e particular alternative Christian construction of reality could
sustain its plausibility to a m a x i m u m extent only d u r i n g the period
immediately preceding the accession of the e m p e r o r D o m i t i a n . T h e
parallel to the reformed, p a g a n Imperial Cult, achieving the pax deo
rum w h e r e its republican predecessor h a d failed, was Christianity as
reformed J u d a i s m , fulfilling the promises of the Divine Child a n d
the saeculum aureum promised to the Jewish patriarchs. D o m i t i a n was
to emphasise t h r o u g h the Imperial Cult the responsibility of the J e w s
to p a y the T e m p l e T a x as the socially acceptable proxy for partici
pation in the cult. But the J e w s themselves at this time t h r o u g h the
biracoth haminim were finally to exclude even Jewish Christianity, p r a c
ticed by the survivors of the tradition of J a m e s the Lord's b r o t h e r ,
from constituting a valid form of J u d a i s m .
T h u s from n o w on any a d h e r e n t of any o t h e r form of J u d a i s m
t h a n w h a t T h e o p h i l u s ' g r o u p would regard as u n r e f o r m e d J u d a i s m
would stand exposed by their non-participation in the Imperial Cult.
It would not be so easy to avoid inviting the question as to w h e t h e r
their refusal to participate in the sacramental m e a n s for obtaining
the pax deorum implied upsetting that pax t h r o u g h axdaiq fomented
by other scelera such as magic a n d witchcraft. 'Aaepeia was the charge
that followed from the fact that they h a d followed, by their own
contra-cultural claim, a reformed 'IO\)8GUK6<; p(o<; that was the reversed
image of Augustus' reform of the republican magisterial auguria to
p r o d u c e the pax deorum. T h e y h a d n o right to d e p a r t from ancestral
e0T|, so that they must b e p u n i s h e d for this as m u c h as n o n - p a y m e n t
of the fiscus Judaicus. T h e contra-cultural ideology h a d failed in its
initial, L u c a n form to reintegrate the contra-culture within the host
culture.
It is however i m p o r t a n t to note that p a r t of the contra-cultural
construction that reveals itself as m o r e t h a n legitimation is to be seen
in the formation of a n ideology of C h u r c h O r d e r . Luke founds the
c h u r c h o n the Twelve apostles, w h o continue with J e s u s in his tri
als, to w h o m h e entrusts the kingdom delivered by his Father, a n d
w h o are a p p o i n t e d to eat at his table in his kingdom a n d to sit " o n
thrones j u d g i n g the twelve tribes of Israel." (Lk. 22,30) Although this
saying is found also in Matthew (19,28) a n d comes therefore from Q ,
Luke makes the promise applicable to the Twelve alone in the specific
132 CHAPTER THREE
97
context of the Last S u p p e r (3C 2.3.2.1). T h e reapplication of the
saying to the kingdom, not given to all disciples, but "willed" or "given
as the right of inheritance to (Kdyco 8iax{0eum uuiv KCCGGX; 8ie9ex6 uoi
6 7caxf|p UOD p a a i ^ e i a v ) " the Twelve alone is therefore indicative of
Luke's own construction of the authority structure of the c o m m u n i t y .
Let us e x a m i n e briefly his reconstruction of authority in the Christian
community.
3D 1. The introduction of the apostolic college
Luke's sources are indicative of a n awareness that the Twelve did

not constitute an exclusive, authority g r o u p in the earliest c o m m u
nities, n o r were they alone allowed the tide of " a p o s d e . " Acts 1 3 , 1 - 3
describes the ministers at Antioch as " p r o p h e t s a n d teachers . . . w h o
lay h a n d s o n B a r n a b a s a n d Saul." A p p a r e n d y in consequence of
their being thus "sent o u t " as travelling missionaries, they are b o t h
called drcooxoAoi in Acts 14,4 a n d 14. P e r h a p s , alternatively they are
called such because in 11,28-30, w h e n the p r o p h e t Agabus p r o p h
esied a famine, the b r e t h r e n at Antioch send relief (drcoaxeiXavxeq)
"for the b r e t h r e n in J u d a e a . . . to the elders t h r o u g h the h a n d of
B a r n a b a s a n d Saul." (v. 30) Such a concept of apostolicity is sup
p o r t e d in Didache 11,3-6 w h e r e the travelling missionary is associ
ated closely with the prophetic office held additionally. F u r t h e r m o r e ,
in 1 Cor. 15,6 a n d 7 the resurrection a p p e a r a n c e "to J a m e s a n d all
the aposdes" is quite different from, a n d several stages later (Peter/the
Twelve/five h u n d r e d b r o t h e r s / J a m e s ) t h a n , the a p p e a r a n c e to the
98
Twelve.
T h u s Acts 1,15-26 is clearly Luke's o w n reconstruction, w h e n it
makes the Twelve a n d the fact of their being eyewitnesses uniquely
97
Mat. 19, 2 3 - 3 0 places this statement in the context o f the R i c h Y o u n g M a n
( 1 6 - 2 1 ) and is a promise not only to Peter but to all w h o follow Jesus (oi dicoAx)\)9r|-
aavxeq |ioi) "in the rebirth" (ev xr\ 7caA.iyyevea{a).
9 8
Cf. also Rom. 16,7 w h e r e Andronicus a n d j u n i a are described as ejuoT|uoi xoi<;
arcoaxotanq, a n d in 2 Cor. 8 , 2 3 (a8etapoi f|Uiov drcooxotan eiacXrioicbv) and 11,5 and
13 a n d 12,11. In the latter case the vrcepAiav drcooxoAxn appears to refer not to
those w h o have passed the test as witnesses to the resurrection, but to the charis
matic and prophetic test o f perfoming x a ar|(xeia ioi) drcooxotan). Furthermore in
Mat. 10,2; Mk. 3,14; 6,30; Lk. 6,13; 9,10; 11,49 the reference is to those w h o trav
elled either with Jesus or w h o were sent out by h i m as missionaries, and not as
witnesses to a resurrection that had not as yet occurred. S e e also C a m p e n h a u s e n
(1947), pp. 9 6 - 1 3 0 ; K. Lake, T h e T w e l v e and the Apostles, in Foakes Jackson and
Lake (1933) 1,5 pp. 3 7 - 5 9 .
central to the authority structure of the c o m m u n i t y , (v. 22) conjoin

ing incidentally with t h e m the " L o r d ' s B r o t h e r s " (v. 14). T h e a d d i
tion of M a t t h i a s in r e p l a c e m e n t of J u d a s is also clearly the a u t h o r ' s
o w n construction. I n Acts 12,2 J a m e s the apostle is m a r t y r e d by
H e r o d Agrippa, b u t the apostolic b o d y does n o t m e e t again in o r d e r
to replace the deceased office-bearer.
H o w e v e r , the a u t h o r ' s p u r p o s e in constructing a putative O r d e r
for the primitive C h u r c h is clearly n o t that of later Hegessipus or
Irenaeus, or of the C l e m e n t i n e Homilies." T h e aposdes d o not ini
tiate a n episcopal succession list. T h e y d o however o r d a i n the seven
deacons b u t only according to the W e s t e r n text of Acts 6 , 1 - 6 . T h e
ms. tradition otherwise implies that the c o m m u n i t y itself ordains with
100
apostolic a p p r o v a l . Both Paul a n d B a r n a b a s (Acts 14,21), whilst
travelling t h r o u g h Lystra, I c o n i u m , a n d Antioch in Pisidia, " o r d a i n
presbyters in every c h u r c h (xeipoxovrioxcvxeq 8e amoiq m x ' eKK^naiav
rcpeop'uxepoix;)," by virtue p r e s u m a b l y of the apostolicity of the trav
elling missionary a n d n o t the apostolicity of the eyewitness to the
resurrection.
Yet there is n o clearly articulated theory of ministerial O r d e r sys
tematically i m p o s e d u p o n the text since there a r e m e n t i o n e d elders
(Acts 11,30), b u t n o t apostles (nor d e a c o n s ) , over t h e c h u r c h in
J e r u s a l e m w h o receive the relief-gift as a result of A g a b u s ' p r o p h
esying, b u t of whose ordination, unlike that of the deacons, we have
n o m e n t i o n . F u r t h e r m o r e , presbyters are regularly associated with
the aposdes t h r o u g h o u t Acts, b u t n o a c c o u n t of the origin of their
101
office, unlike that of aposdes a n d deacons, is ever g i v e n . Yet the
supposed ordinations of presbyters by Paul a n d B a r n a b a s , a n d the
s u m m o n i n g of the Ephesian presbyters by Paul himself in Acts 20,17,
was clearly i m p o r t a n t to t h e a u t h o r as a n apostolic function. I n
v. 28 Paul addresses these same presbyters as £7UGKO7COI, t h o u g h , as
in C l e m e n t Romans 4 4 , 1 - 5 , there is a plurality of such ministers a n d
the terms are evidentiy interchangeable.
9 9
A. Brent, D i o g e n e s Laertius a n d the Apostolic Succession, in JEH 4 4 , 3 (1993),
pp. 3 7 5 - 3 8 6 ; Idem. H i p p o l y t u s a n d the R o m a n C h u r c h in the T h i r d Century:
C o m m u n i t i e s in T e n s i o n before the E m e r g e n c e o f a M o n a r c h - B i s h o p , in SupplVCh
31 (Leiden: E.J. Brill 1995), p p . 4 7 6 - 5 0 1 .
100
Acts 6 , 6 ovq eaxrjaav evamiov xcov arcoaxoXtov, m l 7cpoae\)^d|xevoi £7ie6T|Kav
avxoiq xd<; xzipaq. T h e subject o f eaxrjaav is clearly the Hellenists themselves w h o
lay hands o n the seven like the prophets a n d teachers o f Antioch o n Barnabas a n d
Saul (Acts 13,3). Foakes Jackson a n d Lake (1933) 1,4 p. 6 5 , a n d 1,5 note 11 p. 137.
101
Acts 15, 2 , 4 , 6 , 2 2 - 2 3 ; 16,4.
134 CHAPTER THREE
T h e r e is n o p r i m a r y historical evidence for the existence of a pres-

byterate in the original Pauline communities. T h u s the existence of
the institution here is a clear contrivance of the deutero-Paulinist
a u t h o r which he nevertheless shares with the p s e u d o n y m o u s Pastoral
102
Episdes written c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s l y with h i m . T h e connection of
the Pauline congregation t h r o u g h ordination of office-bearers is in
t e n d e d to emphasise the unity of the reformed cult of J u d a i s m , which
begins in J e r u s a l e m a n d proceeds to S a m a r i a a n d then to R o m e
with each m o v e m e n t leading back to J e r u s a l e m itself.
Paul ordains presbyters just as Peter a n d the original apostles h a d
o r d a i n e d the deacons (Acts 6,1-6) even t h o u g h there the a c c o u n t is
also constructed, a n d the deacons were originally the self-standing
103
office bearers of a culturally separate c o n g r e g a t i o n . T h e ministries
of Peter a n d Paul m u s t be seen to be not only symmetrical with
e a c h o t h e r b u t o r g a n i s a t i o n a l l y r e l a t e d t h r o u g h t h e C o u n c i l of
J e r u s a l e m in Acts 1 5 , 1 - 3 5 . T h e latter event has b e e n notoriously
impossible to reconcile satisfactorily with the p r i m a r y source of Gal.
1-2. F u r t h e r m o r e , even the p r o p h e t s a n d teachers of Antioch can
not be allowed to c o m e into existence i n d e p e n d e n d y , b u t must b e
shown to have migrated there originally, with Agabus, from J e r u s a l e m
(Acts 11,27). Peter m u s t report back to the aposdes in J e r u s a l e m all
t h a t has h a p p e n e d in his missionary activity (Acts 11,1).
If the a u t h o r ' s purpose is clearly not to legitimate later, catholic
102
Philip. 1, 2 mentions ejuoKorcoi a n d 8KXKOVOI as office-holders. T h e deutero-
Pauline 1 77m. 5,17 distinguishes rcpeap'uxepoi from elder m e n by the fact that they
are rcpoeaxcbxeq and therefore unambiguously officer-holders, a n d Tit. 1,5 contains
an injunction to ordain them in a phrase reminiscent of Acts 14,21 (wot . . . raxaaxr|crr|<;
(xeipoxovfiaavxeq 8e oruxoiq) raxa 7c6A.iv (rax' eKKAjjaiav) Ttpeop'oxepo'ix;). AKXKOVOI are
otherwise m e n t i o n e d in 1 Tim. 3,8 a n d 12, although a certain ambivalence is m a i n
tained by the fact that "Timothy" himself is called a 8KXKOVO<; in 4, 6. eTUGKOTtoi
are m e n t i o n e d in the generic singular in 1 Tim. 3,2 and Tit. 1,7 but no-where as
unambiguously distinct from the rcpeap'oxepoi. In the Pastorals, as in Luke-Acts, w e
w o u l d seem therefore to be in a time contemporary with C l e m e n t o f R o m e a n d
therefore a r o u n d 9 5 A . D . T o that extent I w o u l d be prepared to accept the assess
m e n t of S. N e w , T h e N a m e , Baptism, and the Laying o n o f H a n d s , in Foakes
Jackson and Lake (1933) 1,5 N o t e 11 pp. 1 3 7 - 1 3 8 that here were laid the foun
dations o f later catholic practice. I c a n n o t therefore accept either C a m p e n h a u s e n
(1969), pp. 1 5 6 - 1 6 5 ff. that would date the Pastorals later o n the grounds that they
presuppose single-bishops, nor R. Brown, Priest and Bishop: Biblical Reflections, ( N e w
York: Paulist Press 1970), p p . 6 7 - 7 0 ff. w h o was prepared to defend the existence
o f a presbyterate in the original Pauline c o m m u n i t i e s .
1 0 3
H.J. Cadbury, T h e Hellenists, in Foakes J a c k s o n a n d Lake (1933) 1,5 N o t e 7
pp. 5 9 - 7 4 .
C h u r c h o r d e r t h r o u g h his not always neady constructed edifice, w h a t

role does that construction play? W e are n o w , in the light of o u r
account so far, in a position to give a fresh answer to a n old problem.
3D 2. The centrality of the Temple to reformed Judaism
It is necessary firsdy, a n d p e r h a p s least controversially, to p o r t r a y

Christianity as a reformed Jewish cult. T h e world-wide cult of J u d a i s m
was united a r o u n d the T e m p l e , a n d a practical expression of that
unity was in the fiscus Judaicus. Likewise Luke's reformed cultus must
be located a n d centred o n the J e r u s a l e m T e m p l e , w h e r e the disciples
gather with the apostles for worship whilst continuing at h o m e in
the apostles' doctrine, in synagogal prayer, a n d in the breaking of
b r e a d t h a t continues the Last S u p p e r . H e r e missionaries return for
direction a n d re-assurance, a n d the expansion of the C h u r c h takes
place a r o u n d this h u b , as I have described. H e r e is sent a collec
tion for poor-relief. T h e author's reconstruction of early Christian, his
tory in this regard was n o d o u b t considerably assisted by a historical
collection, resonant of submission to a n authority ambivalendy inter
preted o n both sides, described in 2 Cor. 8 - 1 0 . In Gal. 2,6 a n d 10
Paul agreed to r e m e m b e r the p o o r , which he professes eagerness
always to do. T h u s Paul m a y have r e g a r d e d the collection purely
as poor-relief a n d Christian charity, b u t J a m e s the Lord's b r o t h e r ,
a n d P e t e r a n d J o h n , p r e s i d i n g over the J e r u s a l e m C h u r c h , m a y
have interpreted it as a grudging acknowledgment of the authority
of the original community. In their eyes the "pillars" of the C h u r c h as
the N e w Israel h a d the same right to support as h a d the T e m p l e of
the O l d Israel.
But we are n o w able, in the light of o u r a r g u m e n t , to go further
in o u r interpretation of the construction of C h u r c h O r d e r in Luke-
Acts. W e have further a r g u e d that the portrayal of Christianity as a
reformed J u d a i s m is a conscious reflection of Augustus' reformation
of the old, p a g a n cultus in the direction of a construction of i m p e
rial unity on the foundations of the Imperial Cult (3B 1-3). W e can
n o w note Augustus' reformation of the college of the Fratres Arvales,
a n d similarities with Acts 1,12—26.
3D 3. Fratres Arvales: apostolic college as contra culture
T h e reformed cult of J u d a i s m h a d been founded o n the Twelve apos

des whose j u d g e m e n t of the twelve tribes of Israel was self-consciously
136 CHAPTER THREE
associated with the foundations of the cult at the Last S u p p e r (3C

2.3.2.1). T h u s k i n g d o m a n d cult was associated—just as the pax dei
or eipfivn w e r e associated—with the K i n g at the T r i u m p h a l Entry
(3C 2.3.2) a n d with the Virgin a n d Child in the angels' song at
Bethlehem (3B 3.1). T h a t pax a n d concordia was extended t h r o u g h
the c u l t — t h r o u g h t h e apostles d o c t r i n e , b r e a k i n g of b r e a d , a n d
prayers—as t h r o u g h the ministry of Paul (3C 2 . 3 . 2 . 2 - 3 C 2.3.2.3).
T h e contra-cultural image of the imperial b a n q u e t associated with
that cult was reflected in b o t h the Magnificat a n d in Luke's recasting
of the words on T r u e Greatness at the Last S u p p e r (3C 1 a n d 3 C
2.3.2.1).
T h e apostolic foundation of the Christian cultus is therefore to b e
seen reflecting contra-cultural images with reference to the college
of the Fratres Arvales. T h e s e were originally a republican college of
great antiquity w h o celebrated spring sacrifices. T h e college was a n
important p a r t of Augustus' reformation of R o m a n Religion. Further
m o r e their ceremonial a r r a n g e m e n t s , like the C a l e n d a r of festivals
of the Imperial Cult, clearly influenced celebrations in the provinces
104
w h e r e they were k n o w n . T h e inscriptions from which the Acta have
b e e n reconstructed were found in 1570 in the V i g n a Vignoli, a n d
preserved in the Vatican, t h o u g h the seven or nine statues of e m p e r
ors on whose bases they were originally inscribed have perished.
According to legend, Acca Laurentia, R o m u l u s ' nurse, lost o n e of
h e r twelve sons at birth, a n d so substituted h i m a n d m a d e h i m h e r
son (Gellius, NA. V I I , 8,7). T h e y w o r e white fillets a n d crowns of
corn ears (Pliny, HjSf. X V I I I , 2,6). As a college, they were always,
like the apostles, twelve in n u m b e r . Augustus j o i n e d their n u m b e r
(Res Gestae 4,7) in a c c o r d a n c e with the legend a n d in a c c o r d a n c e also
with his claim to b e the new R o m u l u s presiding over the second
1 0 5
founding of R o m e .
1 0 4
See Fishwick (1987) 2,1 pp. 4 8 2 - 4 8 5 a n d PWK ( 1 8 9 9 ) , Bd. 2, col. 1471:
". . . m a n sieht deutlich, dass d e m Kaiser Augustus bei seiner Reorganisation des
C o l l e g i u m s die W i e d e r b e l e b u n g des halbsvergessenen Dienstes der D e a nur ein
Mittel z u m Z w e c k e , und die sacrale Verherrlichung des Kaiserhauses durch die mit
b e s o n d e r e m A n s e h e n bekleidete Priesterschaft die H a u p t s a c h e war."
1 0 3
Macrobius, Sat. Com. Ill, 5,7. See also J.B. Carter, Arval Brothers, in Encyclopaedia
of Religion and Ethics, (Ed.) J. Hastings, J . A . Selbie, and L . H . Gray, (Edinburgh:
T . and T . Clark 1909), vol. II pp. 9 ft.; J. Scheid, Les Freres Arvales. R e c r u t e m e n t
et origine sociale sous les empereurs julio-claudiens, in Bibliotheque de L'Ecole des Hautes
Etudes: Section des Sciences Religieuses, 11 (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France: 1975),
pp. 3 4 3 - 3 5 1 ; M . N a c i n o v i c h , Carmen Arvale, 1 II T e s t o , ( R o m e : Bardi 1933); Idem.
T h e Fratres Arvales b e c a m e closely c o n n e c t e d with the Imperial

Cult, offering vota for the imperial household: they m a d e sacrifices
on imperial b i r t h d a y s , a n d o n t h e occasion of accessions to the
t h r o n e . A n y vacancy in the n u m b e r of twelve was filled by the col
lege itself, just like the twelve apostles, t h o u g h in the latter case we
have already n o t e d the incongruity of the r e p l a c e m e n t of M a t t h i a s
with the failure to replace J a m e s (Acts 1,24-26 cf. 12,1-5). In CIL
6, 2080 line 22 ff. we have r e c o r d e d the election of Publius Manlius
C a r b o "in the place of Q . Bittius Proculus" in consequence of the
e m p e r o r H a d r i a n ' s letter casting his vote for his collega. T h u s we find
paralleled Matthias, chosen Xocpeiv xov XOTCOV xfjc; 8KXKOV{(X<; xocuxriq iced
&7toaxoAfjq (Acts 1,25). T h e parallel is, I submit, not accidental in the
light of w h a t I have established to be the context of the theology of
Luke-Acts in imperial ideology.
PART E. I N CONCLUSION: THEOPHILUS AND H I S CIRCLE
T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle were not in a relationship of o p e n conflict

with the Imperial Cult, as was the writer of the Apocalypse. S t a n d i n g
at the forefront of the successors to the G r e e k city states in c o m
munities such as Ephesus, P e r g a m o n , Antioch in Pisidia, etc., they
well knew that there was as yet n o legal compulsion o n t h e m to
participate in the Imperial Cult. Before Decius T r a j a n (A.D. 251)
such participation was voluntary in the sense that there lacked a n y
legal compulsion to participate. But social pressure, as Tertullian's
later De Corona was to indicate, could have the same practical con
clusions of drawing hostile attention to non-participants a n d the draw
106
ing u p of charges of scelera or of contumacia against t h e m .
Yet the G r a e c o - R o m a n religious culture that h a d formed their
perspectives on the world was one to which that cultus was b e c o m
ing increasingly critical. T h e Augustan revolution h a d p r o d u c e d the
pax deorum, a n d r e o r d e r e d the cosmic a n d metaphysical dislocation
of the natural o r d e r witnessed in a century of civil wars with which
countless prodigious natural disasters were associated. T h e r e was a
strongly felt m o r a l a n d patriotic compulsion to continue w h a t h a d
Carmen Arvale, 2 I F o n e m i e le Forme, c o n un excursus ed indici, ( R o m e : Bardi

1934).
1 0 6
Sherwin White (1952), pp. 2 1 0 - 2 1 1 cf. D e Ste Croix (1963), pp. 1 8 - 2 1 and
Sherwin W h i t e (1964), pp. 2 4 26.
138 CHAPTER THREE
b e e n celebrated in the decrees of the K o i n o n of Asia a n d elsewhere.

But they h a d b e e n catechetized a n d received into the post-Pauline
c o m m u n i t i e s in Asia M i n o r , a n d were n o w Christians.
H o w could their n e w faith enable their reintegration into the impe
rial o r d e r from which they n o w felt alienated? H o w could this per
ceived, social-psychological n e e d for the celebration of social o r d e r
after bloody social strife, fulfilled in the Imperial Cultus that h a d
secured the pax deorum, n o w experience n e w fulfilment by the n e w
religion? T h e way the writer chose was to deconstruct early Christian
eschatology to r e m o v e all j u d g e m e n t a n d tribulation, so as to assim
ilate Christian eschatology to that of Augustus' saeculum aureum. T h u s
we have answered the first question with which we b e g a n a n d ex
plained the reason for Luke's recasting of early Christian eschatology.
In answer to the second question c o n c e r n i n g Luke's modification
of Paulinism, we h a v e seen that the saeculum aureum was initiated
t h r o u g h a n act of augury, Augustus' special augurium pads which h a d
succeeded in achieving the pax deorum w h e r e republican religion h a d
failed. T h e answer to the second question was to be found in the
Christian c o u n t e r p a r t to Augustus' Cult, which could alone achieve
the refashioned Christian saeculum aureum. T h e a u t h o r n o w h a d to
identify the religion into which T h e o p h i l u s has b e e n catechetized as
a reformed J e w i s h cult. H e was thus p r e p a r e d to deconstruct Paul's
radical disjunction between the L a w a n d Christ (Gal. 3 , 1 0 - 1 4 ) , even
1 0 7
in the softened form in Rom. 9 - 1 1 . Luke n o w offered a positive
reason for non-participation, namely, the p u r p o s e of the Imperial
Cult: the pax deorum a n d the sacramental m e a n s for the c o n t i n u a n c e
of the saeculum aureum is far better achieved t h r o u g h the eiprivn of
Bethlehem, the T r i u m p h a l Entry, a n d the vucr| a n d acoinpia that fol
low from the birth of Child from the Virgin, a n d his d e a t h a n d res
urrection. T h u s T h e o p h i l u s can know "the security (TTJV dacpdêiav)
regarding the discourses of his catechesis (rcepi (bv Kaxrixri&nq taSycov)."
(Lk. 1,4)
Such a n ideology thus o p e n e d the prospect for T h e o p h i l u s a n d
his g r o u p to o v e r c o m e their alienation a n d to reintegrate themselves
into the social fabric of their societies by m e a n s of a n e w religion
that would achieve the perceived objective of those societies. But as
a n ideology for integrating Christianity into the imperial ideal it was
1 0 7
Brown a n d M e i e r (1983) chapt. 2.
to prove abortive at this point in time, t h o u g h later to be partially

108
realized in the time of Eusebius a n d P r u d e n t i u s .
T h e r e is therefore a clear connection between how Luke-Acts con
structs C h u r c h O r d e r a n d the creation of a contra-culture reflecting
the Imperial Cult. W e shall establish the continued connection of
ecclesiastical a n d imperial o r d e r as in progress of time developments
in the latter find developmental counterparts in the former. W e will
find in C l e m e n t of R o m e a parallel with Luke-Acts in the transfor
m a t i o n of traditional apocalyptic u n d e r similar imperial-ideological
influences. Such a parallel will prove all the m o r e remarkable in that
there is n o evidence of direct influence of the o n e work on the other.
W e shall see that the D o m i t i a n i c changes in the Imperial Cult are
reflected in h o w Ignatius of Antioch, following certain themes from
the Apocalypse, constructs his theology of the threefold O r d e r . W e
shall see later in connection with C y p r i a n changes in the ideology
of C h u r c h O r d e r that reflect the earlier changes by the Severans to
the ideology of imperial power.
T h u s we are b r o u g h t to the subject m a t t e r of o u r next C h a p t e r ,
a n d the immediate social a n d political context of Clement's, Corinthians,
the Apocalypse, a n d the letters of Ignatius of Antioch.
1 0 8
B o v o n (1983) col. 404: "Fiir Lukas ware die Weltdimension der Mission und
dadurch der Kirche ein religioses Gegenstiick z u m politischen Universalismus R o m s .
Lukas ware dann ein Vorlaufer v o n Euseb und Prudenz."
CHAPTER FOUR
CLEMENT OF R O M E AND DOMITIAN'S EMPIRE
The fulfilment of the imperial peace in Clement's community
C l e m e n t ' s Corinthians has been convincingly d a t e d as c o n t e m p o r a r y

with D o m i t i a n ' s reign (A.D. 8 1 - 9 6 ) , a n d m o r e specifically between
A.D. 94 a n d 97 d u r i n g which the " s u d d e n a n d r e p e a t e d misfortunes
(xaq ai(pvi8{orj<; KOCI znaXXr\Xox><; yevouivaq f|(xtv cruuxpopdq) a n d calami
ties ( K a l TcepiTtTcoaeiq)" occurred that h a d delayed the sending of the
1
letter (Cor. I,I). Christian writers from Hegesippus a n d Melito of
Sardis o n w a r d s claimed that D o m i t i a n persecuted Christianity, so
t h a t it would be reasonable to conclude that C l e m e n t ' s words here
2
refer to that reign a n d such a persecution. F u r t h e r m o r e , as Irenaeus
(Adv. Haer. V , 30,3) connects the Apocalypse with the reign of Domitian,
it would follow that this work is a reaction to that persecution. As
t h a t persecution can also be seen as p a r t of the plan of D o m i t i a n , as
the new Augustus, to reconstruct the Imperial Cult, the developing
theology of these two chronologically c o n t e m p o r a r y works can b e
related to the developing theology of the Imperial Cult.
Since however it has b e e n denied t h a t D o m i t i a n persecuted Chris
tianity a n d particularly influenced the Imperial Cult itself, we will
begin by discussing the question of D o m i t i a n ' s persecution (section
A) as a b a c k g r o u n d to a n analysis of the contra-cultural ideology of
O r d e r as it a p p e a r s in C l e m e n t ' s Corinthians (section B). W e shall
reserve for C h a p t e r 5 our further discussion of D o m i t i a n ' s reform
of the cult a n d the reflection of that reform in the Apocalypse. In C h a p -
1
L.W. Barnard, C l e m e n t of R o m e a n d the Persecution o f D o m i t i a n , in NTS 10
( 1 9 6 3 - 6 4 ) , pp. 2 5 1 - 2 6 0 ; Idem. St. C l e m e n t of R o m e and the Persecution o f D o m i t i a n ,
in Studies in the Apostolic Fathers and their Background, (Oxford: Blackwell 1966), p p .
5 - 1 8 . See also P. Keresztes, T h e J e w s , the Christians, and the Emperor D o m i t i a n ,
in VChr 27 (1973), pp. 1 - 2 8 .
2
H e g e s i p p u s (Eusebius H.E. 111,20); M e l i t o o f Sardis, Apology (Eusebius H.E.
IV,26); Tertullian, Apol. 5; De Pall. 2; Lactantius, De Mort. Pers. 3; Eusebius, Chronicon.
II, p. 160; J e r o m e , Ep. 108,7; Chronicon A n n . Abr. 2 1 1 2 , D o m i t . 1 6 ; T h e o d o r e t , Graec.
Affect. Cur. 9; J o a n n e s Malalas, Chronograph. 10 etc.
CLEMENT OF ROME AND DOMITIAN'S EMPIRE 141
ter 6 we shall argue that the subsequent d e v e l o p m e n t of C h u r c h

O r d e r a generation later in Ignatius of Antioch was historically in
fluenced by both Domitian's cultic reforms a n d by the Apocalypse itself.
PART A. DOMITIAN AND THE WRITING OF CLEMENT'S CORINTHIANS
Attempts to deny D o m i t i a n ' s p e r s e c u t i o n — t h a t would break the links

between b o t h C l e m e n t ' s Corinthians a n d the Apocalypse, a n d the cul
tic reforms u p o n which m y a r g u m e n t relies—rest u p o n three p r e
misses, namely:
1. The absence of any mention in pagan sources that Domitian per

secuted the Christians,
2. The ambiguity of archaeological evidence for Eusebius' indentification
of Flavius Clemens, Flavia Domitilla, and Acilius Glabrio as Christian
and not Jewish martyrs, and
3. The absence of pagan evidence for persecution under Domitian and
thus for martyrdom of Christians with these names.
Let us now, in o u r first section, e x a m i n e each of these assumptions

in t u r n .
4A 1. Pagan evidence: Dio Cassius 67, 14,1-3
Suetonius (Domitian. 15,17) a n d Quintillian (Inst. Orat. 4, proem.) h a d

m e n t i o n e d the n a m e s of Flavia Domitilla, Flavius C l e m e n s , a n d
Acilius Glabrio, but not the charges against them. However, Dio Cassius
(LXVII,14, 1-2) claims that Flavius C l e m e n s the consul (imaxeuovxoc),
a n d his wife the emperor's kinswoman (auyyevfi) Flavia Domitilla were
c h a r g e d b o t h with dcBeoxriq a n d with " t u r n i n g away to J e w i s h cus
toms (iq xd xcov 'Io\)8a{cov rfir) eôiceMovxeq)." In consequence Flavius
was executed a n d Domitilla was exiled to Pandateria. Acilius Glabrio,
w h o h a d held consular office along with the y o u n g T r a j a n (xov jiexd
xou Tpai'ctvou dpâvxa), was also c o n d e m n e d . B u t D i o also m e n t i o n s
(14,3) that this was m o r e t h a n a trial of the individuals m e n t i o n e d
a n d that on the same charges " m a n y . . . others (aXkoi... noXXoi)
were condemned (KaxeSiKdaOnaav), some w h o died ( m i oi p.ev drceGavov)
a n d others w h o were deprived of their property (oi 8e xcov yofiv ouaicov
eaxepri&noav)." T h e r e was therefore a quite general m o v e m e n t against
i d xcov 'Ioi)8oc(cov TlGt|.
142 CHAPTER FOUR
W e a p p e a r prima facie to have a conflict therefore between D i o on

the one h a n d a n d Eusebius on the other, w h o claims on the a u t h o r
ity of Brettius that Flavius a n d Domitilla were Christians (Chronicon
II a n n . Abr. 2110 D o m t . 14 a n d H.E. 111,18). T h a t Dio fails to de
scribe t h e m as Christians is arguably u n r e m a r k a b l e since he never
mentions Christianity t h r o u g h o u t his work even t h o u g h he must have
known of its existence. Tacitus a n d Pliny before h i m h a d clearly
k n o w n of the existence of Christianity. Dio's second consulship was
in A . D . 229, in the reign of Severus Alexander, whose m o t h e r J u l i a
M a m a e a h a d sought from O r i g e n a n a c c o u n t of the Christian faith
(Eusebius H.E. V I , 2 1 , 3-4). M o r e o v e r , if S H A , Sev. Alex. 29, 2 - 3 is
to b e relied on, Alexander's lararium possessed a statue of Christ. As
we have already argued, T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle in Asia M i n o r
conceived Christianity itself to b e a reformed J u d a i s m , with the result
that, viewed externally, Christianity m a y have a p p e a r e d to D i o as a
form of J u d a i s m so that n o distinction n e e d e d to be m a d e between
t h e m (3C 2.3.3.3).
4A 2. C i m i t e r i u m Domitillae and Eusebius' claim
T h e discovery of certain artefacts associated with the names of Flavius

C l e m e n s a n d Acilius Glabrio, that initially a p p e a r e d to c o r r o b o r a t e
their Christianity, has bedevilled this discussion. It m a y be that D e
Rossi was originally mistaken because the Christian p a r t of the cimi
terium Domitillae a n d of Acilius Glabrio m a y be late second-century
a n d the p r o d u c t of their descendants' conversion to a Christianity in
3
which their ancestors h a d not believed. But, having failed to prove
too m u c h , it is a contrary error to hold that too little is proved.
Even if D i o has recorded accurately the Jewish c h a r a c t e r of their
belief a n d has been able to distinguish that from Christianity p r o p e r ,
the case does not hinge on these individuals alone. W e have seen that
" m a n y o t h e r s " were also deprived, a n d it would be reckless to allow
too m u c h to rest on Dio's ability to distinguish J u d a i s m from Chris
tianity w h e n writing d u r i n g a period free from a general policy of
persecution such as in Severus Alexander's reign. Both Tertullian
(Apol. 5) a n d Melito (Eusebius H.E. 4,26) m e n t i o n D o m i t i a n as a
' J . B . Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, (London: M a c M i l l a n 1885), 1,1 p p . 3 5 - 3 9

and 8 2 cf. B . W . J o n e s , The Emperor Domitian, (London: R o u t l e d g e 1992), p. 115. S e e
also Barnard ( 1 9 6 4 - 5 ) , p. 2 6 0 and (1966), p. 15 a n d W . C . H . Frend, Martyrdom and
Persecution in the Early Church, (Oxford: Blackwells 1965), pp. 2 1 2 - 2 1 7 .
second N e r o , without a n y reference to Flavius C l e m e n s a n d Flavia

Domitilla.
It is further quite false to claim that there is n o p a g a n evidence
for a persecution of Christianity u n d e r D o m i t i a n .
4A 3. Evidence from Pliny E p . X, 96,1
Pliny states in his letter to T r a j a n : "I have never b e e n present at

judicial examinations of Christians (cognitionibus de Christianis interfui
numquam)" (Ep. X , 96,1) which could indicate that such examinations
h a d b e e n held t h o u g h not in recent m e m o r y . F u r t h e r m o r e he records
of those e x a m i n e d that (a) "they h a d ceased to b e Christians two or
m o r e years previously, a n d some of t h e m twenty years ago (non nemo
ante viginti)" a n d (b) apostates w e r e p r e p a r e d to m a k e "offerings of
wine a n d incense (ture ac vino)" to T r a j a n ' s imperial statue.
T h e significance of non nemo ante viginti (a) points, in A . D . 1 1 2 - 1 1 3 ,
to D o m i t i a n ' s reign in A . D . 9 3 a n d to a persecution u n d e r pressure
of w h i c h such apostasies took place. Pliny m a y himself have devised
the loyalty test m e n t i o n e d in (b). But if it were a n already established
practice, it would point to former times w h e n Christians h a d b e e n
persecuted, a n d in which they h a d b e e n subject to cognitio* C l e m e n t ' s
letter itself, it m u s t be emphasised, t h o u g h a Christian source, is itself
good evidence for a D o m i t i a n i c persecution. His a c c o u n t does not
rest u p o n any particular characterisation of the religious beliefs of a
Flavius, a Domitilla, or a n Acilius, sanctified by later hagiographic
fable, w h o m he never mentions. But he does c o m p a r e Peter a n d Paul,
a n d those w h o suffer m a r t y r d o m with them, as "those w h o c o n t e n d e d
in the days nearest to us (zobq eyyioToc yevouivoix; aQXy\xaq), the noble
examples of o u r o w n generation (xf\q y e v e a q r\\i(bv i d y e v v a i a i)7co8e{y-
UOCTCX)" (Cor. 5,1) with his c o n t e m p o r a r y situation in w h i c h he claims
that "we are in the same a r e n a (aicd|Li|LiaTi) a n d the same contest (dycov)
weighs u p o n u s . " (Cor. 7,1) Clearly the expressions eyyiaxa a n d TTI<;
yeveaq r\\i&v imply a time recent a n d yet distinct. With no martyrological
axe to grind, C l e m e n t therefore bears witness to the contention of
b o t h Melito a n d Tertullian that D o m i t i a n was the second N e r o .
But the r e q u i r e m e n t of o u r a r g u m e n t to place the oci<pvi8io'u<; rai
inaXk^kovq... avuxpopdu; (Cor. 1,1) in the context of persecution by
D o m i t i a n is nevertheless not a r e q u i r e m e n t to regard that persecution
4
Keresztes (1973), pp. 2 0 - 2 1 cf. J o n e s (1993), pp. 1 1 4 - 1 1 5 .
144 CHAPTER FOUR
as following from a general decree. T h a t Eusebius insisted in seeing

such a persecution as general was a p r o d u c t of his historiography
that h a d n o concept of development so that the C h u r c h of the first
century h a d to be identical with that of the fourth. In consequence,
since persecutions since Decius T r a j a n (251) were seen by Eusebius
to have b e e n general, so must persecutions have b e e n so before.
W e have a r g u e d t h a t persecution resulted not from general i m p e
rial decrees b u t from the social isolation that resulted initially from
non-participation in the Imperial Cult, a n d from suspicion leading
to accusation of superstitio (3C 2.3). This was the real context in which
the ocicpviSunx; icai knaXkx\kox)q . . . ouuxpopa*; were experienced, as was
the situation in Asia M i n o r faced by T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle.
D o m i t i a n instigated certain changes in the Imperial Cult itself so
that he emerges in the literature as a n e w Augustus worshipped as
a dominus et deus praesens. T h e Apocalypse too we shall argue is one
group's highly illuminating reaction to those changes, b u t a reaction
quite different either to Theophilus' group in Luke-Acts or to Clement's
reflected in Corinthians. J o n e s a n d Schowalter have denied most recendy
5
a D o m i d a n i c date. A discussion of the Imperial Cult u n d e r Domitian,
a n d the Apocalypse as evidence for a D o m i t i a n i c persecution, must,
however, await o u r t r e a t m e n t of the Apocalypse in C h a p t e r 5.
Let us n o w t u r n to C l e m e n t ' s Corinthians. W e shall trace here evi
d e n c e for the d e v e l o p m e n t of a C h u r c h O r d e r that parallels the
d e v e l o p m e n t of the I m p e r i a l C u l t with which it contains several
analogies.
PART B . CLEMENT: C H U R C H O R D E R AND IMPERIAL PEACE
T h e Twelve, as founders of the apostolic college that orders the

reformed J e w i s h cultus achieving the true pax dei, did not in Luke-
Acts provide any m e a n s of appointing bishops as their collegial suc
cessors. However, C l e m e n t in Corinthians, writing some ten years later
in the reign of D o m i t i a n , was to supply this lack. Like Luke-Acts,
C l e m e n t ' s Corinthians is c o n c e r n e d , not simply with restoration of
p r o p e r c h u r c h O r d e r at C o r i n t h , b u t with the general concern of the
legitimation of the Christian cultus. His stress o n the O r d e r of the
' See footnote 3 above.

Christian c o m m u n i t y reflects the imperial, metaphysical b a c k g r o u n d

of the fear of axdoiq as reflecting a n upsetting of the pax deorum.
Ixdaiq is dvooioq. T h e Corinthian community, previous to such oxdoiq,
h a d conducted themselves, not with the doepeioc that Clement's p a g a n
fellow-citizens would have associated with failure to conform socially
if not legally with the festivities of the Imperial Cult, b u t with a
euaePeia that was b o t h ococppcov a n d eTtieucfiq (Clement, Cor. 1,1-2).
Let us n o w analyse in detail h o w the t h e m e of imperial p e a c e finds
expression in C l e m e n t ' s social construction of ecclesial reality that
will reveal some interesting parallels with w h a t we have observed in
o u r t r e a t m e n t of Luke-Acts.
4B 1. Metaphysics of ecclesial peace: society reflects nature
W e have seen w h a t s h u d d e r i n g h o r r o r the prospect of upsetting the

pax deorum caused in R o m e ' s collective m e m o r y , s h a p e d a n d fostered
by historians a n d poets such as Livy, Vergil, a n d L u c a n after a cen
tury of social u p h e a v a l a n d civil strife, which was the foundation of
Augustus' augurium salutis i n a u g u r a t i n g the Imperial C u l t (2A 5-6).
So too for C l e m e n t "all insurrection (rc&oa oxdai<;) a n d all division
( m l nav oxiouxx) is to b e a b o m i n a t e d by you (p8eta)Kxov uuiv)." (2,6)
B8eA,uKx6<; is a n expression evocative of sacrilegious defilement that
destroys the efficacious operation of cultic ritual, as in the p8eta)yua
epnpxbaecoq (Mk. 13, 14). T h e o r d e r of the c o m m u n i t y is to reflect
the o r d e r of creation that is characterised by the pax dei. In 2 0 , 1 - 3
we read:
The heavens (oi o v p a v o i ) though agitated by his governance (xji Sioucncei

a\)Toi) aaA,e\)6îevoi) are subject to him in peace (ev eipr|vr| imoxdoaov-
xai auxq)). . . Sun and moon (iiAioq xe m i aeAr|vr|) and choirs of stars
(daxepcov xe xopoi) according to his decree (mxd xr|v Siaxaynv auxov)
encircle in harmony free from all deviation (ev oîovoiot 8(xa Tcdariq rcapeK-
pdaeco<; EÊXXGOOVGI) their appointed bounds (xoix; eTcixexayjievotx; rxuxoic;
bpiG\iovq).
T h e metaphysical peace (eipfivn) of the n a t u r a l o r d e r is represented

therefore by a 8iaxayr| that is specifically reflected in imperial soci
ety. As C l e m e n t says later:
Let us march (axpaxe\)acbê9a) therefore, men and brothers, with all

eagerness (îexd ndar\q eKxeveiaq) in his (God's) blameless orders (ev xoi<;
d^(b|ioi(; rcpoaxaYliaaiv): let us take cognisance (Kaxavof|aco|iev) of those
who enlist as soldiers (xoix; oxpccxe\)ouivo\)<;) under our [temporal] rulers
146 CHAPTER FOUR
(xoiq f|yo\)|i£voi<;), how orderly (euxdicxax;), how yieldingly (eiKxuccoq), how

submissively (urcoxexayiAEvax;) they execute (e7ciT£ôt>aiv) what they have
been commanded (xd Siaxotaaoêva). All are not eparchs (ercapxoi) or
chiliarchs (xi^cxpxoi) or centurions (eicaxovxapxoi) or pentacontarchs
(TcevxrjKovxapxoi) or people like that: but each in his own rank (ev xcp
i8{cp xdyjicm) perform what is ordered by the Emperor and his rulers
(xd eTTixaaaojieva imo xov paaiêax; Kai xcov f|yo\)|ievcov). . . Let us take as
an example our body: the head without the feet is nothing, so neither
the feet without the head: the least members of our body are neces
sary and useful for the whole body: but all members conspire (aXka
rcdvxa ovvnvei) and employ one subjection (KCXI urcoxayfl (iia xpfjxou) for
the preservation of the whole body (eiq xo O"co£eo0ai oA,ov xo acojia).
Corinthians 3 7
W e have already indicated h o w a Stoic h y l o m o r p h i s m justified this

parallelism between nature and society, a n d how, through a justification
of divination, it was to give a rational justification for the religion
of the Imperial Cult that secured the pax deorum. W e see therefore
in C l e m e n t a clear reflection of such themes in his examination of
the O r d e r of the Christian c o m m u n i t y a n d the disturbance of that
O r d e r in the events that h a d lead to the deposition of the EKIOKOKOI-
7cpeap\)xepoi (2A 4-5).
A general philosophy of imperial O r d e r h a d lead t h r o u g h the cul
tus to a definite u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the sacramental role of e m p e r o r
as high-priest of the Imperial Cult a n d the deity venerated by that
cult sometimes in his lifetime b u t usually post mortem. C l e m e n t derives
from this general, p a g a n philosophical b a c k g r o u n d a parallel theory
of C h u r c h O r d e r . In consequence he was to p r o d u c e a theory of
the Christian cult a n d its ministers themselves. Let us n o w turn to
this dimension of his claims for a valid a n d efficacious C h u r c h O r d e r .
4B 1.1. Order is secured through cultic authority
C l e m e n t u n d e r s t a n d s the O l d T e s t a m e n t cultus as type, a n d C h u r c h

O r d e r as antitype, in such terms as xdîq, xdyuoc, imoxayn, euxa^{a
a n d Ttpooxdyuxx etc. which are concepts derived from the o r d e r of
the imperial a r m y a n d R o m a n society. But n a t u r e reflects society,
a n d vice-versa. T h e descriptions e T t i x e x o t y u i v o i opiouoi, Sioncriaiq, a n d
ouovouc bixa rcdariq rcapeicPdaeGx; of the natural o r d e r find their reflec
tions in such terms of political relations as 8iccxocyr| a n d e v eipf|vn
i)7coxdaaea0ai. As C l e m e n t n o w continues:
. . . We ought to do all things in order (rcdvxa xdêi rcoieiv 6(pe(A,ojiev)

that the master has commanded to celebrate (oaa 6 SeaTtoxrn; ejiixeXeiv
£KeA.e\)<jev) at the appointed times (mid Koupoix; xexayjievoix;). He ordered

the offerings and liturgies (xdq xe 7tpoo(popd<; Kai A,eixo\)py(a<;) to be cele
brated carefully and not rashly or with disorder (emiiekux; ejuxeêioGai
Kai o\)K eiKfj r\ dxaKxax;) but at the appointed times and seasons (cbpiajievoic;
m i p o i q K a i copaiq): and where and through whom he wished them to
be celebrated (e7iixeXeia0ai), he himself stipulated (coptaev) by his supreme
will (xii i)7iepxdxcp amov $ox>\y)OEi) in order that all things might take place
holily (oaicoq) in his good pleasure (ev ei)8oKT|o-ei), and be well-pleasing
to his will (e\mp6a8eKxa.... xcp 6eXr|uaxi). They then who make their
offerings (xdqrcpoatpopdq)at the appointed seasons (xoiq Tipoaxexayjievotc;
Kaipoiq) are well-pleasing and blessed (e\mp6o8eKxo( xe Kai iiaKaptoi), for
in following the decrees (xoiq voîiîOK;) of the master, they do not miss
the mark. For to the high-priest (xcp ydp dpxiepei) are given his own lit
urgies (i'8iai XeixoDpyiai 6e5oîevai eiaiv), and to the priests (xoiq iepeuaiv)
an individual place is assigned (i'Sicx; 6 xorcoc; rcpoaxexaKxai), and for the
levites (Xexiixaiq) their own ministries (i'Siai SiaKoviai) are laid down
(e7UKeivxai). The lay-man (6 XaiKoq avOpamcx;) is bound by lay instruc
tions (xolq AxxiKoiq T t p o a x d y j i a o t v 8e8exat).
Corinthians 40
O n the basis of this O l d T e s t a m e n t type, C l e m e n t n o w proceeds to

the antitype in the Christian ministry. But his exegesis continues to
be saturated with the Stoic metaphysics of a rational, divine, n a t u r a l
o r d e r that is i n c a r n a t e d in any p r o p e r , valid political order. E a c h of
t h e m is to m a k e their Eucharist "in his own rank (ev xcp i8up xdyuocxi),"
a secondary reflection of which m i g h t be in the R o m a n a r m y but
the p r i m a r y o n e is in n a t u r e . N o - o n e is to be found " m o v i n g aside
(TcapeicPouvcov) from the a p p o i n t e d rule of his liturgy (xov cbpiauivov
xfjq taixoupyiocq otuxou KOCVOVCX)," j u s t as in the providential o r d e r of
n a t u r e sun, m o o n a n d stars m o v e ev ouovoioc 8i%a ndoy\q rcapeKpdaecoc;
a n d m x d xr\v Siaxaynv within e7uxexay|LievoD<; opiauotx; (41,1 cf. 20,3).
It m u s t however be emphasised that it is i m p o r t a n t for C l e m e n t
that C h u r c h O r d e r is cultic O r d e r , w h e t h e r prefigured in the i m p e
rial order, in n a t u r e , or in O.T. typology. N o t only can valid offerings
be m a d e only i n J e r u s a l e m at the altar there, b u t p a r t of that validity
is "the inspection of w h a t is offered (fico|LioaKO7cr|0ev xo rcpoocpepojievov)
t h r o u g h the high-priest (8id xou dpxiepecoc;) a n d the previously stated
ministers ( K a i xcovTCpoeiprunivcDvXeixoupycov)." T o d o anything contrary
to G o d ' s will in such cultic matters involves the threat of KwSuvoq
a n d Bdvaxoq (41, 3-4).
In this light we have been correct to translate A,eixoupy(a as "liturgy"
in a cultic sense, as opposed to that of "ministry of state." H o w e v e r ,
we have been at pains to emphasise that in the G r a e c o - R o m a n world
there was no final distinction between the two. Cicero (De Nat. Deor.
148 CHAPTER FOUR
2,4) m a d e it quite clear to C o t t a that consuls h a d b e e n deposed

from their office, their Xeixoupym, for not performing the auspicia
correcdy. N a t u r a l a n d political disorders a n d their axaciq formed a
conceptual c o n t i n u u m with cultic disorder a n d the shuddering h o r r o r
of sacrilege. A n d we have a r g u e d that the political transformation
from republic to e m p i r e involved the Imperial Cult as the sacra
m e n t a l expression of this nexus of ideas.
It is in such a culdc context that we should now interpret Clement's
famous account of the apostolic appointment of £7c{aK07ioi a n d Sidicovoi.
4B 1.2. The apostolic succession as the foundation of the cult

Indeed, although C l e m e n t seems n o t to k n o w Luke-Acts, such a n inter
pretation will not seem strange in view of the clearly cultic founda
tions that we claimed for the latter in the a u t h o r ' s construction of
Christianity as reformed J u d a i s m . T h e twelve tribal aposdes, as reg
ulators of the cult (doctrine, breaking of b r e a d , prayers), m i r r o r e d
the Twelve Arval Brethren a n d their role in the Imperial Cult (3D).
Yet b o t h C l e m e n t a n d the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts a r e reflecting the gen
eral social construction of imperial reality of which they are p r o
ducing their distinctive reversed, contra-cultural reflections.
C l e m e n t gives us n o succession list such as Hegesippus was later
6
to compose a n d I r e n a e u s to follow. His emphasis once again is on
o r d e r reflected in O.T typology. T h e apostles c a m e from Christ, a n d
Christ from G o d so that each w e r e euxdicxcoc; EK QeXr\iiaxoq Geoft. T h e
£7i{aK07coi a n d 8KXKOVOI were a p p o i n t e d by the aposdes as their first
fruits (drcocpxdq) after they h a d e x a m i n e d t h e m t h r o u g h the Spirit
(8oKi|idaavT£<; xa> T w e u u x m ) . T h u s Is. 60,17, on a loose reading, was
fulfilled (42, 4 - 5 ) . C l e m e n t later continues this t h e m e :
Our apostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be
strife over the name of the bishop's office (ejci xov 6vo\iaxoq xfi<; eTnaKOTcfj^).
For this reason, having obtained perfect foreknowledge, they ordained
(Kaieornaav) the previously mentioned, and meanwhile made them per
manent in order that, if they should fall asleep, other duly examined
men (exspoi 5e5oKi|iao|ievoi dvSpeq) should succeed to their liturgy
(8ia8e£covxai... xf|v A,eixoi)pyiav avx&v). Those therefore ordained by
them (xovq ovv mxaaxaGevxac; im' EKEWCOV) or afterwards by other ap
proved men (r\ \iexa£,v (xp d exepcov eXXoy(|io)v dvSpcbv), with the consent
of the whole Church, and who have performed their liturgy blame-
fi
Eusebius H.E. V , 6 ; I V , 2 2 , 1-3; Irenaeus Adv. Haer. 111,3, 3.
lessly (A,eixoi)pyr|G(xvxe<; duiujixax;). . . these we consider not jusdy (oi)

5im{co<;) to have been expelled from their liturgy (dTtoPdAAeoGcci xfjq
X,eiTO\)py[a<;). For it will be no small sin for us if we expel from the
episcopate (xfjc; eTtioKorcfjq drcopdAxoiiev) those who blamelessly and holily
have offered the gifts (xoix; duiujrccflc; KOU oaicoqrcpoaeveyicovxoK;i d 8a>pa).
Blessed are the presbyters who have gone before . . .: for they have no
fear that anyone should remove them from their appointed place (ano
xo\) i8p\)uivo\) amoiq xonov).
Corinthians 44
It would clearly b e a mistake to regard t h e p h r a s e exepoi 8C8OKI-

uxxouivoi dv8peq w h o "succeed (8ia8e^covxai)" as a reference to the
later succession lists. I have a r g u e d elsewhere that these later lists
are related to t h e ideology of t h e philosophical school, a n d to the
concept found there of 8ioc8oxai cpiôaocpcov. C l e m e n t ' s apostolic suc
cessors succeed to t h e apostles' liturgical function (8ua8e£covxoci... xf|V
A,eixoupyiav auxcbv) a n d w e have shown generally, n o less t h a n in this
passage, Xeixoupyia is used in a cultic sense. C l e m e n t describes these
m e n as xoix; djieujcxcoq KCCI bamqrcpoaeveyicovxaqxd 8 S p a , with clear
reference to the cultic c h a r a c t e r of their collective office as presbyters
exercising e7ciaK07cf|. But w e n e e d n o t r e t u r n to the succession lists
of M a c c a b a e a n high-priests, applicable to a n alleged C a l i p h a t e of
J a m e s t h e Lord's b r o t h e r a n d his successors at J e r u s a l e m a n d derived
historically from that source, in o r d e r to locate the m o d e l underly
7
ing C l e m e n t ' s claim. I have also given g r o u n d s elsewhere for reject
8
ing E h r d h a r d t ' s thesis o n this subject.
B a m m e l has, I believe, opened the way for understanding Clement's
language cultically, b u t with reference primarily to t h e R o m a n legal
provisions for suppressing cults t h a t provoke oxaoiq a n d therefore
threaten the pax deorum. O n the basis of a p a p y r u s fragment dis
covered originally by S c h u b a r t , h e claims that t h e principle u n d e r
lying t h e latter succession lists a n d reflected in this passage is found
in a certificate in which a priest h a d to declare a n o r d e r e d succes
sion of three predecessors w h o h a d m a i n t a i n e d b o t h t h e ritual a n d
7
A . Brent, Cultural E p i s c o p a c y a n d E c u m e n i s m , R e p r e s e n t a t i v e Ministry in
Church History from the A g e o f Ignatius o f Antioch to the Reformation, with spe
cial reference to c o n t e m p o r a r y e c u m e n i s m , in Studies in Christian Mission 6, (Leiden:
E J . Brill 1992), p p . 1 3 2 - 1 3 7 .
8
A. Brent, D i o g e n e s Laertius a n d the Apostolic Succession, in JEH 4 4 , 3 (1993),
pp. 3 7 2 - 3 8 0 ; Idem. Hippolytus a n d the R o m a n C h u r c h in the T h i r d Century: C o m
munities in T e n s i o n before the E m e r g e n c e o f a M o n a r c h - B i s h o p , in Suppl. VChr 31
(Leiden: E J . Brill 1995), p p . 4 7 5 - 5 0 1 .
150 CHAPTER FOUR
9
the iepoq Xoyoq of the cult. T h e priest in question was of the cult
of Dionysus, a n d clearly the certificate was required u n d e r a law of
Ptolemy Philopator IV. T h e cult itself was significant for it was not
a native E g y p t i a n cult, t h o u g h P h i l o p a t o r a d h e r e d to it himself.
B a m m e l therefore claims that the principle of certification h a d appli
cation to priests of foreign cults w h o were treated as strange by their
native a n d familiar counterparts.
10
A second inscription evidences the generality of the principle. At
Delos the Egyptian cult of Sarapis was clearly considered equally
strange a n d foreign. T h o u g h worship took place, a building for wor
ship, a Serapion, could not be erected for at least two generations. In
the inscription, three priests are n a m e d , grandfather, father, a n d son.
In the face of suspicion of disorder, the existence of a n o r d e r e d ,
continuous succession h a d to b e established. B a m m e l sees the same
c o n c e r n for three generations also reflected in the later, Hegesippus-
Irenaeus list, with the recording of C l e m e n t xpixcp xorccp, Xystus E'KXOC;
11
a n d finally Eleutheros vuv ScoSemxcp xorcco . . . anb xcov drcooxotaov. It
is in such a light that we should p r e s u m a b l y therefore u n d e r s t a n d
C l e m e n t ' s reference in 61,2 to the a u t h o r s of the oxdoiq as those
w h o "bring j u d g e m e n t against themselves (n&AAov 8e eauxcov K a x d y v -
coaiv (pepouaw) r a t h e r t h a n against the h a r m o n y that has b e e n well
a n d justly h a n d e d d o w n to us (r\ xfjc; 7capa8e8o|Li£vr|<; fijiiv KaX&q Kai
SiKaicoq ouocpcoviaq)."
B a m m e l n o w is able to connect the eastern practice with western
by pointing to the resemblance between these examples of foreign,
even Dionysiac cults, a n d the famous a c c o u n t of the Bacchanalian
Riot in Livy 39,8, 1-19. Following this p r e c e d e n t , C a e s a r forbad col
legia praeter antiquitus constituta, a n d Augustus his heir opposed all cults
12
constituted praeter antiqua et legitima. T h u s the principle was estab
lished, regardless of w h e t h e r formally such a certificate was required
in the West, that cultic legitimacy could be established t h r o u g h the
establishment of such a hierocratic succession. T h e eastern m o d e l
w o u l d h a v e suggested an apologetic defence given such R o m a n
predilections regardless of w h e t h e r or not such a d o c u m e n t was
legally d e m a n d e d .
9
E. B a m m e l , Sukzessionsprinzip im Urchristentum, in StEphAug 31 (1990), pp.
63-65.
10
I.G. 11, 4, 1299.
" B a m m e l (1990), p. 70.
12
Ibid. p. 6 6 .
In c o n s e q u e n c e B a m m e l will claim for C l e m e n t the apologetic sta

tus that others have claimed for Luke-Acts, a n d which we have a r g u e d
to the c o n t r a r y requires some modification. Let us n o w e x a m i n e the
critical passage for such a n apologetic interpretation.
4B 1.2.2. Clement C o r . 60,4-61,3: the prayer for imperial p a x

T h e strife within the Christian c o m m u n i t y at C o r i n t h r e g a r d i n g the
deposition of the blameless presbyter-bishops was not, in the light of
such a policy of certification of n e w cults, of purely internal con
cern. T h e situation would have u n w e l c o m e external repercussions if
it b e c a m e too public a n d exposed the c o m m u n i t y to prosecution as
a kind of B a c c h a n a l i a n cult. T h i s passage has therefore b e e n seen
as reassuring the authorities of Christian loyalty to the e m p i r e by
suggesting t h e parallel of privileged J e w i s h status to t h a t of the
Christian cult. Christians, like J e w s , could, so the e n c o d e d message
runs, show their loyalty by p r a y i n g for the e m p e r o r without partic
ipating in the Imperial Cult.
But, unlike later apologies or even Luke-Acts, there is here not even
the initial, prima facie, a p p e a r a n c e of a n address to the p a g a n , R o m a n
authorities. T h e epistle addresses the Christian c o m m u n i t y at C o r i n t h
itself (xrj eKicA,r|oia x o u Oeou xr\ T c a p o i K o u o n KopivGov). F u r t h e r m o r e an
even p a r t i a l a d d r e s s to such a n a u d i e n c e seems in this instance
counter-productive to the m a k i n g of a n apologetic case since it draws
to the attention of the authorities b e h a v i o u r that would falsify claims
that the cult is innocuous. C o n s e q u e n d y the following passage, which
prays for the e m p e r o r , sounds to m o d e r n ears quite inconsistent with
an address for calm within the Christian c o m m u n i t y itself:
Grant (86q) concord and peace to us (oîovoiav Kai eiprjvrjv f||iiv) and
to all who dwell upon the earth (Kai 7tdaiv xoiq KaxoiKovaiv xf|v yfjv). . . .
becoming submissive (imriKooix; yivouevoix;) to your omnipotent and gra
cious name (xcprcavxoKpdxopiKai rcavapexco ovojiaxi GOV), as well as to
our rulers and leaders (xoiq xe dp%o\>aiv Kai f|yo\)nivoi<; fjpxbv) upon earth
(en\xr\qyr\q). You, O Lord, (GV, Searcoxa) have given to them the author
ity of the empire (e'8coKa<; xf|v e^coaCav xf)<; PaaiXeia^ avxoiq) through
your glorious and unfathomable might (8id xov |Lieyata)7tpe7coi)<; Kai
dveK8iriyr|xo\) Kpdxouq), to the end that (eiq xo) we, knowing (yivcocKovxaq
fniaq) the glory and honour given to them by you (xf|v vnb GOV avxoiq
8e8o|xevr|v 86£av Kai xi|if|v), may be subject to them (urcoxdoaeaBai
avxoiq), making no opposition to your will (|ir|8ev evavxtouîevoix; xcp
9eX,r|jiaxi GOV); grant to them O Lord (oi<; boq) health (i)y(eiav), peace
(eipr|vr|v), concord (ojiovotav), and stability (ei)axd6eiav), to the end that
they may administer (eiq xo Sierceiv ai)xo\x;) the government given them
152 CHAPTER FOUR
by you (xf|v vnb GOV 8e8ouevr|v avxoiq f|y£|nov[av) untiringly (drcpooKOTtax;).

For you (GV yap), O heavenly Master (Searcoxa eTroupdvie), king of the
ages (Paaitav xcov aicbvcov), grant to the sons of men (8{8co<; xolq violq
xcov dvGpamcov) glory (86âv) and honour (mi xiufjv) and authority (ml
zZpvGiav) over the things that exist on earth (xcov eVi xr\q yfjq imapxovxtov);
direct thou O Lord (GV, Kupie, bievQvvov) their counsel (xf|v poaAf|V auxcov)
according to what is good and pleasing in your sight (mxd xo KOLXOV
Kal eudpeoxov evamiov G O V ) , that administering (OTCCOC; 8i£7iovxe<;) in peace
and civility piously (ev eipt|vr| Kal Tipavxrixi evaepcbc;) the authority given
them by you (xf)v vnb GOV avxoic, SeSoueviw e£o\)cuav), they may obtain
your mercy (Yêcb GOV x^yxdvcoow).
Corinthians 60,4-61,2
T h e apologetic thesis would require us to interpret these words as

a s u d d e n c h a n g e of tack in o r d e r to appeal to a quite different audi
ence. But it is i m p o r t a n t to observe the absolute c o h e r e n c e o f the
passage with C l e m e n t ' s t h e m e so far, that leaves us without w a r r a n t
for interpreting his words as such a c h a n g e . T h i s p r a y e r for the
R o m a n E m p i r e is only p a r t of a longer p r a y e r with which, from
59,3 o n w a r d s , the a u t h o r seeks to conclude a n d summarise his h o p e
for a n e n d t o the axdoic; within the C h u r c h at C o r i n t h . T h a t p r a y e r
begins with a n exhortation to the worshipper w h o , a m o n g s t other
things, is called to h o p e o n (eAjuêiv eni) G o d ". . . w h o scrutinised
h u m a n works ( . . . xov 8K67cxr|v dv0pco7uvcov epycov)." In IGRR 4,309 we
have the description: " E m p e r o r C a e s a r ([A\>xoKpdx]op[a Kjouaapa),
the son of G o d ([0]eou uiov 0e6v), Sebastos (IePaax6[v]), w h o scruti
13
nises land a n d sea ([rcdariq] yrj[q K]CC! 0[oc]A,door|(; [£]7c[o7c]x[r|v])."
T h e civil a n d imperial dimension is but part o f the cosmic dimension.
T h e G o d w h o is invoked has m a d e manifest, not the oxdciq b u t the
ovoxaoiq t h r o u g h the creation that he has energised (8id xcov evep-
14
yorjuxvcov). T h u s the Christian theologian addresses G o d in terms
o f the same Stoic theology that he h a d earlier employed in c h a p
ters 20 a n d 32. C l e m e n t m a y hesitate as yet to call Christ A,6yo<; a n d
to identify h i m with the Xoyoq ev8id0exoc; a n d the Xoyoq rcpocpopiKo*;.
But the idea of manifesting the structure of creation (ouaxocoiv . . .
ecpavepo7ioir]aa(;) is clearly a n alternative expression for the same set
of concepts. F o r the Stoics it was the b r e a t h of G o d , the fiery Xoyoq
p e r m e a t i n g all things that was the g r o u n d for fatalistic determinism.
15
A. D e i s s m a n n , Light from the Ancient East, trans. L . R . M . Strachan, (London:
H o d d c r and S t o u g h t o n 1927), pp. 3 4 2 ff.
14
C l e m e n t Cor. 6 0 , 1 : GV xf|v d e v a o v xov K o a u o i ) crucrcaaiv 5 i a xcov evepyouuevcov
e(pavepo7co{naa<;.
C l e m e n t , true to such a b a c k g r o u n d , has spoken of G o d ' s " b r e a t h

15
(rcvori) in us . . . a n d w h e n he wills he withdraws i t . "
Metaphysics in antiquity never serviced a disinterested pursuit of
knowledge of the natural world for its own sake, as it has p e r h a p s
for us since the seventeenth century, t h o u g h the sociology of knowl
edge has qualified even that assumption. R a t h e r metaphysics serv
iced ethics, a n d with Stoicism, as we have seen, political philosophy.
W e h a v e already seen h o w Stoicism gave rational justification to
augury, a n d thus legitmised the republican political conventions that
required such a religious practice (2A 2). W e have also a r g u e d that
Augustus' reorganisation of the religious cultus served the political
e n d of imperial unity b u t also the felt religious need for the pax deo
rum (2A 3). T h e republican cult of abstract virtues c a m e to express
representations of a socially constructed, collective personality of the
e m p e r o r at the centre of the Imperial Cult.
W e see in C l e m e n t ' s prayer, along with its Stoic metaphysics in
which the natural order is reflected in social order, the very deified
abstract qualities that the e m p e r o r ' s cultic acts were to secure as
g u a r a n t e e of the pax deorum. In 6 1 , 1 we r e a d of health (uyieia),
peace (eipr|vr|), c o n c o r d (oudvoia), stability (euoxdGeia), which were
the virtues of the Augustan saeculum aureum a n d the p r o d u c t of his
augurium salutis (2A 5 a n d 2B 3). T h e s e are to be given "to o u r rulers
a n d leaders (xoiq xe apôuoiv Kai T]youuivoi<; fmcov)" as well as "to all
w h o dwell u p o n the earth (Kai m o w xoi<; KaxoiKouaiv xfjv yfjv)." (60,4)
It would be w r o n g , however, to interpret such lines as a n apol
ogy for the C o r i n t h i a n c o m m u n i t y to R o m a n magistrates dressed u p
in terms that they would find palatable.
4B 2. Clement's concept of Order: legitimation not apologetic
C l e m e n t has a d m i t t e d the charge of cxaciq within the C o r i n t h i a n

c o m m u n i t y that would immediately destroy any such apologetic case.
R a t h e r his words represent the use of a reformulated imperialist ide
ology that orders social relations within the c o m m u n i t y . T h e R o m a n
magistrate would find little assurance that such virtues as oudvoia or
eiprjvn were bestowed u p o n R o m e ' s rulers by a G o d w h o m they
Ibid. 21,9: ep£\)vr|xf|<; yap eaxiv evvoicbv m i ev6\)(ir)aecpv • oi) f| 7tvof| ai)xo\) ev f|(iiv
eaxiv, K a i oxav 0eA,ri, aveA,ei a\)ir|v. Cf. 2 1 , 2 : A.eyei y a p no\) [Prov. 2 0 , 2 7 ] • 7ive\)|ia
K\)p(o\) Xx>xvo$ epeuvtov xa xajiieia xr\q yaGXpoq.
154 CHAPTER FOUR
found alien, r a t h e r t h a n by the d e a d a n d deified Augustus, a n d his

d e a d a n d deified successors. H e would certainly not be impressed
that the prayers a n d acts of the Christian cult that was to secure
these qualities a n d this authority for the e m p i r e were t h r o u g h a
16
Pontifex Maximus or dpxiepeuq w h o was other t h a n the e m p e r o r .
W e saw in Luke-Acts that early Christian apocalyptic h a d u n d e r
gone radical reformulation in the light of the Augustan imperialist
ideology. Such a reformulation was to be u n d e r s t o o d as legitimation
r a t h e r t h a n apology. C l e m e n t ' s g r o u p at R o m e , like T h e o p h i l u s ' in
Asia M i n o r , believed in the need for supernatural activity to assuage
a disturbed n a t u r e reflected in a disturbed society. T h a t belief, as
we have shown, was reinforced by the experience of a century of
late-Republican civil wars as constructed in the historiography of
such writers as Livy, Tacitus, a n d L u c a n . T h e t h o u g h t of the shat
tering of the pax deorum elicited fears of K W S D V O C ; a n d dGeuixoq opyn
t h a t were the antithesis of oudvoioc a n d eipf|vr| (14,2; 53,2; 59,1).
K(vS\)vo<; in 4 1 , 3 - 4 is treated in the context of violation of ritual.
Violation of the divine decrees regarding h o w the H i g h Priest is to
e x a m i n e the sacrifice in the divinely a p p o i n t e d place is deserving of
d e a t h (oi ouv rcapd T O KaGfJKov Tfj<; pouAiiaecoq OCUTOU rcoiouvTeq T I 6dva-
TOV Ttpoaxiuov exauaiv). It is not therefore primarily the fear of the
d a n g e r of intervention by the secular authorities that is here in point
r a t h e r t h a n the holy fear of otaoiq as a sacrilege in terms of the
metaphysical o r d e r of n a t u r e reflected in civil society. C l e m e n t , like
the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts, was not satisfying the perceived needs of the
external, p a g a n authorities, b u t the perceived needs of himself a n d
his g r o u p in a G r a e c o - R o m a n cultural context being transformed by
a Christian perspective.
B a m m e l was therefore w r o n g to claim that C l e m e n t ' s motive was
primarily apologetic, a n d that to m a k e a legal claim for recognition
was not to m a k e a theological claim. C l e m e n t ' s claim was not that
of Hegesippus or Irenaeus in their articulations of the later episco
pal succession lists. But it was theological in that the r e q u i r e m e n t of
R o m a n law was a theological r e q u i r e m e n t not to take p a r t in cul
tic activity t h a t would upset the pax deorum a n d therefore the order
of both n a t u r e a n d civil society. C l e m e n t a n d his g r o u p , just as in
the case of T h e o p h i l u s to w h o m Luke wrote, was an articulator of
H)
Ibid. 6 1 , 3 : . . . a o i eô(ioA,OYo{)(ie6a 8 i a xo\) dpxiepecoq KOU rcpoaxdxcru xcov i|/\>xa>v
TIUCOV' Ir|aot> Xpiaxov . . .
a legal a r g u m e n t with the metaphysical basis for which his hearers

h a d every sympathy. Both C l e m e n t a n d T h e o p h i l u s shared the cul
tural a n d philosophic b a c k g r o u n d of imperial society a n d were b o t h
as anxious as each other a b o u t the metaphysical catastrophe that
h a d b e e n the civil wars of the republic, a n d which the Imperial Cult
was believed to have averted. T h e y disagreed with the assumptions
of their cultural b a c k g r o u n d only in so far as in Christianity they
believed they h a d found the true m e a n s of averting the ira dei.
Christian doctrine a n d C h u r c h O r d e r as they h a d received it were
in consequence transformed in the matrix of their imperialist phil
osophical a n d cultural, religious heritage. But with the encultural-
ization of the gospel, it is ever a n d inescapably so. C l e m e n t a n d
T h e o p h i l u s were not insulated from the social construction of i m p e
rial reality by which their consciousness h a d been formed a n d devel
oped. In consequence, they are not to be accused of the apologetic
m a n i p u l a t i o n of a n imperialist ideology a b o u t whose foundations
they h a d no real convictions.
It is fascinating to observe parallels with Luke-Acts in C l e m e n t
Corinthians, which we will n o w e x a m i n e , w h e r e there are no direct
quotations a n d n o direct borrowing.
4B 2 . 1 . Parallels between Luke-Acts and Clement C o r i n t h i a n s

Both see the apostles as the foundations of the Christian cult, t h o u g h
both a c c o u n t for this cultic significance differently. Luke-Acts, we have
argued (3D), sees the Twelve by analogy with the Arval college in
its Augustan transformation, whereas C l e m e n t regards it as a m a t
ter of the requirements of an orderly succession as in the case of
official acceptance of a Dionysiac cult. Both will reconstruct the impe
rialist ideology in a contra-cultural fashion with a t r a n s p a r e n t rever
sion of values.
C l e m e n t quotes (in 59,3) 1 Sam. 2,7 a n d Is. 10,33 w h e r e G o d is
addressed as xov rcoiouvxa xarceivoix; Eiq vyoq Kai xoix; \)\|/r|Aoi)<; xarcei-
vouvxa, xov rctanmôvxa Kai rcxcoxiôvxa, just as in the Magnificat (Lk.
1,52~53) we read: . . . u\j/coaev xarceivotx;... Kai rctaruxouvxaq eârceaxeitav
Kevotx;. F u r t h e r m o r e in Lk. 4,18 the eviauxov Kupiou 8eKx6v, which
we a r g u e d to be the contra-cultural c o u n t e r p a r t to the inauguration
of Augustus' saeculum aureum, c o m m e n c e d with, the glad tidings for
the p o o r (euayveAioaaOai nxcoxoiq) by contrast with the imperial birth
day-banquets of the city states of Asia M i n o r .
Luke-Acts h a d reconstructed traditional apocalyptic with the ideology
156 CHAPTER FOUR
of the A u g u s t a n saeculum aureum so that t h e m e s of cataclysmic a p o c

alyptic j u d g e m e n t w e r e absent a n d replaced by a reign of p e a c e a n d
fulfilment longed for hopes (3A 1-3). C l e m e n t in his p r a y e r (60,3)
asks:
that we may be supported (eiq TO GK£7iao"0fivai rjuaq) by the strength of

your mighty hand (ip xeip( GOV zf\ KpcxTaia) and delivered (Kal pi)a0f|vai)
from all sin (anb K6LGT[<; duapTiaq) by your high-stretched arm (TCO ppa/iovi
GOV TCO i)V|/r|A,cp): and that you deliver us (Kal pvaai r|ua<;) from those who
hate us unjustly (anb TCOV UIGOVVTCOV f|ud<; dSiKcoq).
Like the KpaToq ev Ppaxiovi amov Lk. 1,51, or the acoTripia . . . E K

XEipoq TcdvTcov TCOV jiiao\)VTCov fijiaq of Lk. 1,71, these expressions occur
in the context of w h a t has p r o d u c e d the A u g u s t a n saeculum aureum
of ocoTTipia, oudvoia a n d eipf|vr| (61,1). C l e m e n t in 61,2 t h e n prays
for direction of the counsel of the imperial rulers (ox>, Kt>pie, 8iei>0\)vov
TTJV p o u ^ v auTCOv) j u s t as in the L u c a n contra-cultural saeculum aureum
Zachariah's prayer was TOt> KOCTe\)0wai xovq nodaq f|p.cov eiq 686v eipr|vr|<;
17
{Lk. 1,79).
As in Luke-Acts traditional apocalyptic is overlaid by the p e a c e a n d
security of a golden age long promised, so too in C l e m e n t the escha-
ton does not break into the present in a n y disruptive way that would
destroy the pax dei or deorum. T h i s point can be well established in
his general eschatological references, a n d to the resurrection of the
b o d y (23-27), as we shall n o w see.
4B 2.2. Apocalyptic cataclysm replaced by imperial peace

C l e m e n t exhorts the c o m m u n i t y to o r d e r (21-22), a n d places this
desire for o r d e r in a n eschatological context. T h e L o r d will c o m e
suddenly to his temple as expected, a n d not delay, in a c c o r d a n c e
with Is. 13,22 a n d Mai. 3,1 (23,5). But C l e m e n t has a sense of the
delay of the parousia, a n d so, like p s e u d o n y m o u s 2 Pet. 3,4, q u o t e d
from possibly Eldad and Modad, also feels the force of the criticism
of those w h o claim: "these things we have h e a r d (TOCUTCX fjKOuaauev)
even from o u r fathers' time (Kal EKI TCOV rcocTepcov fijicov) a n d behold,
we have kept watch (Kal i8o\) yeyr|pdKa(iev), a n d n o n e of these things
18
has h a p p e n e d to us (KOCI ouSev fijiiv TO\>TCOV o\)vpepr|K£v)." C l e m e n t ' s
reply firstly is to appeal to the well-used apocalyptic image of a plant
17
Cf. a l s o Ps. 4 0 , 3 q u o t e d in 6 0 , 2 : mxevjGov xd 8 i a p f | | i a x a f|(icov ev 6ai6xr|xi Kal
5iKaioa\)vf\.
,B
Cf. 2 Pet. 2,4: nox> eoxiv r\ inayyeXia xfjq napovGiaq avxov; d(p' r\c, oi rcaxepeq
£Koifir|9r|Gav, rcdvxa omcoq Siaiievei arc' dp%fi<; xf)<; K x i a e t o q .
19
b e a r i n g fruit quickly b u t in due season. But he n o w extends the
image so as to exclude a n y notion of apocalyptic cataclysm or dis
order from his account of the resurrection of the body.
Beginning with the association of Christ's resurrection as the Pauline
drcapxri with the tree growing to fruition, he can n o w m a k e the res
urrection of the body almost into an event of orderly natural fulfilment.
As he n o w continues:
Let us observe, brothers, (i'Scouev, dyaTcriToi) that the resurrection takes

place in due season (xr|v m i d Koupov yivouevriv dvdciaaiv). Day and
night reveal the resurrection to us. The night goes to sleep, the day
arises. The day departs, night comes on.
Corinthians 2 4 , 2
T h e r e then follows the famous c h a p t e r on the Phoenix (25). T h e

Egyptian priests can m e a s u r e accurately its five-hundred year life
cycle. T h e s e n a t u r a l events reveal the ability of the creator to b r i n g
a b o u t gradually a n d orderly, as p a r t of the natural o r d e r of things,
the resurrection of the body. T h u s C l e m e n t ' s use of Eldad and Modad
does not lead h i m , as it does the a u t h o r of 2 Pet. 3,10, to claim that
the universe will be dissolved in a sudden cataclysm. For h i m the
resurrection on the Last D a y remains p a r t of a universe of Stoic
oudvoia, a n d its doctrinal reflection in the c o m m u n i t y will lead not to
cataclysmic strife b u t to the eipr|vr| of the Christian, contra-cultural
pax dei as opposed to the imperial pax deorum.
C l e m e n t therefore has his own distinctive variation o n the L u k a n
t h e m e of the supersession of apocalypticism by a refashioned a n d
Christianized imperialist ideology. It will be interesting to ask the
precise c h a r a c t e r of the g r o u p opposed by C l e m e n t w h o seem to
have affirmed such an apocalypticism.
4B 3. The character of the group responsible for the cidoiq
T h e question remains a tantalising one of w h a t particular set of doc

trines might have reinforced those in the C o r i n t h i a n c o m m u n i t y w h o
h a d apparently urged the deposition of the "blameless" presbyter-
bishops. W o u l d there be a n y justification in seeing t h e m as the kind
of g r o u p represented by the Didache in which any with the gift of a
p r o p h e t could preside a n d teach, although by the time of writing of
that d o c u m e n t the abuses of such a C h u r c h O r d e r were b e c o m i n g
Cor. 2 3 , 4 - 5 cf. Mk. 13,28 3 1 ; Mat. 2 4 , 3 2 35; Lk. 2 1 , 2 9 -33.

158 CHAPTER FOUR
a p p a r e n t ? Such a g r o u p , as Did. 9,4 makes clear, would see their

prophetic gifts in a n apocalyptic context. T h e Eucharistic p r a y e r is
set in the context of the apocalyptic gathering together of the elect
(ML 13,27). Like the later Montanists, the spirit-filled c o m m u n i t y
would p u r p o r t to be egalitarian, a n d without a n ordered hierarchy,
as it waited u n d e r the shadow of the eschaton.
S o m e indications that this was the case can be seen in the i m m e
diate context of C l e m e n t ' s introduction of the resurrection of the
body. W e find that this future h o p e has b e c o m e the o u t c o m e of an
orderly a n d h a r m o n i o u s , Stoic N a t u r e r a t h e r t h a n as an apocalyp
tic cataclysm that upset the n o r m a l course of n a t u r e . A c o m m o n
apocalyptic t h e m e was the b r e a k d o w n of n o r m a l family relationships,
in which the cataclysm of n a t u r e was reflected in the b r e a k d o w n of
social order. In ML 13,12 we read that: "Brother shall deliver brother
to death, a n d father child, a n d children shall rise u p against parents
a n d m u r d e r t h e m . " But immediately prior to C l e m e n t ' s discussion
of the resurrection of the b o d y we read:
Let us reverence those who rule us (xoix; Tcporiyouuevoix; fjucov ai5ea6cou8v),

let us honour our elders (xoix; npeofivxepovq f|ucov xiuriocouev), let us dis
cipline our young men (xoix; viovq 7cai5ei)ocouev) with the discipline of
the fear of God (xf|v 7 i a i 5 e i a v xov cpopoi) xov 0eot>), let us direct our
women towards that which is good (xaq yuvaimc; f|ucov eVi xo dya66v
8iop6coocbu£0a) . . . let them show their love, not in factitious prefer
ences but equally in holiness to those who fear God (xr|v dydjtriv avxcov,
ur| Kotxd 7cpoaKAioei<; aXka 7iaaiv xoiq (popouuevoK; xov 9e6v ooicoq iar|v
Tiapexexcooav) . . .
Corinthians 2 1 , 6 - 7
T h o s e w h o were b e h a v i n g in this way did not of course see their

behaviour in such a light. For t h e m the equality of charismatic spir
itual e n d o w m e n t e n d e d submission on g r o u n d s of sex a n d age. T h e
inspired w o m a n would feel love for the prophetic, spirit-filled per
son, a n d would incline towards t h e m in their youth against the aged
presbyter-bishops. T h e younger, taught by the Spirit, would seek to
instruct the elder. A n d their justification would n o d o u b t be the
i m p e n d i n g apocalyptic cataclysm a n d the o u t p o u r i n g of the Spirit
on all flesh prior to the eschaton. C l e m e n t therefore denies this c o m
m o n apocalyptic motif in c o n s e q u e n c e of his reconstructed Stoic
metaphysics.
Such b e h a v i o u r in C l e m e n t ' s Christianised Stoic a n d R o m a n eyes
was clearly axdoi<;. Such charismatic a b a n d o n m e n t was reminiscent
o f the Bacchanalian riot: it showed that axaciq is "foolish (uxxxocicc)"

(63,1), b u t t h e kind of foolishness t h a t leads to d e m e n t e d r a g e .
"Jealousy (C,r\koq)" has connotations of "enthusiasm", which C l e m e n t
directly associates with "envy (cpBovoq)" (3,2). Clearly this is the psy
chological state in which C l e m e n t characterises his o p p o n e n t s . T h e y
are the "senseless (oi dcppoveq)" against "those of right m i n d (cppoviuoi)"
(3,3), w h o lack such Stoic virtues of "self control ( e y K p o c x e i a ) " " m o d
esty (oco(ppOGi>vri)," "patience ( \ m o u o v f | ) " or "forbearance ( e r c i e i K e i a ) "
(62,2; see also 64; 56,1). T h e i r (charismatic) speech is a n example
20
of p r o u d a n d overbearing recklessness (au0d8eia). T h e personali
ties of their leaders, w h o are described as "unstable (rcpOTiexfj)" a n d
"reckless (ocuGdSrj)," h a v e lead to "such a p i t c h of m a d n e s s (eiq
xoaouxov drcovoiaq)". T h u s they are ritually c o n t a m i n a t e d with u i o c p d
2 1
m i dvooioq o x d a K ; . "
In a passage evocative of the Bacchic M a e n a d s r e n d i n g a s u n d e r
the b o d y of K r e o n , C l e m e n t says:
Why do we tear (iva x( Sietacouxv) and rip apart (Kal 8iaa7cco|iev) Christ's
members (xd \iekr\ xov Xpioxou), and create rebellion (Kal axaaidôîev)
against our own Body (npoq xo ocoua xo i'Siov) and reach such a pitch
of delirium (Kal eiq xoaat>xT|v drcovoiav epxoueGa) that we forget (cooxe
£7ciXa0ea0ai r\\iaq) that we are members of one another (oxi \LEXT) eojiev
dAArjAxov).
Corinthians 4 6 , 7
Against such drcovoia C l e m e n t has to r e m i n d m e m b e r s of the charis

matic cxaciq that they d o n o t possess the Spirit alone b u t "we have
(exojiev). . . one Spirit of grace (ev rcvevua xfjc; xdpvxoq) p o u r e d o u t
u p o n us (xo eKûGev ecp' r\\ia<;)" (46,6) F u r t h e r m o r e the apostles a n d
their ordained, episcopal successors also h a d the "fullness of the Holy
Spirit (jiexd rcA,r|po(pop(a<; rcveuuaxoc; d y i o u ) , " (42,3) a n d the former
e x a m i n e d the latter r e g a r d i n g their spiritual gifts before their ordi
nation (SoKipdaccvxeq xco 7wet)|icxxi). (42,4)
It is i m p o r t a n t to grasp that, in the light of o u r discussion, the
concept of C h u r c h O r d e r with the a i d of which C l e m e n t seeks to
p u t d o w n the charismatic a n d apocalyptic axaciq, represents a sec
ularisation of the Christian tradition as C l e m e n t h a d received it.
Secularisation m a y , in W e b e r ' s terms, be irreligious. But in terms of
20
Cor. 57,2: drcoGeuevoi xt^v dA,a£6va K a l imepricpavov xfjq y ^ c o a o T i q i)|icov ai)6d8eiav.
21
Ibid. 1,1: . . . uiapdq K a l d v o a i o u cxdoecoq- r\v oXiya npoaconarcpoTtexfjK a l ai)9d8r|
\)7cdpxovxa eiq xoaovxov drcovoiac; e ^ e m v a a v . Cf. also 4 6 , 7 .
160 CHAPTER FOUR
the b a c k g r o u n d to these late first century events at C o r i n t h , the sec

ularist invasion in this case was that of a religious saeculum. C l e m e n t
has refashioned the Stoic, metaphysical justification of imperial o r d e r
in terms of the pax deorum into the pax Christi. T h e Christian c o m
m u n i t y is to be a m i r r o r image of imperial order, albeit with m a n y
images reversed or transformed, as is characteristic of a process of
contra-cultural creation.
'AGeuixoc; opyn a n d £r|A,o<; are opposed to the imperial ideals of
eiprivr] a n d oudvoia (63,2-3), secured sacramentally by Augustus' cul
tic augurium salutis t h a t ushered in Vergil's saeculum aureum (2A 5).
T h o s e concepts, n o w transformed into the pax Christi, provide us with
the contra-cultural legitimation of a g r o u p excluded from the wider
c o m m u n i t y b u t which n o w creates its o w n values a n d status-hierar
chy by analogy with its host culture. T h o s e w h o inhabit the social
construction of reality thus created will see that they can conceive
their status as possessing a rcaiSeia ("education", "discipline") by anal
ogy with t h a t of R o m a n civilisation (62,3 a n d 56). Z e n o ' s ethical
ideal, developed by Cleanthes, h a d b e e n that £fjv m x ' dpexf|v was
the equivalent of xfj ipuoei 6uoA,oyo\)uevco<; £fjv, w h i c h in t u r n was
22
equivalent to Kax' opGov Aoyov f^v.
T h a t ethical ideal, realised in imperial o r d e r a n d given religious
expression in the Imperial Cult, was clearly contrary to the apoca
lyptic vision of cataclysmic j u d g e m e n t descending on the social o r d e r
with its cataclysmic c o u n t e r p a r t in the n a t u r a l order. T h e egalitar
ian charismata of the end-time were reminiscent of the Bacchanalian
riot as a s y m p t o m of the metaphysical catastrophe that m a r k e d the
history of the final century of the constitution of the later R o m a n
Republic. Such events were not portents of salus b u t of disaster, of
w h a t C l e m e n t calls: £f|ta)<;, ipGovoc;, epic;, oxdoic;, 8icoyu6<;, dicaxaaxatfia,
7i6A,euo<;, a n d a i x u a t a o a i a (2,6), a n d w h i c h R o m a n historiography
characterised as the condition of things before Augustus' augurium
pacis, before, in the words of the proconsular decrees of Asia (9 B.C.),
the 8uxi>%r|ua of Augustus' birth that " h a d set right the scheme of
things that h a d passed into calamity (eiq dxu%e<; uexapePrjKOc; axf|ua
dvcopGcoaev)." (2B 4) C l e m e n t ' s Christian reconstruction of the i m p e
rialist social reality of his intellectual b a c k g r o u n d could never see
2 2
J. von A r n i m (Ed.), Stoicorum veterum fragment, (Leipzig: T e u b n e r 1 9 0 2 - 1 9 0 3 ) , 1,
179. Cf. J . M . Rist, Stoic Philosophy, (Cambridge: U . P . 1969), p p . 2 - 3 .
disorder a n d chaos as a sign of the c o m i n g of Christ's kingdom.

T h e Stoic social ethic in the context of the imperial pax deorum
b e c a m e a n ethic of imperial citizenship. T o "live" in a m o r a l sense
b e c a m e to "act as a citizen (TtotaxeueaOai)." It is precisely this concept
that C l e m e n t n o w uses in a Christianised sense in o r d e r to reject
the apocalypticism of his charismatic o p p o n e n t s . T h e Corinthians,
before the oxdoic;, or so h e claims, were " a d o r n e d with a sacred life
23
(oePccauicp noXmia KeKoaurjuevoi)." (2,8) T h i s , he pointedly asserts
against his o p p o n e n t s , was because "there h a d been a full outpour
ing of the Holy Spirit u p o n all (rcA,f|pr|<; rcveuuaxoc; dyiou EKÛGK; EKI
rcdvxaq eyivexo)." (2,2) H e accuses t h e m , in c o n s e q u e n c e of their
oxdoiq, of "not c o n d u c t i n g themselves (ur|8e TioAaxeueoGai) according
to w h a t is b e c o m i n g to Christ ( m x d xo KccOfJKov xcp Xpioxcp)." (3,4) To
KocGfJKov was a technical t e r m in Stoic ethics for " a n a p p r o p r i a t e
24
a c t i o n . " T h o s e w h o have persecuted the righteous, as have those
w h o have deposed the presbyter-bishops, are called dvouoi, dvoaioi
a n d T c c c p d v o u o i (45,3), because their b e h a v i o u r offends the n o r m s of
Christian citizenship by analogy with the ideal of imperial civil a n d
cultic m o r a l unity.
Let us n o w in conclusion summarise the significance of o u r dis
cussion of C l e m e n t for o u r general a r g u m e n t that the d e v e l o p m e n t
of C h u r c h O r d e r follows the d e v e l o p m e n t of the Imperial Cult a n d
its underlying ideology t h r o u g h a d y n a m i c social interaction char
acterised in terms of sociological theory of contra-culture.
PART C. CLEMENT'S CONSTRUCTION OF CONTRA-CULTURE
W e have traced not a merely incidental b u t a fundamental parallel

b e t w e e n C l e m e n t ' s Corinthians, a n d the c o m m u n i t y of T h e o p h i l u s
addressed in Luke-Acts. T h e fundamental perspectives of both represent
a refashioning of early Christian eschatology. C l e m e n t has refashioned
the metaphysics of social o r d e r derived from the conceptual web that
e m b r a c e d the Imperial Cult as the sacramental m e a n s of obtaining
the pax deorum. W e saw however that this fundamental parallel, with
incidental ones besides, was based u p o n n o direct relationship such
as would be evidenced by direct quotations of o n e by the other. But
n
' Cor. 2,8 cf. 5 1 , 2 : oi iizxa (p6|5o\) K a i ayartric; 7coîTe\)6(ievoi. . .
2 4
Rist (1969), p p . 9 8 - 9 9 .
162 CHAPTER FOUR
h o w are these parallels to be explained if there is n o direct relation

ship? T h e tertium quid is the imperialist ideology focused o n the
e m p e r o r cult a n d the contra-cultural response b o t h in T h e o p h i l u s '
c o m m u n i t y a n d that of C l e m e n t , b o t h of w h o m thus exemplify a
general sociological p h e n o m e n o n .
T h e general p h e n o m e n o n of contra-culture involves the recon
struction of social reality by an alienated sub-culture that seeks to
legitimate its position with reference to the value system of the d o m
inant culture. T h e sub-culture refashions for its o w n g r o u p the value
system of the d o m i n a n t culture so as to create a frame of reference
in terms of which its m e m b e r s can achieve the status that the value
system of the d o m i n a n t culture denies t h e m . T h e d o m i n a n t culture
remains unimpressed, a n d does not itself therefore enter into the
social construction of reality thus created. T h e creation of a contra-
culture therefore c a n n o t function apologetically so as to gain recog
nition a n d status for the sub-culture from the d o m i n a n t culture. But
the d o m i n a n t culture is nevertheless preserved by the creation of the
contra-culture. T h e latter serves the e n d of re-integrating discordant
elements within the social whole in a form that, t h o u g h discordant,
is nevertheless innocuous in that it c a n n o t radically d a m a g e the exist
ing social structure; its relation with that structure becomes o n e of
symbiosis.
H e n c e , as we discussed in C h a p t e r 1, criminal activity such as
juvenile delinquency c a n be regarded as contra-culture in this sense.
Activity that might otherwise b e revolutionary is r e n d e r e d margin
ally harmful to the social fabric w h e n stolen vehicles driven at high
speed b e c o m e constructed as showing the m o r a l quality of " h e a r t " ,
giving prestige to the person w h o so acts by a contra-cultural value
system that has thus reversed the social n o r m s of " c a u t i o n " a n d
"safety," the avoidance of "recklessness," the "respect" for o t h e r p e o
ple's property etc. So too C l e m e n t ' s reconstruction of p a g a n social
reality, as that of the a u t h o r of Luke-Acts, can be read in such a social-
theoretical context. T h e acorn,p{oc a n d eipf|vri of C h r i s t c o m e n o t
t h r o u g h apocalyptic cataclysm in which n a t u r e is u p r o o t e d a n d order
within the community abolished. These objectives are achieved through
the o r d e r a n d h a r m o n y b r e a t h e d by G o d into n a t u r e being realised
in the o r d e r of the c o m m u n i t y , a n d t h r o u g h the preservation of
Tdyuxx in which one m e m b e r subjects themselves to a n o t h e r t h r o u g h
a 7tai5e[a that is also a urcoTocyri.
T h u s m e m b e r s of C l e m e n t ' s g r o u p , as we saw was the case with
that of T h e o p h i l u s , m a d e legitimate in their own eyes their position

in relation to the d o m i n a n t culture. T h a t position for t h e m thus
b e c a m e e n d o w e d with the status a n d dignity that the d o m i n a n t cul
ture denied t h e m . T h e y claimed to satisfy by m e a n s of the pax Christi
the political a n d religious yearnings of those w h o participated in the
pax of Augustus, a n d the cultic expression of that peace in e m p e r o r
worship. In doing so they believed that they h a d d o n e their duty by
their fellow, p a g a n citizens. But the final p e a c e with those citizens
themselves could only c o m e about, not by the construction of ad
hominem apologetic, b u t by the creation of a transforming synthesis
between Christian a n d imperial theology in which b o t h sides found
their religious a n d political convictions adequately fulfilled. C h u r c h
O r d e r would n e e d still m o r e to transform imperialist O r d e r , b u t in
t u r n to b e transformed itself by t h a t e n c o u n t e r , as the centuries
m o v e d towards C o n s t a n t i n e a n d J u l i a n .
In contrast to expressions that we will argue that the Apocalypse
reveals to have b e e n characteristic of the Imperial Cult, C l e m e n t ' s
prayer for the rulers of the empire attributes to the G o d a n d Father of
Christ alone such epithets as 6 udvoc; Suvaxoc;, SearcoTric;, a n d fiaoikeix;
to w h o m alone he attributes the final 86â, ueyaXcoauvri, a n d Kpd-
xoq (61,2-3). In o u r next c h a p t e r we shall find these expressions in
the Apocalypse set in the context of a quite different conception of
the R o m a n e m p i r e a n d the relationship of a Christian c o m m u n i t y
with it. T o a discussion of the Apocalypse we shall n o w turn.
C H A P T E R FIVE
T H E APOCALYPSE AND DOMITIAN'S ICONOGRAPHY
The Lamb's victory in sacrifice and the festal community
W e argued in the last c h a p t e r (4A) the general historical reliability

of the Christian tradition of D o m i t i a n as a second N e r o in perse
cuting Christianity. D i o Cassius Hist. 67,14 was hardly contrary evi
d e n c e since by the p h r a s e i d xcov 'Iou8a{cov f]0T| this a u t h o r p r o b a b l y
h a d n o intention of identifying J u d a i s m as distinct from Christian
ity (4A 1). I n d e e d he would not have registered a n y distinguishable
difference b e t w e e n either faith at a superficial, p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l
level. F u r t h e r m o r e , the claim t h a t D o m i t i a n was a persecutor did
not rest u p o n the Christianity of Flavius Clemens a n d Flavia Domitilla
alone (4A 2 a n d 4A 3).
But in o n e respect the Eusebian tradition h a d b e e n deceptive in
that it presupposed a general edict of persecution impossible before
A . D . 2 5 1 . O u r hypothesis was that non-participation in the Imperial
Cult, whilst n o t in itself illegal, exposed the non-participant to other
accusations of practicing a superstitio the purpose of which was to
cause social disorder t h r o u g h creating metaphysical disorder that dis
r u p t e d the cosmic h a r m o n y of the pax deorum (3C 2.3). But if this
were the case, then it would be particular changes in the Imperial
Cult itself that would cause persecution, since non-participation would
attract particular notice.
Let us n o w consider those changes, a n d h o w they are reflected in
the i c o n o g r a p h y of the Apocalypse.
PART A. DOMITIAN'S C U L T AND THE D A T E OF THE APOCALYPSE
T h e Apocalypse presupposes the reality of a particular a n d d a n g e r o u s

confrontation between D o m i t i a n a n d the C h u r c h . If n o such novel
a n d particularly vicious confrontation occurred in that reign, then
this would b e evidence against a Domitianic date for the Apocalypse,
a n d hence its association with the situations presupposed in t u r n by
THE APOCALYPSE AND DOMITIAN'S ICONOGRAPHY 165
C l e m e n t Corinthians a n d reflected in the immediately succeeding gen

eration of Ignatius of Antioch. Let us begin, therefore, with a considera
tion of the date of the Apocalypse, a n d the confirmation of that d a t e
in critical changes that o c c u r r e d in the ceremonial a n d i c o n o g r a p h y
of the Imperial C u l t u n d e r D o m i t i a n that also find reflections there.
5A 1. The date of the Apocalypse
Rejecting the testimony of Irenaeus (Adversus Haer. V , 3 0 , 3 ; Eusebius

H.E. 111,18), J o n e s argues for a d a t e in N e r o ' s reign. His g r o u n d s
are his belief in the greater probability that the description in Apoc.
17, 9 - 1 1 refers to that reign. T h e beast with seven h e a d s is clearly
the R o m a n e m p i r e since they c o r r e s p o n d to the seven hills on which
the harlot sits. But they are also seven kings (v. 9). "Five have fallen,
one still is, a n d the other has not yet c o m e . . ." (v. 10). J o n e s con
siders t h a t all o t h e r solutions simply "avoid the obvious c h o i c e " that
1
Augustus is the first a n d therefore N e r o must be the fifth.
But I would suggest that the choice is only "obvious" to s o m e o n e
w h o is in a position to k n o w the specific details of the history of the
Principate. T h e a u t h o r of the Apocalypse, which was a semi-literate
work, was hardly such a person. In his situation in Asia M i n o r , he
would get his information from non-literary artefacts like temples of
the Imperial Cult such as those at Ephesus, S m y r n a , or at P e r g a m o n ,
a n d from p r o m i n e n t a n d striking statues a n d n u m i s m a t i c iconogra
p h y of particular e m p e r o r s to be found there. H e took over such a
kaleidoscope of non-literary imagery a n d refashioned his fragmen
tary images into n e w patterns. T h o u g h those patterns b e a r the influ
ence of his J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n b a c k g r o u n d , they also retain the impress
of their original p a g a n matrix. T h e r e are five indications of a d a t e
in D o m i t i a n ' s reign in the text of the Apocalypse itself, from which
we can conclude that the Seer's imagery was d r a w n from the specific
b a c k g r o u n d provided by his reign.
5A 1.1. Domitian's edict on the vineyards

Apoc. 6,6 ("a choinix of w h e a t for a denarius (%oivi^ orcou 8r|vap(ou),
a n d three choinikes o f barley for a denarius (Kai xpeiq xoivuceq KpiGcov
8r|vap{ou), a n d d o not d a m a g e the olive a n d the vine (Kai TO etaxiov
Kai xov oivov ufi d8iicr|CTTi<;)") appears quite clearly to refer t o Domitian's
1
B . W . J o n e s , The Emperor Domitian, (London: Routledge 1992), p. 116.
166 CHAPTER FIVE
u n i m p l e m e n t e d edict forbidding further planting of vines in Italy,

a n d the reduction of acerage for vinyards in the provinces, if feasi
2
ble, by one half. It seems to have been a response to famine a i m e d
3
at e n c o u r a g i n g the growing of c o r n . T h e instruction TO e'Amov KOCI
TOV oivov \ir\ dSucnGTiq seems therefore to b e directed at a situation
where famine prices for w h e a t were t h r e a t e n i n g olive a n d vine-grow
4
ing. O n the foundations of this clear indication of a Domitianic
date for the Apocalypse it is then possible to point to other Domitianic
allusions found generally in the Apocalypse as well as in the letters to
the seven churches.
5A 1.2. Domitian and Domitia: the divine child: A p o c . 12,1-6

Domitia's child was b o r n in 7 3 a n d died in 8 3 . Domitia was described
after this event as m o t h e r of gods on coins depicting her as Ceres,
D e m e t e r , a n d Cybele. It is interesting to c o m p a r e the iconography
5
s u r r o u n d i n g this event with Apoc. 1 2 , l - 6 . H e r e , essentially, there is
a heavenly sign ( K a l o r | U £ i o v u e y a co(p9r| e v TCO o u p a v c p ) . T h e r e is " a
w o m a n clothed with the sun (yvvx)rcepipePAriiievnTOV TIAAOV) a n d the
m o o n u n d e r h e r feet ( K a l f| oeXi\vr\ i m o K a T c o TCOV rco8cov a u T f j q ) a n d
u p o n h e r h e a d a c r o w n of twelve stars ( K a l ini TT|<; KetpaX-fiq cx\)Tfj<;
OTecpavoq d a T e p c o v 8co8eKa)." (12,1) She is pursued by the seven-headed
d r a g o n , whose tail sweeps a w a y one third of the stars, a n d w h o
intends to d e v o u r h e r child, destined to rule the nations (2-4). T h e n
"she b r o u g h t forth a male child ( K a l eTeKev mov a p a e v ) , destined to
shepherd all the nations with a r o d of iron (6q \ieXXei rcoiuaiveiv rcdvTa
T a eGvr| e v pdp8cp a i 8 r | p a ) . A n d the child was snatched away to G o d
( m i fip7cda9r| TO Teicvov a\)Tfjq rcpoq TOV Geov) a n d to his t h r o n e ( K a l npbq
TOV GpOVOV OLVTOX).)."
In a coin of A . D . 9 2 , after h e r restoration to favour, D o m i t i a is
depicted d r a p e d a n d veiled, a n d seated o n a t h r o n e extending h e r
h a n d to touch a small boy. H e holds in his left h a n d the sceptre of
2
S u e t o n i u s , Dom. 7,2; Philostratus, Vit. Apoll. 6 , 4 2 ; Vit. Soph. 1,21. S e e also
P. S o u t h e r n , Domitian, Tragic Tyrant, ( L o n d o n a n d N e w York: R o u t l e d g e 1997),
p. 58.
3
Suetonius, Dom. 7,2; Statius, Sihae IV, 3 , 1 1 - 1 2 .
4
C J. H e m e r , T h e Letters to the S e v e n C h u r c h e s o f Asia in their Local Setting,
in JSNT.S 11 (1986), p . 4, p p . 1 5 8 - 1 5 9 and p . 175.
5
E. Stauffer, Christ and the Caesars: Historical Sketches, ( L o n d o n : S . C . M . 1955),
p p . 1 5 0 - 1 5 3 , w h i c h h o w e v e r suffered greatly in argumentative force because o f the
author's refusal to d o c u m e n t with detailed citation the claims that he m a d e . I have
sought to remedy this lack where I follow Stauffer in the following account.
world d o m i n i o n whilst blessing the world with his right. T h e inscrip

tion reads: D I V I C A E S A R [ I S ] M A T R I (Plate 21). T h e obverse side
of the coin depicts D o m i t i a d r a p e d with h e r hair tied u p at the b a c k
6
a n d raised in a d o m e at the front with elaborate coils (Plate 20).
Domitia's child thus shows, with his sceptre a n d globe, close corre
s p o n d e n c e with oq uiAAei rcoiuxxiveiv rcdvxa xd eOvr] ev pdp8cp oiSripa.
F u r t h e r m o r e the child has died a n d b e c o m e o n e with the i m p e
rial family in deification, just like the child of the Apoc. 12,5: Kai
fip7cda6r| xo xeicvov auxf|q npbq xov 9e6v. A further earlier, gold coin of
A . D . 8 3 bears the inscription: D I V U S C A E S A R I M P D O M I T I A N I
F [ I L I U S ] . H e r e the naked infant, divus Caesar is depicted as b a b y
J u p i t e r seated o n a globe with seven stars a r o u n d h i m (Plate 23).
T h e obverse of the coin is inscribed D O M I T I A A V G V S T A I M P [ E R A -
7
T O R I S ] D O M I T [ I A N I ] (Plate 22). T h u s in the image of Apoc. 12,1
we find the infant's circle or crown of seven stars interchanged with
those of the w o m a n w h o has erci xx\q KecpaA^q amx\q axecpavoq daxepcov
8co8eKa.
T h e t h e m e of the seven stars as a n attribute of divinity a p p e a r s
also in the letter to Ephesus (2,1: xd8e Aiyei 6 Kpaxcov xoix; ercxd doxepaq
ev xii Seîa auxou). Martial's p o e m describes the prince as m o v i n g
t h r o u g h the air a n d playing with the seven stars, which indicate the
8
seven planets. T h e t h e m e of a divinised e m p e r o r being sent to the
stars is typical of the Flavian dynasty, as we c a n see from M a r t i a l
9
(Epig. 9, 101,22 a n d 14, 124) or J u v e n a l (Sat. X I I I , 4 6 - 4 9 ) .
R e g a r d i n g the association of the w o m a n with the sun a n d the
m o o n in Apoc. 12,1, we have the image of Aeternitas, standing hold
ing the heads of the sun a n d the m o o n in h e r h a n d s , as a special
m a r k of F l a v i a n c o i n a g e , w i t h t h e i n s c r i p t i o n A E T E R N I T A T I
10
A V G V S T . S.C. (Plate 2 5 ) . Silus Atticus describes D o m i t i a n w h e n
11
finally divinised giving forth rays n e a r his son. Again Statius (Silvae
6
BMC 2, p. 4 1 3 no. 501 a n d plate 8 2 , 8 .
7
BMC 2, p. 311 n o . 62 a n d plate 6 1 , 6 . Cf. 6 3 - 6 5 plates 6 1 , 7 - 9 .
8
Also Domitian's restoration o f coin s h o w i n g the h e a d o f Divus Augustus radi
ate to the left with a star above, a n d the incription: D I W S A V G V S T V S P A T E R
with Victoria o n the reverse side. BMC 2, p. 4 1 4 no. 5 0 4 a n d 5 0 5 plate 8 2 , 8 . S e e
also II p. 8 no. 47 pi. 1,15 bust o f sol radiate Vespasian cf. BMC 1, p. 100 nos
611 ff. a n d p. 142 n o . 155, plate 2 6 , 3 a n d 5.
9
Scott (1975) p. 7 1 .
10
BMC 2, p. 3 6 4 n o . 3 0 3 , plate 71,6; p. 3 7 2 n o . 3 4 6 plate 73,4 (Plate 24); 3 7 4 ,
no. 3 5 3 , cf. K. Scott, The Imperial Cult under the Flavians, ( N e w York: A r n o 1975), p. 9 5 .
11
Silvius Statius, Punica 3,629: "siderei iuxta radiabunt tempora nati."
168 CHAPTER FIVE
4 , 1 , 3-4) describes h i m on his entry to his seventeenth consulship

(A.D. 91) as: " A n d he is rising (atque oritur) with the new sun (cum
sole novo), with the lofty stars (cum grandibus astris), himself shining m o r e
brighdy (clarius ipse nitens) a n d m o r e gready t h a n the m o r n i n g star (et
maior Eoo)." T h e " m o r n i n g star (xov cxaxepcc xov rcpcoivov) in Apoc. 2,28;
22,16 b e c o m e s a description of Christ or Christ's gift.
5A 1.3. The topography of Ephesus

In Apoc. 2,7 the contra-cultural analogue of the sacred xe|xevoq of the
temple of Artemis at Ephesus is the 7tocpd8eico<; xou 0eot>. T h e cross
that is the tree of life (8cooco auxcp (payew £K xou ZfiXov xx\q £cofj<;) con
stitutes the contra-eikon of the tree-shrine depicting the birth of
12
A r t e m i s . F r o m long antiquity that xepxvoq h a d b e e n a place w h e r e
criminals h a d sought a n d obtained asylum. T h e r e is evidence that
D o m i t i a n e x t e n d e d this area a n d thus c o m p o u n d e d the abuse to
which two letters of Apollonius of T y a n n a , allegedly c o n t e m p o r a r y
with this reign, attest (65 a n d 66). Such extensions would have reac
tivated public a l a r m at the scandal of the criminal refugees in the
a r e a a n d given pertinence to this reference, since Augustus h a d tried
13
to limit the area a n d therefore the a b u s e . T h u s the case for a D o m i
tianic date is strengthened. F u r t h e r m o r e we have already described
the "union of necorates" in Asia formed from the assimilation of
E p h e s u s as vecoKopoq xfjq 'ApxeuiSoq (Acts 19,35) with the
Imperial Cult from D o m i t i a n ' s time o n w a r d s (2C 2.3.2.3).
5A 1.4. Jewish-Christian relations

H e m e r found the second firm D o m i t i a n i c references in the allusions
to the " s y n a g o g u e of S a t a n " b o t h in S m y r n a (Apoc. 2,9) a n d in
Philadelphia (3,9). A r o u n d A . D . 90 the Beracoth ha minim were inserted
into the Eighteen Benedictions. In consequence it was n o longer pos
sible for J e w i s h Christians to use their ancestry as a m e a n s of remov
ing the social o p p r o b r i u m for their non-participation in the Imperial
Cult. T h u s there w o u l d have b e e n as legal consequences the charges
of superstitio or contumacia. Ignatius (Philad. 6,1) implies that even uncir-
12
H e m e r (1986), pp. 4 2 - 4 7 .
13
Ibid. pp. 4 8 - 5 0 where H e m e r quotes Strabo X I V , 1,23; Tactius, Annal. 111,60-63;
Suetonius, Tib. 37 in connection with earlier problems. For evidence for the Domitianic
extensions he relies o n the reconstruction in Syli\ 9 8 9 , BMInscr 5 2 0 .
cumcised Gentile Christians tried this escape route with the result
that iouSai'oudv was h e a r d rcapd aicpoPuoxou.
T h i s j u d a i z e d form of Christianity i n Asia M i n o r m a y have b e e n
highly similar to the conception of the reformed cult of J u d a i s m that
formed the legitimation of the uncircumcised T h e o p h i l u s a n d his
circle (3B). But such groups i n the Seer's eyes were clearly aauvaycoyn
xou l a x a v a . T h e y claimed to be J e w s (EK xcov Xeyovxcov 'Io\)8aiou<; E i v a i
14
feauxoix;) but they were not so (KOCI OUK E i a i v dAXd\|/£u8ovxai). Moreover
the bitterness of the language reflects persecution that J e w s could
easily activate against their n o w e x c o m m u n i c a t e d co-fraternity for
w h o m there was n o w n o cultic proxy. W e have seen t h a t the issue
of J u d a i s m a n d the responsibility to p a y the temple tax as a p r o x y
for participation i n the Imperial C u l t was particularly critical at the
time of D o m i t i a n (3C 2.3.3.3).
Given therefore the D o m i t i a n i c b a c k g r o u n d of the Apocalypse, we
m u s t n o w ask w h a t specific features of the I m p e r i a l C u l t u n d e r
D o m i t i a n could have inspired such strong polemic from the Seer as
Apoc. 1 7 , 1 - 6 w h e r e the " W h o r e of Babylon d r u n k with the blood of
the saints a n d with the blood of the martyrs of J e s u s " i s described
i n such a lurid h u e . M o r e is clearly here implied t h a n simply a n
increase i n cultic building works such as the extension of the XEUEVO<;
of D i a n a at Ephesus associated with a n imperial t e m p l e . T o the
question of D o m i t i a n ' s reconceptualisation a n d reorganisation of the
cult we n o w turn.
5A 2. The Imperial Cult under Domitian
T h e clear d o c u m e n t a r y evidence for a c h a n g e i n the cultic position

of the e m p e r o r at the time of D o m i t i a n confirms this hypothesis.
G a i u s ' assumption of divine h o n o u r s i n his lifetime h a d been con
d e m n e d at R o m e , t h o u g h of course there h a d never b e e n any p r o b
lem i n the East a b o u t the theological justification for ruler worship.
Nevertheless Suetonius (Domit. 13,1-2) informs us that " w h e n he dic
tated a formal letter u n d e r the n a m e of his p r o c u r a t o r s he began:
" Y o u r L o r d a n d G o d [dominus et deus) orders this to be d o n e . In con
sequence i t b e c a m e the custom t h a t h e should be addressed i n n o
other way w h e t h e r i n writing or i n speech." In the same passage he
records t h a t D o m i t i a n , w h e n taking back his wife after their divorce,
14
Apoc. 2,9 and 3,9, cf. H e m e r (1986), p p . 4, 8 - 1 0 , 6 6 - 6 7 , 163, 1 7 5 - 1 7 6 .
170 CHAPTER FIVE
boasted that she h a d been s u m m o n e d back to "the divine couch (in

10
pulvinar)."
Let us firsdy consider literary evidence for D o m i t i a n ' s divine tides,
a n d then evidence for a c h a n g e in the ritual a n d by implication
underlying theology of the cult.
5A 2 . 1 . Domitian's divine titles: d o m i n u s , praesens deus, t o n a n s

T h o u g h Statius a p p e a r s not to use dominus as a divine title, Martial
clearly does. H e quotes a n edict regulating seating in the theatre
that begins edictum domini deique nostri (Epig. 5,5). Regarding the emperor's
breastplate, h e writes in addressing it t h a t it is domini lorica, a n d that
"you are h a p p y in y o u r lot (felix sorte tud) whose destiny is to clothe
the sacred breast (sacrum cui tangere pectus) a n d to feel the glow of the
h e a r t of o u r G o d (et nostri mente calere dei)" (7',2,2 a n d 5-6) Martial
particularly mentions h i m as the deus w h o erected the shrine of J u p i t e r
Capitolinus (13,74), w h o receives libations, a n d w h o grants the prayers
16
of his worshippers (6,87).
It would, I believe, be quite w r o n g to dismiss Martial's words as
of litde significance, as m e r e flattery. Statius too speaks of D o m i t i a n
in such terms as the forma dei praesens, or the proximus ilk deus (Statius,
Silvae I, 1,62; V , 2,70). N o r is the evidence for such a title in court
poets alone. D i o Chrysostom (Or. 45,1) records that D o m i t i a n was
called icopioq Kai Geoq by all Greeks a n d b a r b a r i a n s but t h a t h e him
self did not "flatter in this way (Kai T a u r a ou Gameucov)." T h i s implies
t h a t even at R o m e a n d not only in the East were some p r e p a r e d
to behave in this fashion.
T h e tide dominus in association with deus was a blatant abrogation
of the ideology of the principate that n o d o u b t offended the sena
torial class w h o h a d other reasons as well for resenting D o m i t i a n ' s
terror. Pliny certainly in Panegyricus 2 , 2 - 3 contrasts T r a j a n ' s rule with
t h a t of D o m i t i a n :
Allow therefore to make their exit and go their way (Quare abeant ac
recedant) those expressions which fear expressed (voces Mae quas metus
exprimebat). We do not have to speak as before, for we do not have to
suffer the things we suffered before. Public addresses regarding the
emperor shall not be the same (nec eadem de principe palam quae prius
15
Scott (1975), pp. 1 0 2 - 1 0 3 .
16
See also Martial Epig. 5,5; 7 , 5 , 1 - 6 ; 3 4 , 8 - 9 ; 8 , 2 , 6 - 7 ; 8 2 , 1 - 5 ; 9 , 2 8 , 7 - 8 ; 6 6 , 3 - 4 .
T h e s e and other passages are discussed in Scott (1975), p p . 1 0 4 - 1 0 9 .
praedicemus) since what we used to say before in secret is now also

different (neque enim eadem secreto quae prius loquimur). The change of the
times is revealed in our speeches (discernatur orationibus nostris diversitas
temporum). . . On no occasion (nusquam) should we flatter him as a god,
nowhere as a divine presence (ut deo, nusquam ut numini blandiamur); for
we are speaking not of a tyrant but of a citizen, not of a master but
of a father (non enim de tyranno sed de cive, non de domino sed de parente).
H e r e then we find related the ideas of worship of a n e m p e r o r d u r

ing his lifetime (as opposed to posthumously), a n d the idea of being
a dominus a n d tyrannus r a t h e r t h a n princeps or first civis, with D o m i t i a n
by contrast with T r a j a n having b e e n responsible for b o t h .
As it has b e c o m e something of a c o m m o n p l a c e that there was n o
theological significance to such descriptions that were b u t expressions
of flatterers, we must n o w consider evidence to the contrary.
5A 2.2. Theological significance of Domitian's changes

T h e existence of such a theological justification constitutes cogent
evidence against those w h o dismiss with scepticism the claim that
D o m i t i a n believed himself to be divine a n d accepted divine h o n o u r s .
As p a r t of the ideological a p p a r a t u s that m a d e the autocracy that
was the principate acceptable was the refusal of m o n a r c h i c a l tides
such as dominus or rex. Augustus veiled his autocracy b e h i n d quite
e m p t y republican forms. But in reality he a n d his successors knew
they possessed m o n a r c h i c a l power. Likewise Augustus was circum
spect in accepting cult from the Eastern G r e e k city states. But as
we have seen (2B 2), the Lares Compitales, a m o n g s t w h o m Augustus
was depicted, belied any notion t h a t his refusal of present divinity
was straightforward. F u r t h e r m o r e , the association of various cults of
divinised abstract qualities or virtues with the collective person of
the e m p e r o r also was indicative of a certain insincerity in rejecting
divine titles (2B 3).
Indications therefore that D o m i t i a n only earlier in his reign refused
the tide of dominus, but c h a n g e d his m i n d later must b e interpreted
17
with c a u t i o n . I n d e e d , it m a y b e asked w h y if, as is universally
admitted, e m p e r o r s were insincere a b o u t refusing political titles that
17
Scott (1975), p p . 1 0 2 - 1 0 3 proposed such a thesis in order to take seriously
D o m i t i a n ' s allegedly later claim apparently belied by his earlier o n e . But Scott
admits that Statius Silvae I, 6 , 8 3 - 8 4 o n w h i c h his thesis rests is undated and can
only therefore be dated earlier ex hypothesi.
172 CHAPTER FIVE
identified t h e m with autocratic power, they should be r e g a r d e d as

perfecdy sincere in rejecting worship until they were d e a d . T h e r e
was as studious a n a m b i g u i t y a b o u t religious titles as t h e r e was
a b o u t political ones. T h e ideology of the principate was designed to
m a k e impossible an either-or challenge to its claims of either the form
18
"are you divine or h u m a n " or of "are you a dominus or a princeps?"
W e have witnessed the assimilation of the cult of Virtues to the
Imperial Cult as forming a kind of collective personality w o r n by
the deceased e m p e r o r s as e m b o d y i n g the well-being of the R o m a n
e m p i r e . Even in late republican times w h a t were originally divine
qualities of the R o m a n people b e c a m e associated with specific per
sons such as P o m p e y or Sulla, a n d were conceived as only granted
t h r o u g h the mediation of these rulers (2B 3). Such theological devel
o p m e n t s enabled a synthetic solution to the logical p r o b l e m of h o w
Augustus a n d his successors, as Pontifex Maximus of the Imperial Cult,
could also b e the object of its worship (2A 5).
It is therefore questionable to e n d e a v o u r to down-play the role of
the Imperial Cult in C h u r c h - s t a t e relations on the g r o u n d s that the
m a i n charge against the early Christians was that they refused to
worship the gods of the state r a t h e r t h a n the e m p e r o r , t h a t the
e m p e r o r was merely divus as opposed to deus, a n d t h a t swearing by
the genius of C a e s a r was s o m e h o w to b e a softer alternative as a
m a r k of loyalty to the state as opposed to full participation in its
19
p o l y t h e i s m . Such w o u l d imply that the description of the living
e m p e r o r as divus, a n d of the act of incense-sacrifice to his EIKCOV,
belonged to a separate, political discourse from that of religious wor
ship of the gods. But b o t h kinds of discourse exhibited a growing
confluence a n d i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e between themselves, particularly in
the case of the assimilation of the cult of Virtues with the e m p e r o r ' s
18
T h u s I find quite facile J o n e s (1993), pp. 1 0 8 - 1 0 9 where he describes the claim
that D o m i t i a n was so addressed as "all but incredible. T h e best that a n emperor
could expect after death was to be declared a divus and never a deus . . . a living
o n e h a d to d o with even less . . . terms used by flatterers such as Martial, Statius,
Juventius, Celsus (or Pliny) to secure a favour from an autocrat hardly constitute
p r o o f that they were instructed or required to use t h e m . . . D o m i t i a n was both
intelligent and c o m m i t t e d to the traditional religion. H e obviously k n e w that he
was not a G o d , and whilst he did not ask or d e m a n d to b e addressed as o n e , he
did not actively discourage the few flatterers w h o did."
19
G . E . M . D e Ste. Croix , W h y were the early Christians persecuted? in Past and
Present, 26 (1963), p. 10; S.R.F. Price, Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in
Asia Minor, (Cambridge: U . P . 1984), p p . 2 2 1 - 2 2 2 .
corporate personality. W e shall argue that certain traditional sacer

dotal functions a d o p t e d by D o m i t i a n a s s u m e a n e w significance
against these developments in the conceptual backcloth of the Imperial
Cult at the centre of which was the tide dominus et deus.
D o m i t i a n m a d e a serious claim for himself as a living, reigning
e m p e r o r to be deus a n d not simply divus. Pliny's insistence of a particu
lar emphasis by D o m i t i a n o n his status as a deus praesens is indicative
of a n emphasis on the Imperial Cult centred on a living reigning e m
p e r o r that was, a p a r t from Gaius, almost u n i q u e to t h a t reign. C e r
tainly both Martial and Statius move beyond the traditional comparison
of the e m p e r o r with J u p i t e r to claiming identity between the two.
5A 2.2.1. Jovian ideology and Domitian's changes in the cult

Virgil Aeneid 1,257-296 a n d 6 , 7 9 1 - 8 0 7 h a d described Augustus as
chosen by J u p i t e r for R o m e ' s imperium sine fine a n d the saeculum aureum.
H o r a c e ' s description of Augustus as soter delapsus ex caelo nevertheless
preserves the distinction between the elect e m p e r o r a n d the s u p r e m e
god himself (Odes I, 2 , 2 9 - 3 0 ; 4 1 - 5 2 ) . Ode 3,5 describes Augustus like
D o m i t i a n as soon to be a praesens divus on e a r t h in t a n d e m with caelo
tonantem . . . Iovem w h o therefore by contrast reigns in heaven. Never
theless there is even in such a close c o m p a r i s o n n o real equivalence.
Similarly Ovid, in Metamorphoses 1 5 , 8 5 8 - 8 7 0 , contrasts the heavenly
J u p i t e r with the terra sub Augusto, with b o t h described as pater et rec
tor. But even in Tristia 5, 2 , 4 7 - 4 8 , w h e r e Augustus is e q u a t e d with
20
J u p i t e r , there is nevertheless the qualification of J u p i t e r on e a r t h .
But in the case of D o m i t i a n there is clearly a failure to preserve
the nicety of this distinction which Pliny (Panegyr. 80) is to reassert
in the case of T r a j a n . M a r t i a l (Epig. 4, 8,12; 9, 8 6 , 7 - 8 ) equates
D o m i t i a n with J u p i t e r . In Statius Silvae. I V , 3 , 1 2 8 - 1 2 9 D o m i t i a n
stands as J u p i t e r ' s vicegerent on e a r t h . But t h a t D o m i t i a n chose
apparently to celebrate uniquely this status iconographically on coins
that depict h i m as J u p i t e r holding a t h u n d e r b o l t a n d c r o w n e d by
victory suggests that Martial's equations w e n t b e y o n d flattery a n d
21 22
represented a critical d e v e l o p m e n t in imperial ideology. Praeses
2 0
Fears (1977), p p . 1 2 3 - 1 2 9 .
21
BMC 2 p. 77 n o . 381 cf. Fears (1977), p p . 1 3 4 - 1 3 5 .
2 2
Martial, Epig. 5, 3,3 (praeses mundi); 7,4 (praeses Romae); 6, 2,5; 8, 8 0 , 5 ; 9, 18,1
(te praeside); Statius, Sib). I, 2 , 1 7 5 (praeses Ausonius); III, 3 , 1 8 3 184 (numina magni prae-
sidis); 5, 2 , 1 7 6 (magnus praeses).
174 CHAPTER FIVE
2
pater * a n d parens?* used generally of gods, are applied to D o m i t i a n
as the Ausonian J u p i t e r , as also is the t h e m e of Juppiter tonansP
Given therefore that such new conclusions were being d r a w n from
the ideological premisses of the Imperial Cult on the p a r t of court
poets such as Martial a n d Statius, a n d subjected to critical c o m m e n t s
by Pliny a n d Suetonius, we must n o w ask w h a t evidence there is for
such tentative developments being represented in the ritual of the
Imperial C u l t itself, a n d thus with w h a t the writer of the Apocalypse
was to find himself in direct conflict.
5A 2.2.2. Domitian's changes in ritual

In A . D . 69 D o m i t i a n raised at R o m e a shrine to Iuppiter Conservator
a n d also restored the temple of Iuppiter Capitolinus. Pliny's words to
T r a j a n help us to assess the significance of that shrine:
With like reverence (simili reverentia), Caesar, you allow thanksgiving for
your benevolence to be rendered, not in the presence of your genius
(non apud genium tuum), but in the presence of the godhead of Jupiter
the best and greatest (sed apud numen Iovis optimi maximi pateris) . . . Yet
previously vast herds of sacrificial victims (ante quidem ingentes hostiarum
greges), stopped for the most part on the way to the Capitoline (per
Capitolinum iter magna sui parte velut intercepti) and were compelled to turn
from the road (devertere via cogebantur) since the fearful image of the most
cruel of tyrants (cum saevissimi domini atrocissima effigies) would be offered
worship with as much the blood of sacrifices (tanto victimarum cruore cole-
retur) as of human blood that he was accustomed to shed (quantum ipse
humani sanguinis prqfundebat).
Panegyricus 52,6-7
Pliny clearly implies a confusion between the genius of D o m i t i a n a n d

the numen of J u p i t e r that he claims that T r a j a n h a d clarified. As a
result, there h a d been sacrifices at D o m i t i a n ' s statue, m e n t i o n e d in
Statius Silvae 1,1, a n d set u p in A . D . 89 at the west e n d of the
forum.
2 3
Martial, Epig. 9, 8,6 (Ausonius pater); Statius, Silv. I, 4 , 9 5 (Latiae pater inclitus
urbis); III, 4 , 4 8 (pater inclitus orbis); IV, 8 , 2 0 (Ausoniae pater augustissimus urbis); V , 1,167
(pater).
2 4
Statius, Silv. I, 2 , 1 7 8 (parens Latius); IV, 3 , 1 0 8 (Romanus parens); IV, 1,17 (mag-
nus parens mundi); 2 , 1 4 - 1 5 (regnator terrarum orbisque subacti magnus parens); V I I , 7,5 (sum-
mus mundi rector et parens orbis); I X , 6,1 (parens orbis).
2 5
Martial, Epig. 6, 10,9 ( [ M i n e r v a ] nostri... conscia virgo tonantis); 7, 5 6 (nos-
tro . . . tonante); 14, 1,2 (decent nostrum pillea sumpta Iovem); 9, 1 8 , 7 - 8 (Iovis imber). For
a fuller discussion of these passages (including footnotes 3 6 - 3 8 ) see Scott (1975), pp.
133-140.
I n d e e d , as B o m e r pointed out, it is with D o m i t i a n that we find

inscriptional evidence for the oath by the "genius of C a e s a r " that,
in its c o n t i n u a n c e u n d e r T r a j a n , belies Pliny's hopes that such ven
eration has e n d e d . U n d e r Augustus the formula for a n oath from
Paphlagonia was to Zet><;, rfj "Kkxoq, 0eoi Tcdvieq Kai rcaoai Kai auxoq
6 lePaaxoq. In Caligula's time we find from Aritium in Spain a n d
Assos in T r o a s b o t h Latin a n d G r e e k versions of a n oath in the
n a m e of divus Augustus et ceteri omnes di immortales/'Zeuq Icoxrip, 6e6<;
K a i o a p l e p a a x o q Kai x\ ftdxpioq ayvri IlapGevoq. But with D o m i t i a n we
find per lovem et divom Augustum et divom Claudium et divom Vespasianum
Augustum et divom Titum Augustum et Genium imperatoris Domitiani Augusti
2
deosque Penates. ** H e r e we a p p e a r to witness a transcendence of a m e r e
contingent association of divine beings by m e a n s of a coalescing of
D o m i t i a n ' s personal genius with the collective genius of m e m b e r s of
the Imperial Cult a n d the numen b o t h of J u p i t e r a n d the dei Penates.
It is in connection with J u p i t e r Capitolinus that we have some
indication of ritual developments in the imperial ideology that these
inscriptions illuminate. Suetonius recounts the scene a c c o m p a n y i n g
the institution of quinquennial contests for this cult, consisting of music,
horse-riding, a n d gymnastics:
He presided at the contest (certamini praesedit) in half-boots (crepidatus)

clothed in a Grecian toga of purple (amictus toga Graecanica), sporting
on his head (capite gestans) a golden crown with an image of Jupiter,
J u n o and Minerva (coronam auream cum effigie Iovis ac Iunonis Minervaeque),
assisted by a priest of Jupiter (adsidentibus Diali sacerdote) and the col
lege of the Flaviales (et collegio Flavialium) similarly dressed (pari habitu),
except that his image was also on their crowns (nisi quod illorum coronis
inerat et ipsius imago).
Domitian 4,4
W e see in the corona aurea with its effigies a claim to represent espe
cially a n d sacramentally J u p i t e r , J u n o , a n d M i n e r v a o n the p a r t of
the high priest of the Capitoline games. It m a y be said therefore
that propitiation is per lovem et Iunonem et Minervam, as well as per
genium Domitiani with w h o m a n d t h r o u g h w h o m , as it were, Domitian,
dominus et deus, is propitious. Such archieratic coronae were customary
in the East. But I submit that the introduction of the e m p e r o r ' s
26
CIL 2 , 1 7 2 a n d 1963 cf. F. Bomer, D e r Eid beim Genius des Kaisers, in Athen
4 4 (1966), pp. 123 124.
176 CHAPTER FIVE
image onto the coronae of other priests implies a n e w stage of devel

o p m e n t of the collectivist imperialist ideology. T h e a c c o m p a n y i n g
collegium Flavialium were pari habitu with D o m i t i a n , b u t the addition
of his image to their coronae singled h i m out (nisi quod illorum coronis
inerat et ipsius imago) a n d a w a r d e d him a n e w status. Suetonius was
sufflciendy impressed with the novelty of this event as to give it spe
cial emphasis.
In order to reinforce the notion that the sacrificial acts of other
pontifices are b o t h subject a n d d e p e n d e n t on his own, a n d t h a t he is
the equal source of the propitiation effected by their acts, they w e a r
on their crowns both Domitian's image a n d the image of these deities
as well with w h o m D o m i t i a n is thus declared to b e equal. T h u s such
a collective c o m p r e h e n s i o n of the deified Caesars in the person of
the Genius of D o m i t i a n that we saw in the changes in the o a t h u n d e r
21
D o m i t i a n is also reflected in the imagery of the corona aurea. It must
be e m p h a s i s e d that w e are dealing h e r e with n o idiosyncrasy of
D o m i t i a n in connection with the cult of J u p i t e r Capitolinus at R o m e
alone. Even in the West, as Tertullian bears witness (De Idol 18,1),
along with p a g a n , African a n d D a c i a n inscriptions (CIL 3,1433 a n d
8,17896), provincial priests of the Imperial Cult wore the corona aurea
b e a r i n g the image of the e m p e r o r . In the East it h a d been c o m m o n
in Hellenistic ruler cults, for example, in the case of the priestess of
Laodicea, as we learn from a n edict of Antiochus III (204 B.C.)
28
w h e r e a golden crown b e a r i n g the likeness of the q u e e n was w o r n .
W e have fragments of crowns themselves, a n d representations on
29
coins which reveal a n u m b e r of depictions of e m p e r o r s . T h e r e is
therefore arguably u n d e r D o m i t i a n to b e detected a theology of rep
resentation t h a t postulated the equation of the genius of C a e s a r with
the numen of divinity.
At all events in the East, in the province of Asia M i n o r , ruler
worship progressed with its ordinary normality. At Ephesus D o m i t i a n
erected a temple in the centre of a large precinct set on o n e side
of the m a i n square. O n the adjacent side of that square stood a
2 7
A. Alfbldi, Die Monarchische Representation im rbmischen Kaiserreiche, (Darmstadt:
Wissenschafliche Buchgesellschaft 1970), p. 7 4 and footnote 1, where he criticizes
M o m m s e n ' s "Auffassung v o n der Belanglosigkeit des Kaiserkultes im Staatsrecht der
fruheren Kaiserzeit."
2 8
D . Fishwick, T h e Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult o f
the Western Province o f the R o m a n Empire, in EPRO 108 (1991), 2,1 p p . 4 7 7 - 4 7 8 .
2<
> Ibid. p. 4 7 7 and Plate L X X X V b and L X X X V I a and b.
double temple of Roma a n d Julius Caesar, a n d at its centre a tem

ple of Augustus. Along that adjacent side r a n also the oxod paaiA,ncr|
30
dedicated to Artemis, Augustus a n d T i b e r i u s .
T h e erection of a temple to D o m i t i a n here reflected therefore b o t h
a reinforcement of the Imperial Cult t h r o u g h this e m p e r o r w h o is
thus associated with b o t h Augustus a n d Artemis. D o m i t i a n ' s statue
31
is constructed in particularly large p r o p o r t i o n s . I n d e e d we can r e a d
in these architectural developments the development of the Imperial
Cult itself, first with the association of the abstraction of Roma with
Julius C a e s a r a n d thus its further personification in the collective
personality of the e m p e r o r . W e see also a n integration of the tradi
tion worship of Artemis with the patriotic a n d imperial emotions
associated with the Imperial Cult.
Given therefore clear examples of changes in the ideology of the
Imperial Cult accomplished u n d e r D o m i t i a n , let us e x a m i n e the way
in which those changes are reflected in the Apocalypse.
PART B . T H E DOMITIANIC BACKCLOTH TO THE APOCALYPSE
W e discussed earlier the imagery derived specifically from the Imperial

Cult in connection with the D o m i t i a n i c dating of the Apocalypse, in
particular b o t h the figure of D o m i t i a , a n d specific features of h o w
D o m i t i a n was represented in the Imperial C u l t (5A 1). O u r discus
sion h e r e will b e in two parts. W e will summarise (5B 1) basically
the position of R a m s a y a n d H e m e r , which we generally accept, on
the reflections of the Imperial Cult specifically in the letters to the
C h u r c h e s (Apoc. 2 , 9 - 3 , 2 2 ) . W e will then show (5B 2) that similar
themes continue in the text of the Apocalypse outside the letters to
the seven churches, from c h a p t e r 4 onwards, particularly in the songs
of the elders a n d living creatures. H e r e the heavenly cultus a r o u n d
the t h r o n e of G o d a n d of the L a m b reflects images of the Imperial
Cult in a way that c o m p l e m e n t s similar imagery in the letters to the
seven churches.
Price (1984), p. 139 fig. 3 a n d 140.

Ibid. p. 187.
178 CHAPTER FIVE
5B 1. Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia
It is from R a m s a y a n d H e m e r ' s analysis of the letters that m y thesis

regarding the applicability of the sociological concept of contra-culture
to the d e v e l o p m e n t of O r d e r in early Christian communities finds
its strongest support. Indeed, it will be m y a r g u m e n t that their the
sis should b e extended to cover the themes of the Apocalypse itself
outside of the letters. T h e r e is a strong parallel between the partic
ular p a g a n cultus that existed in the local setting of the letters in
the context of particular cities, a n d the eschatological promises that
are m a d e to the believer that resists that cultus. H e m e r ' s account
will therefore be shown to support the notion that those c o m m u n i
ties were forming a contra-culture in which the status denied by
their rejection of the host-culture assumes the proportions of a highly
organised complex of reversed images.
Let us now, therefore list the features of the local setting of the
letters, a n d the contra-cultural o r d e r at the phenomenological level
of social reality, to which they give rise.
5B 1.1. A p o c . 2,6 7iapd8eioo<; and the tfiXov xfjc; £cofi<;

T h e o v e r c o m e r (xa> VIKCOVII) is to eat (cpayeiv) of the tree of life (eic
TOU £uta)u xfjq ^cofjq) which is in the paradise of G o d (o eaxiv ev T£>
rcapaSeiacp xou 0eou).
These expressions are characteristic of Gen. 2,9 a n d derived literature.
H o w e v e r in that passage the m o r e usual t e r m 8ev8pov is used. £,x>Xov
can have t h a t sense, t h o u g h in the N e w T e s t a m e n t it is the cross
of Christ to which the term usually refers (Acts 5,30; 10,39; 13,29;
Gal. 3,13; 1 Pet. 2,24). M o r e o v e r this expression for the cross is also
to be found elsewhere in the Apocalypse a p a r t from this letter: the
cross as the tree of life is to be found b e a r i n g healing a n d salvific
fruit (22,2; 14; 19).
U n d o u b t e d l y b o t h of these terms have a n O l d T e s t a m e n t a n d
early Christian b a c k g r o u n d b u t their m e a n i n g s are totally unrelated
to each other. W h y should the gibbet of the cross be likened to the
tree in paradise? H e m e r ' s a r g u m e n t is that it is the particular local
geographical a n d architectural e n v i r o n m e n t at Ephesus that brings
these two distinct images into their present relationship.
T h e T e m p l e of Artemis a n d its cultus at Ephesus grew out of
w h a t was originally a tree shrine, as can be established by the lit
erary allusions of Callimachus a n d Periegetes, a n d the excavations
32
of H o g a r t h . W e have already seen h o w the xejievoq or garden-like
enclosure, in which the tree of Artemis stood, constituted an asylum
refuge for criminals. T h i s description seems to have m a d e reference
to the scandalous state of affairs addressed there by D o m i t i a n (5A 1).
But this did not prevent a n erection of a temple to D o m i t i a n there
and, m o r e particularly, the association on coins of the cult of Domitian
with t h a t of Artemis. S o m e coins depict an imperial temple on either
side of the Artemesion, with depictions of n a k e d statues of e m p e r o r s
33
resting on their sceptres. H e r e therefore the cross as the tree of
life in t h e p a r a d i s e of G o d is c o n t r a s t e d with the tree-shrine of
Artemis to which criminals flee for life a n d safety. But that cultus
is u n d e r g o i n g a process of association with the Imperial Cult in the
developing iconography.
In the N e w J e r u s a l e m there is n o p a r t for "the sacrilegious (xoiq
eP8eta)Yuivoi<;): the m u r d e r e r s ((poveuoiv), the harlots (nopvoiq), the
magicians (tyapuaKoiq), a n d the idolaters (ei8cota)Axxxpai<;; Apoc. 2 1 , 7 - 8 ) "
are excluded, just as Apollonius of T y a n a (Ep. 65) had "blamed (neujixoi
8e) those w h o dwelt with the goddess (OUVOIKOI zf\ 9ea>). . . from w h e r e
(n OUK av) thief (6 Kînm,*;), r o b b e r (xe Kai Xr\aTr\q), slave dealer (dvSpoc-
Kobicxr\q), a n d every kind of (Kai naq ex xiq) law b r e a k e r a n d temple-
r o b b e r (6C8IKO<; TI itpocvXoq) issued forth (TJV 6p|icbu£vo<; auxoBev)." T h e
J u d a i c a n d early Christian use of these terms provide therefore the raw
materials for the construction of the imagery, b u t the m a t r i x which
draws t h e m into their n e w relations is to be found in the p a g a n cul
tic b a c k g r o u n d , a n d m o r e o v e r a p a g a n cultic b a c k g r o u n d that is in
creasingly synthesised with the Imperial Cult. Ephesus was to boast
that it was "twice n e o k o r o s " w h e n the provincial temple of D o m i t i a n
a c q u i r e d an official with this prestigious title for which there was
34
competition equal to that of obtaining permission for the cult itself.
5B 1.2. A p o c . 2,10-11 axecpavoq xfjq £cofj<;

W e have already m a d e reference to the description of the magistrate-
35
priests of S m y r n a as oxe(pavr|(p6poi. F u r t h e r m o r e , we have suggested
3 2
H e m e r (1986), p p . 4 4 - 4 7 .
3 3
Price (1984), p. 183 a n d Plate 3 C .
3 4
Price (1984), p p . 6 4 - 6 5 footnote 4 7 . See also S.J. Friesen, T w i c e Neokoros:
Ephesus, Asia a n d the Cult o f the Flavian Imperial Family, in Religions in the Graeco-
Roman World, 116 (1993).
3 5
H e m e r (1986), pp. 7 2 - 7 4 ff. does not support such an interpretation w h i c h he
found represented in, for e x a m p l e , W . M . Ramsay, Art in Hastings Dictionary of the
Bible, I V 5 5 5 .
180 CHAPTER FIVE
that it was u n d e r D o m i t i a n that the signification of the iconography

of that cultus was m o r e sharply defined with the intention of inte
grating further disparate elements of the p a g a n cultus into a general
w e b at the centre of which was the e m p e r o r a n d his worship. W e
saw that the archieratic a r r a n g e m e n t s for the Capitoline games a n d
the coronae was an important example of such integrating developments
(5A 2.2.2). T h e r e was m o r e o v e r at S m y r n a a temple of the Imperial
Cult that h a d been dedicated to Tiberius, Livia a n d the Senate, a n d
in w h i c h a cult-statue depicts T i b e r i u s in a toga a n d veiled for
36
sacrifice. In his h a n d he holds a patera over the a l t a r . W e shall
argue in the next section the association of this symbolism a n d the
angels with their ipidtaxi (Apoc. 5,8; 15,7; 1 6 , 1 - 1 7 ; 17,1; a n d 21,9).
5B 1.3. A p o c . 2,13; 17: Gpovoq xou locxava, udvva KeKpuujjivov,

yfjcpoq Xeuicri
P e r g a m o n h a d a position of p r e - e m i n e n c e in the I m p e r i a l C u l t
although its precise status in c o m p a r i s o n with that of Ephesus has
p r o v e n difficult to d e t e r m i n e . Tiberius defended himself before the
Senate for allowing his cult in Pergamon on the grounds that Augustus
3 7
h a d allowed there a T e m p l e to himself a n d R o m a . Furthermore,
there is evidence of a n assimilation of the Imperial Cult with that
of Asklepius, p o r t r a y e d with a serpent evocative of the Satanic in
38
the eyes of the Seer (Apoc. 20,2: 6 ocpiq 6 dp%ocio<;, oq eoxiv Aid(}oAo<;).
In a n inscription from Cos, Asklepius is described as the Pergameus
39
deus a n d ocoxrip.
5B 1.3.1. Gpovoq xou Iccxocva

W e have a J u l i o - C l a u d i a n inscription from P e r g a m o n which h o n
40
ours Demetrios M i l a t u s . This text is highly instructive for the way
in which images a n d ritual of Asclepius a n d of the Imperial Cult
3fi
Price (1984), p. 185 a n d Tacitus, Annal. X V , 5 5 - 5 6 .
7
* Tacitus Annal. IV,37: ". . . Hispania ulterior missis ad senatum legatis oravit,
ut e x e m p l o Asiae delubrum Tiberio matrique eius exstrueret. . . Caesar . . . respon
d e n d u m ratus iis . . . huiusce modi orationem coepit: . . . Asiae civitatibus nuper
idem istud petentibus n o n sim adversatus . . . c u m divus Augustus sibi atque urbi
R o m a e t e m p l u m apud P e r g a m u m sisti n o n prohibuisset."; cf. D i o Cassius 5 1 , 2 0 , 7 .
3 8
C . Habicht, Altertiimer von Pergamon, VIII, 3: D i e Inschriften des Asklepieions,
(Berlin: D e Gruyter 1969), no. 7 1 : 'AOKA.TI7UO> Icoxfjpi K A I 'Yyia xov 5e£io\>uevov
Spmcovxa; Taf. 3 2 , 160b.
m
IGRR 4, 1053 and Martial, Epig. 9,16; Philostratus, Vit. Apol. 4,34; Statius,
Silvae III, 4 , 2 3 - 2 4 cf. H e m e r (1986), p p . 8 5 - 8 6 .
4 0
Habicht (1969) no. 36.
were not only in spatial a p p r o x i m a t i o n b u t in a high state of syn

thesis. Demetrios is "high priest for life of the Pietas Augustorum (iepe[a]
ifj^xcbv I[e-] [paa]xcov Euajejpdac; 8 i a pi[ou]), w h o has founded a fes
tival of Sebastoi Saviours within the temple of the Saviour Asclepios
([lcJaBeupovTa rcavfiyupiv e[v] [TCO] xou Icoipipjoq 'AGKXrpt[iou] [xejuivei
41
lepaaxcov Icoi[r|-] [pco]v)." T h e cult of the e m p e r o r a n d the cult of
Asklepios are not simply associated spatially within the same t e m
ple. T h e same divine titles (acoirip a n d acoifipeq) are applied to b o t h
of t h e m . T h e reference to the Gpovoq TOU l a x a v a fits well therefore
with the context of the pre-eminence of the Imperial Cult in Pergamon.
T h e choir of Asia was c o m m a n d e d to g a t h e r at P e r g a m o n to per
form on the b i r t h d a y of "Sebastos Tiberius C a e s a r g o d " a n d to per
42
form sacrifices.
F u r t h e r m o r e , the reference (Apoc. 2,13) to "Antipas m y faithful
m a r t y r ('Avxucaq 6 uxxpxix; uo\) 6 moxoq uoi)) w h o was slain a m o n g you
(oq d7C£Kxdv&ri nap ' uuiv) w h e r e Satan dwells (pnov 6 locxocvaq KOCXOIKEI)"
is indicative of persecution specifically in connection with that cult.
T h e contrast b e t w e e n Christ's c o m i n g a n d his promise: "I will m a k e
w a r with t h e m with the sword of m y m o u t h " suggests a c o n t r a -
43
cultural parallel with the ius gladii of the pro-consul of A s i a . As one
of the leading centres of the Imperial Cult in Asia M i n o r , P e r g a m o n
would have b e e n the most likely place w h e r e non-participation in
the cult would have exposed Christians to the Dionysiac charges,
a n d w h e r e offence to the ideology of the C o m m u n e of Asia could
be most sensitively felt.
In this p a g a n , cultic context the "teaching of B a l a a m " (2,14) can
n o w b e considered, which, it is claimed, involves the eating of idol
atrous food ((payeiv eiScoAoGuxa) a n d committing fornication (rcopveuaou).
T h e latter charge is characteristic of O l d T e s t a m e n t polemic against
idolatry but the former is a distinctive characteristic of N e w T e s t a m e n t
gentile or mixed Christian communities, as Acts 15,20 a n d 1 Cor. 8,1-6
makes clear.
N o t e however h o w at P e r g a m o n collegia a n d their festivities were
related to the Imperial Cult. It is in c o m p a r i s o n with such festivities
that b o t h the udvvcc K £ K p \ ) j L i p e v o v a n d the \|/fj(po<; XEVKI] are, I will argue,
to be u n d e r s t o o d .
41
Ibid. p. 81 taf. 13, lines 4 - 9 .
42
IGRR 4, 1608c a n d Price (1984), p. 105.
4 3
H e m e r (1986), pp. 8 2 8 4 .
182 CHAPTER FIVE
5B 1.3.2. udvva K£Kp\)U|ievov

H e m e r was right, I believe, to see in the udvva KeKpuuuivov the M a n n a
in the wilderness a portion of which was preserved in the Ark of
the C o v e n a n t a n d either hidden o n earth in Sinai until the Messianic
kingdom when J e r e m i a h redivivus would place them in the new T e m p l e
(2 Mace. 2 , 4 - 7 cf. Heb. 9,4 a n d R a b b i Y o m a 52b), or concealed in
heaven by a n angel (2 Baruch 6,7-10). T h u s according to the latter
view the "food of angels" (Ps. 78,25) would be the food of the saints
44
in the Messianic kingdom (2 Baruch 29,8; Sybilline Oracles 7,148—149).
But such J e w i s h parallels d o not preclude, as we have argued, ref
erences to the Imperial Cult as the template in which such Jewish
imagery was refashioned.
T h e r e is in addition in this passage a parallel between the meals
of the mystery cults with which sacrifices were associated, a n d the
Imperial Cult: the " h i d d e n m a n n a " of the O l d T e s t a m e n t a n d R a b
binic a n d J e w i s h apocalyptic (the Messianic Banquet) is b e c o m i n g
associated with the b a n q u e t of the imperial mysteries. W e shall be
considering shortly, in greater detail, epigraphical evidence for the
imperial mysteries (IGRR 4,353) in which oivoq, apxoq, a n d rcorcavov
(or sacred cake) are m e n t i o n e d (c. 4 - 7 ) in the list of practical require
ments for such rites. T h e a u t h o r focuses o n the Eucharist as the true
mystery, the fulfilment of the " M a n n a in the wilderness" (Jn. 6,48-50),
but seeks to construct such imagery once again in the matrix of the
developing imperial ideology. T h o s e w h o in faith refuse the oivoq,
apxoq, a n d T c o n a v o v of the imperial mysteries will have a place at
the marriage supper of the L a m b (Apoc. 19,9). W e are seeing once
again the construction of a c o n t r a cultural edifice from the building
bricks of J e w i s h tradition. T h e related i m a g e of the white stone
(\|/fjcpoq A,euicr|) is however derived from a p a g a n b a c k g r o u n d .
5B 1.3.3. \|/fj(po<; A,e\)icf|

O n e partial reference here must u n d o u b t e d l y be, as H e m e r argues,
to the pebble cast by j u r o r s into a n urn in order to vote for acquittal,
or p e r h a p s m o r e accurately with voting p r o c e d u r e s to r e a c h any
45
decision. T h e r e is therefore arguably here a n eschatological reference
to those persecuted a n d c o n d e m n e d in p a g a n courts, or indeed u n d e r
general decrees passed by the K o i n o n of Asia a n d u n d e r which they
4 4
H e m e r (1986), p. 9 5 .
4 5
O v i d , Metam. 1 5 , 4 1 - 4 1 1 ; Plutarch, Alcib. 2 2 , 2 and Moral, p. 186F; Aeschyles,
Eumen. 7 3 7 - 7 5 6 and H e m e r (1986), p. 9 7 .
suffered. T h o s e addressed will be acquitted finally by Christ at his

coming, or given a place in his kingdom denied by their present rulers.
But xj/ficpoq can also, I believe, have the m e a n i n g of tessera as a
certificate of admission to a n d the custom of hospitality b e t w e e n
m e m b e r s of p a g a n mystery cults. It is i m p o r t a n t to b e a r in m i n d
that a n inscribed v|/f|(po<; can have the m e a n i n g of certificate of admis
sion. But here if it is to have this sense we m u s t also explain w h y if
the \|/f|(pO(; X,euicr| is a certificate of admission, it has to have written
on it the person's n a m e which strangely only the b e a r e r knows (Apoc.
2,17: enx xf]v yiicpov 6vo|Lia KOUVOV yeypa^jaevov o ou8ei<; oiSev ei uri 6
A,a|!pdvcov).
W e have a n inscription r e c o r d i n g the articles of association of the
GUGTTIUXX or auve8piov of the rcpeopuxepoi or yepouoia t h a t adminis
46
tered the g y m n a s i u m at P e r g a m o n in the time of H a d r i a n . A priv
47
ilege of m e m b e r s h i p was a r e d u c t e d e n t r a n c e fee for their s o n s .
T h e e n t r a n c e fee is called a n eiorjMoiov which implies a tessera or
vjffjcpoq issued for the fee.
In a n inscription relating to the imperial mysteries at P e r g a m o n ,
we find that the c o n d u c t o r of the choir is to charge a n entry fee
48
for the imperial sacrifices a n d mystery p l a y . F u r t h e r c o r r o b o r a t i o n
of a n eioriMoiov in connection with Dionysiac mysteries at S m y r n a ,
at the temple of Dionysus Brisaeus, is to b e found in CIG 3 1 7 3
(= IGRR 4, 1393), d a t e d A . D . 80 in D o m i t i a n ' s reign. In line 15 a
list of persons are introduced as: oi7te7tAr|pcoK6xe<;xa i a n M a i a . Amongst
the n a m e s listed a r e A r t e m i d o r u s a n d Apollonius b o t h of w h o m are
called 7iaxpo|Lit>oxr|<;. O n side b of the c o l u m n we find a letter of
M a r c u s Aurelius written (A.D. 158): ouvoSco xcov 7 i e p i xov Bpeioea
49
Aiovuoov xaipeiv. In IGRR 4, 1400 (= CIG 3176 b) line 9 - 1 0 we
have a letter of A n t o n i n u s Pius ouv68cp xcov ev I|nt>pvTi xe/veixcov Kai
| L i u a x c o v xaipeiv. T h u s the eiorjMotov specifically in connection with
entry into the liturgy of a mystery celebration also implies a tessera
or xj/ricpoq.
46
H . H e p d i n g , D i e Arbeiten zu P e r g a m o n , 1 9 0 4 - 1 9 0 5 , in Ath. Mitt. 32 (1907),
pp. 2 9 3 4 - 2 9 6 , n o . 18. See also M . N . T o d , N o t e s o n s o m e inscriptions from Asia
Minor, in CR 29,1 (1915), p p . 1-2.
47
ouoicx; 5e eiaepxeo~9ai xoix; vioix; xcov uexexovxcov, 8oKiuao9evxa<; U E V Kai CMJXOVX;,
5i86vxa<; 8e e i a r i M a i o v .
48
IGRR 4, 3 5 3 d line 14: 'IOTIAAKJIO-U rcapeêi 6 KaxaoxaGeiq i)uvcp86<; ei<; Bvalaq
xov lePaoxoi) Kai xi\q Tcburiq . . .
49
IGRR 4, 1399 (= CIG 3 1 7 6 a) line 5 - 6 .
184 CHAPTER FIVE
But h o w a r e we to explain w h y on this entry ticket is not a price

but a 6vo|ia m i v o v u n d e r s t o o d only by its bearer? W e possess a n u m
ber of inscriptions in which \|/il(po<; m e a n s &pi0uo<; a n d is used in a
magical or mystery context involving secret wisdom. T h e r e is clearly
an association between a c o u n t e r as the physical representation of
a n u m b e r , a n d a ticket bearing an entrance price. But magical inscrip
tions show us h o w it is possible that a v|/f](poq on which a n u m b e r is
written can b e r e g a r d e d as a c r y p t o g r a m for a person's n a m e . O n e
graffito from P o m p e i c o m m e m o r a t e s a loved one k n o w n to the writer
alone but in which the deceased is simply represented by a n u m
50
b e r . In a n o t h e r graffito " A m e r i m n o s ('Apipiuvoq) has r e m e m b e r e d
H a r m o n i a (euvr|G0r| 'Apuoviac;) his own (dear) lady (xfjq ei8ia<; leupiocq),
for h e r benefit (ETC' ayocGq)), the n u m b e r of whose beautiful n a m e
51
is 4 5 (r\q 6 &pi0uo<; \iz xov KOLXOV ovojuaxoq)." Clearly " O b t a i n a b l e
f
('Auipiuvoq)" a n d " C o m p l i a n c e ( Apuov(oc)" are real n a m e s the alle
gorical c h a r a c t e r of which the graffitist seeks to veil in numerical
mystery.
T h a t however such graffitti are m o r e t h a n lovers' games is shown
by the evidence of two epitaphs, w h e r e the n a m e of the deceased
is given as a numerical cryptogram. O n e epitaph is from P h e r a e in
Thessaly in the second or third century. In IG 5,1 1368 we read:
"If you seek m y n u m b e r (Znxcov \iox> ir\v \|/fj(pov), o wayfarer (rcap-
oSeixa), you will k n o w w h o I a m w h o lies here (yvcoafl xov K e i j i e v o v
e v 0 a 8 e | i e ) , I lie here ( K e i j i a i 8 ' ) in the e a r t h which nourished m e (ev
ya(p xfi jie dvaOpexj/aiLievTi), (number) 1354 (ATNA)." H e r e knowledge
is clearly associated with solution to a mystery. Finally we have a
second-century, epitaph from Bithynia o n a plinth in the form of a n
altar supporting a sarcophagus. T o unravel the n a m e requires the
wayfarer to b e a c o m p a n i o n of the Muses a n d a p a r t a k e r of wis
52
d o m (yvcoaxoq ear] Mouaaiq K a i aocpiriq uexoxoq).
W e thus have evidence for p a y m e n t s (ior\ki>Gia) for e n t r a n c e into
mystery rites associated both with Dionysus a n d with sacrifices for
M
CIL 4 suppl. II (1909) n o . 4 8 6 1 (Pompei): <piAio f|<; dpiGuoq <pfie\ ("I a m in love
with her w h o s e n u m b e r is 545"). See also 4 3 2 (1982) 1142; L. Robert, Bulletin
Epigraphique 5 (1964) n o . 6 1 8 ; 9 (1979) n o . 5 5 6 ; F. Dornseiff., D a s Alphabet in
Mystik und M a g i e , in ITOIXEIA VII (Leipzig and Berlin: T e u b n e r 1922), p. 112.
:)l
CIL 4 suppl. II n o . 4 8 3 9 . See also G. M a n g a n a r o , Graffiti e iscrizioni funer-
arie della Sicilia Orientale, in Helikon 2 (1962), p p . 4 8 5 - 5 0 1 .
>2
W . Peek, Griechische Vers-Inschriften, Bd. 1: Grab-Epigramme, (Berlin: A k a d e m i e
Verlag 1955) n o . 1324.
the Imperial Cult. W e have evidence for n u m b e r s as cryptograms

for n a m e s associated w i t h the search for oocpioc i n magical rites. W e
can therefore reasonably hypothesise that the Apoc. 2,17: erci rfw \jrn(pov
ovojLicx raivov yeypauuevov o ouSeiq oi8ev ei \ir\ 6 A,au|}dvcov is a refer
ence by analogy to admission to mysteries at P e r g a m o n requiring
a n e n t r a n c e i|/fj(po<; for p a y m e n t of a n eioriMaiov o n w h i c h the
bearer's n a m e was in the form of a numerical c r y p t o g r a m . IGRR
4,353 d line 14, as we have seen, records a n eicmAuoiov specifically
53
related to the Imperial M y s t e r i e s . W e h a v e a n inscription from
H a d r i a n ' s time i n which a meal of b r e a d a n d wine a c c o m p a n i e d
w i t h incense a n d the w e a r i n g of garlands (axecpavoi) a r e associated
w i t h the e m p e r o r as their saviour a n d founder. W e shall consider
this inscription i n further detail i n connection w i t h the Seer's gen
eral vision i n the rest of the Apocalypse (5B 3.2-2).
T h e selection of such a cultic interpretation of vj/fjcpoc; seems to
link this t e r m to admission to Imperial Cultic meals implied by the
references to ipccyeiv eiScoAoGuxa a n d the 9p6vo<; xou locxocva. J u s t as
the contra-cultural c o u n t e r p a r t to the former is the eschatological
udvva KeKpuuuevov whose foretaste is the Eucharist, so too the yfjcpcx;
XEVKX] is the tessera of admission to the Christian cultic meal, n a m e l y
baptism. It is not without relevance to o u r interpretation here that

Tertullian was later to use contesseratio hospitalitatis between apostolic
54
churches i n this sense. N o r should we rule out a significance for
the C h u r c h of the a u t h o r ' s present i n these words o n the g r o u n d s
that their promise is eschatological. W e shall argue later that the
eschatological o r d e r of the heavenly C h u r c h is a reflection of the
O r d e r of the writer's o w n c o m m u n i t y w i t h its liturgical imagery p r o
j e c t e d into the realm of the heavenly n o w entering the earthly in
eschatological fulfilment.
T h u s the cultic parallelism is also d e t e r m i n e d by the promise to
the overcomers of "a n e w n a m e (ovoua Kaivov) written u p o n the
pebble (en! XT^V xjriitpov.... yeypauuevov) which n o - o n e knows except he
w h o receives it (o ouSeic; oiSev ei UTI 6 Xaupdvcov)." I m a g e r y of C h u r c h
m e m b e r s h i p a n d sacraments is clearly being refashioned in the direc
tion o f a p a g a n cultic fellowship w i t h its mysteries a n d secret initi
ation rites. T h u s it is such p a g a n rites that r e m a i n p r i m a r y within
™ See footnote 4 8 .
54
Tertullian, De Praesc. Haer. 2 0 , 7 - 9 cf. Brent (1995), pp. 5 0 5 - 5 0 7 ff.
186 CHAPTER FIVE
the nevertheless Christian contra-cultural i c o n o g r a p h y developed by

m e a n s of such contrary reflections. T h e cultic character of those con
trary reflections thus d e t e r m i n e the p a g a n cultic interpretation of the
35
original p r i m a r y d a t a against other possible alternatives.
5B 1.4. A p o c . 2,20,26-28: J e z e b e l a n d the doxr|p npmvoq

T h e figure of "Jezebel" at T h y a t e i r a is clearly a n O l d T e s t a m e n t
cryptogram that conceals the original a n d contemporary person whose
original identity is thereby lost. But her teaching is clearly a variant
of w h a t was also being taught in P e r g a m o n . Oocyeiv eiScotaSGuxa (Apoc.
2,14 cf. 2,20) is once m o r e the actual expression of spiritual fornica
tion (rcopveuaou). H e n c e the spirit of O l d T e s t a m e n t idolatry is seen
to find expression in teachers in b o t h cities advocating participation
in meals of p a g a n mystery cults, with which, as we shall shortly see,
the Imperial Cult was to achieve a new association (5B 2.2).
T h e reference to the m o r n i n g star (doxf|p rcpco'ivoq) is to the planet
Venus, seen as a symbol of authority from Babylonian times. But there
is, I believe, also a reference to the claims of Augustus' to be filius
deorum due to the mythical initiation of the gens Julia by Venus. Further
m o r e , we have Augustan coins, restored by Titus, in which over the
56
h e a d of Augustus radiate there is depicted a star (Plates 16 a n d 18).
In view of the clear e m e r g e n c e of p a g a n a n d imperial iconography
b o t h in the letters, a n d , as I will show, in the r e m a i n d e r of the
57
Apocalypse itself, I c a n n o t follow H e m e r ' s hesitancy in this r e g a r d .
W e have already shown that the allusion to Ps. 2 , 7 - 9 (Apoc. 2,26-27)
a n d Num. 24,17 (Apoc. 2,28) d o not invalidate their interpretation in
a p a g a n cultic context. T h e O l d T e s t a m e n t imagery is used to recon
struct the p a g a n cults so as to p r o d u c e a system of Christian counter-
images.
5B 1.5. A p o c . 3,4-5 iudxicc XEVKOL and x\ pipAxx; xfjq £cofi<;

Sardis u n d e r Augustus h a d b e e n a m o n g s t the first cities of Asia
M i n o r to be g r a n t e d a cult a n d temple. T h e city was to dedicate a
58
statue on the c o m i n g of age of Gaius C a e s a r in that t e m p l e . It is
here, moreover, that we have allusions to the Domitianic changes
H e m e r (1986), pp. 9 6 - 1 0 4 discusses also gladiatorial and magical associations.

%
BMC 2, p p . 2 8 2 - 2 8 3 nos. 2 6 6 , 2 6 7 , and 271 a n d plate 5 4 , 3 .
5 7
H e m e r (1986), pp. 1 2 5 - 1 2 6 .
5 8
Price (1984), p. 66.
in the fiscus judaicus (3C 2.3.3.3). If Christians were u n p r e p a r e d to

p u t their n a m e s on synagogue rolls a n d thus j o i n w h a t in S m y r n a
was described as the "synagogue of S a t a n , " (Apoc. 2,9) or if r a t h e r
they w e r e e x c o m m u n i c a t e d in terms of the Biracoth ha Minim, then
their n a m e s could be said to be "blotted o u t " of the register that
gave t h e m protection. T h e suspicions aroused by non-participation
in the Imperial Cult without the exemption thus afforded would lead
to the accusation that they were involved in Dionysiac rites that
t h r e a t e n e d both the social a n d metaphysical pax.
It is precisely this situation that is reflected in the reversed image
of the r e t u r n i n g Christ w h o promises to the o v e r c o m e r in Sardis
that: "I will not blot out (ou \ix\ e^ccXeiyco) his n a m e (xo ovouoc ocuxou)
from the book of life (eic xfjq piptaro xfjq £cof\<;)." (Apoc. 3,5) T h e clear
p a t t e r n that is therefore e m e r g i n g from a n analysis of the social con
text of the letters is the clash with the Imperial Cult. W e should
clearly r e a d in such a context the immediately p r e c e d i n g promise to
the o v e r c o m e r that: "he will be clothed (rcepipataixai) in white gar
ments (ev iuaxioiq A,e\)Koi<;)," thus reflecting the wearing of white that
was traditional for participants in all p a g a n processions.
W e have already d r a w n attention to the evidence of the Lex Nar-
bonensis a c c o r d i n g to which the participants wore festal white fol
lowing the supplicatio with myrtle wreathes o n their heads a n d myrtle
59
b r a n c h e s in their h a n d s . W e have m o r e o v e r several Eastern e x a m
ples of this practice. W e have a description of a n adventus c e r e m o n y
in connection with the cult of Attalus III ( 1 3 8 - 1 3 3 B.C.) at P e r g a m o n
(OGIS 332). T h e stephanophoroi of the twelve deities, as they m e e t h i m
on his arrival, are to wear their garlands ([oxe](pavr|<popf|oou; /. 27-29).
T h e priests are to offer incense (e7ci6uuovxaq XiPavcoxov; /. 29) as
Attalus is m e t in procession by the people " g a r l a n d e d a n d in white
60
r a i m e n t (ev ea0[fj]oiv ^ a u r c p a i q eaxecpavcouevouq . . . ] ; /. 3 7 - 3 8 ) . "
As a c o n t r a image of the Imperial Cult, the overcomers here are
described as clothed in white in a n association that gives t h e m the
status of participant in the Christian cultus denied to t h e m in their
isolation a n d alienation within their present culture.
59
CIL 12,6038, see also 2B 4 and 3 C 2.3.3.3.
<)0
See also Syli" 695,35; 1157,35; Herodian 11,2,9 (of Pertinax in): oi oxpaxicoxcu...
Ie(3cxax6v rcpoaeutov.... ouocavxeq m i 9\>oavxe<;, 8acpvr|(popoi)vxe<;.. .
188 CHAPTER FIVE
5B 1.6. A p o c . 3,12: TO ovouoc.. .ifjq 7i6A,eco<; xov Geou \iov

Strabo X I I , 8,18 described Philadelphia as full of earthquakes (oeiGpcov
7tA,f|pri<;), a n d H e m e r claims in c o n s e q u e n c e that the e a r t h q u a k e of
A . D . 17 affected the collective psychology of the inhabitants of that
city. Certainly Philadelphia a p p e a r s a m o n g s t the cities of Asia which
expressed their gratitude to Tiberius for the aid that he gave fol
61
lowing this disaster. Such gratitude took the form of assuming the
imperial cognomen a n d h o n o u r i n g G e r m a n i c u s with a p o s t h u m o u s cult.
Coins of Philadelphia show the n a m e of the city c h a n g e d to N e o -
caesarea, with a magistrate a n d priest of the Imperial Cult venerat
62
ing G e r m a n i c u s . After Claudius, the city reverted to its original
n a m e , but u n d e r Vespasian it used the epithet Flavia to h o n o u r the
63
imperial h o u s e .
D o m i t i a n ' s edict (A.D. 92) r e q u i r e d acreage for vinyards to be
reduced, arguably to alleviate famine by e n c o u r a g i n g m o r e c o r n to
be grown. H e m e r perceptively associates this edict with the situation
64
in P h i l a d e l p h i a . W e have already a r g u e d the relationship between
this edict a n d Apoc. 6,6 as establishing a D o m i t i a n i c date for the
Apocalypse (5A 1). T o a city such as Philadelphia, whose principal
deity was Dionysius, god of the vintage festival, such an edict was
arguably a n affront. T h u s H e m e r is able to see in the p r o m i s e to
the o v e r c o m e r s a reflection of t h e disillusionment of a loyal city
whose faithfulness has b e e n m o c k e d by a cynical e m p e r o r .
T h o s e w h o have not denied Christ's n a m e (v. 8) will "hold fast
(Kpdxei) to w h a t you have (8 e%eiq)." T h e y will be shaken neither by
physical n o r by m o r a l e a r t h q u a k e neither such as that afforded by
D o m i t i a n ' s decree n o r his n e w claims for his o w n cult, b u t will be
m a d e " a pillar (GTUA,OV) in t h e t e m p l e of m y G o d (ev TCD vocco)."
(v. 12) T h e " n e w n a m e (TO ovopd jiou TO KCCIVOV)" will not b e " N e o -
caesarea" b u t "the n a m e of m y G o d (TO ovouoc TOU QEOV UOD) a n d of
the city of m y G o d (Kai xr\q KOXEQM; XOV QEOV pou), of the new J e r u s a l e m
(xr\<; Kaivfjq 'Iepo\)GaA,r||Li)-" (v. 12) O n c e again, therefore, we see a
parallelism between the religio-political structures of the present a n d
61
CIL 10, 1624: Hierocaesarea cf. Tacitus, ArmaL, II, 4 7 , 3 - 4 and H e m e r (1986),
p. 156.
62
Catalogue of Coins in the British Museum, Lydia, Philadelphia n o . 5 5 (Caligula), no.
5 6 (Claudius) and H e m e r (1986), p. 157.
e s
Ibid. nos. 5 1 - 5 2 (Caligula).
M
H e m e r (1986), pp. 1 5 8 - 1 6 0 .
the images of the persecuted c o m m u n i t y in h o p e of eschatological

vindication.
5B 1.7. Apoc. 3,21: KaGioai uex' euou ev xcp Gpovcp uou

Particular references here to o u r concerns with the Imperial Cult
are sparse, even though H e m e r detected a n d reinforced early dis
cussions of the relationship between w h a t is recorded by ancient writ
65
ers a n d inscriptions regarding Laodicea a n d this letter. T h e wealth
a n d self-sufficiency of the city m e a n t that it was in a position to
decline to ask for imperial aid following the e a r t h q u a k e already m e n
tioned (5A 3.1.6). H o w e v e r , the promise here to the overcomers is
"to sit with m e on m y t h r o n e (icaGioai uex' euou ev xcp Gpovcp uou)
even as I have b e e n victorious (coq Kocycb eviicr|aa) a n d sit with m y
father on his t h r o n e (Kai eicdGiaa uexd xou rcaxpoq uou ev xcp Gpovcp uou;
v. 21)."
T h e r e was h o w e v e r an i m p e r i a l t e m p l e e r e c t e d in h o n o u r of
D o m i t i a n at Laodicea in c o m m e m o r a t i o n of his often fictitious, mil
itary, victories. T h e depiction of the t e m p l e on coins represents
66
Domitian in a r m o u r with a spear a n d with the inscription: emveuaoc;.
F u r t h e r m o r e , as H e m e r notes, R a m s a y restored an inscription from
Laodicea in which a freedman of the e m p e r o r , Tiberius Claudius
T r y p h o n , dedicates a triple gate a n d towers: "to J u p i t e r (A[u]) the
greatest Saviour (ueyio[xco] I[co]xfjpi) a n d e m p e r o r D o m i t i a n ( K a i
AuxoKpdxopi [Aouixiavcp]), C a e s a r Augustus (Kaioapi Ie|3aoxcp), pon
67
tifex maximus (dp%iepei ueyioxco)." W e have shown the clear e m p h a
sis in the other letters on a contra-cultural representation of Christian
eschatology in terms of the Imperial Cult. It is interesting to ask,
therefore, w h e t h e r the address of the L o r d Christ ("Behold I stand
at the d o o r a n d knock" v. 20), however allusory, is not a parallel
with the gate b e a r i n g the emperor's n a m e a n d by whose will p e o
ple c o m e in a n d c o m e out. T h e supper is clearly eschatological (Apoc.
3,20 cf. 19,9 a n d 17) b u t a foretaste is the Eucharist of the present
which has already in previous letters b e e n paralleled with the cultic
festivities of the guilds at P e r g a m o n (5B 1.3) a n d T h y a t e i r a (5B 1.4).
Let us now e x a m i n e h o w the images of contra-cultural parallelism
6 5
H e m e r (1986) c h a p . 9.
6 6
B M C Phrygia p. 307 nos. 1 8 1 - 1 8 2 , 185; p. 3 0 8 n o . 188; Price (1984), p. 183
and p. 2 6 4 Cat. 87.
1)7
CIG 3 9 4 9 = IGRR 4,847 = MAMA 6,2 = EpAnat 2 6 (1996), p p . 3 1 - 4 0 cf.
H e m e r (1986), p. 195.
190 CHAPTER FIVE
continue outside the seven letters a n d into the m a i n body of the text
of the Apocalypse itself.
5B 2. Contra images of Imperial Cult in A p o c . 4-19
In the last section (5A 3.1) we showed h o w the general hopes of the
c o m m u n i t y were expressed in terms that reveal the construction of
a contra-culture. H o w e v e r , w h a t we have so far established refers to
the theological perspective of the c o m m u n i t y a n d not to the particular
kind of C h u r c h O r d e r that also developed. T h e r e are vexed ques
tions regarding w h a t kind of C h u r c h O r d e r is presupposed b o t h by
the letters a n d the m a i n b o d y of the text, w h e t h e r the angels of the
churches were fully heavenly beings or i n d e e d their earthly bishops,
w h e t h e r the twenty-four elders refer to a presbyterate that presided
over these churches etc. Such questions will be better left until we
consider such issues in connection with the C h u r c h O r d e r that was
to pertain in Asia M i n o r some ten years later, a n d in m a n y of the
same cities addressed by the Apocalypse, w h e n we consider the letters
of Ignatius of Antioch (6A 1).
F o r the m o m e n t we shall confine o u r attention to the way in
which, in the text of the Apocalypse, as it n o w unravels from c h a p
ter 4 o n w a r d s , the action of the c h u r c h in heaven b e c o m i n g a n d
enlisting the c h u r c h o n e a r t h , is c h a r a c t e r i s e d by images of the
Imperial C u l t transformed t h r o u g h the construction of a c o n t r a -
cultural reality. T h e imagery of the Seer's vision is undoubtedly com
posite, with images derived from a n u m b e r of sources b o t h Jewish,
early Christian, a n d p a g a n . T h o s e images have doubtlessly b e e n
refashioned, in fantastic proportions, into a bizarre vision which has
b e e n very successful in concealing its true historical a n d cultural
roots. Nevertheless we shall argue that, despite the bewildering c o m
position of variegated imagery, the contours of the Imperial Cult
a n d its transformation into the cult of the C h u r c h militant a n d tri
u m p h a n t have left their unmistakable impress.
T h e concept of the Imperial Cult e m b r a c e d the total iconogra
p h y of the A u g u s t a n revolution, b o t h architectural, religious a n d
social. Z a n k e r has described graphically the way in which Augustus'
public architectural projects that so transformed the physical a p p e a r
ance of R o m e represented a m o v e m e n t of Hellenistic art a n d cul
ture from the private villa of the R e p u b l i c a n aristocrat to the public
space of the forum a n d city w h e r e that culture could experience a
68
distinctive R o m a n i z a t i o n . Price has described how, in the soil of
Asia M i n o r already well fertilised for the growth of the Imperial Cult
from a n existing tradition of ruler cults, civic space was invaded by
architectural expressions of the new, religio-political ideology. Pergamon
well exemplifies the inclusion of gymnasia in the organised proces
sion of the cult w h e r e we find imperial r o o m s with bases for cult
statues of the deified e m p e r o r s which stood side by side with the
69
gods H e r m e s a n d Heracles n o w associated with their cult.
T h e cultic celebration, taking place on fixed days such as imper
ial birthdays annually or in four-yearly festivals, i n c o r p o r a t e d games
a n d theatrical performances. Sometimes, however, a special event
70
such as the arrival of the e m p e r o r would create a sacred d a y . But
the Imperial Cult was e x t e n d e d so as to assimilate traditional festi
vals by m e a n s of the iconographic association of imperial statues
71
with local gods. "Hpa at Samos, for example, b e c a m e "Hpoc Zepaaxf|.
T h e a t r e s were included in the cult by the location there of i m p e
rial statues, a n d visited in the course of its processional route, as at
G y t h e u m w h e r e the statues of Augustus, Livia a n d Tiberius faced
a n incense b u r n e r w h e r e the ritual for c o m m e n c i n g competitions
72
took p l a c e . T h e c o m m u n i t y took p a r t also: private householders
erected their o w n small altars on which they sacrificed as the p r o
cession passed. W e have already d r a w n attention to h o w exposed
the Christian c o m m u n i t y would be even t h o u g h there was as yet no
general policy of enforced e m p e r o r worship (3C 2.3.3.3). T h e p r o
cession of the cult, however, whilst including a n d e m b r a c i n g these
local shrines, gymnasia a n d theatres, h a d a central point of refer
ence in major civic centres such as the council house at Ephesus
73
which contained a n imperial a l t a r .
Sanctuaries such as the temple of Asclepius at P e r g a m o n housed
the local festival of the Saviour Sebastoi, a n d were also e m b r a c e d by
a visit of the procession.
In the procession itself, a n d the associated ritual, images of the
6 8
P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, trans. A. Shapiro, (Ann
Arbor: University o f M i c h i g a n Press 1990), chapters 1 a n d 3; cf. Price (1984) c h a p
ter 6.
6 9
Price (1984) p. 144.
70
Ibid. p. 105.
71
Ibid. p. 103.
72
Ibid. 109 a n d p . 188.
73
Ibid. p. 112 footnote 74.
192 CHAPTER FIVE
imperial household played a pivotal role. Images of the imperial fam

ily were included with busts of Artemis for carrying from the lat
ter's temple from w h e r e they were kept to the theatre. T h e y h a d
special bases there o n which they could b e set u p . T h e r e sacrifices
took place a t meetings of t h e assembly a n d festivals such as the
74
Sebasta, the Soteria, a n d the four-yearly G r e a t Ephesia.
At Athens it was t h e council of elders which was responsible for
m a k i n g these special images quite distinct from t h e p e r m a n e n t l y
standing statues. O l d a n d d a m a g e d images were t h e responsibility of
75
the council of elders at E p h e s u s . F u r t h e r m o r e youths at Athens a n d
76
T a n a g r a served as officials called sebastophoroi. F u r t h e r m o r e , imperial
77
mysteries were celebrated with a special official, t h e aepaaxocpdviriq.
It was Stauffer w h o , with considerable insight, posited t h e con
nection between such features of the Imperial Cult a n d t h e scenes
78
of t h e Apocalypse T h e scene which follows the seven letters, filled
themselves with allusions to the Imperial Cult as w e have shown fol
lowing H e m e r a n d R a m s a y , is a scene resplendent with imagery
from the games, the choral festivities, t h e horse races, the imperial
mysteries associated with the carrying of t h e eiicoveq, the presbyters
of t h e cities organising a n d funding the Imperial Cult m a n y of w h o m
h a d cultic functions t h r o u g h t h e offices they held in t h e sacred col
leges superintending t h e imperial mysteries, etc. T h e contra-culture
will of course reverse t h e images of t h e host culture, in process of
taking o n its values a n d refashioning t h e m .
Let us n o w see in detail h o w the themes of eiKoveq in t h e i m p e
rial mysteries, t h e b u r n i n g of incense, t h e p o u r i n g of libations, the
festival that c o m b i n e d h y m n o d y with gymnasia, g a m e s a n d theatre,
are reflected in the vision of the Apocalypse.
74
Ibid. p. 104.
75
/. Eph. II, 2 3 .
7 6
Price (1984), p. 189.
7 7
H . W . Pleket, A n aspect o f the imperial cult: imperial mysteries, in HThR 5 8 , 4
(1965), p. 3 3 7 m e n t i o n s the Bithynian inscription (Ath. Mitt. 2 4 (1899)) in w h i c h
xcov uuoxripicov iepocpdvxriq a n d aePaoxocpdvxr|<; are used as equivalents. A n o t h e r
Asian example, from D o r y l a e u m in Phrygia (IGRR 4 , 5 2 2 (= OGIS 479)), w o u l d be
an Hadrianic inscription erected by Asklepiades son o f Stratonikos Oeoiq lePaoxoiq
K a i 0eai<; leftaaxau; m i 'Ouovoia l e p a a x f j K a i 9 e a Tcbup. H i s title is oepaaxocpdv-
XT|<; 8 i a p(o\) K a i iepeix;.
7H
S e e footnote 5.
5B 2 . 1 . The angels and cpidAxxi: A p o c . 16: festival

T o the festive crowd at Ephesus the a p p e a r a n c e of the high priest
o p e n i n g a new series of g a m e s by throwing d o w n a m a p p a or p u r
ple signal-cloth, or emptying a sacrificial bowl, was a festive scene
79
of rejoicing. But to the Seer it is a n angel w h o p o u r e d out his
"libation bowl of the w r a t h of G o d (cpidAriv xov Guuou xou Geou). . .
u p o n those w h o have the m a r k of the beast (ETC! xouq dv0pamo\)<; xoix;
EXOvxaq xo xdpayuxx xov Onpuyo) a n d w h o worship his image (Kai xoix;
rcpoaicuvouvxaq xf\ EIKOVI a\>xo\))." (Apoc. 16,2) T h u s the seven angels
with their seven cpidtaxi c o m m e n c e the games that are the final con
test (dycov) between Babylon a n d the C h u r c h , a n d it is in that a r e n a
that A r m a g e d d o n a n d the tribulation woes of traditional apocalyp
tic are to take place (16, 3-21).
If incense as well as the sacrifice of a bull was characteristic of
the Imperial Cult, so to was the symbolism of the e m p e r o r , veiled
as a priest for sacrifice, p o u r i n g a drink offering from a patera ((pidA,r|).
80
T h e temple at S m y r n a showed Tiberius with his h e a d veiled. Fur
t h e r m o r e this should not b e seen as suggesting a distinction between
a h u m a n - p r i e s t e m p e r o r a n d full worship of the gods since, as Price
points out, gods are often depicted as priests of their o w n epony
81
m o u s cults. T h e vision of the angels with their (pidAm m a y well
also h a v e b e e n informed by such p a g a n a n d imperial imagery, such
as that of the priestess at Pompeii with stole a n d patera (Plate 14).
Instead of the e m p e r o r bringing blessing a n d salvation by m e a n s of
his libation, these angels b r i n g the w r a t h a n d j u d g e m e n t of G o d
u p o n those w h o worship his EIKCOV in the cult.
5B 2.2. 7cp£apt>x£poi a n d EIKOVE^: theatre and mysteries

W e have already d r a w n attention to the significance of mystery col
legia in connection with the letter to P e r g a m o n (5B 1.3). It is n o w
time for us to assess in greater detail the links between epigraphic
evidence for such collegia a n d the role of the 7tp£aPt>x£poi, their choirs
a n d their ax£<pavoi, a r o u n d the heavenly sacrificial altar of the L a m b .
7 9
Stauffer (1955), p. 186.
8 0
BMC Ionia p. 2 6 8 nos. 2 6 6 - 2 6 8 a n d Price cat. 4 5 and Plate l b miscited as
3b in Price (1984), p. 185.
81
Price (1984), p. 185: "But the gods often held their o w n e p o n y m o u s priest
hoods a n d are often s h o w n making sacrificial offerings . . . " cites (footnotes 76 and
77.) L. Robert, Sur des inscriptions d' Ephese, 6. Lettres imperiales a Ephese, RPhil
4 1 , 3 (1967), pp. 4 4 - 6 4 ; also RPhil (1959), pp. 2 0 0 2 0 4 ; cf. D i o 5 9 , 2 8 , 5 o n Gaius.
194 CHAPTER FIVE
IGRR 4, 3 5 3 is a large stone altar taken from t h e temple of R o m a

a n d Augustus in P e r g a m o n a n d inscribed o n four sides. At t h e front
is a d e d i c a t i o n (lines a. 4 - 5 a ) t o H a d r i a n "saviour a n d founder
(ocoxTipi K a i [ K T { ] O T T I ) . " But those w h o m a k e t h e dedication a r e a n
existing choir of the Imperial Cult, t h e "hymn-singers (i)uvcp8oi) of
divine Augustus (Geou lepaoxou) a n d of t h e goddess R o m a (Kai Qeaq
Tcouriq)." (a. /. 5b) T h i r t y five n a m e s stood there originally t h o u g h
two have b e e n erased (a. /. 17-18). It was certain of the high-ranking
m e m b e r s of this select g r o u p , of the family of A. Castricius Paulus,
w h o dedicated t h e altar from their private m e a n s (a. /. 3 0 - 3 1 : dv
[aOevxcov] x[6]v Pcouov £K xcov i8icov Kaoxpudcov).
O n e of his family whose n a m e survives in t h e mutilated lines 3 1 -
32 is C a p i t o whose office is that of GeoAoyoq. T h i s w a s a tide that
82
Christian tradition was t o a w a r d t o t h e Seer of the Apocalypse. But
originally it was t h e title of a functionary in t h e Imperial Cult a n d
associated with t h e imperial u u o r n p i a in which h e p r o n o u n c e d t h e
eulogy u p o n t h e e m p e r o r a n d p e r h a p s took p a r t in c h o r e o g r a p h y in
83
which h e played t h e e m p e r o r ' s role in t h e d r a m a of the cult. T h e
Seer nevertheless acted in a fashion reminiscent of such a cult w h e n
he described t h e eulogistic h y m n s of t h e presbyters to G o d a n d to
the L a m b , as w e shall shortly see (5B 3).
Provision is n o w m a d e for t h e celebration of t h e d e a d Augustus'
birthday o n t h e first d a y of the m o n t h that bears his n a m e (b. /. 5:
uuvoq Kaioapoq lePaoxii, yeveaico lepaoxou). But t h e context for t h e
celebration is t h e imperial mysteries to which allusion is n o w m a d e
8 2
SEG 4 , 5 1 7 = / . Eph. Ia, 4 5 A, 1 - 8 , translated in P.R. Coleman-Norton, Roman
State and Christian Church, (London: S.P.C.K. 1966), III, no. 5 7 7 ; J. Schmid, Studien
zur Geschichte des griechischen Apocalypse-Textes, 1. Der Apocalypse-Kommentar
des Andreas von Kaisareia, in Munchener Theologische Studien, (Miinchen: Karl Zink
1955), p. 7; / . Eph. VII,2 4 1 3 3 , 9 ; / . Eph. VII,2 4311(a): Graffito on the farthest
west of the two pillars the Church of St. John in Ephesus: (cpoPo 7tpoceA.6e nx>h\v
xov GeoAoyoi)); VII,2 4 3 1 4 : Another pillar on the North row has a petition in prayer
(GeoAxSye) VII,2 4 3 1 8 (a): Running well in North Corridor of the nave of St. John
of Ephesus, graffito on marble cladding (ic(\>pi)e K(t>pi)e dyne 6eoA,6ye, (3OT|9TIGOV XOV
SOVXOGOV Teopynov); Eph. IV, 1279: Byzantian prayer inscribed on wall tile in white
marble (K(\>pi)e 'Hoov Xfpioxe K a i 'IcodvvTi(<;)] 6 GeoXoyoq [p\>oaxe r\\ia<; anb co-]).
8 3
Pleket (1965), pp. 3 3 7 - 3 3 8 ; see also / . Eph. Ia, 2 2 , 1 - 8 ; / . Eph. Ia, 2 7 , 2 9 2 - 2 9 7 ;
I. Eph. Ill 6 4 5 , 3 - 7 : [x]6 7tpoa<piAi[ox]axov x[f\] dyicoxaxp [6]ea> 'Apxeui5i a\)ve8piov
[x]cov -buvcpScov [K]ai6eo^6ycov [K]ai0ea|icp8tov. See also /. Eph. Ia 4 7 , 7 3 (M. Ko(A,(ioq)
'HXi68copo<;0£otaSYO<;); IV, 1023,4 (A.D. 104) Titus Flavius Dionysius Sabinus BeoAxSyoq;
VII, 1 3 0 7 4 (GeoXoyoq); / . Eph. VII, 1 3 0 1 5 , 2 .
in the inscription on the right h a n d side of the altar. I n d e e d the

birthday is but o n e of five festivals that are to be c o m m e m o r a t e d .
T h e second is the festival o f n e w year presents (dies strenarum = 1st
J a n u a r y ) , the third is the Rosalia (poSicuoq) (24th May) for the c o m
m e m o r a t i o n of the d e p a r t e d a n d the fourth is for the mysteries o f
the 25th J u n e (unvoq Acoou y puoxnpioK;), a n d the fifth for Livia's
birthday (21st S e p t e m b e r ; b . /. 3-11). Associated with each festival
is the a n n u a l provision (oca xcp evia\)xcp rcapexei xr\q dpxnq) by the
choir's president or " c o n d u c t o r (6 euKoouoq)." (b. /. 2)
The conductor is to provide (napeêi bk 6 evKoafioq) both for Augustus'

birthday (xr\ xov Xepaaxou EVUTIVCO yeveaico) and for the rest of the birth
days of the dead and deified emperors (Kai xai<; Xoinalc, yevealoiq xcov
avxoKpaxopcov) and they shall crown with garlands the hymn-singers
and the mysteries (oxeyavovq xoiq \)uvcp8oi<; m i xoi<; |JA)oxrip{oi<; axeqxxv-
cociv) in the choir hall (ev xcp vuvcoSeicp). . .
b. /. 12-19
T h e c o n d u c t o r is furthermore to provide b r e a d a n d wine for these

mysteries, along with "sacrificial cake (rcorcavov), incense (Aapavov)
a n d l a m p s ( K a i Xv%vov<;) for Augustus (xcp LePaoxcp)." W h e n we t u r n
to the inscriptions on the back of the altar we find the context of
these articles xcp lePaaxco. H e r e the priest (6 iepeix;) a p p o i n t e d for the
y e a r h a s , i n a d d i t i o n to b r e a d a n d w i n e , to p r o v i d e a c o v e r i n g
(axpcooiv) for the images of the Augusti (eiq eiKovaq xcov ZePaaxcov)."
(c. /. 4 - 7 ) T h e c a n t o r is to m a k e similar provision of wine a n d a
covering. W e t h e n learn t h a t "those w h o are co-opted as h y m n -
singers from o t h e r cities shall give 50 d e n a r i a (c. /. 1 0 - 1 1 : 8coao\)aiv
8e oi KaGiaxdpevoi e^coxiKoi u u v c p S o i . . . Srivapia' v') for the images of
the Augusti (eiq e k o v a q xcov ZePaaxcov)." (c. /. 10-11)
Clearly the Xvyyox, the axpcoaiq, the oivoq, the apxoq, the Xipavoq
a n d the rcorcavov together with the uuvoi of the uuvcoSoi all have ref
erence to mystery-rites involving the eiKoveq o f the d e a d a n d deified
e m p e r o r s (xcov Zepaaxcov). T h e inscription on the left side o f the altar,
whilst specifying the financial contributions towards these articles nec
essary for the p e r f o r m a n c e of the rite for guild officials such as the
secretary (6 ypappaxetjq), also m e n t i o n s (d. /. 10) that these are for
the mysteries ([ivaxr\pioiq) o n the 23rd J u n e which was the first day
of the m o n t h of K a i o a p (urivoq Acoou lePaaxfi). F u r t h e r m o r e , as the
inscription o n the right side has already r e m i n d e d u s , the souls of
d e p a r t e d m e m b e r s are also included in the incense rite, a n d the
196 CHAPTER FIVE
a r c h o n is to provide the cost for a d e a d m e m b e r w h i c h he can

84
r e c o u p from the p e r s o n w h o replaces h i m .
W e can n o w begin to d r a w a n u m b e r of parallels with the text
of the Apocalypse itself.
5B 2.2.1. A p o c . 13-14: eiKoav xou Oripiou

IGRR 4,353 c. /. 1 0 - 1 1 a n d c. /. 4 - 7 m e n t i o n e d the imperial mys
teries with e i K o v e q a n d A,u%voi, as we have seen, in the context of
the imperial mysteries, with a GeoXoyoq to b o t h c o m p o s e a n d inter
p r e t the ritual of the mystery play. T h e figure that the Seer observes
"in the midst of the l a m p s (ev ueocp xSv A,u%vicov)" has, like the image
of Augustus, a h u m a n form (ojioiov uiov dvGpcoTcou)." (Apoc. 1,12-13)
T h e lamps t h a t celebrate a n d illuminate in their cult are the seven
churches (Apoc. 1,20). T h e writer behaves like the aepaaxo(pdvxr|<; w h o
uncovers the eiKcov, or like the OeoXoyoq w h o unravells the imperial
mysteries: he is to write TO jxuoxripiov xcov ercxd d a x e p c o v a n d of the
ercxd AA)%V{OC<; (1,20). Christ is not called the eiKobv xou Geou as in o t h e r
early Christian literature (Col. 1,15) since the h o r r o r of the euccbv xou
Oripiou p r o v e d too resistant to contra-cultural transformation. T h e
division b e t w e e n believers a n d non-believers r e m a i n s characterised
in this respect in negative terms. T h e latter are those w h o worship
the beast a n d his i m a g e (Apoc. 1 4 , 9 , 1 5 - 1 6 , 1 9 - 2 0 ) , a n d the former
those w h o d o not (Apoc. 13,15; 20,4). But the description of the
churches w h o t h r o u g h their cultus illuminate the Son of M a n a n d
their situation is swathed in the enigmatic language of the myster
ies, as we saw particularly to be in point with r e g a r d to P e r g a m o n
(5B 1.3).
In this light Price is surely correct to interpret the scene of the
image of the beast c o m i n g to life (Apoc. 13,14-15) in the context of
the ritual associated with the imperial e i K o v e q . H e r e in the ani
8 5
m a t e d d r a m a of the ritual is the description of the priestly magician

of w h o m it could b e said: " a n d there was g r a n t e d to h i m ( K a i e 8 6 0 T |
auxa>) to give a spirit (8ouvai rcveujLia) to the image of the beast (xii
e i K o v i xou 0T|p{ou) in o r d e r that the image of the beast could speak
( i v a K a i taxfoioTi fi e k o w xou Oripiou) a n d should cause to be slain all
those w h o w o u l d not worship the image ( K a i rcoirjori i v a oaoi edv uri
8 4
b. /. 20: xotq Se dva7ca\)ouevoi<; eiq A,{|3avov rcpoxpriaei 6 dpxcov 8r|vdpi<x ie',
xou ei<; xov XOTCOV a\>xoi) eiaiovxoq.
arco>.T|\|/£T(xi T c a p d
8 5
Price (1984), p p . 1 5 6 - 1 5 8 .
rcpoaKDvr|ocoGiv TTI eiKovixoa)9T|p[o\)d7COKTav0coaiv)." (Apoc. 13,15) T h i s

would have arguably b e e n very m u c h h o w the panegyrics of the cult
arranged by the GeoAoyoq, a n d the d r a m a performed by its oePaaiocpdv-
xr|<;, w o u l d have a p p e a r e d to the Seer.
T h e souls of the d e p a r t e d were represented in the Imperial Cult
along with those of the d e a d a n d deified e m p e r o r s , a n d this feature
of those mysteries is represented in the Apocalypse too.
5B 2.2.2. A p o c . 6 and 8: xaq \|n)%d<; xcov eotpaypivcov

As we n o t e d in connection with the mysteries (puornpioiq) for the
first of the m o n t h of Loos, n a m e l y 23rd J u n e (jinvoq Acoou lePaaxfi),
incense was offered b o t h to the d e p a r t e d m e m b e r s of the guild
(b. /. 20: xoiq 8e dvarcocuouivoiq eiq X(Pavov) as well as for the d e a d
a n d deified e m p e r o r s .
In the Apocalypse, likewise, incense is associated with the heavenly
altar, a n d for the souls which lie u n d e r it. In 6,9 a n d 11, at the
o p e n i n g of the fifth seal, we find:
. . . under the altar (i)7coKcxTco icri) GDaiaoTrjpioi)) the souls of those who
have been slain (xotq vj/Dxdq TCOV sacpayuivcov) for the Word of God (8id
xov AxSyov TOV Geov)... to each of whom was given (e869t| amoiq emoTcp)
a white robe (GTOAJI tauicf)), and they were told (Kai eppe&n amoic;) to
repose for a short time (iva dvarcawovTai ETI xpovov uiKpov) until their
fellow servants should find their fulfilment (ecoqrctaipcoGcooivKai oi
GVVSOVXOI avTcov) along with their brethren (Kai oi dSetapoi amcov) who
were about to be slaughtered like themselves (oi [leXXovxeq drcoKTevveaGai
cb<; Kai avxoi).
T h e t h e m e of the souls of the faithful d e p a r t e d is of course famil

iar from the W i s d o m literature (Wis. 3,1-9). But the direct associa
tion with their cultus in their association with a n altar is not m a d e .
Although Charles was c o m m i t t e d to deriving the vision almost wholly
from J e w i s h sources, his q u o t a t i o n from 1 Enoch 6,11 will not sup
port such a claim here since there is n o reference to the repose of
their souls. In Apoc. 6 , 1 1 , to the contrary, the identical t e r m for the
repose of d e p a r t e d m e m b e r s of the college of the imperial choir is
used for Christian martyrs (Apoc. 6,11 d v a T t a u a o v i a i cf. IGRR 353 b .
/. 20: dva7ta\)ouivoi<; ei<; AiPavov). Incense (AaPavoq) too follows the
o p e n i n g of the seals in 8 , 3 - 4 w h e r e "the angel stood at the altar
(eaxdOri eni xov G\)aiaaTr|p{o\)) with a golden incense-charger (e%cov
AiPavcoxov xpuaouv)" a n d w h e r e h e p r o c e e d s to offer the incense
(6upid|LiaTa), not in propitiation to the divinized souls of the d e p a r t e d ,
198 CHAPTER FIVE
b u t as prayers of the whole people of G o d which includes t h e m (Kai

dvePr] 6 Kanvbq xcov Gujiiaudxcov xai<; rcpoaeuxaiq xcov dyicov).
T h e contra-cultural imagination m a y choose the Jewish terms Guoi-
aoxripiov a n d Guuiauot for the heavenly cult, since a cult in that loca
tion could n o t conceivably be described in p a g a n terms of pcouoq
(IGRR 4,353 a. /. 3 1 : dv[a6evxcov] x[6]v pcouov) or Aapavcoxoq. But the
concern for souls of d e p a r t e d m e m b e r s in terms of the dvarcauouivoi
reveals that the contra-image of the Imperial Cult is responsible for
the redescription of the heavenly scene in such sanitised Jewish terms.
F u r t h e r m o r e , d e p a r t e d m e m b e r s of the college of the Christian
cult are described as xaq \\f\>xaq xcov eocpayuivcov 8 i a xov Xoyov xou Geou.
W e have pointed out already that one of the offices of the P e r g a m o n
imperial college was that of GeoXoyoq (IGRR 4,353 a. /. 3 1 : [Ka7i(]xcovo<;
GeotaSyou). F u r t h e r m o r e , although the a u t h o r of the Apocalypse does
not use this t e r m of himself, GeoAoyoq b e c a m e the classic description
of his office as it was clearly perceived by his n e a r contemporaries.
W e have already m e n t i o n e d the role of the office of the GeoAoyoq in
writing the discourse or Xoyoq of the cultic d r a m a in which the i m p e
rial eiKoveq w e r e involved. T h e Xoyoq of the Christian cult, for which
the martyrs were slaughtered, is arguably here j u x t a p o s e d with that
of the Imperial Cult. Certainly, as we have already indicated, the
letters to the churches have the quality of the utterance of a myst-
agogue s u r r o u n d e d by the Xu%via a n d revealing the mysteries of the
figure ouoiov uiov dvGpcbrcou in their midst in terms of such veiled
imagery as white stones a n d h i d d e n m a n n a (5B 1.3).
IGRR 4,353 also m e n t i o n e d a 35 m e m b e r choir of the Imperial
Cult, the "hymn-singers (uuvcpSoi) of divine Augustus (Geou lepaoxou)
a n d of the goddess R o m a (Kai Qeaq Tcouriq)." (a. /. 5b). W e t u r n n o w
to parallels with such uuvcp8oi in the songs of the rcpeopuxepoi a r o u n d
the heavenly altar in the Apocalypse.
5B 2.2.3. A p o c . 4,4; 7,14: angels, uuvco8oi and rcpeapuxepoi

W e shall discuss further the question of any correspondence between
the Tcpeapuxepoi a r o u n d the heavenly altar in t h e Apocalypse a n d
C h u r c h O r d e r of the Seer's c o m m u n i t y w h e n we deal with the
Ignatian c o r r e s p o n d e n c e (6A 1.1.1). But for the m o m e n t we shall
consider the scenes a r o u n d the heavenly altar as reflections of the
Imperial Cult, a n d the prayers said by the presbyters, the angels,
the "great c r o w d " or the h y m n sung a n d the 144,000 as reflections
of w h a t was said by rcpeopeiq or rcpeopuxepoi or sung by uuvco8o{ at
imperial celebrations, w h e t h e r in connection or not with imperial

mysteries.
Pleket concluded that, as p a r t of the mysteries at P e r g a m o n , a
aepaaxocpdvxriq exposing " t h e imperial i m a g e u n d e r glaring l a m p
86
l i g h t , " w o u l d h a v e b e e n a c c o m p a n i e d at least o n occasions by
uuvco8oi a n d GeoAoyoi singing the divine e m p e r o r s ' praises. T h o u g h
there is n o reference to a aepaoxocpdvxr|<; in IGRR 4 , 3 5 3 , we find
allusions to such a cultic role elsewhere (IGRR 4,522 (= OGIS 479);
87
643). T h e r e are also o t h e r allusions to uuvqxSoi of the Imperial C u l t
88
at P e r g a m o n , for e x a m p l e Asia ( H y p a e p a ) .
It is to be emphasised that the uuvcp86<; is a p p o i n t e d for a sacrificial
function (6 KaxaaxaGeiq uuvcp86<; ei<; Guoiaq xou lePaoxou) a n d that his
89
h y m n (rcapapoouiov) is c o n n e c t e d with a n a l t a r . T h e h y m n in the
Apocalypse to which we c a n d r a w a parallel with the Imperial Cult,
sung by the 144,000 (14,2-3), alludes to such imperial mystery rites
in a musical context:
. . . the voice which I heared (r\ (pcovfj r\v TiKouaa) was as of harpists play
ing on their harps (ox; Ki0apcp8cbv KiGapiôvxcov ev xaiq KiGdpaic; auxcov),
and they sang a new song (Kai a5oi)oiv ax; qxSfjv Kawf|v) before the throne
and before the four animals and elders (evomiov xou Gpovou Kai evamiov
xcov xeoadpcov £a>cov Kai xcov TtpeoPuxepcov) and no-one was able to learn
the song (Kai ou8ei<; e8uvaxo paGeiv XTJV a)8f|v) except the 144,000.
Prior to this h y m n , we h a v e three prayers said (Xeyoviaq):
(i) T h e first is by the twenty four elders rcpeaPuxepoi, the precise

n u m b e r of which indicates their collegial c h a r a c t e r (4,10),
(ii) the second (7,9) by " a great c r o w d (6%Ao<; noXvq)... from every
nation a n d tribes (he navibq eGvouq Kai cpuAxov.) . . . standing before the
t h r o n e a n d before the L a m b (eoxcoxeq evamiov xou Gpovou Kai evamiov
xou dpviou)," a n d
(iii) the third (7,11) by angels w h o "stood in the circle of the t h r o n e
a n d of the elders a n d of the four living animals (eioxf|Keiaav KUK^CO
8 6
Pleket (1965), p p . 3 4 5 - 3 4 6 .
8 7
See also footnote 9 0 .
8 8
IGRR 4 , 1 6 0 8 (Claudius): a. /. 10: oi i)uvco8oi ave6r|Kav K a x a T O yev6|ie[vov]
\j/r|(pioua ev nepydnq) hub xfjq i e p a q [ a \ ) v o ] 8 o u e v y p d y a v i e q Baa S i m i a [Kai
[(piA,dv]9pamd eoxiv avxdiq 8e8oîe[va \>JC* a\>xoi)] a n d b. /. 5 . . . [xii iep]a i)uvco8(ov
[ O D V O S C O %aipeiv] . . .
89
IGRR 4 , 3 5 3 d. /. 1 4 - 1 5 cf. c. /. 10; Tacitus Hist. 2,55: "At R o m a e . . . . p o p -
ulus c u m lauru et floribus G a l b a e imagines circa templa tulit." See also Pleket
(1965), p. 3 4 1 ; Alfoldi (1970), pp. 7 1 - 7 2 ff.
200 CHAPTER FIVE
xov Bpovcru K a i xcov 7cpeap\)T8pcov Kai TCOV Teoadpcov £cbcov)." T h e first

three prayers however d o not a p p e a r to allude to t h e imperial mys
teries as such, since they a r e o p e n , cultic prayers. But u n d o u b t e d l y
the prayers of the presbyters, the great crowd, a n d t h e angels enjoy
the same cultic context as the h y m n of t h e 144,000.
As Alfbldi p o i n t e d out, from R e p u b l i c a n times acclamations for
great m e n from the crowds often took a rhythmic form. A c c o r d i n g to
Suetonius, t h e crowds "greeted Augustus r e t u r n i n g from the province
not only with every p r a y e r for his blessing (faustis omnibus) b u t with
90
r h y t h m i c songs (modulatis carminibus). At t h e g a m e s a c c o m p a n y i n g
the Imperial C u l t w e have descriptions of the crowds c h a n t i n g as
"so m a n y t h o u s a n d s of m e n ( T O o a u T a i p/upid8e<; avOpcorccov). . . even
as s o m e choir accurately t a u g h t (coarcep xiq aKpiPcoq x°P°S 8e8i8ay-
91
pevoq)." T h e s e a r e t h e concrete events reflected in the r h y t h m i c
chants of the elders a n d the angels, or the sung h y m n of the 144,000.
T h e scenic b a c k g r o u n d b o t h of the prayers a n d of this h y m n to
which we have m a d e reference is therefore u n d o u b t e d l y cultic. T h e
Gpovoq before which t h e presbyters p r a y in a d o r a t i o n is the s a m e as
that of the l a m b before w h o m t h e great standing crowd say their
p r a y e r (kox&xeq evamiov xov Gpovou Kai evcorciov TOU apviov). In Apoc.
8,3 it is clear that t h e golden altar stands before this t h r o n e (TO
6i)GiaoTr|piov TO xpuoouv TO evamiov TOU Gpovou). T h e L a m b is n o t
found on the altar b u t o n the t h r o n e , yet nevertheless he stands as
once slain b u t n o w alive a n d therefore standing a n d later sharing
92
G o d ' s t h r o n e . T h e blood of the L a m b still decorates those for w h o m
he died a n d w h o in t u r n have laid d o w n their lives (6,14).
F u r t h e r m o r e , in t h e dress of t h e 6%Xoq noXvq, a n d w h a t they carry,
we find a very close parallel with the I m p e r i a l Cult. In 7,9 w e find
t h e m "clothed in white robes (rcepiPepAriuivoix; oxoXaq Xevycaq) a n d
p a l m b r a n c h e s in their h a n d s ( K a i cpoiviKec; ev xaiq %epaiv avTcov)." W e
r e a d in the decree of T i b e r i u s ' reign from G y t h e i o n (Laconia) that
" t h e r e was to b e a p r o c e s s i o n (KOILK^V GxeXXexa* CK TOU iepou TOU
'AaK^riTciou K a i xr\q Tyieiaq) with t h e ephebes a n d the y o u n g a n d the
other citizens processing (rcouTieuovTcov TCOV xe ecpriPcov K a i vecov K a i TCOV
9 0
Suetonius, Aug. 5 7 , 2 : "Revertentem e x provincia n o n solum faustis ominibus
sed et modulatis carminibus prosequebantur."
91
D i o 78,20,1 cf. Alfoldi (1970), p p . 7 9 - 8 8 .
92
Apoc. 5,6: dpv(ov £GTT|K6<; coq eacpayuevov cf. 7,9: eaxwxeq evamiov xov Gpovou K a i
evamiov xofi a p v i o u ; 22,1 a n d 3.
aXXcov rcoXeixSv), w r e a t h e d with crowns of laurel (eoxeixuivcov Sdcpvrjq

93
oxecpdvoiq), a n d clothed in white (Kai A,euKa dujiexouevcov)." F u r t h e r
m o r e , H e r o d i a n (VIII, 7,2) informs us t h a t , o n the accession of
M a x i m u s in A . D . 2 3 5 , the Italian cities "sent embassies (rcpeoPeiaq
erceiircov)" whose m e m b e r s "were clothed in white (Xeu%eiuovouvxe<;)
carrying laurel b r a n c h e s (8acpvr|(p6poi)" with "images (dydA.|Liaxa)" a n d
"golden crowns (oxecpavoi xpuoou)." M o r e o v e r the a r m y j o i n e d the
procession "in peaceful a p p e a r a n c e (ev eipr|viKcp axr|uaxi), carrying
94
laurel b r a n c h e s (8acpvr|<p6po<;)."
At the temple of the e m p e r o r s (Kaiadpiov) the scene is of the
u n b l o o d y sacrifice of thure et vinum a n d of a bull sacrificed by the
Ephors "for the salvation of o u r rulers a n d gods (urcep xr\q xcov fjyeudvcov
Kai Gecov acoxupiaq) a n d the eternal c o n t i n u a n c e of their rule ( K a i
95
di'8{ou xfjq fyyeuoviaq auxcov 8iauovf)<;)." In Apoc. 7,14 the sacrifice at
the heavenly altar is of the L a m b in whose blood the byXoq TcoXuq
have " w a s h e d their robes (ercXuvav xdq cxoXaq) a n d w h i t e n e d t h e m
(Kai eêuKavav auxdq ev xcp a i u a x i xou dpviou)." F u r t h e r m o r e , i m m e
diately previously (7,10), their h y m n is also of fj acoxr)pia b u t directed
"to o u r G o d (xcp Gecp fiuxov) w h o sits on the t h r o n e (xcp KaGrjuivco EKI
xcp Gpovcp) a n d to the L a m b (Kai xcp dpv(cp)."
T h e first p r a y e r (4,11) is said by the twenty four presbyters w h o
w e a r axecpavoi u p o n their h e a d s a n d w h o a r e also clothed in white
g a r m e n t s (4,4). Both officials called rcpeopuxepoi a n d the w e a r i n g of
garlands (oxecpavoi) in seats of h o n o u r (7cpoe8piai) were features of
the Imperial Cult in m a n y of the city states of Asia M i n o r . W e shall
n o w see the significance of these features from the p a g a n cultic back
g r o u n d in Asia m i n o r .
5B. 2.2.4. A p o c . 4,4 rcpeoPuxepoi KaGujievoi and ;cpoe8piai

T h e rcpeopuxepoi KaGnuevoi have their c o u n t e r p a r t in the Imperial
Cult. T h e r e is n o distinct office of rcpeoPuxepoi clearly distinguishable
in the Imperial Cult. T h e rcpeopuxepoi of the Seer's vision clearly are
J e w i s h or Christian Elders playing their p a r t in the liturgy of the
synagogue or c h u r c h . But, as we h a v e a r g u e d , such Jewish-Christian
93
SEG 11, 9 2 2 , /. 25 ff. = Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s 102 a.
9 4
Fishwick (1987) 2,1 p. 4 7 8 ; Weinstock (1971), p. 2 0 7 a n d 3 9 7 . Cf. D i o Cassius
63,4,2.
95
Ibid. I. 2 8 - 2 9 : oxav 8e erci xo Kaiadpr|ov TI JCOUJCTI 7capayevr|xai, 6excooav oi ecpopoi
tafipov i)7iep xr\q xcov fiyeuovcov Kai Gecov acoxiipiaq Kai ai8{o\) xr\q fiyeuoviaq a\>xcov 5 i a -
uoviiq...
202 CHAPTER FIVE
concepts, as in the case of the Jewish terms 0DGiaaxr|piov and Guuiaua,

in place of the p a g a n pcouoq a n d Aipavcoxoq, are there because they
are intentionally placed there by the contra-cultural imagination.
C o r r e s p o n d i n g to the Jewish or Christian rcpeoPuxepoi were those
officials w h o occupied seats of h o n o u r in the cult. A 7ipoe8p{a was
a front seat, given as a privilege to office holders such as priests a n d
ambassadors (Tcpeapeiq), w h o occupied such seats. M . Gavius Squilla,
the "lifelong priest of Victoria Augusta (ieped 8id piou leâcxr\<; Neucnq),"
was " h o n o u r e d . . . with first seats (xex£iur||ievov . . . 7ipoe8p{ai<;)" by
the city-states of Pamphylia, Lycia a n d Asia (IGRR 4,778 /. 1 a n d
15 (Attalea)). At N a r b o , the rcpoe8pia (subsellio primo spectandi) was
96
specifically given to the priest (flameri) of the Imperial C u l t .
W e shall pursue further these lexical connections w h e n we consider
the Ignatian correspondence, a n d w h e r e the themes of npoKaOripevoq
are ecclesiastically further developed from Ka0r|pevo<; etc. a n d the
concomitant imagery that we are finding here. F o r the m o m e n t , let
us note that, w h e n the Council at Attalea recorded its h o n o u r paid
to Dionysius son of Glykon, one of his existing h o n o u r s was that he
"enjoyed the office also of first seat (iiexexovxa Kai xfjq rcpoeSpiaq; IGRR
4,1167 /. 4)." T e o s specifically a w a r d e d to certain ambassadors to
97
R o m e both a rcpoeSpia a n d a xpuaouq axecpavoq. W e turn n o w to
the character of the oxecpdvoi of Apoc. 4,4.
5B 2.2.5. axecpavoi %puao{, rcpeaPuxepoi and axecpavr|(p6poi

Xxecpavoi were a w a r d e d to athletes a n d others as a m a r k of high hon
our, a n d so would prefigure in the games associated with imperial
processions a n d birthdays. Priests of the Imperial Cult, past or pre
sent, would also w e a r such crowns, as indeed D o m i t i a n did w h e n
presiding over the Capitoline games (5A 2.2.2). T h u s the tide axe-
(pavricpopoq is associated with the Imperial Cult.
T h e Sacred Gerousia (iepd yepouaia) at Ephesus enjoyed sacerdo
tal functions in relation to the cult of Artemis implicit in the adjec
tive iepd. I n c o n s e q u e n c e , it b e c a m e closely associated with the
Imperial Cult w h e n the latter b e c a m e assimilated with the former.
%
Lex Narbonensis, CIL 12,6038: [de honoribus eius qui flamen erit] restored
line 5: [inter decuriones s]enatoresve subsellio primo spectan[di ludos publicos eius
provinciae ius esto].
97
IGRR 4 , 1 5 5 8 /. 2 7 - 3 0 (Teos) = OGIS 2,567: . . . e'5o£ev xr\ pouXfl . . . e7iaw[eaai
xo]i)<; TtpoyeYpauiievoix; av8pa<; m i KaXeia6ai eiq 7tpo[e5p(av KOCT'] eviavxov Aiovoaicov
xcp dyfcovi] ecoq a]v £cociv, K a l [axe(pavo\jo]9ai xpuoxo oxecpdvw . ..
As Oliver said, " T h e w o r d rcpeopuxepoi is all over Asia synonymous

98
with yepouoia." F u r t h e r m o r e the yepouoia is described as (piAooePaa-
xoq, a n d at Hyettus the local institution described itself as f| iepd yep
99
o u a i a xou Icoxfjpoq 'AoKAr|7ttou.
H e r e indeed, unusually a n d exceptionally, the tide of a functionary
called a rcpeaPuxepoq did a p p e a r in conjunction with the Imperial
Cult. Amongst such rcpeoPuxepoi would have been those h o n o u r e d
100
with a oxecpavoq a n d in consequence described as oxecpavrjcpopoi.
W e have a n Asian inscription (Lampsacus) in h o n o u r of Augustus'
wife Livia, in which the Gerousia order the erection of her statue with
steps dedicated to "Julia Sebasta Hestia ('Iouîav Iepaaxf|v 'Eaxiav),
the new D e m e t e r (veav Af|ur|xpa)." Part of the expense is "for the
h o n o u r i n g with wreaths (urcep xfjq ei<; xoix; oxecpdvouc; euaePeiaq) of the
101
priest of the Sebastoi (xou iepecoq xcov lePaaxcov)." In a n inscription
from Cyzicus (c. A . D . 37) the citizen body is instructed, w h e n wel
c o m i n g certain royal visitors, to greet t h e m pxxd xcov dpxovxcov K a i
102
xcov axecpavr|cp6pcov, in the context of the Imperial C u l t .
T h e r e is also in IGRR 4, 353 b. 1. 1 5 - 1 6 , as we saw (5B 2.2), the
c o n d u c t o r (6 mxaoxaGeiq uuvcoSoq) w h o provided on imperial birth-
9 8
J . H . Oliver, T h e Sacred Gerusia, in Ameriacn Excavations in the Athenian Agora,
Hesp. Suppl. 6 (1941), pp. 2 6 a n d 4 1 , contrary to T o d (1915), p p . 2 - 3 , w h o said:
"Examples from Asia M i n o r are rare, partly perhaps because of the use of the term
rcpeaPtJTEpoq in connection with the gymnasia and with m a n y o f the guilds and
societies o f the G r a e c o - R o m a n world, a n d above all in the terminology o f the
Christian C h u r c h m a d e it less suitable for the purpose o f distinguishing a father
from his son w h o bore the n a m e . " Nevertheless he cites t w o inscriptons from A d a d a
in Pisidia referring to Bidvcop 'Avxioxcru 7tpea(3i>xepo<; w h o is also dpxiepeix; xcov
lepaoxcov (p. 3).
9 9
Oliver (1941), p. 39.
100
I.G. 12,2,58 = OGIS 4 5 6 = IGRR 4 , 3 9 (Mitylene 11 B.C.) a. /. 10: xou dpx-
lepecoq Kai xov axecpavricpopou.
101
CIG 3 6 4 2 = IGRR 4 , 1 8 0 .
102
IGRR 4,145 refers to the civic reception for kings restored by Caligula after
their deposition by Tiberius. T h e decree is h o w e v e r (xo 8e \j/r|cpiop.a eivai) about
religious devotion to the Emperor (rcepi x 'evaePeiaq xf|<; eiq xov l e p a a x o v ) a n d the
h o n o u r for the kings (Kai XTI<; eiq xoix; (JaaiAiaq xeiufjq; /. 25). T h e monarchs were
to be w e l c o m e d in a procession around the temples. " . . . at their arrival (i)7to 8e xpv
eioo8ov avxcov) the priests a n d priestesses (xoix; uev iepetq Kai xaq iepeiaq), having
o p e n e d the shrines (dvoiâvxaq xa xejxevT|) and adorned the images (Kai 7ipooKoaur|a-
avxaq x a £ 6 a v a xcov Gecov), are to pray for the eternal continuance o f Gaius Caesar
( d 5 £ a a 6 a i uev i)7cep xiiq rai)o\) K a i o a p o q aicovCou 8iauovfjq) and for their safety (Kai
xfj<; xovxcov acoxripiaq). All the Cyzicenes are to s h o w their good-feeling for t h e m
( K \ ) ^ I K T | V O \ X ; 8e icdvxaq evSeiKvouevoix; xr\v sic, avxoix; eiSvoiav), a n d to m e e t and
greet t h e m with the archons a n d stephanephoroi. . . (i)7iavxr|aavxa<; uexd xcov dpxovxcov
Kai xcov axecpavTicpopcov d a r c d a a a G a i . . .).••(/. 1 9 - 2 4 ) .
204 CHAPTER FIVE
days crowns for the i)uvcp8oi (axe9avou(;xoi<;\)jLivcp8oi<;Kaixoi(;|a\)aTr|pioi(;

axecpdvcoaiv). W h e t h e r the rcpeaPuxepoi oi Apoc. 4 , 4 - 1 1 are to be viewed
as singing as opposed to rcpeaPeiq m a k i n g prayerful panegyric is a
m u t e point, a n d p e r h a p s the Seer did n o t always carefully distin
guish the images of various figures of the Imperial Cult transformed
contra-culturally into the heavenly scene. T h e rcpeapuxepoi as i)uvcp8o{
would clearly have w o r n such crowns. But that the crowns are golden
implies further a n d p e r h a p s o t h e r images t h a n t h a t of the choir.
T h e 7Up£oPt>x£poi in Apoc. 4 a r e m o r e o v e r c r o w n e d with golden
crowns (oxetpdvoix; xpuaovq). T h e fact that their garlands a r e of gold
is significant because t h e general g a t h e r i n g of white-robed citizens
w o r e o r d i n a r y garlands. F r o m the decree of G y t h e u m we see that
the general p o p u l a t i o n "were w r e a t h e d with crowns of laurel (eaxeu-
103
uivcov 8dtpvri<; oxecpdvoiq)." T h e crowns w o r n by the ax£(pavr|(p6poi
were therefore special crowns. Benefactors were a w a r d e d t h e m such
as Perigenes of Alexandria, son of Leontiskus w h o "for his piety
(euaepeiocv)" towards Ptolemy I V a n d Arsinoe, was "to be g a r l a n d e d
104
with a golden crown (axetpavcoaai xpuafi axecpdvcp)." As we saw in
the last p a r a g r a p h , sometimes a axecpavncpopoq could b e a priest,
t h o u g h whilst sacrificing the priest specifically of the Imperial Cult
would w e a r t h e corona aurea with its effigies (see also 5 A 2.2.2). Poly-
cleides was a stephanephorus (axecpavricpopouvxoq IIOAA)KA£{8OI)) " o n account
of his erecting a n i m a g e of Artemis L e u c o p h r y e n e (urcep xfjq Ka6i8pt>-
aecoq xou ôdvou xfjq 'Apxepi8o<; xf|<; Ae'OKoepp'ovfiq)." H e in consequence
joins the priestesses a n d other axe<pavr|<p6poi in b o t h processing a n d
105
sacrificing.
I n the first p r a y e r (Apoc. 4,11), the rcpeaPuxepoi "cast their crowns
(PaAouaiv xoix; oxeyavoxx; auxcov) before the throne (evawiiov xou Gpovou)."
T h i s directly parallels the Imperial Cult in that it was a c u s t o m a r y
practice to present t h e divine ruler with a gold crown, a n d to wor
ship before his e m p t y chair. In D i o Cassius 59,24, 3 - 4 the senators
106
in a b o d y d i d obeisance in t h e Capitol to the chair of G a i u s .
1 0 3
Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s (1955) 102,25 = S E G 1 1 , 9 2 2 - 9 2 3 .
104
OGIS 2 , 7 3 0 .
105
SylP 6 9 5 /. 3 3 - 3 4 : xaq 8e yivouevaq iepeiaq xx\q 'ApieuiSoq, uexa axe9avTi96pov
noAA)ictai8riv K a i xoix; axecpavricpopoix; ev xcp Ka9' eauxoix; eviauxcp Ovciav K a i 7cou7triv
auvxeXeiv. S e e also IGRR 4 , 1 3 0 4 /. 5; 1349 /. 16; 1 5 5 8 /. 2 7 - 3 1 .
1 0 6
D . G . A u n e , T h e Influence o f the R o m a n Imperial Court Ceremonial o n the
Apocalypse o f J o h n , in Papers of the Chicago Society for Biblical Research, 2 8 (1983),
pp. 1 3 - 1 4 cites also D i o Cassius 4 5 , 6 , 5 ; 5 3 , 3 0 , 6 1 . Cf. L. R o s s Taylor, T h e Divinity
M a x i m i n u s in A . D . 235 is m e t by delegations (rcpeaPeiaq) of p r o m i

nent citizens dressed in white a n d wearing laurel wreaths, w h o brought
107
with them statues of their gods and golden crowns (Herodian VHI,7,2).
T h e latter practice too is supported from epigraphic evidence. F r o m
Mytilene (c. 27 B.C.) a golden crown was to be sent to Augustus
108
a n d O c t a v i a a n d presented by the ambassadors (rcpeopeic;).
In Apoc. 4,10 the rcpeopuxepoi p r a y prayers which are almost iden
tical in content with those of the great c r o w d a n d the angels. Let
us look at the content of these prayers in c o m p a r i s o n with the wor
shipful panegyrics, particularly of the npeofieiq, in connection with
the Imperial Cult. W e are as ignorant of the words of the h y m n s
of the uuvco8oi a n d GeoAoyoi, w h e t h e r in the mysteries or in o p e n
cultic celebration as we are of the words of the song of the 144,000.
As A u n e pointed out, this would also be true of the spoken prayers
109
of the officials of the Imperial C u l t .
But the words of such official prayers would n o d o u b t be reflected
in w h a t was set to music. W h e t h e r the prayers of the rcpeopuxepoi
were spoken or sung, we find in t h e m reflections of the language of
the Imperial Cult. This language m a y indicate that we have h e r e in
the prayers of the Christian rcpeoPuxepoi models of w h a t was origi
nally sung by the p a g a n choirs. W e n o w t u r n to the contents of
these prayers that we believe we can associate m o r e directly a n d
exactly with the language of the Imperial Cult t h a n the a t t e m p t e d
110
reconstructions of A u n e .
5B 3. Imperial ideology in Apoc. 4,10 and 7,10
E a c h of the three prayers is addressed before the t h r o n e (evcbiciov

xou 0p6vou), like those of the Senators at the Capitol in the reign of
Gaius, to his vacant chair, w h e t h e r by presbyters, angels, or the great
111
crowd. T h e r e are c o m m o n concepts repeated. T h e s e are: 86£a,
euxapiaxia, xi|xf|, a n d Suvajiiq, (4,11) to which the angels a n d "every
of the R o m a n Emperor, in American Philological Association, Philological Monographs, 1

(1931), (Connecticut 1931), p. 87 note 15 a n d D J . Weinstock, Divus Julius, (Oxford:
C l a r e n d o n 1971), p. 2 8 3 .
1 0 7
A u n e (1983) p. 12.
108 c o v v
IGRR 4,39 b. /. 3 0 - 3 1 : TteuxpOfjvai 8e Kai oxecpavov anb xpvacov 8 i a x ^ i o
Kai dvaSoOfjvai i>nb xcov upeapecov.
1 0 9
A u n e (1983), p p . 1 5 - 2 0 .
1 1 0
A u n e (1983), p p . 17 ff.
111
S e e footnotes 9 8 and 9 9 .
206 CHAPTER FIVE
c r e a t u r e " a d d s ei)Xoyia, Kpdxoq a n d nXomoq (5,13), to which 7 , 1 0 - 1 2

adds ia%t><;, aoqnct a n d ocoxripia. W e can n o w trace most of these con
cepts, with the exception of oocpia, in the inscriptions.
5B 3.1. 86â, euxapioxia, Kpdxoq

In the Mytilenian decree (c. 27 B.C.), to which reference has already
been m a d e , thanksgiving (euxapiaxia) is given for the benefits bestowed
by the imperial family in the mutilated beginning (b. /. 6: . . euepyeoicov
v o u a a [ . . . £\>xa]piGx{av). T h e inscription continues:
[Such benefits] are to be concluded from a natural generosity because

it is never possible for the more humbling experiences in fate or in
nature to be applied to those who have achieved heaven's glory (86£a)
112
and the superiority of the gods and their strength (Kpaioq).
In /. 24 a n d 34 we r e a d that the a m b a s s a d o r s (npecfieiq) w h o , as we

have seen, are to present the crcicpavoq xpuaouq, are "to praise (eu%api-
oxf}oai)" the imperial family.
Similarly, in IGRR 4,145 /. 5 (Cyzicus), h o n o u r i n g Caligula for
the restoration of certain kings in Asia, the decree is for h i m "for
the praise of such a g o d (eiq £x>%apiGxiav xr|A,iKot>xou Oeou)."
W e find t h e t h e m e of Kpdxoq too in the Ephesian graffito: " R o m e ,
q u e e n of all, (Tcbpa r\ na\i$aGiXe\a) y o u r strength will never perish
113
(xo aov Kpdxoq o\)7cox' 6A,£ixai)."
5B 3.2. ocoxripia
It is at first sight quite incongruous that a p r a y e r should be offered
(Apoc. 7,10) to the J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n G o d offering h i m salvation or
safety (ocoxripia). Yet in the context of the g o d - E m p e r o r such a p a r a
dox is a p p r o p r i a t e . F r o m A d r a a e in A r a b i a we have two inscriptions
in A . D . 2 6 2 - 3 c o m m e m o r a t i n g walls a n d gates " o n behalf of the
salvation a n d victory of o u r L o r d (vnep ocoxn.p{a<; ice viicriq xot> Kupiou
f^pcov)" the former of which preserves the words " E m p e r o r Gallienus
114
Sebastos (auxoKpaxopoq T a ^ i r | v o \ ) I e | i . ) "
112
IGRR (Mytilene) b. /. 6 - 1 1 : £7uXoy{aao6ai 8e xfj[<;] OIKECOK; jieyaAjOcppoawriq
4,39
xexe[\)]x6ai 56[£TI<; Kai Gecov \)7iepoxfvv Kai Kpaxoq exovaiv oi>8e7ioxe
ox[i] xoiq o v p a v i o i )
8i)vaxai a\)veîaco9fjvai x a Kai xr\ xt>xii xarcewoxepa Kai xr\ [cpvaei.
113
/. Eph. II, 599.
114
IGRR 3,1287 /. 4 and 1288 /. 5.
5B 3.3. 8uvaua<; a n d ioxuq

T h e r e is not a great deal of evidence for 8uvaui<; in the inscriptions
for the Imperial Cult, a n d n o n e that I can find for ioxuq p e r h a p s
because, at all events, it is synonymous with Kpdxoq.
If we go for a n earlier description of the Hellenistic ruler-cult
before A u g u s t u s , t h e r e is t h e d e c r e e from P r i e n e in h o n o u r of
Lysimachus in 306 B.C. (OGIS 12). H e r e there are all the trappings
of the later Imperial Cult that we have observed. T h e people are
to erect a bronze statue (oxr|aei 8e 6 8fjuo<; xou PaoiAiox; ayaAuxx xaAxouv;
/. 15). T h e rcpeaPeuxai a r e to c r o w n h i m with a golden crown (oxe-
cpavcoaouoiv auxov oxecpdvcp xpuoco; /. 14). T h e y are furthermore to
rejoice together with the king (ouvr|a6r|oovxai xcp paaiAei) t h a t he
himself is strong (oxi ccuxoq xe eppcoxai) a n d his power (Kai f| S u v a u x q ) . . .
(/. 10).
F o r the time of the Imperial Cult itself, we have a n Egyptian
inscription in which T i b e r i u s J u l i u s A l e x a n d e r is the a u t h o r of a
decree addressing various complaints a n d petitions to G a l b a in 68
A.D. (OGIS 669). H e writes of necessity (rcpoeypa\|/a dvayKaicoq) "con
cerning each particular thing sought (rcepi e m o x o u xcov eTu^rjxoupivcov),
m a n y of which I can j u d g e a n d d o (baa eêaxi uoi Kpeiveiv K a i icoieiv)
but others which are too great a n d require the p o w e r of the e m p e r o r
(xd 8e jieiôva K a i Seojieva xr\q xou auxoKpdxopoq 8uvd|ieco<;....(/. 8-9))."
5B 3.4. nXomoq
N e i t h e r nXomoq n o r euAoyia are direcdy attested in the inscriptions
with particular reference to the Imperial Cult. H o w e v e r , cognate
terms are found on coinage associated with the i c o n o g r a p h y of the
Imperial Cult. Fortuna is found as the deified personification along
with Abundantia, Annona, Felicitas, o r Moneta expressing t h e wealth
(rcôuxoq) associated with the imperial divinities.
R e g a r d i n g rcXouxoq, we have a n u m b e r of coins from D o m i t i a n ' s
tenth consulate (A.D. 84) b e a r i n g the radiate h e a d of the e m p e r o r
with Annona o n the reverse, seated a n d holding c o r n ears, in one
case with a small figure a n d a ship in the distance, inscribed A N N O N A
1 1 5
AVG[VSTA]. As we n o t e d with the cult of virtues (2B 3), h e r e a
deified abstraction is being associated with the collective personality
1 , 5
BMC 2, p. 3 6 0 n o . *, see also p. 3 6 5 n o . 3 0 4 plate 71,5, a n d p. 3 7 3 n o . 347
plate 7 3 , 6 .
208 CHAPTER FIVE
of the E m p e r o r by m e a n s of the qualifying a n d a p p r o p r i a t i n g addi

tion of augusta. Likewise with Moneta, the goddess personifying the
M i n t , D o m i t i a n ' s coins show h e r d r a p e d a n d holding scales a n d a
1 1 6
cornucopia with inscription M O N E T A A V G V S T [ A ] .
Similarly in coins from Titus's reign (A.D. 81-82) Felicitas is inscribed
ul
as F E L I C I T [ A S ] A V G V S T f A ] , depicted holding cornucopiae. T h e r e
are also examples of inscriptions of the form: F E L I C I T A S P V B L I C A
S.C., in which Felicitas holds cadeus a n d cornucopiae a n d thus is a sym
118
bol of 7tAxri)TO<;.
PART C . I N CONCLUSION: APOCALYPSE AND THE IMPERIAL C U L T
W e have thus surveyed the imagery a n d b a c k g r o u n d of the Apocalypse,

a n d located this firmly in the context of the Imperial Cult in Asia
M i n o r in D o m i t i a n ' s reign. W e have a r g u e d in terms of contra-cul
tural theory t h a t the imagery of the Apocalypse is to be u n d e r s t o o d
as a J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n reconstruction of the values of p a g a n culture
in which the impress of that culture is re-expressed in a reversed
form. T h e picture of Christ a n d the Son of M a n in the midst of
the l a m p stands of the seven churches, the language of the GeotaSyoq
of the mysteries there used, the golden laureate presbyters a r o u n d
the heavenly t h r o n e of incense, the white r o b b e d t h r o n g of martyrs,
the language of the h y m n s sung or prayers said a r o u n d the heav
enly altar, the imagery of m o t h e r a n d child, of angels with vials etc
all reflected the imagery of that cult.
F u r t h e r m o r e the reflection was a reverse reflection. T h e contra-
culture takes o n the values of the host culture in a reversed trans
formation. It creates its own frame of reference that is a kind of
m i r r o r image of the host culture, with which those w h o inhabit its
reconstruction of social reality find the status a n d self-esteem that
the host culture denies t h e m . T h e qnaAm of plenty represented on
the imperial coinage as disposed by Abundantia, Annona, Felicitas, Fortuna,
or by D o m i t i a as the m o t h e r of a divine child have b e c o m e trans
formed in the vision of the Seer into the (pidAm of G o d ' s w r a t h . T h e
sacrifices on the altar b e c o m e , not the bulls, b u t the martyrs w h o
1 , 6
BMC 2, p. 367 n o . 3 1 4 (A.D. 85), p. 3 7 5 , and p. 3 7 8 n o . 3 6 5 plate 74,8.
117
BMC 2, p. 2 5 5 no. 156, see also p. 2 8 0 .
1 , 8
BMC 2, p. 2 1 2 no. 8 5 6 plate 4 1 , 9 .
have w a s h e d their festal robes white in the blood of the L a m b .

D o m i t i a a n d h e r child b e c o m e M a r y a n d J e s u s , p u r s u e d by Satan.
T h e feasts a n d b a n q u e t s of the imperial festival, a n d of the imper
ial mysteries, b e c o m e the m a r r i a g e supper of the L a m b .
But given that the c h u r c h in h e a v e n is reflected in the c h u r c h on
earth, w h a t if anything does the picture of the former in the Apocalypse
tell us a b o u t the state of C h u r c h O r d e r at this time? C a n we see
in the presbyters of the Apocalypse or the angels of the C h u r c h e s any
reflection of a c o n t e m p o r a r y C h u r c h O r d e r ? I a m going n o w to sug
gest t h a t there is a resolution to this ancient p r o b l e m in the letters
of Ignatius of Antioch t h a t reflect in various a n d discrete ways the
imagery of the Apocalypse which r e a p p e a r in w h a t is unquestionably
a description of h o w he regards the iconography of the C h u r c h gath
ered for worship on earth. It is to the Ignatian developments that
we n o w turn.
CHAPTER SIX
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND T H E

MARTYR'S PROCESSION
Imperial ambassadors, representation, and confrontation
T h e r e are, contrary to Koester, sufficient connections between the

Ignatian c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a n d the Apocalypse to suggest a relationship
1
between the particular churches of Asia addressed in both works.
It would therefore be w r o n g to suppose that within those cities there
were separate charismatic groups to which the latter were addressed,
a n d separate episcopal groups to which the former were addressed,
with n o relation to each other. T h e churches in Ephesus, P e r g a m o n ,
a n d Philadelphia, addressed by the Seer, were the same groups some
fifteen to twenty years later addressed by Ignatius, a n d n o t rival
groups within the same city with n o connection with each other.
In consequence, it will be possible for m e to argue in the first
half of this c h a p t e r (6A) that we can use the Ignatian correspon
dence to u n d e r s t a n d h o w the heavenly angels a n d presbyters of the
Apocalypse b e c a m e Ignatius' real-live bishops a n d presbyters some
fifteen years later, if indeed these officers were not yet present in
the churches addressed by the Seer. T h e s e heavenly beings reflected
features of the Imperial Cult a n d its ritual. Subsequently, w h e n they
b e c o m e g r o u n d e d in a n earthly institution at the Ignatian, further
stage of d e v e l o p m e n t some fifteen years latter, they will also reflect
some features of the p a g a n institutions of which they are the contra-
cultural models. W e shall show m o r e o v e r a typology of representa
tion in Ignatius' description of the threefold O r d e r which reflects the
theology of representation implied in D o m i t i a n ' s changes, as high
priest of the Capitoline games in the iconography of the coronae. Such
a typology we shall see to both include a n d to go b e y o n d the epis
copal representation of angelic c o r p o r a t e personalities of c o m m u n i
ties in the Apocalypse.
1
H . Koester, TNQMAI AIAOOPOI: T h e Origin and Nature o f Diversification in
the History o f Early Christianity, in J . M . R o b i n s o n and H . Koester, Trajectories
through Early Christianity, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1971), pp. 1 1 4 - 1 5 7 .
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE MARTYR'S PROCESSION 21 1
F u r t h e r m o r e , we shall show (6B) that Ignatius' u n d e r s t a n d i n g of

his m a r t y r d o m is in the context of a n imperial cultic procession, with
the roles of the Christian clerics w h o a c c o m p a n y h i m described by
ambassadorial tides. T h e s e tides will be shown to have equivalents
in inscriptions of the provisions m a d e by the city states of Asia M i n o r
to a p p o i n t various officers for the p r o c l a m a t i o n a n d celebration of
2
the Imperial C u l t .
P A R T A. IGNATIAN TYPOLOGY AND DOMITIAN'S ICONOGRAPHY
T h e classical, threefold O r d e r of later C h r i s t e n d o m a p p e a r s for the

first time unambiguously in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, w h o
3
writes in the reign of T r a j a n a r o u n d A . D . 109. T h e question of the
relationship between Ignatius a n d the Apocalypse is an interesting one.
Several of the destinations of Ignatius' letters (Ephesus, Smyrna, Phila
delphia) are identical with the destination of the letters addressed to
t h e m by the Seer in A . D . 9 5 . If t h a t relationship can b e established,
it is a n interesting question w h a t kind of C h u r c h O r d e r existed in
these churches at the time of the Seer, a n d h o w it developed by the
time of Ignatius.
Koester a r g u e d that different Christian groups m a y be addressed
4
even within the same cities by Ignatius a n d the Seer. But alterna
tively there m a y have b e e n communities which h a d achieved, c o m -
m e n d a b l y in Ignatius' opinion, the threefold O r d e r , a n d others which
lacked this O r d e r (Thyateira, Laodicaea, P e r g a m o n , a n d Sardis) a n d
therefore did not w a r r a n t a n episcopal letter. T h e absence of letters
to these i m p o r t a n t centres, let alone to T a r s u s or Antioch in Pisidia,
does n o t therefore necessarily support the claims of the o p p o n e n t s
2
For a n earlier version, see A. Brent, Ignatius of Antioch and the Imperial Cult,
in VCh 52,1 (1998), p p . 3 0 - 5 8 .
3
T h e Lightfoot-Zahn consensus o n the genuineness o f the Middle R e c e n s i o n has
recently b e e n assailed by, a m o n g s t others, R. Joly, Le Dossier d'Ignace d'Antioche,
(Universite Libre d e Bruxelles: Faculte d e Philosophic et Lettres: L X I X 1978);
J. R i u s - C a m p s , The Four Letters of Ignatius the Martyr, ( R o m e : Pontificium Institutum
Orientalium Studiorum 1980). T h e i r grounds are unsatisfactory see, e.g. W . Schoedel,
Are the Letters o f Ignatius o f A n t i o c h Authentic? in RelStRev 6 (1980), p p . 2 6 1 - 2 9 7 ;
C P . H a m m o n d B a m m e l , in JThS 3 3 (1982), p p . 6 2 - 9 7 ; A. Brent, T h e Ignatian
Epistles a n d the Threefold Ecclesiastical Order, in JRH 17,1 (1992), pp. 1 8 - 3 2 ;
Idem. T h e Relations b e t w e e n Ignatius o f A n t i o c h and the Didascalia Apostolorum, in
SecCent 8,3 (1991), pp. 1 2 9 - 1 5 6 . For fuller bibliograhy see also Brent (1991).
4
See footnote 1 above.
212 CHAPTER SIX
of the Middle Recension. T h a t n o n e of these were apparently suffi-

ciendy interested in the martyr's highway on which Ignatius travelled
to R o m e to send clerical visitors, if indeed they h a d clerics to send,
is fully consistent with the lack of a universal threefold O r d e r at this
time. Bishop Ignatius did not recognise such centres as containing
truly Christian groups.
Despite the a p p a r e n t difference between the charismatic cultural
a m b i e n c e of the Apocalypse a n d the ecclesiastical O r d e r of Ignatius,
there are nevertheless some intriguing links between the two works.
T h e s e links will suggest that the three churches to which b o t h the
Seer and Ignatius address letters (Pergamon, Ephesus a n d Philadelphia)
were the same communities, historically continuous a n d not sepa
rated from e a c h other. Brown a n d M e i e r claimed that the charis
matic groups in Antioch in Syria, identified in St. Matthew by their
redaction criticism of that gospel, were p a r t of the history of Ignatius'
own c o m m u n i t y , a n d from which his episcopal C h u r c h O r d e r h a d
5
developed (3A 2).
T r e v e t t certainly saw a supersession of charismatic persons in the
6
silence of the bishop of Philadelphia (Philad. 1,1). I myself, further
m o r e , a r g u e d that charisma was not necessarily antithetical to epis
copal O r d e r , as is often assumed from twentieth century charismatic
7
e x p e r i e n c e . If c h a r i s m a a n d episcopal O r d e r d o not necessarily
r e q u i r e different c o m m u n i t i e s for their o p e r a t i o n in the case of
Antioch in Syria, t h e n the same can b e equally true for Ephesus,
Philadelphia, a n d S m y r n a . J o h n the Seer does not necessarily there
fore address different groups in the same cities to those later to be
addressed by Ignatius.
Let us therefore e x a m i n e the links in imagery used by the Seer
a n d Ignatius in o r d e r to establish the historical continuity between
at least some churches addressed by the Seer a n d by Ignatius of
Antioch.
5
R . E . Brown and J.-P. Meier, Antioch and Rome: New Testament Cradles of Catholic
Christianity, ( N e w York: Paulist Press 1983), chapters 3 - 4 .
6
C . Trevett, Prophecy a n d Anti-Episcopal Activity: A T h i r d Error C o m b a t t e d
by Ignatius? in JEH 3 4 (1983), p p . 1 6 5 - 1 7 1 , cf. H . Chadwick, T h e Silence of
Bishops in Ignatius, in HThR 4 3 (1950), pp. 1 6 9 - 7 2 and L.F. Pizzolato, Silenzio
del v e s c o v o e parola degli eretici in Ignazio d'Antiocheia, in Aevum 4 4 (1970), pp.
205-218.
7
A. Brent, Pseudonymity and Charisma in the Ministry o f the Early C h u r c h , in
Aug 2 7 , 3 (1987), pp. 3 4 7 - 3 7 6 .
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE MARTYR'S PROCESSION 213
6A 1. Common Imagery in Ignatius and the Apocalypse
A c o m m u n i t y such as that at Ephesus (Ignatius, Eph. 9,1) can be

described as "temple stones (XiQoi vocou) m a d e ready in anticipation
for G o d the F a t h e r ' s building (rcpouxoiuocauivoi eiq OIKOSOUTW Geou
rcaxpoq)." In Apoc. 21,14 a n d 19 the N e w J e r u s a l e m has walls with
foundations b e a r i n g the n a m e s of the twelve aposdes, a n d which are
" a d o r n e d with every precious stone (oi Geuetaoi xou xeixou<; xfjq noXeax;
rcocvxi XiGco xipicp K e K o a u r i j i e v o i ) . ' '
T h e cross is represented as a tree b e a r i n g the fruit of immortal
ity in b o t h works. In Trallians 11,1-2 the heretics are not "the plant
ing of the F a t h e r (cpuxeia Ttaxpoq); for if they were, they would have
a p p e a r e d as b r a n c h e s of the cross (K^CX8OI xou oxocupou) a n d their
fruit i m m o r t a l (6 Kocprcoq auxcov oupGapxoq)." In Apoc. 22,2 we r e a d of
the "tree of life (2;uA,ov £cof|<;) p r o d u c i n g twelve fruits . . . a n d the
leaves of the tree (xa cpuA,A,a xou £t>A,ou) are for the healing of the
nations (eiq Gepocrceiccv xcov eGvcbv)." £uAov generally in early Christian
literature m e a n s the Cross, a n d to the o v e r c o m e r it is g r a n t e d "to
eat of the t r e e / c r o s s of life (cpayeiv eic xou £uA,ou xfjq £cofj<;) which is in
the g a r d e n of G o d (o eoxw ev rcocpaSeiocp xou Geou)." (Apoc. 2,7)
But there are two further kinds of link t h a t connect the Apocalypse
with Ignatius in a far m o r e comprehensive a n d fundamental way.
T h e s e links furthermore connect Ignatius not only with the Apocalypse
but with w h a t we have seen the latter work to reflect of the liturgy
a n d theology of the Imperial Cult (5B 1.1).
6A 1.1. Heavenly Church and corresponding earthly typology

T h e first set of links can b e seen in the tendency of b o t h works to
see reflections of a transcendent a n d heavenly C h u r c h O r d e r enter
ing the world of the present C h u r c h . T h e second set shows a sim
ilarity between the way in which angelic beings represent the corporate
personalities of distinct churches in the Apocalypse, a n d the way in
which, in Ignatius, the same c o r p o r a t e personality of the individual
c o m m u n i t y is represented mystically by the bishop, a n d other cler
ical personages that are p a r t of the threefold hierarchy.
6A 1.1.1. Ignatius and Apocalypse: The heavenly liturgy

T h e r e is a general acceptance of some reflection, albeit general a n d
ill-formed, of early Christian worship in the description of the heav
enly worship of the Apocalypse. T h e presbyteral circle, in which the
four living creatures participate a r o u n d the t h r o n e of G o d a n d the
214 CHAPTER SIX
L a m b , is evocative of scenes in the liturgy of the Apostolic Tradition

in which the bishop w h o presides sits s u r r o u n d e d by a circle of seated
presbyters with standing deacons giving liturgical instructions to the
people, a n d receiving the latter's gifts of b r e a d a n d wine for con
8
secration a n d eventual c o m m u n i o n . T o disentangle the imagery of
the contemporary C h u r c h reflected in the heavenly C h u r c h is difficult,
given the way in which we have seen t h a t the imagery of the p a g a n
Imperial Cultus with its altar, vials, incense, a n d white r o b b e d wor
shipers is b l e n d e d with a n y such p u t a t i v e ecclesiastical i m a g e r y .
However, we have some control over a correct reading of the Apocalypse
in the context of the kind of social e n v i r o n m e n t in which it was
written, given the identity of communities addressed by b o t h writ
ers (6A 1). W e have already a r g u e d a similarity of general imagery
that reveals far m o r e in c o m m o n t h a n simply in some cases a n iden
tity of cities of Asia M i n o r in the C h u r c h that is addressed.
Prigent a r g u e d that the twenty four elders of Apoc. 4 - 5 , seated
crowned a n d u p o n thrones a r o u n d the t h r o n e of G o d a n d the L a m b ,
represented O l d T e s t a m e n t Elders a n d their liturgical refrain was
9
originally p a r t of a J e w i s h liturgy. But g r a n t e d this original locus of
the imagery of these passages, the n a t u r a l transition into Christian
usage was hardly directly into the literature of the Apocalypse. T h e
most natural, i m m e d i a t e locus before a p p e a r a n c e in the vision of the
Seer would have b e e n via a Christian liturgy shaped by w h a t we
10
have argued to be its p a g a n , cultic b a c k g r o u n d . Such a liturgy,
conceptualized originally in J e w i s h terms, would, we have argued,
b e e n refashioned in process of contra-cultural reformulation, in its
Christian context, as a specific response to the Imperial Cult.
Within a generation after the vision of the Seer, Ignatius was to
bear witness to the presence of an O r d e r of presbyters in the churches
of Ephesus, S m y r n a , a n d Philadelphia. H e therefore claims that those
churches possessed a n O r d e r , h o w e v e r nascent a n d controverted,
similar to t h a t of his own Antioch in Syria. C o n t e m p o r a r y redac
tion criticism of the gospel of that C h u r c h , Matthew, reveals pres
byters within that c o m m u n i t y living in tension with m o r e charismatic,
11
prophetic groups. F u r t h e r m o r e , H e r m a s bears witness in mid-second
8
Pseudo Hippolytus, Ap. Trad. 4; Didasc. Apost. II, 5 7 , 4 - 5 .
9
P. Prigent, Apocalypse et Liturgie, in CTh 5 2 (1964), p p . 4 8 - 5 5 , p. 6 8 .
10
Such was the argument of J. P. Audet, La Didache: Instructions des Apotres, (Paris:
Libraire Lecoffre 1958), p. 377 cf. Prigent (1964), p. 50.
11
Brown and J . P . M e i e r (1982) chapters 3 and 4.
century R o m e to a p r o p h e t i c Seer addressing a c h u r c h that clearly

acknowledged his c h a r i s m a whilst acknowledging presbyters whose
12
office was that of rcpcoxoicaGeSpixai occupying 7tpcoxoKa0e8p{ai. It
would b e a mistake, therefore, to agree with Satake t h a t the C h u r c h
O r d e r of the Apocalypse h a d n o office holders a p a r t from p r o p h e t s ,
as if this work could stand a p a r t from its place in k n o w n , late first-
century contexts. T r e v e t t has m o r e o v e r emphasised charismatic a n d
p r o p h e t i c elements s u b s u m e d u n d e r Ignatius' episcopal behaviour,
which reveals different elements in tension r a t h e r t h a n the presence
13
of a p r o p h e t i c o r d e r p r e c l u d i n g a presbyteral o n e .
Satake concludes that the presbyters in the Apocalypse c a n only be
h e a v e n l y beings o n a c c o u n t of t h e i r c r o w n s a n d t h e i r h e a v e n l y
14
glorification. But it is by n o m e a n s incongruous that a description
of a heavenly reflection in a n earthly liturgy should c r o w n a n d glo
rify those w h o preside at that liturgy. F u r t h e r m o r e Satake's treat
m e n t ignores the variety of earthly images synthesised by the Seer
into the heavenly scenes. ~.
T h e seated presbyters are associated with the slain l a m b w h o sits
in the midst of t h e m at a n altar of sacrifice. It w o u l d have b e e n
priests w h o presided at a sacrifice a n d not presbyters h a d the O.T.
symbolism b e e n preserved h e r e in a n u n c o n t a m i n a t e d form. Instead
that symbolism has u n d e r g o n e radical reformulation. I n the case of
the living creatures, as in that of the slain l a m b , p a g a n elements
j o i n the synthesis. T h e images h e r e are taken from the bucranium
of A u g u s t a n art, a n d the living creatures that often a d o r n sacrifi
15
cial scenes in A u g u s t a n cultic frescoes. T h e elders (Apoc. 5,8) each
possess a h a r p ( e ^ o v x e q eKotGxoq Ki0dpav) a n d i n c e n s e bowls (Kai
ymXaq %p\)oa<; y e p o u a a c ; 9\)piapdxcov). T h o u g h incense was used by
priests a n d not by elders in the T e m p l e , h e r e the a c c o m p a n y i n g
KiG&poc a n d a n actual sacrificial victim places the scene outside an
12
H e r m a s Vis. I l l , 9,7: vfiv ox>v i)uiv A-eyco xoiq 7tpoTry(n)|Lievoi<; xr\c, E K K X T I G I O K ; Kai
xoi<; 7tpcoxoKa6e8pixou<;. . . cf. Vis. II, 4 , 3 : . . . uexa xcov rcpeap'uxepcov xcov Ttpo'ioxauevcov.
See also Man. 11,12 where it is a \j/e\)5o7ipo<pr|XTi<; w h o is 6 mOriuevoq erci XT^V K<X6-
e 8 p a v . S e e also Brent (1995), p p . 4 3 1 - 4 5 4 ff.
13
S e e footnotes 6 a n d 7.
14
A. Satake, D i e G e m e i n d e o r d n u n g in der Johannesapokalypse, in WMANT 2\
(1966), p p . 1 4 7 - 1 5 0 ff.: "Auch die dritte D e u t u n g , dass sich i m H a n d e l n der 2 4
Altesten das des irdischen Presbyteriums widerspiegelt, ist m e i n e r Ansicht n a c h
unhaltbar, und zwar vor allem d e s w e g e n , weil die vier W e s e n , die n e b e n ihnen
auftreten, auf keinen Fall in der irdischen G e m e i n d e eine Entsprechung haben."
15
S e e also Zanker (1990), p. 115 fig. 9 3 a n d p. 117 fig. 9 5 .
216 CHAPTER SIX
u n c o n t a m i n a t e d Jewish context of the " h o u r of incense." (3B 2) T h e

presbyters "fall before the L a m b (erceoav evamiov xou dpviou)." Fur
t h e r m o r e , we a r g u e d t h a t the very c h a r a c t e r of the h y m n s of praise
associated with the presbyters clearly reflect the cult of Virtues n o w
an integral p a r t of the ideology of the Imperial Cult (2B 3). T h e y
represent Christian, ministerial office holders proclaiming a reversal
of p a g a n cultic expressions in the direction of the Christian a n d not
the imperial G o d .
Certainly Ignatius' descriptions of the liturgical scene in the churches
to w h o m he writes b e a r m a n y idealised a n d visionary features r e m
iniscent of the heavenly scenes in the Apocalypse. T h e r e we m e t with
angels a n d presbyters p r a y i n g with incense a r o u n d the heavenly altar
a n d singing their h y m n s . H e says to the Ephesians:
Therefore it is right for you to run together with the mind of the
bishop, which indeed you do; for your worthily esteemed presbytery,
worthy of God, is attuned to the bishop (ouxco<;cuvr|p|iooTaiTcp e7ciaK07ccp),
like strings to a harp (&q x°p8«i KiGdpa); therefore in your concord and
harmonious love (8id xouxo ev xrj o u o v o i a i)ua>v Kai ouuxpcbvcp dydTiri) Jesus
Christ is sung ('Irjaouq Xpiaxoq a8exai). And each of you should become
part of that choir (oi m x ' dv8pa 8e x°po$ yiveoGe), that being in har
monious concord (iva a\>u<pcovoi ovxeq ev o u o v o i a ) , receiving God's vari
ation in unity (xp&pa 0eo\>tax(36vxe<;,ev evoxi), you may sing with one
voice through Jesus Christ to the father (a8r|xe ev cpcovfl uaa 8id 'Irjaoi)
Xpiaxoi) xcp rcaxpi). . .
Ephesians 4, 1-2
T h e xopoq, like that at the imperial festivals reflected in the Apocalypse

(5B 3) extols t h a t divinized quality of imperial unity that is ouovoia,
a n d which we saw was a feature of the doxology of C l e m e n t Cor.
6 0 - 6 1 (4B 1.2.2). A n altar (Guoidaxnpiov) m o r e o v e r prefigures in
such liturgical scenes (Ephes. 5,2; Mag. 7,2; Philad. 4).
But how, m o r e specifically, d o b o t h Ignatius a n d the Apocalypse
reflect w h a t we k n o w of the actual a r r a n g e m e n t of early Christian
worship?
Pseudo-Hippolytus' Apostolic Tradition, if that indeed was originally
the tide of the Egyptian Church Order, was a c o m m u n i t y p r o d u c t involv
ing m o r e t h a n one individual a n d m o r e t h a n one confluent corporate
16
t r a d i t i o n . Ap. Trad. 4 makes it clear t h a t the presbyterate concele-
16
A. Brent, Hippolytus and the R o m a n Church in the Third Century: Communities
in T e n s i o n before the E m e r g e n c e of a M o n a r c h - B i s h o p , in Suppi VCh. 31 (Leiden:
E J . Brill 1995), p p . 1 9 2 - 1 9 7 ; pp. 4 5 8 - 4 6 2 ff.
brate with the bishop in so far as w h e n a presbyter "places his h a n d s

over the offering (imponens manuam tuam super oblationem (rcpoocpopd))"
he is j o i n e d in words a n d p r e s u m a b l y act by the presbyters (cum
praesbyteris dicat gratias agens). T h e actual liturgical position of the pres-
byterate only becomes clearer in subsequent developments of this
C h u r c h O r d e r w h e r e the position in the liturgy of the presbyterate
is spelled out as the half-circle of seats forming a horse-shoe on each
side of the centrally seated bishop (Apost. Const. (= Didasc. Apost.) II,
57, 4 - 5 ) .
T h a t such a seating a r r a n g e m e n t was c u r r e n t well before the turn
of the third century is m a d e clear by Ignatius in his letters. Ignatius
envisages the Magnesians (13,1), whose C h u r c h he h a d never visited,
as b e i n g in union with b o t h the "teachings of the L o r d a n d of the
aposdes (86ypaaiv TOV Kvpiov Kai TCOV drcooToAxov)" a n d with the life
of the triune G o d (ev vx& Kai rcaipi Kai ev rcveupaxi). As the sign of
that unity, Ignatius can address t h e m as gathering, "with your bishop,
worthy of h o n o u r , (ueid TOV dîorcperceoTdTOD erciaKorcoi) uuxbv), with
the gloriously woven, spiritual c r o w n of y o u r presbyterate (Kai d£i07t-
XOKOU rcveupaxiKou axecpdvoi) TOV TCpeapircepioi) upcbv), a n d with the
deacons according to G o d (Kai TCOV Kaxd 6e6v 8iaKovcov)." H e r e the
dîoKÔKoq nveupaxiKoq cxcecpavoq clearly refers to the liturgical pres-
byteral horseshoe a r o u n d the seated bishop. Indeed, I have a r g u e d
elsewhere that rcpOKaOripivoq is to be u n d e r s t o o d in its p r i m a r y sense
of "sitting p r o m i n e n d y " in the liturgical assembly which is the primary
focus of the presidency of the threefold O r d e r in unity r a t h e r t h a n
17
of the bishop alone. But we have also seen that the seated rcpeopwepoi
of the Apocalypse have also oxecpavoi, a n d that this imagery of their
authority was connected with that of the Imperial C u l t (5B 2.2.5).
W e ask, therefore, in conclusion, w h e t h e r the c o u n t e r p a r t to the
scene a r o u n d the altar in heaven is not the c h u r c h on earth, presided
over by a circle of presbyters s u r r o u n d i n g a t h r o n e occupied by a
presiding bishop? T h e heavenly t h r o n e is described as "the t h r o n e
of G o d a n d of the L a m b (Gpovoq TOV Qeov Kai TOV dpviou)." (Apoc. 22,1
a n d 3). " T h e L a m b " is described as "in the midst of the t h r o n e
(dpvxov xo dvd peaov TOV Gpovoi))." (7,17) At first sight this a p p e a r s a
very o d d image. Does the royal figure hold the L a m b o n his lap or
does the latter sit by his side? I have asked previously w h e t h e r , in
17
Brent (1989), pp. 3 1 1 - 3 1 6 ; Idem, Cultural Episcopacy and E c u m e n i s m , in Studies
in Christian Mission 6, (Leiden: E J . Brill 1992), pp. 8 4 - 8 5 and footnotes.
218 CHAPTER SIX
the light of w h a t we r e a d in Ignatius, the reference is not to a p r e

siding bishop or presbyter in the Seer's o w n c h u r c h offering the
18
" p u r e sacrifice of the gentiles."
Certainly, according to Ignatius, the bishop is "pre-eminent (rcpoKa-
19
Gnuivoq)" as a type of (eiq xurcov rcaxpcx;), or according to some tex
20
tual readings, in the place (eiq xorcov) of G o d the F a t h e r . H e r e the
t h r o n e in the midst of the presbyters is actually occupied by a n eccle
siastical minister on earth. But w h e t h e r or not there is, in the Seer's
time, a n actual bishop on an actual episcopal t h r o n e a m i d actual
presbyters, his heavenly vision has certainly influenced a n d effected
21
the earthly form of Ignatian episcopacy.
At this point we m a y turn to Ignatius' theology of representation
a n d its earlier reflection in the Apocalypse.
6A 1.1.2. Typology of representation

Ignatius' description of the liturgical assembly (eKKûaia) is highly
idealised a n d visionary. As I have a r g u e d in greater detail elsewhere,
as a transit prisoner Ignatius h a d little contact with, or knowledge
22
of, the actual churches to w h o m he w r o t e . In place of a n y such
empirical experience, he gives r a t h e r a mystical vision p r o m p t e d by
the persons of the clerical visitors in w h o m he sees mystically the
c o r p o r a t e qualities of their c o m m u n i t i e s . T h u s idealised, personal
qualities of a n almost Christian perfection are praised as he imag
ines the m e m b e r s of the communities g a t h e r e d with their clerics in
an idealised E u c h a r i s t . Expressions such as ev otKivT|xcp Tuoxei, ev
23
ouovoia 0eou etc. a b o u n d .
T h u s b o t h the Apocalypse a n d Ignatius are united in a view of the
c o m m u n i t y as having a c o r p o r a t e personality. Clearly the angels of
the C h u r c h e s are the c o r p o r a t e personalities of their various c o m
munities. T h e y can in c o n s e q u e n c e be addressed by the Seer in the
18
Brent (1987), p. 3 6 1 . For early images of the Eucharist in such terms see Did.,
14,3 a n d Justin Martyr, Dial. 4 1 . See also G. D i x , The Shape of the Liturgy, (London:
Dacre 1947), p. 2 8 and p. 134.
19
For m y defence o f this translation, see Brent, Cultural Episcopacy (1992), pp.
84-85.
20
Magnes. 6 , 1 ; Tral. 3 , 1 .
21
For m y view o f Ignatius as influenced by a vision o f the heavenly C h u r c h sim
ilar to the Seer's, and imposing that vision on the nascent O r d e r o f the Churches
that he had never visited but describes in an idealized, visionary form, see Brent
(1992), Ignatian Epistles, p p . 1 8 - 3 2 .
2 2
Brent (1992), Ignatian Epistles, p p . 19 - 2 7 .
23
Tral. 11,1; Magnes. 6 , 1 ; Smyr. 1,1; 7,2; Ephes. 1,3; 2 , 1 , see Brent (1992) Ignatian
Epistles, p. 20.
singular a n d described as h a v i n g the distinctive features of those

24
c o m m u n i t i e s . Likewise Ignatius claims that, in the clerical repre
sentatives of the c h u r c h e s from w h o m he receives visitors, h e is
beholding the c o r p o r a t e c h a r a c t e r of their c o m m u n i t i e s .
In Polybius, the bishop of Tralles, Ignatius claims to see, not the
latter's individual personality, b u t the c o m m u n i t y ' s . W i t h b i s h o p
O n e s i m u s he has such "converse of m i n d (ouvf|0eia)" that he was
able to see their c o r p o r a t e personality, their noXvnXyfieia (Ephes. 1,3
a n d 5,1), in h i m as also in the case of bishop Polybius of Tralles.
Ignatius claims t h a t their bishop has revealed to h i m " y o u r u n
wavering a n d blameless m i n d (duo)uov 8idvoiccv Kai d 8 i d i c p i x o v ) . . . so
that I saw y o u r whole g a t h e r e d multitude in h i m (coaxe jie xo nav
TcXfiBoq ev auxco Gecopiioai)." (Tral. 1,1) T h u s Polybius b e c o m e s " a n
e x a m p l e of y o u r love (e£eu7iA,dpiov xfjq aycuv^q upxov)." (3,2) In D a m a s ,
bishop of Magnesia, likewise he claims to have seen " y o u r whole
multitude (xo nav nXrfioq; Magnes. 6,1)." In the case of O n e s i m u s ,
25
bishop of Ephesus, he claims to have seen their 7ioA,urcA,r|6eia. nXriGoq
26
is the usual w o r d for the g a t h e r e d c h u r c h in I g n a t i u s .
T h e fact that angels such as Michael, in Dan. 10, 1 0 - 2 1 a n d 12,1,
are mystical representatives of nations is often held to refute the
notion that the angels of the churches in Apoc. 2~3 are in fact h u m a n
figures a n d stand for c h u r c h officials. Ignatius makes it quite clear
that h u m a n bishops can nevertheless, like angels, stand for the cor
27
porate personalities of the communities which they oversee. W h e t h e r
the angels of the churches should be e q u a t e d with h u m a n officials
such as bishops, o r left as mysterious heavenly beings personifying
28
earthly communities, is a question that I will h e r e leave o p e n . T h e
24
Apoc. 2,1; 2,8; 2,12; 2,18; 3 , 1 ; 3,7; 3 , 1 4 .
25
Ephes. 1,3; Brent (1990), p p . 2 6 8 - 2 6 9 ; Brent (1991), p p . 1 5 1 - 1 5 3 ; Brent (1992),
Cultural Episcopacy, p p . 8 5 - 8 7 .
26
Smyr. 8,2; Tral. 8,2 (ev6eov K\T\%O$ cf. W . Schoedel, Ignatius of Antioch: A Com
mentary, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1985), p. 112.
2 7
T o o little attention has b e e n given in the discussion to this point m a d e orig
inally by J . C o l s o n , VEveque dans les Communautes Primitives, (Paris: Les Editions du
Cerf 1951), p. 97: "Et il ecrit a u x Tralliens a propos de Polybe, leur eveque: "C'est
votre Eglise tout entiere q u e j e c o n t e m p l e en sa personne." T e l est, selon saint
Ignace et dans la ligne de 1'Apocalypse, le role de Peveque, sa place dans l'Eglise."
2 8
I follow C o l s o n (1952) in Brent (1987), pp. 3 5 6 - 3 6 1 against H e m e r (1986),
pp. 3 2 - 3 4 . For the case in favour o f angel-bishops see A. Lemaire, Les Ministeres
aux origines de l'Eglise: Naissance de la triple hierarchic eveques, presbyters, diacres, (Paris: Les
Editions du Cerf 1971), pp. 1 1 8 - 1 2 2 and M . T h u r i a n , L'Organisation du ministere
dans l'Eglise Primitive selon Saint Ignace d'Antioche, in VC 2\ (1967), p p . 1 6 5 - 7 1 .
220 CHAPTER SIX
p o i n t t h a t I h a v e m a d e is t h a t t h e r e is a theological continuity
between w h a t the Seer says a b o u t the c h a r a c t e r of cultic representa
tion a r o u n d A . D . 91 a n d w h a t Ignatius says a r o u n d A . D . 112. T h i s
point will hold even if a purely heavenly construction in the case of
the former comes only to be g r o u n d e d in the C h u r c h O r d e r in space
a n d time in the case of the latter.
But Ignatius has injected a new theological concept w h e n he begins
to speak of the images of the seated presbyters, found in the Apocalypse
as c o n t r a cultural expressions of the officials of the Imperial Cult,
such as the npecêiq with their panegyrics, asrcpoKocOriuivoieiq XUTCOV.
Let us now trace this n e w concept in Ignatius of Antioch, which we
shall argue to b e further related to the Imperial Cult a n d to have
grown out of the p a g a n symbolism of the cultural b a c k g r o u n d that
he also shared with the Seer, b u t b e y o n d w h o m h e n o w goes.
6A 2. Ignatian typology and the Imperial Cult
In claiming t h a t the antitypes of Father, Son, a n d Spirit-filled apos

tolic council are represented by the xtmoi of bishop, deacons, a n d
presbyters, Ignatius a p p e a r s at first sight to r u n contrary to the rep
resentative imagery that he shared with the Apocalypse a n d which we
discussed in the last section (6A 1.1.2). If the threefold typology rep
resents these divine persons in the Eucharistic assembly, h o w at the
same time c a n they be regarded as e m b o d y i n g the collective per
sonalities of their communities, as did the angels of the C h u r c h e s in
the Apocalypse, or Polybius, bishop of Ephesus or D a m a s , bishop of
Tralles in the Ignatian correspondence?
I have a r g u e d that Ignatius does resolve this dichotomy a n d with
29
considerable sophistication. T h e clerical icons d o not as it were
incarnate the heavenly C h u r c h directly from the transcendent world
b e y o n d space a n d time, but r a t h e r from the saving acts that b e g a n
in history b u t continue in the Christian c o m m u n i t y . T h e clerical
icons represent a c o m m u n i t y in process of r e d e m p t i o n , a n d the sav
ing acts of Father, Son, a n d Spirit at work in such a c o m m u n i t y .
Such saving acts, experienced by the c o m m u n i t y a n d e m b o d i e d in
the Eucharistic liturgy a n d in the clerical roles played, display Christ's
For the case against, see E. D a s s m a n n , Zur Entstehung des Monepiskopats, in JbAC
17 (1974), pp. 7 5 - 7 6 and Satake (1966), pp. 1 5 0 - 1 5 5 ff.
2 9
A. Brent, History and Eschatological Mysticism in Ignatius o f Antioch, in EThL
6 4 , 4 (1989), pp. 3 0 9 - 3 2 9 ; Brent (1992), Cultural Episcopacy, p p . 8 0 - 8 1 , 8 7 - 8 8 .
victory to the d e m o n i c powers w h o a r e thereby shaken: " F o r w h e n

ever y o u assemble frequendy (oxav yap TTUKVOK; em TO GCUTO yiveaGe),
the p o w e r s of S a t a n a r e d e s t r o y e d (KaGaipouvxai a i 8uvdpei<; xou
l a x a v a ) , a n d his destruction is dissolved (Kal Xvezai 6 oXeQpoq amov)
30
by the h a r m o n y of y o u r faith (ev xfi 6uovo(a upcov xfjq juoxecoq)."
Ignatius therefore expresses the view that t h e threefold O r d e r is
to be u n d e r s t o o d as representing, in a s a c r a m e n t a l sense, t h e heav
enly C h u r c h , which is i n c a r n a t e d in the present c o m m u n i t y a n d r e p
resented by the clerical icons of t h a t c o m m u n i t y . T h e typology of
Magnes. 13,1 is followed by a c o m m a n d to obedience " t o the bishop
a n d to e a c h o t h e r (urcoxdynxe xcp EKIOK6K(O K a l aXXi\Xoi<;), as J e s u s
Christ to the F a t h e r (ax; 'Inaouq Xpiaxoq xcp rcaxpi), a n d the apostles
to Christ a n d to t h e F a t h e r (Kal oi anooToXoi xcp Xpiaxcp K a l xcp rcaxpi),
in o r d e r that there m a y b e b o t h a physical a n d a spiritual u n i o n
(iva evcooiq f| a a p K i i c f | xe K a l rcveupaxiKn.)." (13,2)
T h u s to speak of the i n c a r n a t i o n of a heavenly C h u r c h O r d e r in
the present is well w a r r a n t e d by t h e expression evcooi<; f| a a p K i i c r i xe
Kal rcveupaxiKri, even t h o u g h I have a r g u e d elsewhere t h e qualifying
thesis that w h a t was n o w timeless b e g a n in time in the U p p e r R o o m
a n d at t h e Resurrection. T h e c o m m i n g l i n g of flesh a n d spirit did
not simply begin o r begin afresh at every Eucharist, b u t was con
tinuous with the commingling (KpaGevxeq xfj a a p K i auxofi Kal xcp aiumi)
that took place w h e n t h e risen Christ " c a m e to those a r o u n d P e t e r "
a n d " h e said to t h e m : take, h a n d l e m e . . . a n d immediately they
31
touched h i m . . . " T h e r e is therefore a n historical continuity between
the past a n d t h e present in so far as t h e timeless, entering time in
the present m o m e n t , h a s continuously d o n e so at every Eucharist
from t h e C h u r c h ' s historical beginning.
E a c h ZX>KO<; in t h e threefold O r d e r makes concrete o r incarnates
in the Eucharistic action w h a t it represents, namely the Father (bishop),
32
the Son (deacons) a n d the spirit-filled apostolic council (the presbyters).
In Mag. 13,1: " T h e bishop stands o u t (rcpOKa&npivou xou ercioKOTioi))"
in this d r a m a "as a type of G o d (eiq xtmov Geou) a n d t h e presbyters
(Kal xcov 7cpeaP\)xepcov) as a type of t h e apostolic council (eiq xtmov
auve8pio\) xcov drcoaxoAxov) a n d the deacons (Kal xcov 8iaKovcov). . . . as
30
Ephes. 13,1 cf. Smyr. 6 , 1 .
31
Smyr. 3,2 cf. Brent (1989), pp. 3 1 6 - 3 2 0 .
32
Brent (1989), pp. 3 0 9 - 3 2 9 ; Idem. (1990), pp. 2 6 2 - 2 6 6 , Idem. (1991), pp. 1 3 9 - 1 4 3 ,
and Idem. (1992), Cultural Episcopacy, pp. 8 0 - 9 2 .
222 CHAPTER SIX
entrusted with the ministry of J e s u s Christ (rceTuoxeuuivcov SKXKOVIOCV

'Iuaou Xpiaxou)." But these realities are not static b u t d y n a m i c .
T h e three O r d e r s e a c h p o r t r a y in their particular acts the par
ticular role t h a t is played in their Eucharistic r e - e n a c t m e n t of the
d r a m a of redemption. In the U p p e r R o o m , according to Jn. 2 0 , 1 9 - 2 2 ,
there is the Spirit-filled council of he aposdes, a n d so too these are
found represented by the presbyterate. As the seated F a t h e r sends
the Son, so too the bishops sends the deacons to c o m m u n i c a t e the
people or to receive from t h e m their offering for the bishop to con
secrate, or to give t h e m liturgical directions.
T h e r e is a liturgical procession or %cbpr|oi<; b e t w e e n t h e t h r e e
O r d e r s like the procession within the g o d h e a d . Magnes. 7,1-2 goes
on to connect the ecclesiastical typology with t h a t of the g o d h e a d .
T h e deacons a n d presbyters p r o c e e d from the bishop a n d r e t u r n to
him just like the diaconal Son proceeds from the F a t h e r (rcpoeABovxoc)
a n d returns to h i m (%copr|oavxa). F u r t h e r m o r e the presbyterate rep
resents the ouve8piov xcov dcrcooxotaov (Magnes. 6,1), w h o in t h e j o h a n n i n e
T r a d i t i o n (Jn. 20,22), receive the i n b r e a t h i n g of the Spirit a n d w h o
reveal the Son w h o c a m e forth from a n d r e t u r n e d to the Father.
T h e focus therefore in Ignatius of the theology of iconographical
representation (xurcoi) is in the clerical functions in the Eucharistic
liturgy.
It should b e noted that Tral. 3 , 1 - 3 a n d related passages (Ephes.
5,1 a n d Magnes. 13,1) require a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g of typology in the
sense of clerical persons standing eiq xurcov, without the related pas
sages using the t e r m xurcoc; as such. It is for this reason that I would
reject the a m e n d m e n t xonoq for zvnoq in Magnes. 6 , 1 - 2 , a n d accept
the latter as the original reading following Syriac, Arabic a n d A r m e
nian texts. Certainly Tral. 3,1 has this r e a d i n g uncontestably in ms.
s u p p o r t e d by Ap. Const. 2,26. I have d e m o n s t r a t e d elsewhere the
failure of the Didascalia Apostolorum, the predecessor of the latter text,
33
to u n d e r s t a n d Ignatian typology. This lack of u n d e r s t a n d i n g itself
would, I submit, explain c o r r u p t e d readings, often leading to an
3
omission of the term, in some G r e e k mss. * At all events, a reading
for Mag. 6 , 1 - 2 in terms of a bishop being described as rcpoKa0r||jivo<;
eiq xorcov xou Geou would a p p e a r bizarre as it would seem to imply
3 3
Brent (1991), pp. 1 3 4 - 1 4 5 .
3 4
Lightfoot (1885), p p . 1 5 6 - 1 5 7 a n d p p . 1 1 8 - 1 2 0 , cf. S c h o e d e l (1985), p p .
1 1 2 - 1 1 5 and p p . 1 4 1 - 1 4 2 .
a physical " p l a c e " for G o d in t h e architecture of t h e Eucharistic

Assembly.
T h u s Ignatius m a y b e r e g a r d e d as having, with considerable the
ological sophistication, synthesised t h e f u n d a m e n t a l c o n t r a d i c t i o n
between representation b y clerical icons of t h e c o r p o r a t e personal
ity of t h e c o m m u n i t y , a n d representation b y t h e same icons of t h e
divine acts of persons of t h e g o d h e a d . But his ability to synthesise
should n o t conceal from us t h e fact that his use of h u m a n p e r
sons to b e xvnoi of divine beings constitutes a radical d e v e l o p m e n t
of t h e typology of O r d e r from t h a t which h e h a s inherited from
the kind of cultural b a c k g r o u n d represented b y t h e Seer. W e will
n o w suggest t h a t t h e origin of this c o n c e p t w a s n o t J e w i s h , b u t
p a g a n , a n d associated with w h a t w e have established t o b e t h e ideo
logy of t h e Imperial Cult. T h e use b y Ignatius of this n e w , n o n -
J o h a n n i n e imagery will therefore represent a n e w influx of imperial
cultic imagery in addition to that used already b y t h e Seer against
his p a g a n backcloth.
Let us therefore n o w t u r n in greater detail to t h e specific epi-
graphical evidence for t h e m e a n i n g b o t h of TX>KO<; a n d TipoKaGruievoq
in Ignatius' p a g a n religious b a c k g r o u n d , in o r d e r that w e m a y estab
lish conclusive evidential links between these terms a n d w h a t w e will
u n d e r s t a n d as t h e h u m a n , episcopal e i K o v e q a n d piuripccxa of his
C h r i s t i a n dywv |JA)GXIK6<; (6B 2).
6A 2 . 1 . xtrnoq as statue, and as eiKcbv

It must b e emphasized that t h e w o r d xvnoq usually m e a n s a "small
statue" o r a "relief." At Ephesus w e have this w o r d used of t h e u p
35
right figure (TUTCOV opBiov) of A n t o n i n u s set into t h e recess of a wall.
W e have also t h e statue at R o m e of M a r c i a n , proconsul of Achaia,
described in t h e inscription that it bears as a x u r c o q . W e have fur
36
ther epigraphic evidence which reveals some interesting cognate terms.

W h e r e a s regularly xxmoq is used t o describe, in t h e sixth century,
37
statues c o m m e m o r a t i n g charioteers in t h e H i p p o d r o m e , t h e t e r m
35
/. Eph. II, 2 8 6 (= CIG 2967): TOVTOV ov eiaopdaq, ximov opGiov 'Avicovewov
AcopoGeoq nxeAifl 0T|K<XTO K p u r c x o ^ e v o v . . . .
3 6 f
(Moretti) IGUR 1,67 (= SEG 3 1 , 1703). M a p i a a v o v oxftpei TWKW; EMd8o<;
avG-ojiaxoio.
3 7
R. A u b r e t o n a n d F. Buffiere, Anthologie Grecque: Deuxieme Partie: Anthologie de
Planude, T o m . XIII, (CUFr: Association Guillaume Bude: Paris 1980) nos 350: 8: o o v
vT
5e TUTCOV x e x l e£e<J£, Ilop(pi)pie. ("and, Porphyry, an artist's skill has polished your
224 CHAPTER SIX
38
eiKcbv is also used as its synonym in t h e case o f o n e C o n s t a n t i n e .
W e see therefore that there is a clear, linguistic connection b e t w e e n
the ideas of xvnoq a n d eiicc&v, which b e a r c o m p a r i s o n with t h e sense
in which Ignatius uses b o t h terms.
In the J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n tradition at this time, unlike the later devel
o p m e n t of picture-icons in the Eastern C h u r c h that hailed Ignatius
as o n e of the founding fathers of its tradition, actual i n a n i m a t e a n d
physical images were prohibited. It was therefore h u m a n figures in
the liturgy t h a t were called u p o n to b e t h e counterparts (TUTCOI) of
divine beings, as the parallels in t h e Christian cult of t h e eiKoveq xcov
l e p a a x S v in IGRR 4, 3 5 3 c. /. 4 - 7 . As w e will see later (6B 2.2)
from Apuleius, priests in the p a g a n cultus "carried before t h e m " or
"displayed" (proferebant) t h e divine images (deum insignes exuvias; Metam.
11,10). T h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s in Ignatius' mystery play h a d n o physical
objects that they could hold in front of t h e m in this way. As purely
spiritual iconic representatives, they could nevertheless be described
as "seated forward as a n effigy of" or " p r o m i n e n t as a n effigy of,"
as t h e p h r a s e 7ipoKa0T|U£vo<; eiq xurcov implies h e r e .
Let us n o w consider the epigraphical use of TcpoKoc&njievoq that is
thus clearly associated with xurcoq in Ignatius, a n d its connection with
divine beings.
6A 2.2. 0£oi lePocoxoi 7cpoica0r|uivoi, as £7I(OKOTI;OI and udpxupeq

I find the tendency to translate KpoKaGrijievoq as " p r e s i d e " mistaken,
p a r d y on the g r o u n d s that a xurco<; is displayed a n d does n o t preside,
39
whereas it is t h e person w h o bears the xurcoq that presides. But the
translation of this t e r m s as " p r e s i d e " is plainly w r o n g , I believe,
because it m a k e s TtpoKocGi^co (rcpoicdGriiiai) a n d its variants t h e equiv-
statue."); 361, 1-2: ovxoq, eyepaiGerixpe, xebq ximoq, ov xoi eyeipei eauoq, KaAAiorca,
axecpdvcov. ("You w h o exited the spectators, this is your statue, w h i c h your host o f
distinguished crowns raised, O Kalliopas.")
38
Ibid. 367,5: eioexi uev £cbovxi noXic, KOXE Kcovoxocvxivq)
e i K o v a xaA.Kevnv p a i o v eicpive yepaq-
ax; 5e 0 d v e v , TioOecoaa cpitav xitnov dv0exo xov8e,
ocppa Kai eaaouevoi<; uvfjoxiv exoi mudxcov.
("Whilst Constantine w a s yet living, the city o n c e j u d g e d Constantine worthy o f the
m e a n h o n o u r o f a bronze statue . . . But w h e n h e died, she dedicated this effigy in
her grief for her dear o n e , in order that future generations might possess a m e m o
rial of his labours.") S e e also 351, 5-6.
39
For a more detailed analysis with further primary textual exemplifications see
Brent (1991), p. 151 a n d n o t e 40, a n d Brent (1992), Cultural Episcopacy, p p . 8 4 - 8 5
and note 31.
alent of rcpoioxriua a n d its variants. T h e latter is the n o r m a l t e r m for

40
" p r e s i d e " found in the inscriptions. T h e rarity of TcporaOripevoq c a n
be illustrated by t h e o n e sole entry in SEG, w h e r e this t e r m is used
of cities r a t h e r t h a n individuals. H e r e rcpomGeôpevoc; c a n either refer
to the presidency of a city such as T a r s u s o v e r — o r , as I would p r e
41
fer, its p r e - e m i n e n c e in—Cilicia. I n d e e d Ignatius reveals his knowl
edge of t h e n o r m a l use of this t e r m in connection with a city w h e n
he too uses it of t h e C h u r c h of R o m e " w h o is p r e - e m i n e n t (lixiq K a i
7cpoKd0r|xai) in the place of t h e district of the R o m a n s ( e v xorcco xcopiou
Tcopaicov) . . . p r e - e m i n e n t in C h r i s t i a n c h a r i t y (rcpoKa0ripevr| xfjq
dyd7cr|<;)." (Rom. insc.)
But t h e o t h e r subject of rcpoKaOripevoq is n o t a city b u t a g o d or
goddess, w h o c a n b e called eniaKonoq.
3
W e h a v e a n inscription from P e r g a m o n in A . D . 129 (Syll. 6 9 5 ,
/. 5 0 - 5 4 ) which refers to "presenting the best sacrifice ( m p a o x a [ G f j ] v a i
8e K a i 0-oaiav o>[<; KaX,]^(axr|v) to D e m e t e r a n d K o r e (xf\ x e [Ar|]ur|xpi
K a i x f i K6p[fi), t h e goddesses w h o a r e p r e - e m i n e n t over o u r city (xaiq
7i]poKa0r|pevai<; [ 0 e ] a i q xfjq noXevx; fip[Sv), as well as t o R o m a a n d to
all t h e o t h e r gods a n d goddesses ( o p o j i c o q 8e K a i xf\ ['Pcbujfl K a i xoiq
aXXox[<; Geoijq rcaai K a i 7 c d a a i < ; ) . " I n such a p a g a n context, I would
suggest that the description of Ignatius the EnicKonoq, as o n e w h o is
described as T i p o K a O r i p e v o q etc; XUTCOV Geou, c a n b e identified as a quite
precise a n d i n t e n d e d parallel. T h e bishop "presides o v e r " o r r a t h e r
"is p r e - e m i n e n t i n " the C h u r c h , j u s t as the statues of R o m a a n d the
other gods a n d goddesses did in t h e city-states of Asia, b u t n o t as
a god himself b u t r a t h e r as the Christian version of a xvnoq 9eo\i.
In this connection too it is n o t without relevance t h a t we have a n
4 0
S e e e.g. SEG 3 5 , 8 2 6 , 9 - 1 0 w h i c h is a dedication to a priestess (yevou£va xe
xaq Aduxxxpoq Kai Koppaq iepeia xcov xe iepcov ica [Xcoq Kai] bomq upoeaxa); likewise
113,4 (jcpjo'iaxdxcoaav) describes those w h o preside over the Eleusinian rites o f
D e m e t e r a n d Kore. T h i s therefore is the usual term for presidency over the rites
of a cult, Pagan or Christian (see Justin Martyr, Apol. 1, 9 8 (rcpoeoxox;); cf. Brent
(1991), p p . 1 2 9 - 1 5 6 ) . 7tpOKa9r|U£vo<; is used in a s o m e w h a t different sense, as cited
in footnote 4 1 . For general uses o f 7tpo{oxT|Ui a n d its derivatives see e.g. SEG 2 7 ,
758,3; 3 3 , 6 9 4 , 4 ; a n d 3 4 , 9 4 ; cf. Brent (1991), p p . 1 2 9 - 1 5 6 .
41
SEG 2 9 , 1527 (Severus Alexander) (= OGIS 578): Tdpaoq fi Tcpcbxri K[ai
(leyiaxri] Kai KaXXioxi] ii[T\xp6no\i<;] xcov y ercapxeicov 7tpOKa6e£ouivTi KiXiKiaq. From
P e r g a m o n from a n inscription in h o n o u r o f Septimius Severus w e have (= (Moretti)
IGUR 1, 33): K a i a d p i a x\ u[r|xp6]7toA,i<; K[iXiK(a<; 'Iaa\)p(][aq A\)Ka]o[v(a<; 7cp]oKa-
6e£[ouevTi C f (Moretti) IGUR 1,78 a n d 8 0 . N o t e furthermore that the normal
word for "preside" is used w h e n this sense is required as in SEG 3 5 , 1106: . . . fi
rcjpoeaxcooa xfj<; jcoXecoq fiucov Geoq "Apxe[ui<;. . .
226 CHAPTER SIX
inscription from A c m o n i a in D o m i t i a n ' s reign (A.D. 85). It reads as

the will of Titus Praxias providing h o n o u r s for his m e m o r y . H e r e he
makes "overseers a n d witnesses (em[a]K6[rcou]<; Kai udpxupaq) [of his
intentions] the divine Augusti (Geoix; I[ep]aoxouq) a n d the ancestral
gods (KaiGefouqTcaTpioufq]; IGRR 4,661 /. 22—23). Ignatius is a n over
seer (enioKonoc,) w h o is not himself divine b u t a xxtnoq of the F a t h e r
w h o is m o r e o v e r a witness (uxxpxuq), in the Christian sense of one
w h o is to lay d o w n his life, as a urur|xr|<; of divine suffering.
T h e three O r d e r s are xurcoi or eiKoveq that represent a c o m m u n i t y
in process of r e d e m p t i o n , a n d the saving acts of Father, Son, a n d
Spirit at work in such a c o m m u n i t y . W e shall n o w e x a m i n e h o w
their function in Ignatius' Christian cult explicity mirrors b o t h D o m i
tian's reform of the Imperial Cult in ritual, a n d its religious objec
tive in securing the pax deorum.
6A 2.3. Domitian's c o r o n a a u r e a and Ignatian xurcoi

W e have a r g u e d previously (5A 2.2.2) that Suetonius' a c c o u n t of
h o w D o m i t i a n refashioned the i c o n o g r a p h y of the the coronae aureae,
worn by priests and himself as high priest presiding over the Capitoline
games, implied a p a g a n theology of representation. D o m i t i a n intro
d u c e d a new, p a g a n iconographic theology into the general wearing
of sacerdotal crowns inscribed with divine images. H e wore a spe
cially designed corona aurea in connection with his alterations in the
ritual of the cult of J u p i t e r Capitolinus which h a d implications for
the ideology of e m p e r o r worship, in which he claimed to be b o t h
dominus et deus. T h e corona aurea that he wore at the institution of
q u i n q u e n n i a l contests for this cult was impressed with " a n image of
J u p i t e r , J u n o a n d M i n e r v a (coronam auream cum effigie Iovis ac Iunonis
Minervaeque)." However, the priest of J u p i t e r a n d the college ofFlaviales
assisting h i m in the ceremonial also wore (pari habitu) crowns with
images of these three deities, b u t included, in addition, D o m i t i a n ' s
2
own image (nisi quod illorum coronis inerat et ipsius imago).*
W e see in the corona aurea with its effigies or imago a sacramental rep
resentation of J u p i t e r , J u n o , a n d M i n e r v a o n the p a r t of the Pontifex
Maximus. T h e s e deities are m a d e sacramentally present by the cultic
acts of Domitian as Pontifex Maximus, just as the Father, Son, a n d spirit-
filled, apostolic circle or crown (rcveuuaxiKoc; oxecpavoq) are m a d e sacra-
4 2
Suetonius, Domit. 4.
mentally present by the xurcoi (imago, effigies) of bishops, presbyters,

a n d deacons (Magn. 13,1). T h e bishop represents G o d the Father,
with w h o m the spirit-filled apostles are united in the presbyters a n d
the Son in the deacons. Likewise D o m i t i a n , dominus et deus, is m a d e
sacramentally present in all the priests w h o w e a r his i m a g e on their
crowns, a n d unite their individual acts into his one cultic act.
W e h a v e already referred to the JJ.UGXIK6<; dycov at the temples of
R o m a a n d Augustus at P e r g a m o n in which the oepaaxocpdvxnq dis
played the image of the E m p e r o r as the climax of the mystery play
(5B 2.2). H e r e the EIKCOV as a statue or xurcoq (effigies) on a crown can
be said to m a k e the imperial genius or xuxr| sacramentally present.
Likewise in Ignatius' picture of the Eucharistic assembly, the saving
figures of Father, Spirit filled Aposdes, a n d Son are m a d e sacra
mentally present by the liturgical d r a m a e n a c t e d by bishop, pres
byters a n d deacons, of which they are the xunoi. W e have m o r e o v e r
in H e r o d i a n V , 5,6-7 a n a c c o u n t of the acclamation of the Senate
a n d their act of sacrifice before Elagabalus (A.D. 218), in which the
e m p e r o r ' s CIKCOV is associated with the xurcoq xou emxcopiou Geou:
Wishing the Senate and the Roman People to become used to the
sight of his appearance (pouAxSpevoq ev eGei yeveaGat xfjq xov axrjuaxoq
6\j/eco<;), and a test be made whilst he was absent (drcovxoq XE avxov
rceipav 5o6fjvai) as to how they would accept the sight of his appear
ance (n&q (pepouoi xr\v 6\jnv xov c>xr|paxo<;), having had painted a great,
full-sized representation of himself (ekova iieyiaxnv ypdyac; navxbq eauxou),
in which he appeared reaching forward and performing sacrifice (oloq
rcpoicbv xe Kai iepovpycov ecpaivexo), and having placed in the picture the
form of the god of the country (rcapaaxrioaq xe ev xfi ypacpfi xov xvnov
xov ercixcopiou Geou) with whom of course he was depicted as obtain
ing good omens (co 5f| raAAiepcov eyeyparcxo), and having sent it to Rome,
he ordered the image to be hung up in the exact centre of the sen
ate house and in the highest spot (eKeêuaev ev xcp n.eoaixaxcp xr\<; cruyKA,r|xau
XOTCCO i)\|rnA,oxdxcp xe xr\v eiKova dvaxeGiivai), over the head of the statue
of Victory ( V K E O KecpcxAijq xov dydA,uaxo<; xfjq Ndcnq), so that when they
assembled in council (cbq auvi6vxe<; e<; xo poiAeuxripiov) they each would
burn incense (Xipavcoxov xe GuptcoGiv eKaaxoq) and pour libations of wine
(Kai oivouq arcevSo-uoi).
H e r e clearly the EIKCOV of the e m p e r o r is associated with the xurcoq

of the Geoq eni%(opioq which it mediates from the centre of the Senate
g a t h e r e d for its business as the centre of its unity, j u s t as Ignatius'
bishop stands at the centre of the Eucharistic assembly as the xvnoq
naxpoq.
228 CHAPTER SIX
At this point the iconography of ecclesial O r d e r merges into b o t h

the i c o n o g r a p h y of m a r t y r d o m a n d of a cultic procession. Let us
n o w examine the particular character of Ignatius' m a r t y r procession
as a cultic procession by analogy with t h e Imperial Cult. W e shall
examine too, in association with the latter, the ambassadorial tides
given to various clerics w h o a c c o m p a n y Ignatius' procession in o r d e r
to establish their equivalents with those officials a p p o i n t e d by the
city states of Asia in o r d e r to secure i n a u g u r a t i o n a n d celebration
of a n e w Imperial Cult.
PART B . T H E M A R T Y R PROCESSION AND CULTIC AMBASSADORS
Schoedel described clearly the "staged" c h a r a c t e r of the j o u r n e y of

Ignatius from his native Antioch in Syria to prospective m a r t y r d o m
at R o m e . T h e m a r t y r d o m is proclaimed beforehand to the R o m a n
Christians by C r o c u s t h e d e a c o n a n d others from Ephesus, " w h o
preceded m e from Syria to R o m e to the glory of G o d (Rom. 10,1-2)."
F u r t h e r m o r e , Ignatius collects individuals w h o j o i n his procession as
representatives of the churches of the various cities (Ephesus, Magnesia,
a n d Tralles), w h o c o m e to h i m in S m y r n a since the route selected
by his guards has allowed h i m previously only to visit Philadelphia.
N o t only d i d some of these representatives stay with his e n t o u r a g e
a n d precede h i m to R o m e (Rom. 10,2), b u t some were elected to
congratulate t h e C h u r c h of Antioch o n its peace (Philad. 10,1; Smyr.
1 1 , 2 - 3 ; Pol. 8,1). T h e representative c h a r a c t e r of those w h o c o m e
from their C h u r c h e s to j o i n his procession is emphasised in Tral.
12,1 w h e r e h e c a n say: "I greet you from S m y r n a , together with
the Churches of G o d w h o are present with m e (djia xaiq a\)U7tapot>aai<;
pot eKKXnoiaiq xov 8eou)." T h u s their C h u r c h e s a r e considered very
m u c h to be present in those sent to a c c o m p a n y h i m . T h r o u g h their
43
representatives, C h u r c h e s "which did n o t lie o n m y w a y (oci \ir\
4 3
Ignatius claims to see the corporate personality o f the C h u r c h e s w h i c h h e has
never visited as mysteriously represented in clerical persons. W i t h bishop O n e s i m u s
he has "converse o f m i n d (crovf|9eia)" so that h e w a s able to see their corporate
personality, their no\x>nXr\Qeia (Ephes. 1,3 a n d 5,1) as also in the case o f bishop
Polybius (Tral. 1,1) or b i s h o p D a m a s (Mag. 6 , 1 : coerce u£ xo nav nXrfioq ev avxcp
Secopfiaai). S e e further A. Brent, T h e Relations b e t w e e n Ignatius o f Antioch a n d
the Didascalia Apostolorum, in SecCent 8,3 (1991), p p . 1 5 1 - 1 5 3 ; Brent (1992), Cultural
Episcopacy, pp. 8 5 - 8 8 .
7ipoaf|Ko\)oa{ uoi) according to the flesh (TTJ 68cp xf\ Kaxd odpKa) lead
the way before m e city by city (Kaxd noXiv \ie Tcpofjyov; Rom. 9,3;
Philad. 10,2)."
But h o w did b o t h Ignatius himself, a n d the C h u r c h e s which co
operated in this "stage m a n a g e m e n t " of the martyr's procession, view
the p u r p o s e of the j o u r n e y ? In w h a t social context are we to place
the " t h e a t r e " thus staged? W e need to go b e y o n d Schoedel's indi
vidualistic a n d psychologistic interpretation expressed in such words
as "gaining recognition a n d support," a n d "to bring to expression
44
their deepest hopes a n d fears a n d to channel t h e m effectively."
Ignatius describes his a p p e a r a n c e in R o m e in language that clearly
implies that his act confronts R o m a n p o w e r with a superior, spiritual
alternative. Ignatius claims (Rom. 2,2) that: " G o d j u d g e d the bishop
of Syria to be found at the sun's setting (eic; Suaiv) having sent h i m
from the (sun's) rising (anb dvaxoAfjq)." Schoedel comments that: "there
is a sense of m o v e m e n t in the bishop's m e n t a l g e o g r a p h y strikingly
different from the defenders of R o m a n p o w e r w h o speak simply of
45
R o m e ruling from the rising to the setting s u n . " Certainly Rom. 6,
1 represents a self-conscious reversal of imperial values on the p a r t
of a bishop w h o is contrasting his individual purpose with that of
46
the R o m a n E m p e r o r . But Schoedel resists a n y interpretation of
Ignatius' act as p a r t of a contrived martyrological cult. T h e self-
sacrificing bishop from the east is a p p a r e n d y simply a heroic figure
proclaiming the t r i u m p h of Christian grace over the E m p e r o r ' s nat
ural p o w e r .
In w h a t follows I will argue t h a t Ignatius' procession to martyr
d o m reflects the Christian c o u n t e r p a r t in the a r e n a to the imperial
procession that ends with sacrifice o n a p a g a n , imperial altar. His
Christian e n t o u r a g e are the counterparts of the p a g a n officials a n d
priests. I will interpret the images with which he expresses his u n d e r
standing of w h a t is taking place in the light of the social a n d reli
gious context in the city states of Asia M i n o r , in particular their
a d h e r e n c e to a n d d e v e l o p m e n t of the Imperial Cult. W e d o well to
4 4
S c h o e d e l (1985), p. 12.
45
Ibid. p p . 1 7 0 - 1 7 1 .
46
Rom. 6,1: " T h e furthest ends o f the world profit m e nothing (ov)8ev ue cb(peA.f|oei
xa Ttepaxa xov KOOUO'D) nor d o the kingdoms o f this age (ovbk a i |3aaiA,eiai xov aicovoq
xo\)XO\)): it is better for m e to die (mA,6v uoi arcoGaveiv) for the sake of Jesus Christ
(8ia 'Irjoouv Xpiaxov) than to reign over earth's furthest ends (r\ PaaiXeveiv xcov
T c e p a x c o v xfjq yfj<;)."
230 CHAPTER SIX
ask w h e t h e r Ignatius a n d his m a r t y r d o m are not set over against

that cult, in the way in which he regards his j o u r n e y to R o m e as
47
a procession securing those deified qualities of Victoria a n d Pax. I
will argue:
1. Ignatius sees his personal sacrifice (his dvx{\|n)%ov on the Gumao-

xr|piov exoiuov) at R o m e as centred in a cultic procession, a n d the
comparison between his highway to victory a n d that of R o m e ' s p o w e r
is a cultic c o m p a r i s o n with the developing Imperial Cult.
2. T h e cult is a mystery cult that parallels the imperial mysteries,

in w h i c h those w h o p a r t i c i p a t e in the m a r t y r o l o g i c a l d r a m a are
pip-nxou a n d cv\i\i\>Gxai. His picture of the xopoq g a t h e r e d for the
Eucharist, a n d his l a n g u a g e a b o u t its m e m b e r s a n d their actions
(xpiaxocpopoi, vococpopoi, ocyiocpopoi), mirrors w h a t epigraphical evidence
will inform us r e g a r d i n g the mysteries associated with the Imperial
Cult (iepotcpopoi, pcopocpopoi).
3. Ignatius' particular tide, " T h e o p h o r u s (Geotpopoq)" a n d therefore

" b e a r e r of G o d " is to b e u n d e r s t o o d in c o m p a r i s o n with the b e a r e r
of t h e i m p e r i a l i m a g e (eiiccov) in the ritual of t h e I m p e r i a l C u l t
(aePccoxocpopoq, GeoXoyoq (oepaaxoA,6yo<;) 0eo(pdvxr|<; (oepaaxo(pdvxr|<;)).
Certainly xvnoq is used equivalendy to EIKCOV as a " s t a t u e " o r as a
"relief" in several insciptions, as we have seen (6A 2.1). Also related
with this title was the use of xurcoq in the description of the bishop's
office as KpoKaGripevoq eiq xxmov rcaxpoq (6A 2). T h i s description also
m i r r o r e d the theology implied by D o m i d a n ' s changes in the icono
g r a p h y o n the priesdy coronae w o r n as p a r t of the ritual associated
with the Capitoline g a m e s (6A 2.3). W e shall n o w be able to locate
the particular focus of this set of images specifically in the proces
sion associated with the Imperial Cult a n d in some instances involv
ing imperial mysteries.
4 7
Certainly S c h o e d e l (1985) Introduction p p . 1 1 - 1 2 , a n d p. 2 1 3 saw Ignatius'
view o f his martyrdom in such terms ("All this makes sense if w e recall h o w care
fully planned Ignatius' w h o l e j o u r n e y appears to have b e e n for calling out support
from the churches o n his route a n d h o w intimately such support figures in the
bishop's reflections o n the significance o f his mission as a m a n set o n unity").
Schoedel h o w e v e r left ill-defined the particular social and religious context which
w o u l d give m e a n i n g to Ignatius' conceptualization o f the various roles of those
involved in his procession.
6B 1. The &VT{\|/\)XOV at the 0 \ ) a i a a x f | p i o v eioipov
As they greet Ignatius in chains at S m y r n a t h r o u g h O n e s i m u s their

bishop a n d representative w h o meets h i m there, the Ephesians a r e
described as " b e i n g imitators of G o d , inflamed by the blood of G o d
(Ephes. 1,1)." But these w o r d s c a n n o t in this context b e interpreted
48
simply as a n indication of their general p i e t y . H e claims that their
piety is focused u p o n his c o m i n g m a r t y r d o m . T h e y a r e "inflamed
by the blood of G o d (&va£(D7Tupf|oavT£<; ev a i u m i Geofi)" because they
were p r a y i n g that h e should attain his goal of fighting with the wild
beasts.
T h e spectacle of " t h e blood of G o d " reflected in t h e p{pr|oi<; of
the m a r t y r - b i s h o p is thus the cause of their anxious haste to c o m e
to see h i m (iaxopf|ocu eo7iou8doaTe). It is therefore the m a r t y r bishop,
b e c o m i n g the eiiccov or zvnoq of the suffering G o d , to which they a r e
d r a w n in a cult in which they will re-enact o r "imitate (UIUTITOCI ovxeq
49
TOU Geou)" the saving e v e n t .
It is to be emphasised therefore that such uiur|oi<; is clearly cul
tic. In t h e arrival of the bishop from the East at the a r e n a of t h e
e m p e r o r of the West w e have t h e climax of t h e cultic procession
which b e g a n in Antioch a n d gathered its m e m b e r s from the churches
of Asia M i n o r to w h o m Ignatius wrote. As Perler pointed out, Ignatius
used t h e rare w o r d avTVAjruxov as equivalent to the Pauline iXaaxripiov
50
or a t o n i n g sacrifice. S u c h was his sacrificial role in t h e cultic p r o
cession in which h e invited m e m b e r s of t h e Ephesian C h u r c h to
j o i n . "I a m y o u r a t o n i n g sacrifice (dvTi\|ru%ov upcov eycb), a n d of those
w h o m y o u sent to S m y r n a for t h e h o n o u r of G o d (Kai tbv e7cep\|/axe
eiq 0eou xipfrv ei<; I p v p v a v ) . " (Ephes. 21,1 cf. Smyr. 10,2; Pol. 2,3)
In this w a y Ignatius' sufferings b e c o m e a kind of extension of his
action as bishop in the Eucharist, as his words "I a m G o d ' s w h e a t "
4 8
Cf. Schoedel (1985), p p . 4 1 - 4 2 .
4 9
T h i s point w a s established at length b y H . W . Bartsch, Gnostisches G u t u n d
Gemeindetradition bei Ignatius v o n Antiochien, in Sammlung wissenschqftlicher Mono-
graphien, 2 , 4 4 (Giitersloh: Evangelischer V e r l a g 1940), p p . 7 8 - 9 8 , a n d only partially
m o d i f i e d in K. B o m m e s , W e i z e n G o t t e s , U n t e r s u c h u n g e n z u r T h e o l o g i e d e s
Martyriums bei Ignatius v o n Antiochien, in Theoph 27 (Koln u n d B o n n : Hanstein
1976), p p . 9 2 - 1 0 7 . S e e also W . M . Swartley, T h e Imitatio Christi in the Ignatian
Letters, in VCh 27 (1973), p p . 8 1 - 1 0 3 a n d T h . Preiss, La mystique d e l'imitation
de Christ et de l'unite chez Ignace d'Antioch, in RHPhR 18 (1938), p p . 1 9 7 - 2 4 1 .
5 0
O . Perler, D a s vierte Makkabaerbuch, Ignatius v o n Antiochien, u n d die altesten
Martyrerberichte, in RivAC 9 (1949), p p . 4 7 ff. cf W . H . C . Frend, Martyrdom and
Persecution in the Early Church, (Oxford: Blackwell 1965), p p . 199 ff.
232 CHAPTER SIX
51
(Rom. 4,1) indicate. T h e 0uoiaoxr|piov of the a r e n a is a n extension
of the 0uaiaaxr|piov that prefigures in Ignatius' liturgical scenes (Ephes.
5,2; Magnes. 7,2; Philad. 4). Indeed, Ignatius anticipates his experience
in t h e a r e n a as a kind of Eucharist in which instead of t h e p a g a n
crowds there will b e t h e R o m a n Christians as participants in a cult
in which he himself is sacrificed on a n altar that is ready (0uoiaaxr|piov
exoiuov). (Rom. 2,2) H i s words a r e "to b e p o u r e d o u t as a libation
to G o d (xou a7iov8io9f]vai 0ea>)," which m a y reflect Paul's w o r d s in
52
Eph. 5,1~2. But Ignatius is n o t simply c o m m e n t i n g o n Scripture in
a social v a c u u m . T h e 0uoiaaxr|piov exoiuov has clear associations with
the Imperial Cult a n d its offerings of thus et vinum, as a sacrificial
53
t e r m for which orcov8io0f|V(xi is also a p p r o p r i a t e .
In place of the c h u r c h g a t h e r e d for t h e Eucharist, as uiot a d p ^ . . .
ev 7coxr|piov ei<; evcooiv xou aiVocxoq auxou- ev 0uaiaaxf|piov . . . (Philad.
4), there is therefore t h e m a r t y r p o u r i n g o u t his blood a n d giving
his body, which he prays m a y b e found p u r e b r e a d , as G o d ' s w h e a t
(Rom. 2,2; 4,1). In Rom. 8,3 he asks the R o m a n Christians to b e h a v e
like the p a g a n spectators w h o express to t h e a r e n a officials their wish
for d e a t h r a t h e r t h a n life for a person for w h o m t h e m o m e n t to be
selected or otherwise h a s c o m e . "If I should suffer (edv 7cd0co), you
h a d expressed y o u r wish [for it] (f)0eA,r|aaxe), if I should b e rejected
54
(edv d7io8oKiuxxa0co), y o u h a d expressed y o u r h a t r e d (euiof|aaxe)."
T h e c h u r c h ' s p r a y e r in the a r e n a is n o t therefore that b r e a d a n d
wine b e c o m e Christ's b o d y a n d blood, b u t that in Ignatius' b o d y
51
For a discussion o n the relationship b e t w e e n Eucharist a n d martyrdom see,
G.P. Wetter, Altchristliche Liturgien: D a s christliche Mysterium: Studien zur G e -
schichte des A b e n d m a h l e s , in FRLANT 13 (1921), p p . 1 1 7 - 1 1 9 , 1 3 6 - 1 3 7 ; Bartsch
(1940), p p . 1 0 2 - 1 0 6 ff., cf. B o m m e s (1976), p p . 6 1 - 6 3 , 8 9 - 9 3 . S e e also H . Schlier,
Religionsgeschichdiche U n t e r s u c h u n g e n z u d e n Ignatiusbriefen, in B^NW 8 (1929),
pp. 1 5 2 - 1 6 9 .
5 2
Cf. Schoedel (1985), p p . 2 9 - 3 1 a n d p. 4 2 .
0 3
For the use o f incense o n Trajan's altar at Pergamon, see SEG 11, 9 2 2 - 9 3 3
(Gytheum); V . Ehrenberg a n d A . H . M . J o n e s , Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus
and Tiberius, (Oxford: C l a r e n d o n 1955) n o . 102 (a); IGRR 4 , 3 5 3 b 2 0 . S e e also
S.R.F. Price, Rituals and Power. The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, (Cambridge:
U.P. 1984), p. 2 0 8 . In the Hellenistic ruler cult in Ptolemaic Egypt the burning o f
incense a n d libations as o p p o s e d to animal sacrifices w a s already c o m m o n before
its adaptation to emperor worship, see D . Fishwick, T h e Imperial Cult in the Latin
West: Studies in the Ruler Cult o f the Western Province o f the R o m a n Empire,
in EPRO 108 (1991), 2 , 1 , p. 5 1 3 .
5 4
T h e force o f the t w o aorists (rfieXr\cax£, euiof|aaxe) is best brought out as a
o n c e for all expression (by the crowds in the arena) o f the action of the verb a n d
translated accordingly.
those realities m a y be displayed. H e exhorts t h e m regarding the wild

beasts in the a r e n a : "Intercede to the L o r d for m e (taxaveuoaxe xov
Kupiov urcep euou) that t h r o u g h these instruments (iva 8id xcov opydvcov
xouxcov) I might be found G o d ' s sacrifice (Geou Guoia eupeGco)." (Rom.
4,2) His vision of the R o m a n c o m m u n i t y has n o bishop, priest, or
d e a c o n at this point, as h a d his visions of the communities to which
55
he addresses his other letters, b u t only the R o m a n officials a n d
their functions in the a m p h i t h e a t r e . W h a t the R o m a n Christians can
d o is to " c o a x " the wild beasts to devour h i m quickly a n d not try
to keep t h e m away (Rom. 4,2).
Given therefore that the victorious j o u r n e y of the bishop of Syria
from the East confronting the e m p e r o r of the West is a confronta
tion between rival cults, c a n we n o w in the light of the inscriptions
of the Imperial Cult delineate further the character of Ignatius reverse
images? W h a t , according to Ignatius, are the features of the Christian
liturgical c o m m u n i t y that m i r r o r those of p a g a n e m p e r o r worship?
6B 2. The %opo<; and the dyo)v uuaxucoq
T h e R o m a n c o m m u n i t y is r e g a r d e d as a xopoq g a t h e r e d a r o u n d a
p a g a n Guoiaaxripiov exoiuov. T h e m y s t e r y - d r a m a in which the bishop
is a xujcoq is n o w a n a r e n a scene in which he is a UIUT|XT|<; of the
suffering god (xou rcdGouq xou Geou uou). (Rom. 6,3) Ignatius invites the
R o m a n Christians, g a t h e r e d in his imagination in the a r e n a , that:
. . . in love becoming a choir (iva ev aycxTrn xopo<; yevojievoi), you may

sing to the Father in Jesus Christ (aonxe xcprcaxpiev 'Incou Xpiaxcp) that
God has deemed the bishop of Syria worthy to be found at the sun's
setting, having despatched him from the sun's rising.
Rom. 2,2
T h e y are to sing as a choir at the sacrifice (%opo<; yevopxvoi), as he

envisaged the Ephesians (4,1-2) formed like a choir at Eucharist (6A
1.1.1), or as the Seer described the "great m u l t i t u d e " (Apoc. 7,9) or
the 144,000 (14,2-3).
Ignatius thus also saw his communities g a t h e r e d for the S u n d a y
Eucharist or his own martyrological Eucharist as singing the victory in
martyrdom of the Christian bishop rising from the East a n d triumphing
5 5
For the visionary character o f his description of c o m m u n i t i e s that he has not
visited at their Eucharistic worship see A. Brent, T h e Ignatian Episdes and the
Threefold Ecclesiastical Order, in JRH 17,1 (1992), p p . 1 8 - 3 2 .
234 CHAPTER SIX
in t h e a r e n a over the E m p e r o r . I n this respect they paralleled the

way i n which the choir at P e r g a m o n sung t h e e m p e r o r ' s praises. J u s t
as w e saw was the case (5B 2.2-2.2.3) with the imperial 0eoA,6yoi or
uuvcoSoi of P e r g a m o n or of H y p a e p a (mG-uuvouvxeq xov l e P a o x o v OIKOV)
in t h e Imperial Cult (IGRR 4, 3 5 3 , b . /. 12-19), there is t h e xopoq
of the Christian cult. T h a t xopoq extols that divinized quality of i m p e
rial unity that is ouovoicc (Ephes. 4,2), a n d which was also a feature
of t h e doxology of C l e m e n t Cor. 6 0 - 6 1 . Ignatius' martyrological cult
was also to celebrate the peace experienced by the C h u r c h of Antioch
in Syria. T h u s o p o v o i a , like the pax deorum, was a particular objective
of t h e I m p e r i a l C u l t w h i c h w a s a c h i e v e d b y I g n a t i u s ' C h r i s t i a n
Cult. T h e h y m n singers were m o r e o v e r g a r l a n d e d (IGRR 4, 3 5 3 , b .
/. 1 8 - 1 9 : oxecpdvoix; xoiq uuvcp8oi<; Kai xolq puaxripioiq oxecpdvcoaiv) just
as Ignatius' presbyterate a r e described as a "spiritual c r o w n (Magnes.
13,1: dîorcXoKou TrveupaxiKou axecpdvou)."
Moreover, w e followed (5B 2.2.3) Pleket's account of the role of the
aePaaxo(pdvxr|<; i n exposing the e i K o v e q . T h e r e w e r e also o t h e r allu
5 6
sions t o i)uvcp8o( of t h e Imperial Cult at P e r g a m o n , for example Asia

57
( H y p a e p a ) . I n o r d e r t o locate further t h e function of these e i K o v e q
in the ritual of the cult, we n e e d t o refer t o SEG 6,59 (= IGRR 3 ,
209), which is t h e " d e c r e e of t h e international association of t h e
craftsmen of Dionysus (\|/f|(pioua xcov anb ix\q o i K o u p e v n c ; rcepi xov Aiovuaov
xexve(xcov)" (/. 1-5) from Ankyra. T h e occassion is t h e incorporation
of the cult of the e m p e r o r H a d r i a n into that of Dionysus a n d Hadrian's
n a m e is a d d e d t o t h e association's title a s the " n e w D i o n y s u s " (Kai
AuxoKpdxopa Tpatavov 'ASpiavov lepaaxov K a t a a p a veov Aiovuaov). H e r e
we find that it is the honoured benefaction of Ulpius Aelius Pompeianus
to "exhibit the mystery-spectacle (dycovoGexfjoai xov dyfiva xov puaxucov)."
Pompeianus s u m m o n e d (xoix; dycovioxdq dveKaAioaxo) the contestants
"already o n their highway with anxious speed (xcp xe xd%ei xfj<; G7io\)8fj<;
68euovxa<;)," a n d " h e provided (ercf|pKeoev) for every p a r t i n t h e mys
tery (rcavxi pepei xou puaxriplou)." Ignatius t o o f o u n d the Ephesians
anxious for t h e spectacle of his m a r t y r d o m (1,5: ioxopfioai eo7co\)8d-
aaxe), just a s he regards all of t h e m t h r o u g h their representatives a s
5 6
Pleket (1965) p p . 3 4 5 - 3 4 6 , where he c o m p a r e s IGRR 4 , 3 5 3 , c. /. 4 - 7 with
IGRR 4, 5 2 2 = OGIS 4 7 9 ; 6 4 3 . S e e also m y discussion in 5 B 2.2.
57
IGRR 4, 1 6 0 8 (Claudius): a. /. 10: oi i)uvo)8oi a v e 9 r | K a v raxa xo yev6|ie[vov]
\|/r|(pio|!a ev n e p y d u c o i)7co xfjq i e p a q [ a v v 6 ] 8 o \ ) eyypd\j/avxe<; o o a 5 i K a i a [ K a i
[<piXdv]9po)7td eaxiv auxoiq 8e8o(i.e[va im ' auxofi]. a n d b. /. 5 . . .[xf\ i e p ] a i)uvco8(ov
[auv68(p x a i p e i v ] . . .
" c o m p a n i o n s o n t h e w a y (ouvoSoi rcdvxeq)." H i s martyr-cult, in which

he shares with Paul, is a mystery cult in which the Ephesians parti
cipate as fellow initiates (ouuûoxai) w h o are on a n highway (rcdpo8o<;).
(Ephes. 12,2) Let us n o w explore further the general b a c k g r o u n d of
|iiur|oi<; in parallel with Ignatius' use of the t e r m .
6B 2 . 1 . uiur|GK; in the Isis mysteries and imperial extensions

T h e w o r d uiur|xr|<; in Ignatius Rom. 6,3 has a parallel in t h e mystery
58
cults of Isis w h i c h w e r e assimilated to those of Dionysus which
were, as H a d r i a n ' s example shows, assimilated in turn to the Imperial
Cult. H e r e piur|xf|<; is used, with its cognates, uiuoujievoq xd iepd a n d
uiur||iaxa xcov xoxe 7ia6r|udxcov, in the sense of actor in that participants
acting o u t their role in t h e divine d r a m a b e c o m e mystically identified
59
a n d a b s o r b e d into the realities which they a c t .
Certainly Ignatius sees his role as bishop at o n e p o i n t as a mys-
tagogue. I n Tral. 5,2 h e claims: "I a m able to know (8uvaum voeiv)
the heavenly things (xd ercoupdvia), b o t h t h e angelic locations (Kai
xdq xorcoGeaiaq xdq dyyetaKaq) a n d t h e ranks of the a r c h o n s (Kai xdq
a u a x d a e u ; dpxovxiKaq)." I n Ephes. 19,1 h e speaks of M a r y ' s virginity,
a n d Christ's conception a n d passion as xpia nuaxripia. I n Philad. 7,2
he speaks of t h e Spirit that moves h i m as: " h e exposes h i d d e n things
(xd Kpu7cxd eAiyxei)." Like the high-priest of t h e Imperial Cult, h e is
"entrusted (rceTtiaxeuuevoq) with the holy of holies (xd dyia xcov dyicov). . .
with t h e secrets of G o d (xd Kpurcxd x o u Geou; Philad. 9,1)."
W e c a n n o w ask w h a t was the character of the ritual performed by
those to w h o m were assigned the various parts in the dycbv uuoxiKoq, a n d
h o w they were paralleled in Ignatius' description of t h e martyr-cult.
5 8
Plutarch, De Is. et Osir. 361 D , 27 where Isis is described as "having inter
mixed with the most holy rites (xaiq dyicoxdxaK; d v a u i ^ a a a xeXexctiq), images a n d
suggestions a n d representations o f her sufferings at that time ( e i K o v a ^ K a i vnovoiaq
m i uiuf|uaxa xcov xoxe 7ca0r|udxcov). . ." Cf. the mysteries o f Attis in Lucian, De Dea
Syria 15: 'Pep 8e xepvovxou m i "Axxea u i u i o v x a i , a n d Eleusinian Mysteries, El. Lysias
c. Andoc. 30: T h e Hierophant says: e8i)<; xr\v cxoXryv uiuot>uevo<; xd iepd ejciSeiKvoe
xolq duA)r|xoi<; m i eute xfj (pccvi) xd dic6ppr|xa (cf. Hippolytus EL V , 8,39). For the
equation o f Isis with Dionysiac mysteries, see Plutarch, De Is. et Osir. 3 6 4 E, 35:
oxi pev o\)v 6 avxoc, eoxi Aiovuoitp x i v a u<xA,Ax)v rj a e yvyvcooKeiv, d) KXea.
5 9
For the Platonic justification for this see S. C a l d e r o n e , T e o l o g i a , Politica,
Successione D i n a s d c a e Consecratio in Eta Constantina, in Culte des Souverains, dans
I'Empire Romain, in Entretiens 19 (1972), p p . 2 3 6 - 2 3 7 a n d footnotes; A. H e i t m a n n ,
Imitatio D e i . D i e ethische N a c h a h m u n g Gottes nach der Vaterlehre der zwei ersten
Jahrhunderten, in StAns 10 (1940). S e e also Wetter (1921), p p . 6 6 - 6 7 , p p . 1 2 4 - 1 2 5 ;
Schlier (1929), p p . 1 3 5 - 1 3 6 , 1 6 3 - 1 6 4 ff.; S. Angus, The Mystery Religions: A Study in
the Religious Background of Early Christianity, ( N e w York: D o v e r 1975), p p . 1 0 9 - 1 1 2 ,
pp. 132 133, pp. 137 138, p p . 3 0 7 - 3 0 8 .
236 CHAPTER SIX
6B 2.2. Image bearers in the Imperial Mysteries

W e have already n o t e d the use of eiKoveq of the e m p e r o r a n d their
exposure in the d r a m a by the 6eo<pdvxr|<; of Dionysus. T h e latter
b e c a m e the aePaaxocpdvxriq w h e n the two cults b e g a n to be assimi
lated as we saw taking place u n d e r H a d r i a n . But other symbolic
objects were deployed in the ritual a n d persons assigned to carry
t h e m . T h e general t e r m iepocpopoq is used of those w h o carry sacred
60
objects in a p a g a n c u l t u s , b u t we find this t e r m particularly applied
in the context of the mystery play. R e g a r d i n g the Isis mysteries,
Plutarch informs us that: "Isis . . . is wise . . ., a n d discloses the divine
mysteries (8eiKvt>oi)aav xd Geia) to those w h o truly a n d j u s d y have
the n a m e of 'bearers of the sacred vessels' a n d 'wearers of the sacred
r o b e s ' (xoiq d^rjGSq Kal 8tm{co<; iepacpopoiq Kai iepoaxotanq rcpooayo-
peuopevoiq; De hide et Osiride 352 B, 3)."
But there were also m o r e particular roles assigned in the ritual of the
mysteries, some of which R o b e r t lists as pcouotpopoq, Kioxacpopoq, jropcpo-
61
poq, A,iKva(popoq, Kavqcpopoq, GaMxxp6po<;, cpaMxxpopoq, a n d Geocpopoq.
W e find the latter t e r m b e c o m i n g oePaoxocpopoc; w h e n for e x a m p l e
62
the Dionysiac mysteries are assimilated with H a d r i a n ' s Imperial Cult.
3
Kioxacpopoq occurs in Syll. 736 (Andania 92 B.C.) w h e r e the law for
celebrating the mysteries is inscribed. H e r e " t h e sacred virgins (a!
TcapGevoi a i iepai) as they are selected (raGo*; dv A,d%covxai) d r a w the
chariots (dyo\)oai xd a p p a x a ) laiden with chests containing the objects
for the sacred mysteries (erciKeipevafq] Kicxaq e x o u a a q iepd p/uaxim;
VI, 1, 3 0 - 3 1 ) . "
A m o n g the objects carried in the ritual of the sacred mysteries,
in addition to the EIKCOV of the e m p e r o r exposed by the oePaoxotydv-
xrjq, were small models or pictures of a n altar. Apollonius son of
63
Apollonius is given the tide pcopocpopoq in P e r g a m o n . W e find a n
explanation of this tide in Apuleius' description of the Isis mysteries:
The foremost high priests (antistites sacrorum proceres). . . carried before

them the distinctive attributes of the most powerful gods (potentissimo-
6 0
IG 12, 5, 2 9 1 .
61
L. Robert, R e c h e r c h e s Epigraphiques, V I Inscriptions d'Athenes, in Opera Min.
Set. 2 (1969), p. 8 3 9 note 6 (= REA 6 2 (1960), p. 3 2 3 note 6). See also Idem. Le
Serpent G l y c o n d'Abonouteichos a A t h e n e s et Artemis d'Ephese a R o m e , in Opera
Min. Set. 5 (1989), pp. 7 4 7 - 7 6 9 (= CRAI (1981), p p . 5 1 9 - 5 3 5 ) .
6 2
L. Robert, Hellenica, II, Inscription E p h e b i q u e , in Opera Min. Set. 2 (1969),
pp. 1 2 7 7 - 1 2 7 8 (= RPhil 13 (1939), pp. 1 2 4 - 1 2 5 ) .
<,:i
M.P. Nilsson, Zwei Altare aus Pergamon, in Eranos 5 4 (1956), p. 172; I. Perg. 336.
rum deum proferebant insignes exuvias) . . . the second . . . (secundus) carried

with both hands an altar (manibus ambabus gerebat altarid), that is, "a
source of help," (id est auxilid) whose special name was derived from
the helping providence of the supreme goddess (quibus nomen dedit pro-
prium deae summatis auxiliaris providentid).
Apuleius, Metamorphoses, 11,10
As Apuleius makes clear, the foremost priests take p r e c e d e n c e w h o

carry insignes exuviae of the gods themselves. F u r t h e r m o r e , w h a t these
priests carry a r e n o t merely the p o r t a b l e a c c o m p a n y m e n t s of ritual.
T h e y carry the clothing o r attributes (exuviae) of the gods themselves.
T h e y a r e thus to b e distinguished from the second g r o u p w h o carry
the altaria. T h u s t h o u g h the second g r o u p in the Isis mystery p r o
64
cession m a y b e describable as iepoupopoi, the first g r o u p m a y be
described as Oeocpopoi. I n d e e d the t e r m occurs generally in the mys
tery cults.
In t h e inscription of Agrippinilla found in T o r r e N o v a south of
R o m e , w e have a list of functionaries of the Dionysiac c u l t c. 150
A . D . Agrippinilla heads the list as priestess a n d h e a d of the associ
ation, b u t two of the functionaries, Gallicanus a n d Dionysius, are
65
called 0eo<p6poi. T h e Geotpopoq inevitably, following t h e assimilation
of such mysteries w i t h t h e I m p e r i a l Cult, c o m e s to b e r e n a m e d
66
oepotGTXxpopoq, as in the E p h e b i c inscription from A t h e n s . These
carried the imperial images in the mystery rite. T h o s e divine images
were c a r e d for by the sacristan o r £dicopo<; xcov Geicov e i i c o v c o v , p r o 67
visions for w h i c h we have already seen to have b e e n m a d e in o u r

discussion of IGRR 4,353 c. /. 1 0 - 1 1 (5B 2.2). W e m e t there w i t h
a special official, the O£|3aoxo<pavxri(;, by w h o m imperial mysteries
were celebrated.
W e t h u s see h o w in Ignatius' M a r t y r Cult, in direct parallel w i t h
the imperial mysteries, those w h o j o i n the procession either in per
son o r t h r o u g h clerical representatives are assigned roles analogous
to the i e p o ^ o p o i , a n d the b i s h o p at the centre of the c u l t is described
as the 0£O(p6po<; w h o bears a spiritual image, the xurcoq of their F a t h e r
God.
6 4
Robert Opera Min. Sel. 2 (1969), pp. 1 2 7 7 - 1 2 7 8 (= RPhil 13 (1939), pp. 1 2 4 - 1 2 5 ) .
6 5
M . P . Nilsson, T h e Dionysiac Mysteries o f the Hellenistic a n d R o m a n A g e , in
Acta Instituti Atheniensis Regni Sueciae, 8,5 (Lund: Gleerup 1957), p p . 4 6 a n d 5 6 - 5 7 .
66
Ath. Mitt. 5 9 (1935), p p . 7 7 - 8 8 ; Robert (1939), p p . 1 2 3 - 1 2 5 . S e e also Price
(1984), p. 189.
6 7
Pleket (1965), p. 3 4 5 ; cf. Robert Opera Min. Sel. 2 (1969), p p . 8 3 2 - 8 3 5 (= REA
6 2 (1960), p p . 3 1 6 - 3 1 9 ) .
238 CHAPTER SIX
As their fellow-citizens in the city states of Asia M i n o r , in partic

ular centres of the Imperial Cult such as Ephesus, Smyrna, o r Tralles,
r e s p o n d e d to the supplicatio by j o i n i n g the sacrificial procession, so
figuratively the Christian Ephesians j o i n Ignatius' martyr-procession.
As Ignatius says:
You are all therefore (eaxe oSv) companions on the way (cri)vo8oi rcdv-
xeq), God-bearers (Geocpopoi) and temple-bearers (Kal vaocpopoi), Christ
bearers (xpicxocpopoi), bearers of holy things (dyiocpopoi), in every way
adorned with the commandments ofJesus Christ (midrcdvxaKeKoopripevoi
ev evioXaiq 'Inaoi) Xpiaxov).
Ephesians 9,2
T h o s e w h o c o m e at t h e s u m m o n s of the martyr-bishop to j o i n his

procession carry n o t t h e ekcbv of the e m p e r o r b u t , in their conduct
ing of Ignatius, the vbnoq o r uaprjxriq of the suffering F a t h e r - G o d .
T h e y a r e analogously the equivalents of t h e Geocpopoi, iepacpopoi
(ayiocpopoi), a n d pcouocpopoi (vaocpopoi) of the traditional cults paral
leled by the imperial Sacristan of the divine images (ârapoq xcov
0eicov eiKovcov). Instead of being clothed ev Xa\inpaiq eaGfjoiv for the
68
m a r t y r ' s sacrifice, t h e y i n s t e a d a r e m x d rcdvxa KeKoapripevoi ev
evxoAxxiq 'Inaou Xpiaxou. T h e letter to the C h u r c h of S m y r n a m o r e
over is also addressed: eKK^naia Geov. . . ayiocpopcp (Smyrn. inscr.).
But w h a t of the office of the martyr-bishop at the centre of the
cult at whose representation of the suffering G o d the Ephesians are
so "inflamed?" (Ephes. 1,1) Ignatius continually emphasises his o t h e r
n a m e or title (6 K a l Geocpopoq) at the beginning of each of the seven
letters. J u s t as there is in his t h o u g h t a continuity between the liturgy
of the Eucharist each Sunday, a n d the prospective scene in the a r e n a
w h e r e he is destined to be the Guoiaoxripiov exoiuov (Rom. 2,2), so
too I would suggest there is a continuity between Ignatius as Geocpopoq
of the suffering G o d a n d the bishop as xurcoq xou rcaxpoq (6A 2).
6B 2.3. Geocpopoq and xurcoq in pagan cultic imagery

W e saw that the bishop a n d presbytery, a n d , by implication or assim
ilation, the deacons, a r e described in the Ignatian letters as rcpoKaG-
npevoi eiq xtmov (6A 2). W e saw that this n e w concept in Ignatius of
Antioch grew out of t h e p a g a n symbolism of Syria a n d Asia M i n o r
6 8
W e have from S m y r n a a marble tablet from the M u s e u m a n d Library for the
ruler cult of Attalus III in OGIS 3 3 2 , 38: ev eo0[fj]aiv A.[au7cpa!<; eoxecpavcouevoDq . . . ] .
(6A 2.2), which was, as we c a n n o w see from the example of H a d r i a n

as veoq Aiovuaoc;, in process of integration with that of the Imperial
69
cult.
W e c a n n o w see that e a c h of the three O r d e r s are i n d e e d as Turcot
the c o u n t e r p a r t s to those in the imperial mysteries w h o carry (oepa-
oxocpopoc;) a n d display (oepaoxo(pdvxr|<;) imperial divine images as p a r t
of the dycbv jiuoxiKoq. I n d e e d in the Isis mysteries that Plutarch found
indistinguishable from those of Dionysus (in w h i c h H a d r i a n a p p e a r e d
as veoq Aiovuooq), the eiKoveq a n d uiuripxcxa w e r e p r o v i d e d by the
goddess as " t e a c h i n g for piety (euoePeiaq ouou S(8ayua) a n d consola
tion (Kai rcapau/uGiov) for m e n a n d w o m e n aflicted b y t h e s a m e
70
sufferings (dvSpdoi Kai yuvai^w bnb ouuxpopcov e%ouevoi<; ouoicov)." In
the s a m e way in Magnes. 6,1 we r e a d Ignatius' c o m m a n d : " b e in
union with the bishop (evcoOrjxe xcp ercioKOTccp) a n d those w h o are p r e
e m i n e n t (Kai xoiq 7ipoKa9r|uivoi<;) as the type a n d teaching of incor-
ruption (eiq XUTTOV Kai 8i8axTiv dcpGapaiaq)."
T h u s Ignatius' Christian dycbv JIUOXIK6<; c a n p r o c e e d , including as
we h a v e seen that it does the three O r d e r s , each re-enacting the
d r a m a of r e d e m p t i o n , as in Jn. 2 0 , 1 9 - 2 2 , or the liturgical proces
sion o r %cbpr)oi<; b e t w e e n the three O r d e r s like the procession within
the g o d h e a d (Magnes. 6 , 1 ; 7, 1-2 = Jn. 20, 22). I n the Christian
dycov, h u m a n figures w e r e called u p o n to act as c o u n t e r p a r t s in the
liturgy to the XUTIOI or eiKOve<; in imperial cultic processions. T h e
individual persons in the three O r d e r s are h u m a n icons that r e p r e
sent a c o m m u n i t y in process of r e d e m p t i o n , a n d the saving acts of
Father, Son, a n d Spirit at work in such a c o m m u n i t y . Such saving
acts, experienced by the c o m m u n i t y a n d e m b o d i e d in the Eucharistic
liturgy a n d in the clerical roles played, display Christ's victory to the
d e m o n i c powers w h o are t h e r e b y shaken. " F o r w h e n e v e r you assem
ble frequently (oxav yap rcuicvcoq en\ xo auxo yiveaGe), the p o w e r s of
Satan a r e destroyed (mGaipouvxai a i 8uvd|iei<; xou l a x a v a ) , a n d his
destruction is dissolved (Kai A,uexai 6 6A,e0po<; auxou) by the h a r m o n y
71
of y o u r faith (ev xp o u o v o i a uucbv xfjq rciaxecoq)."
W e shall n o w see h o w such concepts of a restored oudvoia effected
t h r o u g h the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of divine forces a r e paralleled in the
Imperial Cult.
Brent (1989), pp. 3 0 9 - 3 2 9 ; Idem. (1992), Cultural Episcopacy, pp. 8 0 - 8 1 , 8 7 - 8 8 .

Plutarch, De Is et Osir. 361 D , 27, see also footnote 18.
Ephes. 13,1 cf. Smyr. 6 , 1 .
240 CHAPTER SIX
6B 2.4. Ignatius' procession and ouovoia and the p a x d e o r u m

As we have seen, Augustus' cult h a d , a c c o r d i n g to the D e c r e e of
the K o i n o n of Asia initiating the Imperial Cult there in 9 B.C., set
right a fallen social a n d political o r d e r if not a disturbed natural
o r d e r (2B 4). Certainly w h a t L u c a n described in his de-mythologised
Stoic a c c o u n t of the Civil W a r as discors natura (Siarceurcov K a l ei<;
axx>%zq uexaPePnKoc; <5%r\\ia) n e e d e d an act of a u g u r y to be set right
(dvcbp0coo£v) (2A 4.2.1-2). W e have stressed t h r o u g h o u t the origins
of the Imperial Cult in a n extra-ordinary act of a u g u r y which h a d
secured the millennial pax of the saeculum aureum (2A 5). H o w , in the
imperial mysteries, was the s u p e r n a t u r a l a n d millennial pax, once
achieved by Augustus, to be c o n t i n u e d sacramentally?
I n the pax Augusti, w e m a y say in p a r o d y of Ignatius' "destruction
is dissolved (Auexai 6 oXeGpoq)... in c o n c o r d (ev o u o v o i a ) . " 'Ouovoia
7 2
(Concordia) was one of the idealized personified Virtues celebrated in

a distinctive cultus, b u t associated early with Augustus' o w n divinity
13
as Concordia Augusta. Imperial society with the collective m e m o r y of
several generations of destructive civil war, in greeting pax et princeps,
would have c o n c u r r e d that " n o t h i n g is better t h a n p e a c e (ouSev eaxiv
dueivov e i p r i v r i q ) , in which all w a r of earthly a n d heavenly things is
a b o l i s h e d ( e v r\ naq 7i6A,euo<; K a x a p y e i x a i e r c o D p a v l c o v Kal e 7 i i y e { c o v ) . "
(Ephes. 13) As we have seen, civil discord of "earthly things ( e r c i y e i c o v ) "
w e n t h a n d in h a n d with a discors natura supernaturally u n d e r s t o o d
(ercoupavlcov). F u r t h e r m o r e , we found the t h e m e s of o u o v o i a sung by
the cultic xopoq in Ephes. 4 , 1 - 2 (6A 1.1.1).
T h u s in Ignatius the Christian cult, t h r o u g h its cultic act, brings
to a n e n d the otaGpoq of the cosmic powers a n d their destruction.
T h a t cultic act exhibited Christ's victory a n d p e a c e to the d a e m o n i c
powers t h r o u g h its h u m a n icons o r xurcoi, a n d t h r o u g h the dyiocpopoi
w h o a t t e n d e d t h e m . S u c h was the cosmic effect of their frequently
assembling as a n e K K ^ r j m a (Ephes. 13,1: o x a v y a p KVKV&<; ercl TO a u x o
yiveoGe). T h u s the Christian C u l t parallels in its acts a n d p u r p o s e
that of Augustus, whose augural act secured the pax deorum.
72
Ephes. 13,2 cf. 4, 1-2; Magnes. 15: eppcoaGe ev o u o v o i a 6 e o v , K£KiT|uevoi a8idicpi-
xov rcvevaa, oq eaxiv ' i T i a o v q Xpiaxoq. In Magnes. 6,2 6uor|0eiav Geofi is a c h i e v e d by
being united with the bishop in the threefold O r d e r (evcoOnxe xcp ejuaiconq) Kai xoiq
7tpOKa9r|uevoi<;. . .). See also Tral. 12,2; Philad. inscr. and 11.
7 3
J . R . Fears, T h e Cult o f Virtues and R o m a n Imperial Ideology, in ANRW 2,17,2
(1981), p. 8 8 6 : " T h e cult epithet Augusta, attached to Pax, Justitia, C o n c o r d i a , a n d
Providentia, expressed the quintessence o f the personalization o f the cult of Virtues
at R o m e . " See also idem. p p . 8 8 9 - 8 9 2 .
Ignatius' use o f h u m a n persons to be Turcot of divine beings thus

constitutes a radical d e v e l o p m e n t of the typology of C h u r c h O r d e r ,
but it is nevertheless a kind of reverse reflection of the typology of
the Imperial Cult. But a m b a s s a d o r s are m e n t i o n e d in connection
with the Imperial Cult a n d the pax a n d concordia thus achieved, a n d
to these a n d their Ignatian parallels we n o w turn.
6B 3. The role of the rcpeapeioc in the martyr-procession
It is i m p o r t a n t for us to begin by noting the connection between

the c a r r y i n g of sacred Turcot a n d embassies from various cities to
R o m e . I g n a t i u s ' role as the m a r t y r b i s h o p is linked in his c o n
sciousness, as we have shown (6B 2.3), with the p a g a n concept of a
Geocpopoq in a p a g a n mystery rite. Likewise his role as rcpoKcxGriuivoq
e i q Turcov rcotTpoq is linked with the p r o m i n e n t or p r e - e m i n e n t statu
ary of p a g a n Turcot of the gods in their cities (6A 2.2). But such Turcot
played a role, not only in p a g a n mysteries examples of which c a m e
to be associated with the Imperial Cult, b u t also in ambassadorial
processions.
R o b e r t points to t h e w a y in w h i c h small statues (iepcouxxTcc or
&YaA,u,dTioc) w e r e c a r r i e d by individuals a n d g r o u p s such as m e r
74
chants in their clothing. F u r t h e r m o r e , he notes that these small idols
were described in J o s e p h u s as T u r c o t , with reference to Rachel's idols
7 5
in Gen. 3 1 , 3 1 - 3 5 . F u r t h e r m o r e , the p u r p o s e of such o r n a m e n t s
was not simply general individual devotion o r d r c o T p o r c r | . T h e r e were
"elements d ' u n laraire portatif" in groups t h a t carried images of
their c o m m o n , protecting gods. T h e Alexandrine Acts of the Pagan
Martyrs describe two embassies, Alexandrian a n d Jewish, the former
of w h i c h has as their s p o k e s m a n H e r m a i s c u s , w h o a r g u e d their
76
respective cases before the tribunal of T r a j a n . R e g a r d i n g the Alex
andrians, it is recorded that they were: e K a a T o i p a a T d £ o v T £ < ; T o u q i5iouq
Oeouq (/. 17-18). F u r t h e r m o r e p a a T c i ^ e i v is a technical t e r m m e a n
ing "to carry in a procession." " T h e bust of Sarapis (IcxpdrciSoq rcpo-
T o u r | ) which the ambassadors were carrying (tiv e p d o T O t ^ o v oi rcpeaPetq)
7 4
R o b e r t Opera Min. Sel. 5 (1989), p p . 7 5 1 - 7 5 5 (= CRAI (1981), p p . 5 1 7 - 5 2 1 ) .
7 3
J o s e p h u s , Antiquit., 1,9,10 (= 322): 'Paxr|A.a jcuvOavouevTi KaxaxiOr|ai xoix; xvnovq
ei<; XTIV o d y n v xfiq cpepovariq a\)xr\v mur|A,o\).
7 6
Robert, Opera Min. Sel. 5 (1989), p p . 7 6 4 - 7 6 5 (= CRAI (1981), p p . 5 3 0 - 5 3 1 ) ;
H.A. Musurillo, The Acts of the Pagan Martyrs, Acta Alexandrinorum, ( N e w York: A r n o
Press 1979), 8, p p . 4 4 - 4 8 .
242 CHAPTER SIX
suddenly b e g a n sweating (ai(pv{5iov i8pcoaev) " a n d the miracle caused

?
consternation (/. 5 1 - 5 5 ) .
W e h a v e f u r t h e r m o r e the e p i g r a p h i c a l r e m a i n s of a letter of
Caracalla to Ephesus (A.D. 2 0 0 - 2 0 5 ) . In o n e p a r t of the inscription
separate from the m a i n body of the letter we have Caracalla's c o m
ments on the m e m b e r s of the embassy w h o have presented their
city's congratulations to the e m p e r o r on his victory over the Parthians.
W h e n he says: [a 8erc]poercpeopeuev TI rcdxpioc; uucbv 0e6<; "Apxeuiq, he
m e a n s that " y o u r ancestral goddess Artemis h e a d s the e m b a s s y "
because her image is literally carried at the embassy's head. T o p a r
allel Ignatian usage, we m a y say that, in the ambassadorial proces
sion, the ivnoq xfjg uucov Geou 'Apxeuiooq is "pre-eminent (7ipoKa0n,uevo<;),"
just as in Ignatius' m a r t y r procession, as in his Christian cult, the
bishop is 7ipOKa0r|uivo<; eiq xurcov 0eou uucbv. J u s t as in the Acts of the
Pagan Martyrs the xunoq of Serapis caused w o n d e r at R o m e by the
miracle that it p r o d u c e d , so too Ignatius, w h o bears the xtmoq of
the suffering G o d , will in the a r e n a confront R o m e ' s p o w e r as the
77
bishop from the East confronts the E m p e r o r from the W e s t .
But the concept of Kpecêia is related to Ignatius' imperial back
g r o u n d in o t h e r a n d m o r e general ways t h a n the b e a r i n g of images
alone. T h e election of deacons as ambassadors in Philadelphians a n d
Smyrnaeans was related to the situation in Ignatius' C h u r c h of Antioch
in Syria. U n d o u b t e d l y , a n d at very least, such elections of delega
tions from the leaders of communities was a general feature of the
formal relations b e t w e e n the city states in Asia M i n o r , a n d can be
78
understood by analogy with such civic relations. But w h a t was the
purpose of this embassy a n d w h a t sense can be m a d e of it against
such a c o n t e m p o r a r y b a c k g r o u n d ?
I believe Schoedel to be correct in identifying a divided Christian
c o m m u n i t y at Antioch which has found p e a c e , r a t h e r than a C h u r c h
79
persecuted externally. W e m a y note from the example of C l e m e n t
Cor. that such a n external threat m a y follow, not in terms of a gen
eral persecution, b u t from the civil consequences of internal divisions
for a c o m m u n i t y divided by internal strife a n d the need for the
authorities to intervene. But there is still a p r o b l e m regarding the
purpose a n d m e a n i n g of the election a n d sending of these clerical
See also footnotes 4 6 - 4 9 .

T h u s Schoedel (1985), p. 2 1 3 .
Schoedel (1985), pp. 10 - 1 2 , 2 4 8 2 5 1 .
a m b a s s a d o r s even on the view that strife h a d given way to p e a c e

within a divided Christian c o m m u n i t y .
W h y should Ignatius have considered it necessary to send repre
sentatives whose office he conceived in terms of ambassadors in o r d e r
to rejoice with them in the gathered Eucharistic assembly? Ambassadors
were usually sent to confer some benefit or m a r k of regard, in p a r
ticular u p o n the e m p e r o r in connection with his cult. Ignatius con
siders t h e imperial virtues of oudvoia a n d eipr|vr| as essential features
of a n y Christian c o m m u n i t y that by its very n a t u r e will be m a r k e d
80
by the threefold h i e r a r c h y . T h e s e w e r e also the divine qualities
associated with Augustus' act of a u g u r y a n d c o n t i n u e d sacramentally
in his cult, as we have shown.
I p r o p o s e , therefore, that we should u n d e r s t a n d references to a
clerical rcpeopeia in the Ignatian letters in the light of the 7ipeaPei<;
associated with the inscriptions of the Imperial Cult.
W e h a v e the decree of the People (8fjuo<;) a n d C o u n c i l (yepouaia)
of Sardis h o n o u r i n g M e n o g e n e s son of Isidore. H e was to b e c o m e
priest of R o m a a n d Augustus shordy after his selection as a n a m b a s
sador o n a n embassy to Augustus, to seek approval for the conse
cration of a d a y c o m m e m o r a t i n g his g r a n d s o n G a i u s ' assumption of
the toga praetextata. H e r e the usual provisions for a n imperial cultic
celebration are prescribed.
. . . all in resplendent clothes shall wear crowns (ev taxprcpaic; eaOiiciv

oxe<pavr|(popeiv arcavxaq), and the strategoi each year shall present sacrifices
,
to the gods (0[i)]aia(;TeKapiaTdvaiToi<;9eoi(;xou(;Kax îauT6vaTpaTr|Yoi)(;)
and make prayers through the sacred heralds for his safety (Kai Kaxeuxdq
rcoieioGai 8 i d xcov iepoicnpuKCGv vnkp xn<; acoxripiaq auxou), and they shall
set up and consecrate his statue in the shrine of his father (cruvraBiepcoaai
xe dyaXpa auxou xcp xou rcaxpoq evi8pt>ovxa<; vaco). . . and an embassy be
sent on these matters to go to Rome (rcpeoPr|av XE urcep xouxcov axeiAm
XT]V dcptôuevnv eiq 'PcbpTw) and to congratulate him and Augustus (Kai
a u v x a p T i o o p e v i i v a\>xcp xe Kai xa> l e [PJaoxcp). . . and there were chosen
as ambassadors (Kai fipe9t|aav rcpeaPei<;) Iollas son of Metrodorus and
Menogenes son of Isidore . . .
IGRR 4, 1756 I, /. 10-23
Following the cultic provisions, 7ipeopei<; are therefore duly appointed,

whose function is to take the provisions for the extension of the
8 0
emaîa for the possession o f which O n e s i m u s , bishop of Ephesus, praises his
congregation (Ephes. 6,2); cf. C l e m e n t Cor. 37,2; 4 0 , 1 .
244 CHAPTER SIX
Imperial Cult to R o m e for the approval of those w h o m the cult

h o n o u r s . " E m p e r o r C a e s a r son of G o d , Augustus, high p r i e s t . . ."
81
replies in a p p r o v a l {IGRR 4,1756 II).
T h e rcpeaPeiq function therefore as proclaimers of the cult, w h o
convey its benefits to their fellow-citizens. A similar idea s u r r o u n d s
Ignatius' cultic procession which proclaims as a counter-culture aris
ing from the East the reverse i m a g e of the Imperial Cult of the West
as it arrives at the latter's a r e n a of sacrifice. T h i s is w h y he will also
c h a n g e the n a m e s of civic officials to give t h e m a Christian m e a n
ing, as w h e n h e calls a rcpeaP\)xr|<; a 0eo7ipeaPuxr|<;, or a TipepoSpouoq
a GeoSpouoq.
F u r t h e r m o r e there is epigraphical evidence of rcpeopeiq w h o a c c o m
p a n i e d the e m p e r o r . T h e s e Georcpeapuxai should therefore r e t u r n a n d
a c c o m p a n y t h e m a r t y r - b i s h o p from the East, as the c o u n t e r p a r t to
the e m p e r o r a n d his cult in the West. npeoPeuxcu clearly a c c o m p a n y
3
J u l i u s C a e s a r as general (SylL 761 A, /. 2-5), w h e r e Callistus of
K n i d o s ( 4 8 / 4 7 B.C.) is described as " c o m i n g to G r e e c e (yevouevoq eni
xfjc; 'EXkxSoq) in the c o m p a n y of the imperator (u[exdxou auxoKpJdxopoq)
a n d in the c o m p a n y of his a m b a s s a d o r s ( K a i uexd xcov e K e i v o u rcpeo-
Peuxcov).
W e can see h o w the communities w h o s u p p o r t Ignatius' proces
sion enlarge it by sending their o w n rcpeopeia to j o i n it. T o the
Philadelphians he says:
. . . since according to your prayer (ercei&n m x d XTJV rcpoaeuxfiv v p x o v ) . . .

it has been announced (anr\yyekr\ uoi) to me that the Church in Antioch
in Syria is at peace (eipT|vet>eiv xfjv eKKAâiav XTJV ev 'Avxio%e{a xfjq I \ ) p ( a q ) ,
it is fitting for you (rcpenov e a x i v \)uiv) as a church of God (d>q eKK^rjaia
9eot>) to elect a deacon to conduct God's embassy there (%eipoxovfjaai
8 i a K o v o v eiq xo Ttpeapevaai eKei QEOV rcpeaPe(av), in order to rejoice with
them when assembled (eiq xo a\)yxapf|vai amoiq inx xo avxb y e v o u e v o i q )
and to glorify the name (Kai 8 o £ d a a i xo o v o u a ) . . .
Philad. 10,1
T h o u g h Ignatius mentions that it is a d e a c o n w h o acts as a rcpeopuxriq

(rcpeoPeuoai) here, he goes on to assert that such a n office c a n be
82
also exercised by bishops a n d p r e s b y t e r s .
81
Ehrenberg a n d J o n e s (1954) no. 9 9 (= IGRR 4, 1756 = I. Sardis 7,1,8, /. 12-14);
Price (1984), p. 6 6 and p. 2 5 9 cat. n o . 5 6 .
82
Philad. 10, 2: ox; m i a i eyyiaxa eiacXriaiai e7teu\j/av E T i i a K O T t o i x ; , a i 8e rcpeaPwepoix;
Kai 8iaic6vo\)<;.
IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH A N D THE MARTYR'S PROCESSION 245
T h u s t h e eKK^rjaia 0eou in Philadelphia sent a n elected d e a c o n

as a n a m b a s s a d o r a n d n o d o u b t w e l c o m e d h i m o n his return a n d
received his r e p o r t ( d 7 t 0 7 t p e a P e i a ) . Like t h e embassy (rcpeaPeiav) of
Menogenes, that would travel to R o m e a n d greet Gaius a n d Augustus
(xuv dq>i!;ou£vr|v e i q TCOUTW K a l Guy%apr|aouevr|v a u x c p xe K a i xcp l e p a a x c o ) ,
so too this d e a c o n as a m b a s s a d o r is to greet t h e g a t h e r e d C h u r c h
in Antioch (eiq xo ouyxapiivai auxoiq en\ xo auxo yevouevoiq). T h i s dea
con however will n o t proclaim t h e cult of Augustus a n d sacrifices
for G a i u s ' birthday, b u t r a t h e r t h e progress of t h e m a r t y r ' s proces
sion. T h e y a r e " t o glorify t h e n a m e ( K a i 8 o £ d a a i xo ovoua)" of Christ
which is associated with b o t h Ignatius' m a r t y r d o m a n d t h e p e a c e of
Christ's sacrifice of which that m a r t y r d o m is a n image o r xurcoq.
Ignatius informs those w h o a r e "inflamed b y the blood of G o d
(dva^coTtupfioavxeq ev a i u o c x i Geou)." that it is "for t h e c o m m o n n a m e
(u7i6 xou KOIVOU ovouxxxoq)" that h e goes b o u n d (8e8euevov) to the a r e n a
(0upiouccxf|Gai). " T o suffer r e p r o a c h for t h e n a m e (6vei8(£eo0ai)" is
a c o m m o n martyrological sentiment (1 Pet. 4,14). But h e r e it is quali
fied by t h e adjective K o i v o q a n d indicates that w h a t h e does is shared
in c o m m o n with all those churches t h r o u g h which his procession
passes a n d which r e s p o n d to his apellatio.
Koivov was, after all, t h e n a m e of t h e " C o m m o n w e a l t h of Asia"
(Koivov xii<; 'Aoiaq) that organised a provincial I m p e r i a l Cult a n d
elected a n archierew/zsiaxch.. Menogenes is approved because h e "acted
also as a n a m b a s s a d o r (npeofievGaq x e K a i ) to C a e s a r Augustus (npbq
xov l e p a a x o v K a i a a p a ) o n behalf of t h e K o i n o n of Asia (urcep x e xou
f 83
KOIVOU xcov EAAf|vcov)." J u s t as t h e object of that cult w a s t h e pax
deorum, so too Ignatius' cultic procession is involved with securing
the pax Christi, a n d its a m b a s s a d o r s a r e c o n c e r n e d with that e n d .
W h a t " h a s b e e n a n n o u n c e d (drcr|yyeX,r| uoi) to m e , " just as t h e glad
tidings were a n n o u n c e d (euayye^{o0n) at Sardis of G a i u s ' celebra
84
tion, was that the C h u r c h in Antioch in Syria is at peace (eipnveueiv
xf|v eKKtaiaiav xnv ev 'Avxioxeia xfjq l u p i a q ) . F u r t h e r m o r e , that p e a c e
was in accordance with t h e congregation's p r a y e r (Kaxd xrjv Ttpoaeuxuv
u u x o v ) , j u s t as t h e prayers (Kaxeu^dq) t h r o u g h t h e sacred heralds (8id
xcov iepoKnpuKcov) at Sardis were for G a i u s ' safety (urcep zr\q a c o x r j p i a q
auxou).
8 3
IGRR 4 , 1756, X /. 104.
8 4
S e e footnote 8 4 .
246 CHAPTER SIX
Smyr. 11,2 contains similar sentiments r e g a r d i n g the a p p o i n t m e n t

of a n a m b a s s a d o r to Philad. 10,1. T h e person t h a t "your c h u r c h is
to a p p o i n t for the h o n o u r of G o d (eiq xiuriv 9eou xeipoxovfjoai xfjv
eKK^riaiav uucov)" is h e r e called " G o d ' s a m b a s s a d o r (GeoTcpeaPuxuv),"
a c o m b i n e d expression indicative of some office in view. " T o rejoice
with (ouyxapfivai)" the c h u r c h of Antioch at p e a c e (oxi eipuveuouGiv)
is also the p u r p o s e of the S m y r n a e a n 0eo7tpeopuxr|<; as it h a d b e e n
of the Philadelphian diaconal rcpeoPeia. But this passage adds two
features i m p o r t a n t for o u r discussion.
T h e first is that the c h a r a c t e r of that p e a c e is defined. It is clearly
a p e a c e b e t w e e n m e m b e r s of a b o d y politic. "Being at p e a c e (eiprjve-
uouoiv)" m e a n s that "they have recovered their p r o p e r size (drcetaxpov
xo i'Siov uiyeGoq), a n d their p r o p e r corporateness (xo i'8iov ocouaxeiov)
has been restored (d7ceKaxeaxd9r| auxoiq)." T h e s e lines emphasize once
again h o w i m p o r t a n t to the c o m m u n i t y is w h a t brings p e a c e .
T h e second is that it is his m a r t y r ' s b o n d s that p r o d u c e the p r a y e r
of the Christian cult t h a t achieves this restoration of corporateness.
It is the m a r t y r in chains (8eoud) whose avxiyuxov (Smyr. 10,2; Pol.
2; 6) is being p r e p a r e d for the ready altar at R o m e , a n d w h o is the
victim occupying the central place in the procession that mediates
t h r o u g h their p r a y e r t h e peace of the A n t i o c h e n e c o m m u n i t y . T h e
p r a y e r realising that e n d is to be a c c o m p a n i e d by the a p p o i n t m e n t
of a godly a m b a s s a d o r to complete it by a n embassy that will go
there to proclaim it:
Your prayer went out (f] npoozvxx] upxov d7rf|>J0ev) to the church of Antioch
in Syria (em xr\v eKKXnciav XTJV ev 'Avxioxeia xfjq lupiaq), from whence
bound with divinely glorious chains I salute all (69ev 8e8epivo<; 0eo-
rcperceaxdxoK; 5eauoi<;rcdvxaqdajcdôuai)... so then, that your work may
be completed both on earth and in heaven (iva ofiv xeêiov upxov yevnxai xo
epyov Kai erci yr\q Kai ev ovpavcp). . . appoint a godly ambassador . . etc.
T h e reference here to erci yrjq K a i ev oupavcp reinforces the cosmic a n d

cultic context of Ignatius' martyr-procession.
In his letter to Polycarp, bishop of S m y r n a , Ignatius requests the
election (xeipoxovfjaai) "of someone (xiva). . . . w h o can be called 'God's
r u n n e r ' (pq Suvnaexai 6eo8p6uo<; KaXeioGai)." In o r d e r to a p p o i n t a
9eo8p6uo<;, Polycarp is instructed "to s u m m o n a god-pleasing coun
85
cil (auuPoutaov dyayeiv Georcperceaxaxov)." (Pol. 7,2) It seems that
Hf>
In IGRR 4, 1756 II /. 32 33 M e n o g e n e s "completed (exeXeae) his embassy in
Ignatius here is providing in the function of GeoSpouoc;, a Christian

86
version of the f|pepo8p6uo<;. This t e r m refers to a very fast r u n n e r
or courier, w h o because of imperial business was allowed to use the
87
cursus publicus (8p6uo<; 8r|uooio<;). Ignatius' c o m p a n i o n s were allowed
to use the cursus publicus in his case as they were a c c o m p a n y i n g an
official party with a prisoner in chains. It is therefore a further cor
r o b o r a t i o n of Ignatius' t r i u m p h a l i s m that h e reassigns those w h o
a c c o m p a n y h i m in the role of a c o n d e m n e d criminal's friends to the
category of the official e n t o u r a g e of the bishop from the East ris
ing, like the sun, against the E m p e r o r from the West.
In Philad. 2 , 2 this term appears again, with reference to false teach
ers w h o have tried to take the GeoSpopoi captives (xouq 0eo8p6po\)<;-
aixîaXcoxiôuaiv), n o d o u b t in a figurative sense, a n d so i m p e d e the
88
progress of the martyr-procession. T h e y are " m a n y plausible wolves
89
(rcoAAoi yap M K O I dî67iiaxoi)," guided "by evil pleasure (f|8ovf| K a i q i ) . "
Clearly "these will have n o place in your unity (aXX* ev xfj evornTi
a most well pleasing w a y (XT^V 7tpeapr|av exmperceaxaxa) worthily o f the city (aîcoq
xfiq rcotaox;)."
8 6
Zahn's view (Ignatius p. 2 8 6 note 3), contradicted in S c h o e d e l (1985), p. 2 7 8 ,
w o u l d s e e m to be correct in view o f the civic background in the city-states o f Asia
M i n o r that I have sketched here for both Ignatius a n d the Apocalypse. I c a n n o t see
w h y the use of 9eo8p6|ioi in Philad. 2,2 should d e n y that view since here the term
is not used, as S c h o e d e l says, "to Christians in general," but to m e m b e r s o f the
Ignatian cultic procession w h i c h the particular churches to w h i c h he writes have
undertaken both in spirit a n d through representatives to j o i n .
8 7 3
For fiu£po8p6uo<; see SEG 4 2 , 1745 = Sy//. 303 and Pausanius V I , 16,5 (Menacles
of Elis. . . . fiuepo8p6uo<; of A l e x a n d e r son o f Philip). S e e also Livy 3 1 , 2 4 : h e m e r o -
d r o m o s vocant Graeci ingens die u n o cursu emetientes spatium. For their c o n n e c
tion with the cursus publicus in imperial times, see H . Stephan, D a s Verkehrsleben
im Alterthum, in Historisches Taschenbuch (Ed. F. v o n Raumer) 9,4 (Leipzig: Brockhaus
1868), p. 9 3 : "Der cursus publicus war nicht fur j e d e r m a n n benutzbar; es bestand
kein regelmassiger, fortlaufender P o s t e n g a n g mit v o r h e r festgesetzten A b g a n g s - ,
Ankunfts- u n d Befbrderungszeiten; vielmehr fand die Befbrderung nur statt, w e n n
gerade D e p e s c h e n oder R e i s e n d e n v o r k a m e n . . ." See also H . G . Pflaum, Essai sur
Le Cursus Publicus sous le haut-empire R o m a i n , in Extrait des memoires presentes par
divers savants a L'Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 14, (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale
1940), p p . 2 2 - 6 1 .
8 8
Cf. Cicero's complaint against Piso's administration o f M a c e d o n i a as governor
and his accusations the the latter had allowed obsessio militaris viae, (In Pison. 40): See
also Pflaum (1940), p. 32: "La militaris via . . . dont il s'agit est La V i a Egnatia,
qui traverse de bout e n bout la province de Pison. Cette route n'est pas seulement
infestee par les invasions e n e m i e s , elle est marquee par des c a m p s thraces . . . "
8 9
N o t e the use o f the ager publicus by fraudulent persons m e n t i o n e d in Justinian
(Modestinus), Dig, X L V I I I , 10,27,2: "Qui se pro milite gessit vel illicitis insignibus
usus est vel falso diplomate vias c o m m e a v i t , pro admissi qualitate gravissime p u n i e n -
dus est." S e e also Pflaum (1940), p. 125.
248 CHAPTER SIX
uucov oux eôuovv TOTIOV)," that is the unity of nascent episcopal O r d e r

being reinforced by the procession of the martyr-bishop of Antioch
a n d effecting peace in his h o m e C h u r c h . I n d e e d they are like high
way robbers attacking the bishop whose legitimacy is vindicated in
his m a r t y r sacrifice as Turcoq of the suffering G o d .
PART C . O R D E R IN CLEMENT, IGNATIUS AND THE APOCALYPSE
In this a n d o u r last two chapters (4-6) we have e x a m i n e d three early

Christian writers: C l e m e n t of R o m e , the Seer of the Apocalypse, a n d
Ignatius. H a v i n g established their b a c k g r o u n d in D o m i t i a n ' s reign,
we have c o m p a r e d their developing views of ecclesiastical O r d e r over
against the developments in the Imperial Cult in his reign. C l e m e n t ' s
C h r i s t i a n b a c k g r o u n d in R o m e was clearly u n r e l a t e d to t h a t of
Ignatius a n d the Apocalypse in Asia M i n o r . T h e C h u r c h O r d e r of
C l e m e n t , Corinthians was clearly not that of Ignatius' Syria, w h e n the
former envisaged a c h u r c h g o v e r n e d by a plurality of £7UGK07toi-
jcpeaPuxepoi as successors of the aposdes, whereas the latter by a sin
gle bishop as a representation of G o d the Father. W e saw, however,
that, despite great dissimilarities, there were clear connections between
the Apocalypse a n d Ignatius. W e explained those dissimilarities in terms
of a rapid historical d e v e l o p m e n t that separated the communities of
Asia M i n o r in A . D . 8 5 - 9 5 from those which e m e r g e d in 1 0 7 - 1 1 8 .
Despite the lack of connection between C l e m e n t o n the o n e h a n d ,
a n d Ignatius a n d the Apocalypse on the other, we detected the Imperial
Cult as background to all three writers. In Clement we found reflections
of the ideology of t h a t Cult, a n d to o u r picture we were able to a d d
the iconography of the Apocalypse, and theology of Ignatius. In Clement's
doxology the values of imperial unity found expression, a n d the ends
desired t h r o u g h that unity (eipuvri, oudvoia, uyieia) were requested
from the Christian G o d (4B 1.2.2).
Clement's view of the o i d o u ; of his c o m m u n i t y as dvoaioq revealed
the fears, d e e p seated in his Imperial C u l t u r e , of a n upsetting of cul
tic o r d e r that would lead to KivSuvoq for the social a n d political
o r d e r (4B 3). As such he was reflecting the perspective of the late
Republic a n d early E m p i r e b o t h exemplified by a n d formed in the
p r o g r a m of the Res Gestae. T h e perceived extraordinary a n d p o r t e n
tous collapse of both the natural a n d metaphysical o r d e r required
an e x t r a o r d i n a r y act of augury, the augurium salutis celebrated by
Augustus w h e n he initiated his reformed, Imperial C u l t (2A 5-6).

C l e m e n t assured b o t h himself a n d his circle that the Christian cul
tus, with its O r d e r in terms of Apostolic Succession (4B 1.1-4B 1.2),
could banish m o r e truly a n d therefore effectively t h a n the Imperial
Cult b o t h the political a n d metaphysical disorder that every g o o d
R o m a n citizen, w h e t h e r in Italy or in Asia M i n o r , feared (4B 2.2
a n d 4B 3).
W e saw r e g a r d i n g the Apocalypse that general relations b e t w e e n the
Letters to the C h u r c h e s a n d the Imperial C u l t h a d b e e n well estab
lished by R a m s a y a n d H e m e r (5B 1). W e t h e n d o c u m e n t e d further
links b e t w e e n the Letters a n d the m a i n text of the Apocalypse (5B 2).
Inscriptional a n d n u m i s m a t i c evidence illuminated the cultic scene
a r o u n d the heavenly altar in which clear reflections of the Imperial
Cult w e r e revealed. Specific examples of such reflections were the
i)|ivq)8o{ a n d rcpecpuxepoi, the eiKoveq a n d the imperial mysteries, the
7ipoe8p(ai as places of h o n o u r for notable spectators a n d the con
comitants of sacrifice such as cpidAm a n d white r o b b e d worshippers,
axe9avr|(p6poi a n d ai8(pavoi %p\)oo(, etc. (5B 2.1-2.2.5). W e saw in the
praises of the prayers a n d the h y m n s of the Apocalypse typical t h e m e s
(86£cc, euxapiaxia, K p d x o q , acoxnpia, Suvapiq, ia/tx;,rcAoftxoqa n d euXoyia)
of ambassadorial panegyrics in connection with the Imperial Cult
(5B 3.1-3.3).
H a v i n g established the general b a c k g r o u n d to the Apocalypse in the
experience of the Imperial C u l t in Asia M i n o r , we t h e n r e t u r n e d to
o u r specific thesis of the relationship b e t w e e n C h u r c h O r d e r a n d
the Imperial C u l t as a contra-cultural relationship. W e a r g u e d that
there was a historical relationship b e t w e e n the c o m m u n i t i e s of Asia
M i n o r addressed by the Seer, a n d those to w h o m Ignatius of Antioch
was to write some 1 0 - 1 5 years later (6A 1). In the light of that rela
tionship we w e r e able to use Ignatius' claims a b o u t C h u r c h O r d e r
in his c o n t e m p o r a r y situation to illuminate the historical situation as
witnessed by the Apocalypse out of which those claims h a d developed.
W e saw that o n e typology of representation found in Ignatius was
also shared by h i m with the Seer. T h e angels of the churches e m b o d
ied the c o r p o r a t e personalities of the c o m m u n i t i e s that they r e p r e
sented as did the Ignatian clerics (6A 1.1.2). W e saw also that the
heavenly liturgy of the Apocalypse was replicated in both the Hippolytan
horseshoe of the presbyterate seated liturgically a r o u n d the bishop's
t h r o n e , a n d in Ignatius' description of the presbyteral rcveupccxiKOc;
ox&pccvoq at the Eucharist (6A 1.1).
250 CHAPTER SIX
In so far as those cultic scenes, w h e t h e r of a heavenly or earthly

C h u r c h O r d e r , were reflections of the Imperial Cult, they were con
tra-cultural reflections (6A 1.1.2). In a n o t h e r kind of Ignatian typo
logy of O r d e r , that of the threefold, clerical TUJCOI, we gave epigraphic
a n d literary evidence from the i c o n o g r a p h y of the cult that estab
lished here also a contra-cultural relationship (6A 2.1-2.2). W e estab
lished Ignatius' conception of his m a r t y r d o m in terms of a n imperial
cultic procession (6B) in which as bishop h e served as Turcoq, as the
b e a r e r of the divine image a n d expositor of the Christian mysteries
(aePaoxocpdvTTiq/Geocpopoq) in which diaconal npicfiexq played a p a r
allel role to t h a t of their p a g a n c o u n t e r p a r t in the inscriptions of the
Imperial Cult (6B 2.2). In this parallel the imperial games played
the role of the cult of those gathered for the Eucharist at R o m e
a r o u n d the Guaiaoxfipiov exoiuov (6B 1).
T h u s we h a v e established a relationship between the development
of O r d e r b o t h at R o m e with C l e m e n t , or in Asia M i n o r with the
Seer a n d Ignatius, which supports o u r contra-cultural thesis. T h e
Christian g r o u p in each case, marginalised a n d denied status by the
wider culture in view of its non-conformity with the state religion,
constructs a c o u n t e r culture which constitutes a system of reversed
values a n d status, thus a w a r d i n g its m e m b e r s significance a n d esteem
denied to t h e m by the wider culture. T h e construction of a Christian
contra-culture, with its O r d e r a n d Ministry, was a creative act p r o
viding a solution to a social p r e d i c a m e n t .
W e shall n o w see h o w the process continues in the literature of
the C h u r c h O r d e r a n d Apostolic Succession in the late second a n d
early third century as witnessed in Hegesippus a n d Irenaeus, a n d in
Pseudo Hippolytus a n d the Clementines. W e shall trace as the gov
e r n i n g principle a N e o - P l a t o n i c metaphysics of social o r d e r t h a t
severely modified if n o t replaced the earlier Stoic conception, a n d
the negation by that metaphysics of anarchic, Gnostic individualism.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN MONARCHIANISM
Severan Universalism, the Imperial Cult,

and Christian Apologists
T h e close of the second century a n d the beginning of the third was

to see the final d e v e l o p m e n t of a n ideology of imperial unity based
u p o n a religious syncretism a n d expressed in the iconography applied
to the e m p e r o r ' s person. T h e Constitutio Antoniniana, d r a w n u p by
Caracalla, gave citizenship generally t h r o u g h o u t the E m p i r e to all
1
inhabitants of towns a n d villages b e y o n d the cities. T h e motive for
2
the policy c a n n o t simply have b e e n the extension of t a x a t i o n or an
3
attack u p o n the senatorial aristocracy. O n e inscription makes it clear
that the p r i m a r y motivation was religious, a n d that it was a n exten
4
sion of the Imperial C u l t . T h e e m p e r o r a n d his consort were to
possess the religious function of effecting sacramentally the unity of
the e m p i r e for which the extension of citizenship contained the h o p e .
Caracalla appears on coins as the L o r d of the world a n d the reflection
of the divine light of the sun, p e r m e a t i n g all things a n d creating uni
5
versal o r d e r .
In this respect we shall see, in C h a p t e r 8, that w h a t Elagabalus
1
Justinian U l p i a n , Dig. 1,5,17: "Idem (sc. Ulpianus) libro vicensimo s e c u n d o ad
e d i c t u m . In orbe R o m a n o qui sunt e x constitutione imperatoris A n t o n i n i cives
R o m a n i effecti sunt." Cf. S.N. Miller, Caracalla, in CAH xii, p p . 4 5 - 4 7 .
2
F. Millar, T h e date of the Constitutio Antoniana, in JEgArch 4 8 (1962), pp. 1 2 4 - 1 3 1 .
3
Cf. M . Rostovtzeff, Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire, (Oxford:
C l a r e n d o n 1957), p p . 4 1 8 - 4 2 8 .
4
A . H . M . J o n e s , A n o t h e r Interpretation o f the Constitutio A n t o n i a n a , in JRomS,
26,2 (1936), p p . 2 2 3 - 2 2 5 ; J . Stroux, D i e Constitutio A n t o n i a n a , in Phil 8 8 (42)
(1933), p p . 2 7 2 - 2 9 5 , inscription cited p. 2 9 4 : xovyotpovv voui^co oiitw ue [yaXonpen&c,
Kai Geooepjcbq 8\>vaa9ai xfj êyaAxioxrixi avxcbv xo IKOCVOV rcoiew ei xoodiaa<; uvpiouq
6oaKi<; edv i)7teiaeA,6coaiv ei<; xoix; euoix; dvBpamoix; [auvOuovxaq] eiq xd iepd xcov Becov
cruveiGeveyKoiua, cited also in W . C . H . Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early
Church, (Oxford: Blackwell 1965), p. 3 3 8 . See also F. Ghedini, Giulia D o m n a tra
Oriente e d O c c i d e n t e : Le fonti archeologiche, in La Eenice, Collana di Scienze delV
Antichita 5, ( R o m a : «L'Erma» di Bretschneider 1984), p p . 5 7 - 9 0 , 1 2 2 - 1 6 0 .
5
See also A. Brent, Hippolytus and the R o m a n C h u r c h in the Third Century:
C o m m u n i t i e s in T e n s i o n before the E m e r g e n c e o f a M o n a r c h - B i s h o p , in Suppl. VCh
31 (Leiden: E J . Brill 1995), p p . 8 4 - 8 5 .
252 CHAPTER SEVEN
a t t e m p t e d with such disastrous effects was a n overtly dogmatic vari

ant o n a general t h e m e rather t h a n a radical variation. T h e Sun
G o d of E m e s a was to b e finally integrated into the iconography of
the Imperial Cult, as the later d e v e l o p m e n t of the cult of Sol Invictus
u n d e r Aurelian (270-275) was continued too by his successor Probus
6
(276-282), whose coins exult his person as soli invicto comiti. But p r e
viously, from M a r c u s Aurelius onwards, we shall find a general assim
ilation of certain oriental cults with the imperial iconography in order
to service an ideology of imperial unity. T h e Severan policy of incor
p o r a t i n g all cultures within the o n e e m p i r e found religious expres
sion in the Imperial Cult, a n d the syncretistic association with it of
such universalistic cults as Isis a n d Sarapis, of M i t h r a s , a n d of the
U n c o n q u e r e d Sun.
In support of the imperial ideal was a n i m p o r t a n t religious phi
losophy of a Platonism that was to develop into the Neo-Platonism
of Plotinus, t h a t stressed against Gnostic individualism the unity of
M a n , the C o s m o s , a n d society, a n d the derived being of each from
a n ultimate principle of unity that was the highest good. T h e iden
tification of such deities with the Sun was reinforced by a Neoplatonic
understanding of the ultimate principle of reality in the O n e reflected
in diverse appearances. T h e corresponding political expression of that
cosmic unity was in the e m p e r o r ' s person a n d t h a t of his consort.
T h u s the i c o n o g r a p h y of p o w e r a n d authority was duly assimilated
to a religious i c o n o g r a p h y evocative of such underlying philosophi
cal assumptions. It is with the development of such syncretistic themes
in the practice of the Imperial C u l t that we shall be c o n c e r n e d in
Part A, which will lead us, in Part B, to consider the underlying
p a g a n , philosophical ontology.
W e shall trace the correspondence between the political sense of
uovccpxioc a n d the ontological significance of this term. Gnosticism
was refuted by later Neo-Platonism by m e a n s of a n ontology which
reduced the cosmic chaos of Gnosticism to an o r d e r generated by
an ultimate a n d final good first principle. T h e r e was a c o u n t e r p a r t to
this ontological refutation in political ideology according to which the
chaos of individual kingdoms was r e d u c e d to a single united empire.
In the context of a sociology of knowledge, we shall argue that
6
RIC 5,2, p. 108 no. 8 2 9 and W . C . H . Frend, The Rise of Christianity, (London:
D a r t o n , L o n g m a n and T o d d 1984), p. 4 4 0 .
PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN MONARCHIANISM 253
there was a relationship between the cultural perspective in which

the philosophy of Plotinus was to flourish, a n d the imperial ideal
that found expression in the Severan dynasty. H e r e we will identify
a religious syncretism that was able to associate universalizable cults
of the e m p i r e with the Imperial Cult. T h u s Egypt a n d Syria with
Asia M i n o r of the East, a n d R o m e of the West, were united in the
expression of a c o m m o n imperial unity of all cultures a n d religions.
W e shall pursue a parallelism between such p a g a n social develop
ments a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t of Christian orthodoxy a n d O r d e r in
Part C .
T h e writers a n d writings that we have discussed (Luke, Apocalypse,
C l e m e n t , a n d Ignatius) between the late first a n d early second cen
tury a n d the age of C y p r i a n exhibited two sets of changes in b o t h
the conceptions of C h u r c h O r d e r a n d Imperial O r d e r that clearly
r a n parallel with each other. T h o s e changes were to develop further
between the e n d of the second century a n d the first fifty years of
the third. In the case of C h u r c h O r d e r , we will find the develop
m e n t of ontological ideas a b o u t the triune G o d h e a d , paralleling polit
ical ideas of apostolic succession a n d episcopal O r d e r , as guaranteeing
the validity a n d ultimate unity of the C h u r c h . In the case of Imperial
O r d e r , uovocpxict, or the ontological idea that all p o w e r within the
universe is derived from a single ultimate source or origin, will be
essential to the political uovocpxia of the imperial ideal. Both sets of
ideas are related, we shall argue, in the context of the sociology of
7
knowledge. T h e d e v e l o p m e n t of a sociology of knowledge by such
8
writers as Berger a n d L u c k m a n n have strengthened a n d confirmed,
in a variety of areas, the insights of Peterson, which we will seek to
9
develop. Within a sociology of knowledge p a r a d i g m , the essential
philosophical principle of the monorchia or ultimate single first principle
from which all reality m u s t be derived is, despite the objections of
7
I w o u l d not d e n y in e m p l o y i n g a sociology o f knowledge any ultimate claims
to truth that theological discourse might additionally make. T h i s w a s a distinction
well m a d e by P. Berger, The Social Reality of Religion, ( L o n d o n : P e n g u i n 1973),
A p p e n d i x 2. I w o u l d therefore support E. O s b o r n , The Beginning of Christian Philosophy,
(Cambridge: U . P . 1981), chapter 2 in seeing a tension b e t w e e n N e o - P l a t o n i s m a n d
Christian revelation w h i c h both used and redefined this philosophy.
8
P. Berger and T . L u c k m a n n , The Social Construction of Reality, (London: Penguin
1967), a n d Berger (1973).
9
E. Peterson, Der Monotheismus als politisches Problem. Ein Betrag zur Geschichte der
politischen Theologie im Imperium Romanum, (Leipzig: 1935) = Theologische Traktate, (Miinchen
1951).
254 CHAPTER SEVEN
Schindler a n d others, related to the political claims of monarchical,

10
imperial r u l e .
W e shall argue that b o t h pseudo-Hippolytus a n d the Clementines
are influenced also by a metaphysics of unity that regards w h a t is
real a n d true as derived from some ultimate historical origin. N e o -
platonism represented such a metaphysics to which A m m o n i u s Saccas
a n d Plotinus gave expression, a n d was quite distinct from the Stoic
m o n i s m that p r e c e d e d it. It was this metaphysic that also increas
ingly underlay such expressions of imperial unity that are found in
the Severan iconography a n d the writers of the circle of Julia D o m n a .
H e r e we find once again a reflection of imperial o r d e r in ecclesias
tical o r d e r such as we witnessed in Ignatius, a n d in the Stoicism of
C l e m e n t Corinthians. W e shall consider the correspondence between
p a g a n political ideology a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t of C h u r c h O r d e r .
I n C we shall c o n s i d e r t h e d e v e l o p i n g M o n a r c h i a n i s m of the
Apologists regarding the G o d h e a d , a n d their denial of the concept
of uovocp%{a to p a g a n i s m , a n d hence to the political m o n a r c h y that
such a n ontological concept was i n t e n d e d to legitimate.
T h e final focus of this development will be the controversy between
Callistus a n d the a u t h o r of the Elenchos, which will be m y next a n d
final chapter (Chapter 8). T h e r e I will d r a w u p o n the valuable insights
11
of D a l C o v o l o . T h e events of A . D . 217 were to witness the accu
sation against Callistus b o t h of M o n a r c h i a n i s m in the Trinity a n d
the transgression of ecclesiastical b o u n d a r i e s in his a t t e m p t to con
struct a m o n a r c h i c a l episcopacy. T h e d e v e l o p m e n t in ontology was
indeed parallel with developments in political ideology a n d reflected
t h e m . T h u s the contra-culture that is developing Christian O r d e r
continues as it b e g a n to reflect the images of the p a g a n culture on
which it is parasitic.
Let us begin, therefore, by considering how, in the course of the
second century, Egypt a n d Syria were to m a k e their contribution to
the iconography a n d the theology of the Imperial Cult, as Asia M i n o r
a n d the G r e e k city states h a d m a d e theirs in the first century.
10
A. Schindler (Ed.), Monotheismus als politisches Problem? Eric Peterson und die Kritik
der politischen Theologie, (Gutersloh: G e r d M o h n 1978).
11
E. Dal C o v o l o , I Severi e il cristianesimo: Ricerche sull'ambiente storico-isti-
tuzionale delle origini cristiane tra il s e c o n d o e il terzo secolo, in Biblioteca di Scienze
Religiose, 87 (Libreria A t h e n o Salesiano: R o m e 1989).
PART A. ANTECEDENTS OF THE SEVERAN REFORMATION
Eastern ideas of m o n a r c h y were to prevail in consequence of the

gradual d e v e l o p m e n t of the imperial ideology t h r o u g h o u t the second
century. T h e i r formal adoption in the West u n d e r Diocletian replaced
the continuing s h a m republican forms a n d imagery t h a t until his
reign masked a military despotism. But w h a t was to t r i u m p h with
Aurelian, Diocletian, a n d C o n s t a n t i n e , the latter of w h o m at o n e
12
point found the cult of Sol Invictus attractive, h a d a long gestation
in the developing syncretism of the second century. T h e develop
m e n t of those political ideas was a c c o m p a n i e d by the kind of philo
sophical picture of a monarchical cosmos that also h a d a long gestation
before Plotinus, as we shall see in Part B.
T h e d e v e l o p m e n t in the second c e n t u r y of a n i c o n o g r a p h y of
a d o p t e d Eastern deities such as Isis a n d Sol Invictus expressed the
syncretism that was justified by such a new version of Aristotle's phi
losophy r e a d t h r o u g h Platonist eyes. But we c a n go further. It was
not simply a general, personal interest in such Eastern religions, as
we might infer from Apuleius, Metamorphoses, or Plutarch, De hide et
Osiride. Such developments were organised in terms of the icono
g r a p h y of the Imperial Cult that i n c o r p o r a t e d the products of such
syncretism, a n d its philosophic justification, into its o w n structure
a n d rationale.
Let us now look at the epigraphical evidence for the a p p r o p r i a
tion by the E m p e r o r a n d his family of such developing themes b o t h
in religious practice a n d the philosophy of religion t h a t gave t h e m
rational justification.
7A 1. The recognition of Eastern cults before the Severans
T h e ontological unity, transmitted t h r o u g h hierarchical gradation, to

which Plotinus was to give expression, was paralleled by those cults
such as Isis, Mithras, or Dea Caelestis that united the p a n t h e o n a r o u n d
a single divinity increasingly identified with Sol Invictus. T h e analogy
of the sun, so useful to Plotinus in e x p o u n d i n g the c o m m u n i c a t i o n
of reality from the O n e to the m a n y , p r o v e d also useful theologi
cally in pointing to that with which the s u p r e m e deity was to be
12
A . H . M . J o n e s , Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, (Harmondsworth: Penguin
1972), pp. 9 6 - 9 9 .
256 CHAPTER SEVEN
identified a n d from which the subordinate relations of o t h e r deities

introduced into the p a n t h e o n could be duly d r a w n .
Let us n o w e x a m i n e how, before the radical d e v e l o p m e n t that was
the Severan R e f o r m a t i o n , these universalistic Eastern cults c a m e to
c o m m e n d themselves to the i c o n o g r a p h y of the Imperial Cult.
7A 1.1. Isis and Sarapis

Isis was originally an Egyptian deity, but, like the Syrian D e a Caelestis,
Cybele, or the Persian M i t h r a s was, as T a k a c s points out, integrated
into a n existing G r a e c o - R o m a n model derived from the basic struc
ture of the Eleusinian a n d Dionysiac mysteries. T h e y were to receive
an interpretatio Romana, a n d Plutarch at least was to show h o w a dev
eloping N e o p l a t o n i s m provided the framework of that interpretation
But let us see first of all h o w a n Isis theology established the parallel
ism that we a r e to claim with N e o p l a t o n i c ontology a n d the political
ideology of imperial unity.
T h e claims m a d e by h e r worshippers for Isis within the p a n t h e o n
of divinities a r e truly imperial. In h e r h y m n , inscribed in the Iseum
in C y r e n e (103 B.C.) o n a m a r b l e tablet, she reveals herself as "Isis
only ruler of the age (xupocvvoq Eiaiq aiSvoq udvu) . . . w h o holds the
sceptre (oicf|7cxp' e'xouaa)." She continues: "All call m e Goddess most
H i g h (KOCAOUGI 5T| ue rcdvxeq u\|/{axrjv Geov), the greatest of all gods w h o
14
are in heaven (rcdvxcov M x y i o x r i v xcov ev oupctvco Gecov)." In a first cen
tury h y m n from Egypt she is addressed as " Q u e e n of the G o d s ,
e n d o w e d with wealth (TIAOUXO86XI paaiA,eia Gecov), L a d y T h e r m o u t h i s
('EpuouGi avocaoa), Mistress of the world (rcavxoKpdxepia), G o o d Fortune
?
(Tuxrj 'AyaGri), Isis of great n a m e (ueycctaovuue I a i ) , Most H i g h god
15
dess (Ar|oi u \ | / ( a x r | ) , discoverer of all life (^cofjq eupexpia rcdariq)." T h e
inscription continues:
All kinds of works were your care (rcavxoicov epycov eueXxiae aoi), so that
you grant to men life and good order (6<pp' dva8oui<; dvGpamoioi |3iov
xe Kai euvouinv xe drcaai), and have discovered and made known the
laws (Kai Geauxnx; Kaxe8ei£a<;) in order that righteousness might endure
(iv' eu6iKir| xi<; i m a p x i i ) . . . For your sake (GOV xe xdpw) the celestial sphere
and the whole earth are brought together (avveaxTix' 6 noXoc, Kai yaia
arcaoa), and the rushing winds and the sun with its sweet rays (Kai
13
S.A. Takacs, Isis and Sarapis in the R o m a n world, in EPRO 124 (1995), p. 2.
14
SEG 9 , 1 , 192 /. 4 - 8 .
15
SEG 8 , 1 , 5 4 8 /. 1-4.
rcvoiai dvepcov Kai r(kio(; 6 yA/uicucp£yyr|<;), b y y o u r p o w e r (ap 5i)vd|iei) all

16
t h e rivers o f t h e N i l e r u n full (Ne(Xo\) rcoxapoi 7iA.rjpoi)vxai arcavxeq). . , "
Isis n o w e m b r a c e s other deities whose n a m e s are recorded as equiv

alent to h e r own. Both Plutarch a n d Pseudo-Hippolytus w e r e to
claim t h a t Plato learned his philosophy from Egyptian priests, so that
the true origin of that philosophy was Egyptian, even t h o u g h , as we
shall see, both Diogenes Laertius a n d Philostratus, within the circle
of J u l i a D o m n a , were to claim a different origin or ocp%r|. W e see
in this a n d other inscriptions the claim that all religion has its ulti
mately real historical origin in Egypt a n d Isis worship, of which all
other religions are b u t less perfect reflections or even corruptions.
T h e n a m e of Isis is "gready h o n o u r e d by all (TIOAA)X{UT|XOV rcapa jcaai),"
w h e t h e r by G r e e k or by Barbarians, b u t each use their own expres
sions (ipcovaioi i8iai<;). T h e Syrians call h e r Astarte or Artemis, the
Greeks H e r a , A p h r o d i t e , Hestia, R h e a a n d D e m e t e r . T h e Egyptians
17 v
call h e r T h e r m o u t h i s . " G r e a t Isis ( Ioi peyioxr))" clearly merits h e r
18
title " m a n y n a m e d (rcoAucbvupe)."
H e r powers, indeed the powers of the individual goddesses that
she unites in h e r person, are not simply over the n a t u r a l b u t also
over the social order. " G r e a t Isis" also is "she w h o delivers from
w a r b o t h cities a n d citizens (EK rcoAiuou puuivn xe noXeiq navxaq xe
noXiiaq), themselves a n d their wives a n d possessions a n d d e a r children
19
(auxoix; Kai aXoxovq Kai Kxripaxa Kai <p{Xa xeicva)." Similarly we have
from the Augustan age a n aretologia of Isis from C u m a e , inscribed
on a stele, which lists the universality of Isis, a n d h e r rule over
n a t u r e , society, a n d individual life, in some fifty six eyco or eyco eipi
claims, beginning Eiaiq eyco eipi TI xt>pavvo<; nac^q xcbpaq, a n d which
20 21
include the giving of l a w s a n d h e r presence in the rays of the s u n .
W e m u s t therefore n o w look at h o w such a cult c a m e first to be
viewed with suspicion at R o m e , a n d then to b e accepted into the
pantheon.
16
SEG 8 , 1 , 5 4 8 /. 4 - 1 0 .
17
SEG 8 , 1 , 5 4 8 /. 1 4 - 2 4 .
18
SEG 8 , 1 , 5 4 8 /. 2 6 cf. also 5 4 9 /. 1.
19
SEG 8 , 1 , 5 4 8 /. 2 7 - 2 8 .
20
I.G. 12 suppl. p. 9 8 : 14A = EG 4 p. 138: 4 eyco vouo\><; dv9pcbrcoi<; eGeunv Kai
evouoBeiTioa d oi>0ei<; 5 i ) v a x a i u e x a 9 e i v a i a n d p. 139: 5 2 eyco e i u i r\ Seouocpopoq
KaAxxuuevTi.
21
I.G. 12 suppl. p. 98: 14A = EG \ p. 139: 4 4 eyco ev xalq xoft r\h\ox> at)yai<; eiui.
4 5 eyco 7tape8pe\)co xf\ TOV r\Xio\) rcopeux.
258 CHAPTER SEVEN
7A 1.1.1. The reception of Isis as political iconography

In late R e p u b l i c a n times, Isiac religious symbols b e g a n to p e n e t r a t e
into the private space of the villas of the wealthy senatorial aristoc
racy. F r o m the time of the Social W a r , d u r i n g the 80s B.C., vari
22
ous coins w e r e m i n t e d showing Isiac symbols. But in 5 8 , 5 3 a n d
23
48 B.C. senatorial action was taken against the cult. Tiberius' reign
24
m a r k e d the repression of the cult of Isis. But nevertheless we find
an inscription from Egypt (A.D. 23) in which Julia Sebaste is described
as vecc "Iaiq (IGRR 1, 1150). H e r e clearly the G r e e k East t h a t orig
inally petitioned Augustus to be allowed to offer h i m a divine cult
continues a policy which the E m p e r o r himself as yet only partially
accepts. But from Caligula's time the policy of aversion towards the
cult of Isis h a d been considerably softened. Caligula appears to have
either refurbished a n existing T e m p l e or c o m m e n c e d the building
of a new o n e .
T h e Vespasian m y t h recorded the healing of a blind a n d lame
m a n sent by Osiris to Vespasian as the incarnation of H o r u s , to
25
w h o m Isis h a d given b i r t h . H e r e we are observing a slow assimi
lation of the eastern cult of Isis a n d Osiris into the imperial ideo
logy, in which to be divifilius does not involve identification with the
progeny of V e n u s alone. T h e devotees of Isis, into whose mysteries
neither Caligula n o r Vespasian were ever formally admitted, could
readily assure the E m p e r o r that Isis was rcoXucbvuuoq a n d that iden
tification with the son of one goddess did not preclude identification
with the son of a n o t h e r .
F u r t h e r m o r e , such a n assimilation could also be justified within
the perspective of the Imperial Cult a n d its fundamental assump
tions.
7A 1.1.2. The reception of Isis and the p a x d e o r u m

O n the one h a n d o n e can regard Isiac rites as a prava religio, not
c o n d u c t e d more Romano, a n d non patrio sed externo ritu. As such those
rites b e a r the marks of a superstitio such as Tacitus held Christianity
to b e (3C 2.3). T h u s o n e could regard the worship of Isis a n d Osiris
as a threat to the pax deorum that the Principate was to claim, through
2 2
Takacs (1995), pp. 3 3 - 4 0 .
2 3
For a thorough discussion of these actions a n d their precise historical location,
with an analysis o f the sources, see T a k a c s (1995), p p . 5 6 - 7 0 .
2 4
J o s e p h u s , Antiqu., 18, 6 6 - 8 0 ; T a k a c s (1995), p p . 8 2 - 8 6 .
2 5
Tacitus, Hist. 4 , 8 1 ; Suetonius Titus 5,3 and T a k a c s (1995), pp. 9 6 9 8 .
its reform of republican religion, to have secured. T h i s h a d b e e n

previously the position of the Senate regarding Isis in 5 8 , 53 a n d
4 8 B.C., as was to be the position of Tiberius. But o n the o t h e r
h a n d , a n d within the same set of assumptions, it c a n equally be
argued that the suppression of less extreme religious groups such as
Isiacs will itself upset the pax deorum. T h e extension of the pax Romana
to Egypt a n d Syria t h r o u g h imperial rule requires also the exten
sion of the pax deorum to the gods w h o rule such places.
T h e incorporation of kings into the empire as subjects a n d clients
thus requires as its c o u n t e r p a r t the incorporation of such deities as
Isis into the R o m a n p a n t h e o n . T h e process was b o t h gradual a n d
d y n a m i c , a n d n o d o u b t assisted by such a n e m p e r o r as Vespasian
w h o considered that the peace that he personally h a d secured out
of the revolutionary chaos was a p e a c e in which Isis h a d played a
critical a n d supportive role. As T a k a c s , to whose perceptive a c c o u n t
I a m h e r e indebted, p u t it:
. . . the Roman ability and readiness to accept and integrate foreign

ideas and cults was linked with the all-encompassing notion of the pax
deorum. Roman control of geographical areas entailed acceptance of
the area's deities. Since inclusiveness marked Roman paganism, the
Roman pantheon contained indigenous as well as foreign deities. They
could co-exist or fuse. The belief in the pax deorum and the resulting
26
pax hominum encouraged this inclusiveness or openness.
27
D o m i t i a n rebuilt Caligula's temple o n the C a m p u s M a r t i u s . In c o m
m e m o r a t i o n of this restoration, D o m i t i a n h a d erected a n Obelisk,
which stands today in the Piazza N a v o n a , with a picture of himself
being c r o w n e d by Isis. As T a k a c s points out, the iconography was
significant in that it reversed the tradition that Augustus h a d followed.
According to that tradition, the ruler, w h e t h e r P h a r a o h or E m p e r o r ,
28
stood before Osiris a n d Isis a n d gave t h e m gifts. H e r e therefore
we have a n a d o p t i o n by D o m i t i a n of the Isiac iconography, a n d its
significance for the worship of the ruler cult, for reasons that arise
from the logic a n d developing legitimation of R o m a n imperial power.
2 6
T a k a c s (1995), p. 107.
2 7
R . M . Krill, R o m a n Paganism under the Antonines and Severans, in ANRW
2 , 1 6 , 1 , (1978), p. 3 3 following Suetonius, DomiL, 1,2: ". . . Isiaci celatus habitu
interque sacrificulos variae superstitionis . . .," mentions that D o m i t i a n dressed as an
Isiac. T a k a c s (1995), pp. 9 9 - 1 0 0 disputes Suetonius account as "nothing m o r e than
a clever fiction."
2 8
T a k a c s (1995), p. 100.
260 CHAPTER SEVEN
Previously, in the example of Vespasian, the adoption of these Egyptian

rites h a d b e e n for personal reasons alone, n a m e l y personal gratitude
for Isis' deliverance. N o w they h a d b e c o m e for D o m i t i a n p a r t of the
general logic of the cult for securing the general pax deorum in polit
ical matters.
It was with H a d r i a n that the a c c e p t a n c e originally refused by
Tiberius was finally given to Sarapis a n d Isis.
7A 1.1.3. Isis and the official iconography of imperial divinity

T h e implications were accepted with their associated political ideo
logy that T i b e r i u s , in his anxiety to preserve the a p p e a r a n c e s of
R e p u b l i c a n forms, h a d originally d e n i e d . It was n o t simply t h a t
H a d r i a n also h o n o u r e d Sarapis, consort of Isis, with a S a r a p e u m in
his Villa. C o i n types n o w a p p e a r towards the e n d of H a d r i a n ' s reign
29
(A.D. 132-134) with Isis i m p o s e d o n the star S o t h i s . W e h a v e
" A d v e n t u s " types from Alexandria in which Sarapis a p p e a r s with
modius on his h e a d , a n d Isis with lotus o n h e r h e a d standing on
the right. O n the left stand H a d r i a n a n d S a b i n a facing t h e m . Sarapis
a n d H a d r i a n clasp their right h a n d s over a n altar, whilst Isis holds
u p a sistrum in h e r right h a n d , with S a b i n a holding a n uncertain
30
object. T h e Imperial Cult was thus a p p r o p r i a t i n g the iconography
of a universal religion, of Isis rcoA,ucbvuuo<;, with a direct relevance
to a n ideology that saw divine p o w e r direcdy i n c a r n a t e d in the per
son of earthly rulers. H a d r i a n a n d Sabina were Turcot of Sarapis a n d
Isis just as the e m p e r o r Elagabalus in his eiiccov (A.D. 218) was to
be associated with the xurcoq xou ercixcopiou Geou (Herodian V , 5,6-7),
a n d Ignatius' bishop h a d been xurcoq rcocxpoq.
T h i s typology of a universal imperialism expressed in terms of a
universal cult was to b e continued in the next reign. W e have a
coin from the mint of R o m e late in the reign of Antoninus Pius,
inscribed D I V A F A U S T I N A , o n the reverse side of which Isis is
seated on a d o g holding a sistrum.^ Likewise with M a r c u s Aurelius,
we find two coins of his empress Faustina II w h e r e on the reverse
of coins depicting h e r bust duly d r a p e d a n d inscribed F A U S T I N A
A U G U S T A , we find Isis with a lotus on h e r h e a d , holding a sistrum
with peacock a n d lion at her feet, or alternatively with a veil floating
RIC 2, p. 4 4 4 no. 8 2 6 and Takacs (1995), p. 106.

BMC 3, p p . 3 3 9 and 4 8 9 , cf. p. 4 8 5 for Isis alone.
BMC 4, p. 2 5 5 .
32
above h e r h e a d a n d with a ship with mast a n d sail s p r e a d . Fur
t h e r m o r e coins whose reverse space show b o t h Faustina a n d Isis
together m a k e t h e identification of Faustina II with Isis m o r e secure.
T h e r e is n o evidence that A n t o n i n u s a n d M a r c u s a n d their consorts
accepted initiation into t h e Isis mysteries as H a d r i a n h a d into t h e
Dionysiac. W e have here r a t h e r a n example of a n interpretatio Romana
33
applied to the i c o n o g r a p h y of the Imperial C u l t .
T h e appropriation of this iconography was suggested b y the general
cultural b a c k g r o u n d , a n d n o t initiated by a n intentional policy of
univeral imperialism backed b y a supporting philosophical ontology.
C o m m o d u s did n o t continue his predecessors' iconography o n his
coinage as such, b u t r a t h e r reverted to such legends as S E R A P I D I
3 4
C O N S E R V A T O R I . T h e r e is clearly n o identification here with t h e
deity whose general protection is invoked. A similar a c c o u n t c a n also
b e given of the introduction of t h e cult of Cybele, at first experi
encing initial hostility, b u t destined finally to b e incorporated into
the R o m a n p a n t h e o n . Cybele too w a s identified with t h e e m p e r o r
t h r o u g h his consort well before t h e age of t h e Severans w h e n D e a
Caelestis a n d Artagatis b e c a m e finally p a r t of t h e imperial p a n t h e o n .
T o the pre-Severan period w e c a n also assign recognition of M i t h r a s
by the Imperial Cult u n d e r the title of Sol Invictus.
7A 1.2. Cybele and Magna Mater

As early as 2 0 4 B . C . t h e rites of Cybele a n d Attis h a d b e e n intro
d u c e d into R o m e with t h e foundation of the temple o n t h e Palatine
to Magna Mater. But the cult was confined to this temple alone, since
at that time orgiastic rites were n o t considered p a r t of normative
R o m a n religion. H o w e v e r , even at that time there was a n ambigu
ity a b o u t such a religious policy. T h e bringing of a copy of Cybele's
image (d(p{8pupa) in response to a Sibylline oracle w a s p a r t of a n
ideological strategy m a r k i n g a n d legitimising t h e extension of R o m a n
35
p o w e r a n d influence in t h e G r e e k E a s t .
32
BMC 4 , p. 5 4 5 n. 1006 (= H . C o h e n , Description Historique des Monnaies, (Paris:
Rollin a n d Feuardent 1884), n o s C . 2 9 8 , C . 2 9 9 a n d C . 304).
3 3
T a k a c s (1995), p. 112.
34
Ibid. (1995), p. 113.
3 5
Strabo 12, 5 6 7 (= EPRO 5 0 (1987) 1,55): ercupaveq 8 ' inoir\aav Tcouaioi xo
iepov, d(p{8p\)ua ev9ev8e xfjq Geou uexa7ieu\|/auevoi K a x a xoix; xfjq ItfK>M,Ti<; x p T i a p o \ > < ; ,
mOarcep K a l xov 'AOKAJITIIOV xov ev 'E7ti8ai)pcp. S e e also E.S. Gruen, Studies in Greek
Culture a n d R o m a n Policy, in Cincinnati Classical Studies, V I I (Leiden: E J . Brill 1990),
262 CHAPTER SEVEN
F r o m the beginning, therefore, we witness Eastern deities being

accepted but within the ideological framework of a n interpretatio romana.
As with Isis, there was a n imagery in Cybele's cult that well-suited
Magna Mater in the role of a universal goddess from which all deity
a n d thus all p o w e r a n d o r d e r could b e derived, a n d , as it were,
waiting for the e m e r g e n c e of a n age that required such a system
atic legitimation of its imperialism. Diodorus Siculus (3,57,3) describes
her as Q u e e n (PotoiXeicc) a n d eldest d a u g h t e r of U r a n u s w h o becomes
ueydAri ur|xr|p a n d uT|TT|p Gecov (3,59,8).
Certainly these tides can be seen extensively in inscriptions, as the
indices to V e r m a s e r e n EPRO 50 H V (1978-1987) will show. T o
take some examples, we find, d a t i n g from the R o m a n p e r i o d at
P e r g a m o n , a dedication to Phila, d a u g h t e r of M e n a n d e r , w h o is
"priestess (xnv iepeiccv) of the M o t h e r the Q u e e n (xf)<; Muxpoq xfjq
36
pocoiXeicxq)." In Pessinus in Galatia, in the second half of the sec
37
o n d century, we have a reference to Cybele as urixrjp Gecov. M o r e
relevantly for o u r p u r p o s e we find m e n t i o n of s o m e o n e w h o is "life
long priest (8id piou iepect) of the M o t h e r of the G o d s (Muxpoq Gecov)
in a n inscription to b e dated either A . D . 70 or in the second half
of the second century. T h e priest m e n t i o n e d is also "six times high-
priest of the Augusti in the K o i n o n of the Galatian Sebastenoi (xcov xe
38
Ie(3aaxSv eâKiq dpxiepea xou KOIVOU Lepaoxrivcov TaXaxcov)," a n d
aePaoxo(pdvxr|<; of the imperial temple (xou vaou). T h e same is true
for Tiberius Claudius Attius w h o , at the e n d of the first century A.D.,
is addressed as 8iq dpxiepeoc xcov lepaoxcbv xou KOIVOU xcov Tataxxcov Kai
39
oePaoxocpdvxriv.
p. 10 w h o argues that the sending for the i m a g e of Magna Mater is a direct paral
lel with the obtaining o f the Sibylline Books from the D e l p h i c Oracle a n d their
translation into Latin by Q . Fabius Pictor in 2 1 6 after the defeat of H a n n i b a l at
C a n n a e . "This sequence o f adoptions a n d adaptations o f Greek rituals, divinities,
and oracular authority supplies the proper setting for the acquisition o f the M a g n a
Mater. It is not incidental that both the Sibylline Books a n d Pythian Apollo at
D e l p h i play a role in e m p o w e r i n g R o m a n officials to fetch her from Asia a n d insti
tute her cult at h o m e . T h e event h a d its precedents and its parallels. It belongs to
a growing series o f thrusts by the R o m a n political a n d religious elite to e x p a n d and
exploit connections with the cultural world o f the Greek East."
36
EPRO 5 0 (1987) I, 3 5 2 ; cf. also 3 5 3 - 3 5 5 . S e e also EPRO (1977) III, 2 4 4
(= CIL 6, 512) (A.D. 3 9 0 R o m e ) : "Matri d e u m m a g n a e Idaeae et Attidi m e n o -
tyranno dis magnis." I l l , 4 7 6 (A.D. 241 Formiae): "sacerdos Matris M a g n a e Idaeae
taurobolium."
37
EPRO 5 0 (1987) I, 5 7 , /. 6.
38
EPRO 5 0 (1987) I, 5 9 , /. 5 - 9 .
39
EPRO 5 0 (1987) I, 6 0 /. 4 - 7 .
T h e last n a m e d person bears the gentilicium of the e m p e r o r Claudius

w h o h a d placed the cult u n d e r the control of the quindecimviri a n d
officially sanctioned admissions of m o r e R o m a n citizens into the ranks
40
of its priests. Clearly being a priest of the Imperial Cult did not
exclude o n e being a priest of Cybele as well.
But in the reign of H a d r i a n , Cybele assumes a sure place in the
iconography of divine imperial power.
7A 1.2.1. Imperial adoption of Cy tele's iconography

W e find for the first time six examples on the coinage itself of Cybele
towered a n d seated (sometimes on a throne), holding a patera a n d
resting h e r a r m on a d r u m with a lion at h e r feet (Plate 28). T h e
first five have H A D R I A N V S A V G V S T V S in the legend b u t the
sixth has S A B I N A A V G V S T A u n d e r h e r image that has a double
41
d i a d e m . (Plate 26). In the following reign, we find a n almost p a r
allel process with that of Isis. Faustina I, addressed in the legend o n
h e r coins as A V G V S T A , also has o n the obverse Cybele towered
a n d d r a p e d , seated on a t h r o n e with two lions at h e r side (Plate 29).
4 2
T h e legend reads M A T R I D E V M S A L V T A R I S C . F o r Faustina
II, we have on the obverse of a coin h e r o w n portrait, d r a p e d with
h e r hair elaborately waved a n d knotted, with the legend F A V S T I N A
A V G V S T A (Plate 30). O n the reverse we find Cybele towered a n d
d r a p e d , with a lion at h e r right side a n d with the legend M A T R I
43
M A G N A E (Plate 31). Lucius V e r u s , a d o p t e d b r o t h e r of M a r c u s
Aurelius, has a coin bearing his h e a d on the obverse, with the reverse
4 4
showing Cybele with the legend M A T R I [ M A G N A E ] S C . His wife
45
Lucilla also has similar c o i n s . Finally C o m m o d u s has coins that, as
in the case of Isis, seem to retreat from final identification of the
goddess with the imperial person a n d reverts to M A T R I D E V C O N -
46
S E R V A V G . or M A T R I D E V M C O N S E R V A V G (Plate 32).
W e see, therefore, that, in the case of two universalistic cults, t h a t
4 0
Krill (1978), p. 3 1 .
41
BMC 3 , p. 3 8 2 n o . f; P- 3 8 5 n o . 1059; p. 3 8 6 n o . 1060 (Plate 72,6), p. 3 9 6
n o . 1095 (Plate 75,7).
42
BMC 4, pp. 2 3 2 - 2 3 3 nos 1 4 3 6 - 1 4 4 0 (Plate 34,4).
4 3
BMC 4, p. 5 1 5 n o . 8 3 6 . S e e also p. 4 0 2 n o . 132 a n d p. 4 0 3 n o . 134; p. 5 3 4
nos 9 3 2 - 9 3 4 (Plate 73,11); p. 5 4 2 no. 9 8 9 (Plate 74,9). For puellae o f Faustina I see
p. 2 4 5 §.
44
BMC 4, p. 6 1 0 no. *.
45
BMC 4, p. 571 no. *; p. 5 7 7 no. *.
4(1
BMC 4, p. 7 5 5 no. 3 5 4 and p. 8 3 4 n o . 6 8 0 (Plate 109,15).
264 CHAPTER SEVEN
of Isis a n d Sarapis, a n d of Cybele, the syncretism of both with one

another is effected through the association of both with the divi Augusti.
But neither Isis n o r Cybele were destined to achieve their universal
h e g e m o n y in their o w n n a m e within which others might then be
included. Neither Isis n o r Cybele were to prove the force that effected
the final syncretism into a p a g a n universal religion. It was a third
force in the form of the cult of Sol Invictus that was to b e finally
victorious.
7A 1.3. The cult ofSo\ Invictus

T h e third syncretising force was the worship of Sol Invictus, which
was eventually to succeed in p r o d u c i n g , u n d e r Aurelian, the syncre
tism that the Severans, as we shall see, were to search for so inten
tionally a n d systematically. W e witness the g r a d u a l a p p e a r a n c e of
this god which Halsberghe has identified, from the time of H a d r i a n ,
specifically with Sol Invictus Elagab which Elagabalus was to endea
47
v o u r to impose u p o n the empire in A . D . 2 1 8 . W h e t h e r at the ear
lier stages of its a p p e a r a n c e it should be r e g a r d e d as arising out of
Mithraism, or w h e t h e r it was identified with the Syrian Elagab from
its first a p p e a r a n c e , is not o u r concern here. Suffice it to say that it
was this ingredient in a d y n a m i c , syncretistic process that was to
prevail, incorporating the aspects of Isis a n d Cybele along with the
o t h e r deities of the G r a e c o - R o m a n p a n t h e o n with which they h a d
b e e n identified. But unlike Isis, Sarapis, a n d Cybele, n o a t t e m p t
before the Severans was m a d e to express iconographically universal
divine political p o w e r in terms of Sol Invictus. R a t h e r H a d r i a n , from
A . D . 129 o n w a r d s , after his victories in the East, "ceased to have
himself p o r t r a y e d with a n aureole, which he n o w assigned exclu
48
sively to the sun g o d . " Halsberghe hypothesises that it was H a d r i a n ' s
deference to the new cult from Syria t h a t lead to his attribution to
it of the iconography of the ancient R o m a n cult of Sol It was this
deference t h a t lead to his dissociation of numismatic iconography
from his own person. P. Aelius A m a n d u s (A.D. 158) presents us with
the earliest evidence w h e n he dedicates his small m a r b l e altar Soli
49
Invicto Deo. But in this, as in a n u m b e r of o t h e r inscriptions until
the reign of C o m m o d u s , Sol Invictus was not associated with the
G. Halsberghe, T h e Cult of Sol Invictus, in EPRO (1972).

Ibid. (1972), p. 4 6 .
CIL 6, 7 1 5 .
e m p e r o r ' s person or with that of his consort, as Sarapis, Isis, a n d

50
Cybele h a d b e e n . It is only C o m m o d u s , before Septimius Severus,
w h o makes invictus a c o m p o n e n t of the imperial tide, a n d w h o h a d
51
the sun god p o r t r a y e d u p o n his coins.
W i t h the Severans, we witness a major shift in perspective in the
construction of a syncretic universalism, intentionally p r o p a g a t e d as
a n ideology of imperial p o w e r a n d s u p p o r t e d by a philosophical
ontology.
7A 2. The Severan Reformation
W e can m a r k such a conceptual shift by references to a n a n a c h r o

nistic interpretation in the second century, represented by D i o Cassius
w h o interpreted the Isiac rites in a way that would h a v e a p p e a r e d
alien in the past period of time t h a t he attempts to describe. His
anachronistic error gives us a positive indication that a conceptual
shift has taken place in his own time. D i o c a n only interpret past
events in terms of a present that clearly is quite different from the
past t h a t he seeks b u t fails accurately to describe.
D i o Cassius claimed t h a t ill-omens followed the d e c r e e of the
Senate in 53 B.C. that caused the destruction of privately built tem
ples of Isis a n d Sarapis. N o d o u b t the Senate at the time h a d seen
such o m e n s as indicative of natura discors reflected in the social dis
order, a n d that the pax deorum required the removal of these foreign
gods from within the pomerium. Similarly such portents occurred in
4 8 B.C. following the m u r d e r of P o m p e y in Egypt. But, as T a k a c s
points out, "for D i o these actions were dreadful portents; in his world
Isis a n d Sarapis h a d not only a place in the R o m a n p a n t h e o n b u t
52
were closely linked with the imperial c o u p l e . " D i o b e g a n his career
with his n o m i n a t i o n by Pertinax for the praetorship (A.D. 193). H e
was finally to take u p this a p p o i n t m e n t u n d e r Septimius Severus in
whose reign his literary activity c o m m e n c e d . H e thus m a r k s a con
ceptual shift that we can associate with the imperial ideology as it
developed within that reign. Similarly Suetonius, earlier t h a n D i o
(A.D. 119), holding office u n d e r H a d r i a n , makes D o m i t i a n into a n
5 0
For a full list a n d discussion o f the epigraphic evidence, see Halsberghe (1972),
pp. 4 5 - 4 9 .
51
Halsberghe (1972), p. 4 9 and footnote 2.
5 2
D i o Cassius 4 0 , 4 7 and 4 2 , 2 6 and T a k a c s (1995), p. 67.
266 CHAPTER SEVEN
initiate into the Isiac cult w h e r e a s , as we have noted, he simply

53
m a d e use of Egyptian i c o n o g r a p h y . H e is not as positive a b o u t that
cult as is D i o , but clearly can regard imperial association with it as
possible, as was the case with the numismatic evidence that we gave
regarding the iconographic identification of H a d r i a n with Sarapis
a n d Sabina with Isis.
But given the conceptual shift, h o w is this to be characterised? I
will argue t h a t the integrative force of the cult of Sol Invictus, in p r o
d u c i n g a universal solar m o n o t h e i s m e m b r a c i n g all o t h e r deities,
enabled also divine p o w e r to be focused o n the e m p e r o r ' s person in
which a multicultural empire was to find its unity.
7A 2 . 1 . Unity in diversity as a comprehensive imperial ideal

T h e a t t e m p t of Elagabalus to focus too exclusively on the rites a n d
cultus of his own, Syrian sun god was a fundamentalist aberration
from a general Severan policy that r e m a i n e d intact a n d was to grad
ually develop into its final t r i u m p h u n d e r Aurelian.
Severus Alexander, successor to Elagabalus, m a y have demolished
the latter's a t t e m p t to found a universal m o n o t h e i s m in a specifically
Syrian cultural form. T h e fire of Vesta a n d the great stone of M a g n a
M a t e r (Cybele) were r e t u r n e d from the temple of the S u n to their
original locations, as was also his image (XUTCOC;) to Emesa. But nev
ertheless, as the legend if not fact of the lararium makes clear:
there soon emerged under Alexander a renewed attempt towards tol

erance of all cults combined under different aspects of a universal reli
gion. Under the strong influence of Neo-Pythagorean and Neo-Platonic
concepts, individual cults came to be regarded as expressions of a truth
proper to all religions. Each was but a different version of a single
54
Supreme God.
But though Krill is undoubtedly correct in this assertion, I shall argue

that he was quite w r o n g to see the d e v e l o p m e n t of Sol Invictus as a n
alternative to the Imperial Cult as the centre a n d focus of imperial
55
u n i t y . T h e n u m i s m a t i c iconography, inter alia, will m a k e clear that
the Imperial Cult was as capable of absorbing Sol Invictus into its
5 3
Suetonius, Domit. 1,4 and T a k a c s (1995), p. 9 9 .
5 4
Krill (1978), p. 4 1 . S e e also J. Ferguson, The Religions of the Roman Empire,
(London: T h a m e s and H u d s o n 1970), p p . 4 7 - 5 6 , p p . 2 1 1 - 2 3 3 .
^ Ibid. p. 4 4 : "In the third century, the attempts to identify a single S u n g o d
divinity a m i d the circle o f so m a n y other g o d s is seen as a n e w unifying imperial
goal which e m p e r o r deification could n o longer achieve."
iconography a n d ideology as it h a d been in the case of Isis, Sarapis,

a n d Cybele.
Let us therefore first of all e x a m i n e the evidence for a distinctive
Severan reformation in the iconography a n d political theology of the
Imperial Cult. T h e n , secondly, we shall be in a position to consider
the underlying philosophical perspective that h a d also developed a n d
that legitimated the reformation.
7A 2.1.1. The recasting of icons by the Severans

Images of Septimius Severus previously h a d a p p e a r e d with those of
J u l i a D o m n a his wife a n d a u n t of J u l i a M a m a e a o n the a r c h at
Leptis M a g n a (erected 203), w h e r e they represent Sarapis a n d Isis.
T h e p o r t r a i t types follow artistic depictions of the cult statue of
Sarapis at the Alexandrian S a r a p e u m . M c C a n n has p o i n t e d out that
there is here a "single, powerful image of the syncretistic J u p i t e r -
Sarapis" in which the claim to deification " h a d never before b e e n
so comprehensively a n d boldly stated . . . J u p i t e r , the ruler of the
u p p e r world, a n d Sarapis the god of the lower world . . . are fused
56
in the image of the cosmocrator which a p p e a r s on his c o i n a g e . "
But although the Isis i c o n o g r a p h y is applied to J u l i a D o m n a , as
we saw above, there is n o application of the Sarapis i c o n o g r a p h y in
isolation to Septimius Severus or his successors on the coinage itself.
R a t h e r the imagery of Sarapis as the sun god as c o u n t e r p a r t to Isis
his consort as m o o n goddess has b e e n absorbed by a n e w develop
m e n t a l stage in the syncretism. T h e themes of KoouoKpdxcop c o m
bined with Sol Invictus n o w incorporate into a universal m o n o t h e i s m
other deities w h o are b u t aspects of the O n e . Sol Invictus can have
n o consort as Sarapis h a d d o n e , since Sol Invictus syncretises b o t h
Isis a n d Sarapis, Zeus a n d H e r a , a n d the rest of the p a n t h e o n into
the n e w solar m o n o t h e i s m . W e find a cult legend that clearly equates
f
Zeus b o t h with Sarapis a n d with Sol, a n d which recounts Aioq HA,io\)
57
peydôu Zapa7ci8o<; dpexr|. Certainly J u l i a D o m n a was the d a u g h t e r
58
of Bassianus, w h o was sacerdos amplissimus Dei Soli Invicti Elagabali.
T h e cult of Sol Invictus, as Halsberghe pointed out in his seminal
study, h a d a prior history in the developing syncretism of the early
5 6
A . M . M c C a n n , T h e Serapis-Severus Portrait T y p e I X , in The Portraits of Septimius
Severus, in MAAR 3 0 (1968), p p . 1 5 5 - 1 6 8 , q u o t e d in T a k a c s (1995), pp. 1 1 5 - 1 1 6 .
5 7
M . Totti, Ausgewahlte Texte der Isis- und Sarapis- Religion, (Zurich: O l m s 1985),
13,22.
3 8
Halsberghe (1972), pp. 4 9 - 5 1 .
268 CHAPTER SEVEN
third century. A coin of C o m m o d u s p o r t r a y e d the sun god with radi

ant crown in a scene that includes p a r t of the signs of the Zodiac
59
(Sagittarius, C a p r i c o r n , a n d two others). T h e presence of these signs
is indicative that we have h e r e , not simply a continuity of solar
60
themes found in earlier c o i n a g e , associated with the older R o m a n
sun god, b u t with Sol Invictus Elagabal. G e t a was p o r t r a y e d on coins
as the Sun a n d as son of C a e s a r as Sun.
W e have from R o m e (A.D. 2 0 0 - 2 0 2 ) a coin of Geta, the reverse
of which describes his relation with his father in the words Seven
invicti Augfusti), piifilfii) ("the dutiful son of the unconquered Augustus").
T h e bust of G e t a himself is not simply normally radiate b u t shows
61
the crown of the s u n . As Alfbldi pointed out, this image was m o r e
t h a n m e r e repetition of that of C o m m o d u s . G e t a is not depicted
with the n o r m a l luminous c r o w n of a n e m p e r o r , which is fastened
to the neck by m e a n s of a net. R a t h e r h e wears the circle of rays
of the sun-god a n d raises his right h a n d in blessing, not as Sol b u t
62
as offspring of Sol. T h u s the divine p o w e r , b o t h political a n d o n t o
logical, flows from Septimius as Sol, to his son w h o m he crowns a n d
t h r o u g h w h o m his blessing c a n flow. W e are thus seeing a funda
m e n t a l shift of perspective towards an oriental theory b o t h of divin
ity a n d of its associated m o n a r c h y .
63
Caracalla is p o r t r a y e d as S a r a p i s o n coins in which he is asso
ciated with Sol Invictus a n d which indicate that h e is to be r e g a r d e d
64
as KoauoKpdxcop. F u r t h e r m o r e , he has left a statue that portrays h i m
5 9
H . C o h e n , Description Historique des Monnaies, (Paris: Rollin a n d Feuardent 1884),
Vol. I l l , p. 2 3 6 n o . 7 0 a n d Halsberghe (1972), p. 4 9 .
6 0
RIC 2 p. 2 6 7 no. 3 2 6 (Trajan, A . D . 1 1 4 - 1 1 7 ) , bust o f sol radiate; p. 3 6 0 nos
166 a n d 167 (Hadrian, A . D . 125), s h o w i n g sol radiate in a quadriga.
61
/ 2 / C 4 , l p. 317 n o . 21 [Plate X I V , 5 ] (Obv.): P. S E P T . G E T A C A E S . P O N T .
(Bust, draped cuirassed, h e a d bear, r., (Rev.): S E V E R . I N V I C T I A V G . PII. FIL.
(Bust with sun-crown, left, half-length, draped, cuirassed, with aegis, right h a n d
raised).
6 2
A. Alfoldi, Die Monarchische Reprdsentation im rbmischen Kaiserreiche, (Darmstadt:
Wissenschafdiche Buchgesellschaft 1970), p p . 2 2 5 - 2 2 6 : "Geta ist der erste, der auf
einer staatlichen M u n z p r a g u n g als Sol ausgestattet abgebildet wurde: nicht mit der
normalen kaiserlichen Strahlenkrone, die durch eine M a s c h e a m N a c k e n befestigt
ist, sondern mit d e m Strahlenreif des S o n n e n g o t t e s . . . ist er gekront u n d hebt seine
rechte H a n d s e g n e n d e m p o r , eigentlich nicht als Sol, sondern als Sprossling des
Sonnenkonigs."
6 3
For Serapis see RIC 4,1 p. 2 5 6 n o . 2 9 0 (Caracalla, A . D . 217) Serapis stand
ing front, h e a d left, raising right h a n d a n d holding sceptre, a n d also p . 2 5 6 n o .
291 (a)-(c) . For sol alone, p. 2 5 6 n o . 2 9 3 (a)-(f); n o . 2 9 4 (a)-(c) Sol radiate m o u n t
ing quadriga, left [see Plate X I I , 2 0 ] .
6 4
F. C u m o n t and L. C a n e t , Mithra ou Serapis KOZMOKPATQP, in CRAIBL,
65
as a P h a r a o h . I n his visit to A l e x a n d r i a in A . D . 215 he b o t h
sacrificed to Sarapis a n d p a i d tribute to Alexander the G r e a t . But
the syncretistic context in which these two events took place is indi
cated by:
(i) the S a r a p e u m which he also built on the Quirinal with d i m e n

sions a n d location that indicated a parallelism with the temple of
66
Jupiter Capitolinus, and,
(ii) the association of Sarapis on coins b o t h with Helios a n d with
G r a e c o - R o m a n divinities such as Z e u s , Asclepius, Poseidon, a n d
67
Dionysus.
W e have a coin from the reign of D o m i t i a n with the legend HAIOC

CAPAFIIC a n d other examples inscribed o n stone a n d on amulets.
68
W e find dedications to Zevq "HAaoq \izyaq IdparcK;. But it is with
Caracalla, as A b d el M o h s e n el K h a c h a b correctly points out, that
a quite new identification with the Imperial Cult takes place as p a r t
of the i c o n o g r a p h y of imperial unity. Certainly KoapoKpdxcop occurs
first in this reign. T h e origin of the t e r m was u n d o u b t e d l y in M i t h r a -
ism, b u t here the reference was to a plural of Koouoicpdxopeq, seven
in n u m b e r w h o controlled the seven planets. In consequence "HXioq
b e c a m e the KoouoKpdxcop par excellence a n d s u p r e m e . But the inscrip
tion discovered in the baths of Caracalla a n d published in 1912,
reads in its restored form: eiq Zeuq IdpocTuc; "HAaoq KoauoKpdxcop aveiicn-
69
xoq. T h u s we have a witness to a syncretism that has absorbed not
only M i t h r a i s m , b u t b o t h Zeus a n d Sarapis into the universalism of
Sol Invictus that e m b r a c e s all divinities. M o r e o v e r the identification
of this divinity with Caracalla is of uttermost i m p o r t a n t for the devel
o p m e n t of the iconography of imperial p o w e r b e g u n by Septimius
Severus a n d realised by Caracalla.
W e find moreover, as with his father, n o a t t e m p t to invoke Isis
specifically as the consort of Sarapis a n d to identify king a n d q u e e n
(1919), p p . 3 1 3 - 3 2 8 cited in Frend (1965), p. 327 a n d p. 344; A b d el M o h s e n el

K h a c h a b , 6 KocpdKaA.A£><; K o a p o K p d x c o p , in JJEgArch, 47 (1961), p p . 1 1 9 - 1 3 3 ; S H A
Caracalla, 9,10; BMC 5, cxxxiii and CAH xii 3 5 6 - 3 5 7 ; See also J . Reville, La reli
gion a Rome sous les Severes, (Paris: Leroux 1886), pp. 3 0 - 3 5 , 2 1 0 - 2 8 3 .
6 5
A b d el M o h s e n el K h a c h a b (1961), p. 125.
6 6
T a k a c s (1995), p. 117.
6 7
A b d el M o h s e n el K h a c h a b (1961), p. 127.
H 8
C u m o n t and C a n e t (1919), p p . 3 1 6 - 3 1 7 .
6 9
C u m o n t (1919), pp. 3 1 3 - 3 1 6 .
270 CHAPTER SEVEN
as the incarnation o f these deities specifically. R a t h e r J u l i a D o m n a ,

Caracalla's m o t h e r , derives h e r significance from Caracalla as K o o u o
Kpdxcop: she thus b e c o m e s identifiable with "HXioq d v e i K n x o q , a n d
therefore with Sarapis. W e have in the A l e x a n d r i a n M u s e u m a n
inscription t h a t links the tide of J u l i a D o m n a as mater castrorum with
C a r a c a l l a ' s newly c o m b i n e d titles. J u l i a is f| pr|xr|p xcov dv[ncf|xcov]
70
oxpccxoTieScov.
T h e iconographic shift with its implied theology was to find sup
p o r t in c o n t e m p o r a r y philosophy of religion. T h e origins of that phi
losophy, w h i c h was to develop into fully fledged N e o p l a t o n i s m with
Plotinus, were u n d o u b t e d l y within the imperial establishment itself.
J u l i a D o m n a was to p r o v e to be the m a j o r influence in providing
for the construction of a philosophy of n a t u r e a n d of history that
would legitimate the ideology of the divine e m p e r o r in its specifically
Severan form.
7A 2.1.2. A philosophy justifying the religious synthesis

W h a t also characterised the c o n c e p t u a l shift that it would be n o
exaggeration to describe as the Severan R e f o r m a t i o n was a self-con
scious quest for a philosophy of religion that would legitimate that
revolution. Several denarii depict J u l i a D o m n a , wife of Septimius
Severus, as f| cpiloaocpoq. She a p p e a r s d r a p e d with hair raised a n d
coiled at the back, a n d with the legend I V L I A A V G V S T A . Isis
prefigures o n the obverse, with H o r u s at h e r breast a n d with the
71
legend S A E C V L I F E L I C I T A S S.C. (Plate 33).
In the literary sources J u l i a emerges as c o n c e r n e d with a philo
sophical circle t h a t she g a t h e r e d a r o u n d h e r , whilst she herself
r e m a i n e d actively e n g a g e d in the affairs of state. D i o records that,
w h e n Plautianus b e c a m e hostile, "she b e g a n t o study philosophy o n
a c c o u n t o f this (i\ pev avii] (piA,oao(p£iv 5id x a u x ' fipâxo) a n d t o con
72
sort with sophists (Kai aocpiaxaiq avvripepeuev)." She was in charge
o f Septimius' c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a n d this lead t o h e r holding receptions
7 0
H . Gauthier, Le Livre des Rois d'Egypte, (Paris: Institut Francais d'Archeologie
Orientale 1917), V p. 2 0 4 n o . 2 6 : . . .xov KoaôKpaxopa M(dpKov) Ai>(f|A.iov) leoufipov
'Avxcovivov napOiKov Meyiaxov BpexavviKov Meyiaxov TeppaviKov Meyioxov Emvxr\
Et)0£pii Ie(3aax6v xov (piXoadpajiiv Kal 'IovAiav Aopvav l e p a c x r i v xtiv jrnxepa xcov
dv[iicr|xcov] oxpaxo7ie8cov Kal 0e6v Xeo\)[iipov] fi noXiq.
71
RIC 4,1 p. 170 n o . 5 7 7 (Plate 9,9); p. 178 n o . 6 4 5 (Plate 9,18); p. 2 0 9 no.
8 6 5 . See also T a k a c s (1995), p. 116. S e e also B M C 5, pp. 1 6 6 - 1 6 7 , nos 7 5 , 76,
77 (Plate 28,18), nos 7 8 - 8 2 .
7 2
D i o Cassius 76,7.
for p r o m i n e n t m e n , " b u t she still r a t h e r c o n d u c t e d philosophical dis

73
cussion with t h e m (aXk* r\ uev K a i uexa xouxcov exi \iaXkov ecpiAoaotpei)."
Certainly her role in these discussions was not a passive one. Philostratus
describes h o w he is instructed, as a m e m b e r of the circle a r o u n d
h e r (uexeôvxi 8e uoi xou rcepi ccuxrjv KUKAOU), to correct (uexaypdxj/ai)
the d o c u m e n t s of m e m o i r s (xdq SeXxouq xSv urcouvrjudxcov) of the life
74
of Apollonius of T y a n n a . It is with a n evaluation of the cultural
a n d philosophical life of the Severan age, in which J u l i a D o m n a a n d
indeed h e r niece J u l i a M a m a e a after h e r h a d such interest, a n d its
contribution to the imperial ideology, with which we must n o w be
concerned.
PART B. PAGAN ONTOLOGIES: GNOSTICISM AND NEOPLATONISM
W e m u s t n o w retrace o u r steps from the early second century until

the third in o r d e r to unravel the revolution in philosophical specu
lation t h a t paralleled the Severan revolution in the i c o n o g r a p h y a n d
theology of the e m p e r o r ' s divinity. W e saw in C h a p t e r 2 the rela
tionship between Stoic ontology a n d political o r d e r as reflected in
the Imperial Cult. Stoicism legitimated a u g u r y (2A 2), a n d Augustus'
augural act h a d p r o d u c e d the pax deorum which older, R e p u b l i c a n
religion h a d failed to secure (2A 3). Imperial order, as L u c a n h a d
expressed it, was b u t the restoration of 6p06<; Xoyoq from a natura
discors (2A 4). Gnosticism developed some of its central themes in
opposition to Stoicism, a n d some of those themes were negated by
Neoplatonism. It is to the analysis of these developments that we
now turn.
7B 1. Stoic monism, Platonic dualism, and Gnosticism
A sociology of knowledge of any system of ideas examines h o w such

systems shape, reflect a n d m a i n t a i n social order. W e n e e d not here
enter into the complex philosophical discussion of w h e t h e r all real
ity is socially constructed in a way that precludes a n y transcenden
tal (in the sense of cross cultural) logic governing claims to truth. At
very least, we can m a i n t a i n that social o r d e r reflects epistemological
73
Ibid. 7 8 , 3 .
7 4
Philostratus, Vita Apollon., 3.
272 CHAPTER SEVEN
o r d e r without also m a i n t a i n i n g that social o r d e r totally conditions epis-

temological order.
T h e social construction of reality that was created a n d m a i n t a i n e d
by a Stoic world view o r d e r e d the ideology of imperial society in
the first a n d second centuries. N a t u r e a n d society were one in a Stoic
m o n i s m in w h i c h the taSyoq 8V8KX0£TO<; p e r m e a t e d all things which it
b o u n d together into a rational a n d h a r m o n i o u s whole. Ultimate real
ity was not to be found b e y o n d n a t u r e or society in some form of
Platonic dualism. U l t i m a t e reality, giving p u r p o s e a n d design to the
universe, was to be found indissolubly b o u n d u p with m a t t e r in the
Stoic p a n t h e i s m . T h u s the metaphysical c o u n t e r p a r t of the imperial
ideal found expression in Stoic m o n i s m . A c o s m o p o l i t a n e m p i r e
e m b r a c e d all lesser societies in a rational imperial o r d e r that gave
t h e m unity a n d p u r p o s e . T h e individual h a d n o free destiny of his
own, but Fata could d e t e r m i n e all things a c c o r d i n g to the providentia,
eiuapuevr), or rcpovoia of the Xoyoq evSidGeioq. T h u s the freedom of
the individual was d e n i e d by the rational p u r p o s e of the whole, a n d
individual p u r p o s e dissolved into the p u r p o s e of the universe as a
whole. T h e consuls or the e m p e r o r , performing their political func
tions on the o n e h a n d , would reduce to o r d e r a turbulent p o p u l a c e ,
a n d performing their religious ones on the o t h e r would t h r o u g h the
auspicia set right a disturbed n a t u r e by securing t h r o u g h the state's
religious rites the pax deorum.
Such a collectivist view of h u m a n significance a n d destiny h a d
however b e e n challenged from Augustus' time o n w a r d s , as we shall
n o w see, by a n intense interest in personal immortality. Such an
interest itself represented the resistance of the individual against being
assigned an identity t h a t only h a d m e a n i n g as p a r t of a collectivist
whole. T h e r e is a possible sociological explanation of this interest in
the Principate itself. In a post-Republican age in which all political
alternatives to military autocracy h a d b e e n ruled out by the per
ceived necessity of T a c i t u s ' pax et princeps, the m i n d s of individuals
sought refuge in the i n n e r life. T h e quest for h u m a n significance
was in the form of the quest for personal salvation. W e t u r n there
fore firstly to a consideration of some representative expressions of
the quest for personal salvation that initially challenged the collec
tivist imperial idea b u t which in Plotinus were finally to be recon
ciled with it.
7B 1 . 1 . Individual immortality and the Gnostic quest

T h e belief in personal a n d individual immortality is p e r h a p s the most
u n a m b i g u o u s social indicator of the existence of a belief in individ
ual freedom, a n d , indeed, the ultimate significance of the individual
against t h e social g r o u p . T h e individual soul, a c c o r d i n g to b o t h
Cleanthes a n d Chrysippus, survived death, b u t it would not survive
75
the eK7it)pcoai(; or universal conflagration. All matter, which is, accord
ing to the Stoic m o n i s m , simply a modification of the refined p n e u
matic substance of the ultimate divine being, would r e t u r n to its
divine source a n d therefore cease to exist even in limited i n d e p e n
76
d e n c e . Personal immortality was therefore relative.
It is interesting to note that Stoicism's subordination of personal
immortality to the unity of the cosmic whole reflected w h a t we can
d e d u c e a b o u t faith in personal immortality at the time of the late
republic a n d early e m p i r e from epigraphic a n d o t h e r evidence. W e
can see in the i c o n o g r a p h y of the V a t i c a n M a u s o l e a expressions of
a religious response to the denial of religious individualism.
7B 1.2. Individual immortality: the art of the Vatican Mausolea

As T o y n b e e a n d Perkins p o i n t e d out i n . t h e i r m o n u m e n t a l study of
the i c o n o g r a p h y of the excavated V a t i c a n mausolea, the traditional
funerary inscription, Dis Manibus, reflected a n earlier view, shared
also by the early G r e e k mystery religions, that the soul shed at d e a t h
its personal characteristics to b e c o m e r e a b s o r b e d into the half-divine
77
(Di), half h u m a n , a m o r p h o u s shades (Manes).
But from a b o u t the middle of the first century B.C. we find clear
definition given to the individual soul after d e a t h , as in Cicero's
Somnium Scipionis, w h e r e Africanus, dwelling a m o n g s t the blessed d e a d
in the Milky W a y , "revealed himself to m e (se ostendit mihi) in that
shape (ea forma) better k n o w n to m e from his portrait t h a n from his
78
person (ex imagine eius quam ex ipso erat notior)." Along with Vergil's
description of the u n d e r w o r l d in Aeneid 6, this u n c o n d i t i o n e d view
of personal immortality replaced that expressed in CIL 6, 4, 29609
(cinis sum, cinis terra est, terra dea est, ergo mortua non sum), which was
7 5
D i o g e n e s Laertius, Succ. 7, 1 1 5 6 - 1 5 7 .
7 6
Plutarch, De Comm. Motit. 3 6 , 5 .
7 7
J. T o y n b e e , and J. Ward Perkins, The Shrine of St. Peter and the Vatican Excavations,
(London: L o n g m a n s G r e e n 1956), p p . 1 0 9 - 1 1 7 .
7 8
C i c e r o , De Rep. 6,10 q u o t e d T o y n b e e and W a r d Perkins (1956), p. 110.
274 CHAPTER SEVEN
far closer to a m o r p h o u s survival with n o clearly defined p e r s o n h o o d

amongst the Di Manes.
T o y n b e e a n d W a r d Perkins were then able to interpret such images
from the myths of Dionysius or of N e p t u n e , represented in the dec
orations on sarcophagi or in frescoes o n t o m b s themselves, as expres
sions of the h o p e of unqualified personal immortality. T h e depiction
of Marcius H e r m e s or M a r c i a Felicitas is of the essential self that
survives d e a t h . T h e presence of H e r m e s o n the Persephone Mosaic
shows that the myth has b e c o m e allegorised as the soul's j o u r n e y to
79
the u n d e r w o r l d a n d its rebirth to eternal life. H e r m e s is depicted
holding the w a n d that reveals h i m to b e psychopomos: he raises souls
in H a d e s from their slumber.
T h e d e v e l o p m e n t of Gnostic mythology also reflects this process
of the individualisation of the a m o r p h o u s world soul, to which indi
vidual souls d o not simply r e t u r n in o r d e r to obliterate their indi
viduality, b u t r a t h e r to realize it m o r e fully.
7B 1.3. Gnosticism as a rejection of political collectivism

In Gnosticism the universal world soul of Stoicism is fragmented a n d
becomes e m b o d i e d a n d imprisoned in individuals. F u r t h e r m o r e , the
process by which this comes a b o u t is not o n e of the divine o r d e r of
a created world in which opGoq Xoyoq finds its e m b o d i m e n t . C r e a t i o n
is a disaster. It is S o p h i a cast o u t of t h e P l e r o m a w h o creates
I a l d a b a o t h or the D e m i u r g e , a n d w h o holds the souls of the pneu-
matikoi in b o n d a g e to the irrational a n d prevents their ascension to
80
the unity of the P l e r o m a .
Interpreted within a sociology of knowledge perspective, Gnostic
metaphysics denies the goodness or rationality of the imperial ideal
a n d opposes the subordination of the individual to the imperial whole.
Souls are i m p r e g n a t e d into m a t t e r by Sophia w h e r e they are impris
o n e d by the D e m i u r g e whose belief that he is the sole creator of a
rational a n d good o r d e r is illusion a n d therefore error. Metaphysical
stance was translated into social organisation in that the pneumatikoi
experienced ecstasy so that at least some Gnostic assemblies were
81
charismatic a n d p r o p h e t i c . It was as we a r g u e d against a n early
7 9
T o y n b e e and Ward Perkins (1956), pp. 1 1 4 - 1 1 7 .
8 0
See e.g. Hypostasis o f the Archons, II, 9 5 - 9 7 , in Nag Hammadi Library in English,
(Ed.) J . M . R o b i n s o n , (Leiden: Brill 1988), p. 168.
81
G. Filoramo, A History of Gnosticism. (Oxford: Blackwell 1990), chapter 11.
charismatic group that C l e m e n t of R o m e addressed his contra-cultural

construction of C h u r c h O r d e r as a Christianised version of imper
ial O r d e r (4B 3).
W e shall n o w see h o w the late second century developments in
Hellenistic philosophy represent changes in the u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the
political structure of the p a g a n e m p i r e . W e shall then be in a posi
tion, in Part C , to trace h o w such changes in u n d e r s t a n d i n g were
not without effect in shaping the continuing d e v e l o p m e n t of C h u r c h
O r d e r , as the latter interacted in terms of contra-cultural response
to the changes in the s u r r o u n d i n g p a g a n cultural a m b i e n c e .
7B 2. Plotinus, the One: imperial unity as Sol Invictus
T h e n e e d for R o m a n society to address this alternative construction

of social reality that t h r e a t e n e d to nihilate its conception of the good
ness a n d rationality of the imperial ideal, clearly p r e d a t e d the rise
of Neoplatonism, at least in its final d e v e l o p m e n t by Plotinus (A.D.
82
204-270). Indeed both A m m o n i u s Saccas, Plotinus' teacher, Clement
of Alexandria, Irenaeus, a n d Pseudo-Hippolytus all reflected a c o m
m o n intellectual strategy of reducing the chaos of aeonic conflict a n d
strife by m e a n s of a metaphysical o r d e r that was the c o u n t e r p a r t to
83
the social o r d e r that they supported w h e t h e r in C h u r c h or in S t a t e .
Plotinus was to represent the final nihilation of a plurality of origi
nators (dpxovxeq) as the creator of the material world w h e n he insists
on only three origins (dpxoci) or first principles, n a m e l y the O n e ,
M i n d , a n d Soul:
It is unnecessary to go in search for different origins (e<p' etepa<; dpxaq

ievai) but rather to have established this One, and then after the One
(TO "EV), Thought (Nofcv), which the One conceived first by thinking
(UET' a\)To K a i TO voovv Tcparcooq), then after Thought, Soul (efra ^ a ^ v
ueTa Nouv), for this is the order of Nature (avTrj yap xaîq Kaxa <pt>aiv).
No more than these nor fewer are to be found in the intelligible world
(EV TCp VOT|TCp).
Enneads II, 9,1,13-16
8 2
Porphyry, Vit. Plotin., 3 , 1 3 - 1 6 .
8 3
in T e n s i o n before the E m e r g e n c e o f a M o n a r c h - B i s h o p , in Suppl. VCh. 31 (Leiden:
E J . Brill 1995), p p . 4 9 2 - 5 0 1 ; Idem. T h e Circle o f J u l i a D o m n a and Christian
Heresiology, StEphAug 5 0 (1995), p p . 2 3 7 - 2 4 8 .
276 CHAPTER SEVEN
But these dpôu are linked in a n u n b r o k e n chain of being. T h e i r

divergence is d u e only to the secondary c h a r a c t e r of Nouq a n d ^Fu^ri
as p a r t of a chain of being, derivative from the ultimate O n e as its
first beginning. T h e i r " g e n e r a t i o n " does not result in their possess
ing different natures.
W e m a y thus r e g a r d the rise of Plotinian N e o - P l a t o n i s m as a
s y m p t o m r a t h e r t h a n a cause of a fundamental shift in intellectual
perspective in terms of which society as well as the cosmos was n o w
to b e understood. T h a t perspective was influenced by Gnosticism in
the sense of a reactive influence. Gnosticism h a d fed off the rise of
individualism that fragmented the world-soul of Stoicism a n d thus
deprived that philosohpy of its ability to create a social reality that
legitimated the political unity of the imperial ideal. T h e quest for
personal immortality itself could be r e a d as the individual seeking
refuge in the inner life a n d its hopes a n d possibilities w h e n all social
a n d political alternatives were closed by a seemingly "inevitable" mil
itary autocracy to which there were n o real constitutional alterna
tives. Neoplatonism, in its emphasis on a n inner experience that lead
the individual to unity with the origin or dpxf| of all O r d e r , politi
cal or cosmic, thus sought to restore a reconstructed imperial ideal.
W e have seen that the iconographical expression of the political
ideology of divi Augusti developed u n d e r the Severans into a syn
cretistic religious universalism expressed in terms of Sol Invictus that
e m b r a c e d Isis a n d Sarapis a n d their legitimations of political p o w e r
t h r o u g h their incarnation in Egyptian kings a n d queens. Caracalla
as KoauoKpdxcop was a representation of Sol Invictus to w h o m J u p i t e r -
M
Sarapis h a d given the globe of the world as a symbol of Aeternitas.
T h e r e w e r e g o o d P l a t o n i c r e a s o n s , w h i c h N e o p l a t o n i s m w a s to
develop, for using the Sun as a n icon of the ultimate principle of
reality. As a symbol of universalism the worship of the S u n could
i n c o r p o r a t e into a single syncretistic p a n t h e o n the attributes a n d
virtues of the major deities of the E m p i r e b o t h East a n d West, just
as the sun's light unites the disparate objects of the p h e n o m e n a l
world into a n intelligible whole. Plotinus developed the Aristotelian
t h e m e of the first u n m o v e d m o v e r that is the highest G o o d :
The sun too is a model (Kai rcapd8evyua 6 tiîoq) since it is like a cen
tre in relation to the light (coarcep K a i Kevxpov oiWrcpoqxo (pcbq) it comes
A b d el M o h s e n el K h a c h a b (1961), pp. 1 2 8 - 1 2 9 .
from and it depends on it ( a v T i p i n u i v o v npbq auxov); for the light is

everywhere with it and is not cut off from it (rcavxaxou youv p.ex' auxou
Kai O U K d7coxexpT|xai); even if you want to cut it off on one side (mv
drcoxeueiv e9eA,fi<xn<; zni 0dxepa), the light remains with the sun (npbq xov
r\k\6v eaxi xo cpcbq). And how is everything else directed towards it (xd
6k aXka rcdvxa npbq auxo Tccbq;)? Soulless things are directed towards soul
(il xd pev d\|/uxa 7tp6<; V|/U%TIV) and soul to the Good through the intel
lect (VJ/UXTI 5e 7cp6<; amb 8id vov).
85
Enneads 1,7,1,25-2,1-3.
W e find the social reality of the imperial ideal h e r e reflected in o n t o

logy, in which the imperial centre moves the whole w h i c h d e p e n d s
on it for its unity a n d p u r p o s e . T h e d e v e l o p m e n t of concepts of
political order, philosophical theology, a n d religious syncretism are
thus p r o c e e d i n g pari-passu. But Plotinus was not without his second
a n d early third century antecedents, some of w h o m we will n o w
examine.
7B 3. Plotinus' predecessors: Apuleius and Plutarch
Plotinus was the p r o d u c t of a cultural milieu obsessed with the con

struction of o r d e r in a n y sphere, history, n a t u r e , society or philoso
phy, in terms of reality a n d goodness granted by a process of derivation
from a n ultimate origin. W e shall e x a m i n e specifically the Platonising
of Aristode's first u n m o v e d M o v e r in Apuleius' De Mundo, written
a r o u n d A . D . 140, a n d Plutarch's Platonic justification for the Isis
m y t h (circ. A . D . 104). In the former we shall note specifically a n
assimilation of ontological structure with political structure. H e r e was
not simply the seed-bed from which the N e o p l a t o n i s m of Plotinus
was to grow, b u t also the justification for the religious syncretism
united into a solar m o n o t h e i s m of which imperial p o w e r was the
political expression.
7B 3 . 1 . Plotinus' predecessors: uovap%{oc and the D e M u n d o

Peterson followed J a e g e r in stressing the origins of the t e r m uovapxiot
in Aristode's Metaphysics 14. Clearly dpxr| m e a n s b o t h " r u l e " a n d "first
principle," a n d thus unites political philosophy with ontology. Peterson's
further e x a m p l e of the relationship between ontology a n d political
6
ideology c a m e from the pseudepigraphic Aristotelian text De Mundo?
8 5
See also 11,3,18: eax; a v f) Tiîoq, icavxa x a an ax>xox> (pcbxa.
8
" Peterson (1935), pp. 1 6 - 1 7 .
278 CHAPTER SEVEN
T h i s text is o f great significance for u n d e r s t a n d i n g the intellectual

b a c k g r o u n d in which, as in Plotinus, Aristotle's u n m o v e d m o v e r has
been synthesised with the Neoplatonic O n e . I n d e e d , this pseudepi-
graphic work has arguably Apuleius as its true a u t h o r , a n d thus its
date would b e a b o u t A . D . 140, Apuleius having b e e n b o r n a r o u n d
87
A . D . 125. In c h a p t e r 6 the a u t h o r asks h o w G o d as the u n m o v e d
first principle can m o v e the world. H e begins with the good Platonic
principle that the individual n a t u r e of a n y t h i n g is not self-sufficient
(ou8epia 8e cpuaiq ami] KCC6' eauxr|v eaxiv a\)xdpKr|<;) a n d is deprived of
the m e a n s of its own preservation (eprjpcoGeioa xfjq eic xouxou acoxrj-
piaq). G o d is therefore "the Preserver of all things that really exist
(Icoxf|p pev yap ovxcoq drcdvxcov eaxl) a n d the Begetter of all things
throughout the world in whatever way they are composed (Kal yevexcop
xcov O7ccoa8r|7coxe m x d xov8e xov KOOUOV auvxeAxvopevcov 6 6e6q; De Mundo
6,20-22)."
But h o w is G o d to b e u n d e r s t o o d as m o v i n g the world if m a t t e r
is eternal? G o d , as Aristode h a d argued, could not act u p o n the
world as an efficient cause. T h e a u t h o r therefore assures us that G o d
"does not e n d u r e weariness like a living thing that works by its own
labour and toil (ou \ri\v auxoupyou Kai eninovov ^coou Kapaxov imopevcov)."
G o d rather "uses an unfailing potency (aXXa Suvdpei xpcopevoq dxpuxcp)
t h r o u g h which he b e c o m e s m a s t e r of even those things which seem
far from him (8i' f|<; Kal xcovrcoppcoSOKOUVXCOV eivai rcepiywexai; 6, 397b
23-24)."
But h o w is the operation of such a p o w e r or potency to b e u n d e r
stood? Apuleius has already b e g a n to answer such a question by
m e a n s of a political analogy as his m i n d conceives the operation in
terms of mastery (xcov jcoppco SOKOVVXCOV eivai rcepiyivexai). G o d occu
pies "the highest a n d first seat (xf|V pev ouv dvcoxdxco Kai rcpcoxnv eSpav
auxoq eXaêv) a n d , as M o s t H i g h , is e n t h r o n e d on the highest sum
mit of all heaven (uoxaxoq xe . . . aKpoxaxn. Kopucpp xou ouprcavxoq e y m -
9i8p\)pevo(; oupavou)." A c c o r d i n g to Plato, the inability of m a t t e r
to reflect or participate in the F o r m s led to its ambiguity a n d to
its inability to be k n o w n . But Apuleius will n o w liken the distance
between objects a n d G o d as the cause of a weakness a n d incom-
8 7
For a discussion and full bibliography, see A. Marchetta, VAutmticita Apuleiana
del D e M u n d o , ( R o m e : J a p a d r e Editore L'Aquila 1991) cf. G. Reale and A.P. Bos,
II trattato sul C o s m o per Alessandro attribuito ad Aristotele, in T e m i metafisici e
problemi del pensiero, in Set 4 2 (1995), pp. 2 9 - 5 7 .
prehensibility that is a c c o m p a n i e d by confusion, which also has the

sense of political disorder. H e continues:
Therefore the earth and the things on earth seem (816 yfj Kal xd em yfjq
eoiKev), in their great distance from the sustaining help that comes from
God (ev drcooxdoei nXeioir) xr\(; £ K Geou ovxa axpeXeiaq), to be weak and
incoherent (daGevfj Kai draxdAAritax eivai) and filled with great distur
bance (Kai noXXr\(; ueaxd xapa^Tiq). Nevertheless (ou p V aXka), to the
extent that the divine by its nature penetrates the whole (KaG'oaov em
rcav 5iiKveia9ai TiecpuKe xo 0eiov), it happens in consequence that the
spaces we ourselves occupy and those above us (Kai em xd r\\ib\q ouoicix;
auu(3a{vei xd xe hnep Tiuaq) to a greater or lesser exent participate in his
sustaining help to the degree that are nearer or farther from God
(Kaxd xo eyyiov xe KaircoppcbxepcoGeou \iaKkov xe Kai f|xxov wyeXeiaq uexa-
taxppdvovxa).
De Mundo 6, 397b 30-35
Apuleius, for Plato's reasons, c a n n o t allow that G o d can work direcdy

(auxoupyeiv) o n earthly things w h e n these a r e " n e i t h e r beautiful
(KCCAOV) n o r well-formed (eua%r|uov)." G o d ' s power "is seated in heaven
(f| ev oupctvco 8uvaui<; iSpupivri), a n d is even to those things that are
in greatest separation from it ( K a i xolq KXEIGTOV dcpeaxrjKoaiv). . . the
cause of the preservation of t h e m all (GUUTKXOIV aixioqyivexaiocoxripiaq;
6, 398a 1-4)."
But clearly Apuleius n o w has a p r o b l e m . If G o d ' s p o w e r c a n n o t
" p e n e t r a t e a n d flow t h r o u g h (8vr|Kouoa K a i (poixcooa)" w h a t is neither
KQLXOV n o r euoxnuov, h o w can the u i a dp%r| preserve the whole? It is
here, as Peterson pointed out, that the metaphysical p r o b l e m becomes

identical with a political p r o b l e m . H o w does, for example, the G r e a t
K i n g of Persia govern a n e m p i r e ? His rules a n d c o m m a n d s a r e
unseen a n d u n h e a r d directly, a n d he himself is concealed within his
lofty palace. It is t h r o u g h a hierarchy of officials that his unseen will
penetrates. Peterson contrasted this picture with that of Aristotle for
w h o m , in Metaphysics 12, the question w h e t h e r there are m a n y or
one first principle is still a real o n e , just as for h i m the political
question as to w h e t h e r the political world should be o n e of a collec
tion of a u t o n o m o u s d p ^ a i in the form of a u t o n o m o u s city states, or
88
w h e t h e r these belonged in the one E m p i r e of Philip a n d A l e x a n d e r .
8 8
Peterson (1935), p. 19: "Fiir Aristoteles ist der kosmische M o n a r c h der im
Konflikt der G e w a l t e n (dpxai) als der Eine trotzig u n d plastisch Hervortretende,
bei d e m Autor der Schrift v o n der Welt tritt der M o n a r c h d a g e g e n grade nicht
hervor, sondern er bleibt verborgen in d e n G e m a c h e r n seines Palastes, er bleibt
280 CHAPTER SEVEN
T h e sharpest analogy used by Apuleius is of the sentinels with

light-signals:
So great is the order, (xoao\)xo<; 8e rjv 6 Koopoq) and most of all of the
signal lights (Kai pdA,iaxa xcov cppvKxcopicov) which are set alight in suc
cession (mxd 8ia5oxd<; Trupoevovxcov) by each other (aKk^Xoiq) from the
borders of the empire (EKrcepdxcovxf|<; dpxfj<;) to Susa and Ecbatana,
(pexpi XOTLKJCOV Kai 'EKpaxdvcov) so that the Great King gets to know the
same day every new occurence in Asia (coaxe xov PaaiAia yvyvcboKew
avOrjpepov Tidvxa xd ev xp' Aaia Kawovpyovpeva).
De Mundo 6, 398a 31-35
G o d does not have n e e d of others a n d so in this respect Apuleius

admits that his analogy breaks d o w n . But like a M o n a r c h causing
his c o m m a n d s to be obeyed, his p o w e r executed his will because the
being w h o is p u r e act c a n realise the p o t e n c y of all things in accord
ance with his design:
It is of greater awe and more fitting in dignity (aepvoxepov 8e Kai

rcperccoSeaxepov auxov pev) that God should have his throne in the high
a
est place (en! zr\q dvcoxdxco x«>P $ !8p\)G0ai), but that his power, pene
trating throughout the whole universe (xrjv 8e Svvapw 8id xov o-uprcavxoq
Koapoi) 8ir|K0\)aav), should move the sun and moon (riA,iov xe Kiveiv Kai
ceA,f|vr|v) and rotate the whole heaven ( m i xov rcdvxa ovpavov rcepidyeiv),
and become the cause of preservation for the things on earth (ai'xiov
xe y(vea6ai xoiq erci xfjq yr\q acoxrjp(aq). God has no need of intervention
and aid which comes from others (ovSev ydp eTuxexvrioeax; 8ei Ka! bmr\pEGia<;
xfjq nap' exepcov) as with those who rule us require many hands (coarcep
zoiq Ttap' rjpiv dpxouai xf|<;rcoXuxeipiac;)because of their weakness (8id
xr|v doGeveiav), but this is the most divine property (aXXa xovxo fjv xo
Beioxaxov), to realise all kinds of Forms with ease and with simple
movement (xo pexd paaxcbvriq Ka! anXr\<; KWT|aeco<;rcavxoSarcdqdrcoxeA,eiv
iSeaq). . .
De Mundo 6, 398b 6-14
W e see, therefore, in the mid-second century, a clear reflection in

Apuleius' De Mundo of an Aristotelian cosmology that p r o d u c e s a
theology that is highly a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c . T h e result of the a n t h r o
p o m o r p h i s m is to m a k e Aristotle service a political philosophy that
u n g e s e h e n und verhullt wie der Spieler des Marionettentheaters. Sichtbar ist nur
die M a c h t (Svvapiq), die in der Welt wirksam ist, d o c h die Gewalt, die dahinter-
steht, ist unsichtbar. D i e s e e b e n a n g e d e u t e t e n V e r s c h i e d e n h e i t e n sind nicht nur
darum lehrreich, weil sie Ausdruck einer anderen Zeit und einer anderen politi-
schen Situation sind, sondern weil sie zugleich z e i g e n , dass die letzte Formulierung
der Einheit eines metaphysischen Weltbildes v o n der Entscheidung fur eine der poli-
tischen Einheits-Moglichkeiten i m m e r mit- und vorbestimmt ist."
celebrates an eastern imperial ideal. T h a t ideal involves uovap%(a

justified in terms of an ultimate principle in n a t u r e that gives coher
ence, m o v e m e n t , a n d finally, w h e n suitably Platonised, reality to the
W h o l e . Apuleius finds himself m a k i n g such Platonising c o m m e n t s
w h e n he envisages, as a result of the signal given by the unseen R u l e r
a n d Progenitor, all n a t u r e "revealing one t h o u s a n d F o r m s (p/upiaq
i8eaq dvacpaivouod) a n d again concealing t h e m (XE Kai naXw drcoKpurc-
xouaa) from the o n e first principle (EK \iiaq dp%fj<;)." S u c h a Platonis
89
ing we find in Plotinus w h e r e Plato's ultimately real O n e in which

the F o r m s are found has b e c o m e identified with Aristode's first prin
ciple. Clearly the cultural b a c k g r o u n d in w h i c h Plotinus a n d N e o -
P l a t o n i s m flourished was o n e t h a t looked for a n epistemological
justification of imperial unity.
W e shall take Plutarch's t r e a t m e n t of the Isis m y t h as o u r second
e x a m p l e of Hellenistic philosophy legitimating religious universalism.
7B 3.2. Plutarch's Platonism in D e Iside et Osiride

T h e r e a r e no analogies b e t w e e n a Platonic ontology in the cosmos
a n d divine rulers on e a r t h in this treatise. I n d e e d Plutarch was a
90
great sceptic r e g a r d i n g ruler-worship in his Life of Demetrius. Most
significantly, in his Romulus, h e denied the literal truth of R o m u l u s '
a s s u m p t i o n into h e a v e n . H o w e v e r , h e was p r e p a r e d to conceive
that virtue could m a k e the e m p e r o r divine so that the good ruler,
as the Living Logos (EUA|/UXO<; Xoyoq), would i n c a r n a t e vouoq on e a r t h .
As h e says:
For God punishes (vepeoa yap 6 0e6<;) those who imitate (xoiq drcoui-
uouuevoK;) thunders (ppovxdq) and lightning bolts (Kai Kepauvoix;) and
rays of the sun (Kai aKXwopoXia<;), but he is pleased with those who are
zealous for his virtue and make themselves like the good and humane
(xoix; 8e xqv dpexriv ^rjXouvxaq auxou Kai npbq xo KaXov Kai (piAdvGpamov
d<po|ioiouvxa<; eauxoix; Ti86|ievo<;).
Ad principem ineruditum 781 A, 3
" T h e ruler is the image of G o d w h o orders the world (dp%cov 8 ' EIKWV
0EOU xou rcdvxa Koououvxoq)," b u t only because "law is the function of
89
De Mundo, 6, 3 9 9 a 3 0 - 3 5 : oxav ouv 6 rcavxcov fyyen-cov xe K a i yevexcop, aopaxoq
GOV akXto nXr\v Xoyiouep, OT||IT|VTI rcaofl (puoei uexaî) oi)pavo\) xe Kai yr\<; (pepoueVp,
K i v e t x a i rcaaa ev8eA,excb<; ev KUKXOK; Kai rcepaoiv i8(oi<;, rcoxe |iev a(pavi£ouevr|, rcoxe
8e (paivouevri, \ivpiac, ibeaq &va(paivo\)aa xe K a i naXiv arcoKp\mxo'UGa EK ui&q dpxfj<;.
9 0
Plutarch, Demetrius, 1 0 , 2 - 4 ; 11,1; 12,1; a n d 1 3 , 1 - 2 cf. G. Chesnut, T h e Ruler
and the Logos, in ANRW 11,16,2, pp. 1 3 2 1 - 1 3 2 4 .
282 CHAPTER SEVEN
the ruler (vopoq 8' dpxovxoq epyov)," a n d in t u r n "justice is the e n d of

91
law (8{KT| . . . vopou xekoq eox()." But in giving a cosmic significance
to Isis a n d Osiris in terms of a Platonic ontology he was unwittingly
participating in the m o v e m e n t that, some ninety years later, was to
lead to the place of Isis a n d Osiris in Severan universalism. His modi
fication of the theology of ruler-worship was not to be successful.
Plutarch identifies Osiris with Sarapis as the consort of Isis. H e
reads their n a m e s " b o t h as belonging to o n e G o d a n d to o n e p o w e r
92
(dpcpco 8' evoq 0eou K a i piaq Suvdpecoc;)." Plutarch however firmly held
that b o t h Osiris a n d Isis h a d b e e n originally purely m o r t a l rulers,
albeit heroic ones, w h o m legend h a d exalted after their deaths. Yet
he will attribute significance to the Isis m y t h a n d cult as an allegory
of Platonist philosophical truth.
T h e e n d of the religion of Isis is "the knowledge of the first a n d
sovereign a n d intelligible god (f| xou rcpcoxorj K a i K u p i o u K a i VOTJXOU
yv&oxq) which the goddess (Isis) beseeches us to seek since he exists
beside h e r a n d associates with h e r (ov i\ 0e6<; rcapaKaA,ei i^nxeiv rcap'
avxf\ K a i pex' auxfjq ovxa K a i ouvovxa)." H e r shrine, the Iseion, by its
very n a m e , "promises b o t h knowledge a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g of w h a t
exists (ercayyeA,A,exai K a i yvcbaiv K a i ei8r|aiv xov ovxoq)" since it is the
93
shrine of "those w h o k n o w the real (eioopevcov xo 8v)."
T h e creation a n d constitution of the world for Plutarch is a mix
ture of opposing forces (pepeiypevn. ydp f| xou8e xot> KOGUOD yeveciq K a i
Gvcxaaiq e£ evavxicov). F o r p r o p e r Platonic reasons however, all pow
ers are not equal, b u t final control is with the better (ov prjv ioooGevcov
8uvdpecov, aXka xr\q fiekxiovoq xo K p d x o q eaxiv). T h e b a d (xr\v yavXr\v
8uvdpiv) "is always fighting against the better ( K a i npbq xf|V peXxiova
dei 8uo|iaxot>oav)." T h e r e is however a principle of order, b o t h in
the soul a n d in N a t u r e w h e n in h a r m o n y , a n d this is Intelligence
(vovq) a n d R e a s o n (Xoyoq) as the R u l e r (fiyepcov) a n d Sovereign (lc&pioq)
of all that is G o o d (xcov dpioxcov rcavxcov). T h a t principle of univer
sal O r d e r Plutarch identifies with Osiris as the soul of the world.
T h e o r d e r of the world is therefore " t h e efflux of Osiris (drcoppori)
94
a n d his reflected image ( K a i eiKcbv)."
91
Ad princip. inerudit. 7 8 0 E, 3.
92
De Is. et Osir. 3 7 6 A, 6 1 .
9 3
Ibid. 3 5 2 A, 2.
94
Ibid. 371 A, 4 9 : ev pev c u v ir\ \|ruxfi vo\)<; m i Xoyoq 6 xcov dp{ox(ov rcdvxcov Tjyepaw
m i icupioq "Oaipiq eaxiv, ev 8e yr\ m i 7ive\)uaxi m i \S8axi m i cupavcp m i ocoxpoi<; xo
xexayuevov m i m0eaxr|K6<; m i v y i a i v o v cSpaic; m i K p d o e o i m i rcepioSoic; 'Oa{pi8o<;
K
arcoppofi « i e i k o d v epcpaivopevr|.
If Osiris is vouq in yuxri, from w h e r e has the b o d y of the world

come? Following the m y t h , we could say that it comes from H o r u s
w h o is the offspring of Osiris a n d Isis, although often Plutarch speaks
95
as if this could be Osiris himself. T y p h o n frequendy dismembers
the b o d y of Osiris, t h o u g h his soul, a n d therefore the soul of the
world, remains indestructible. It is Isis w h o puts the d i s m e m b e r e d
b o d y back together again. Plutarch allegorises as follows:
?
Isis is in fact the female power of nature (r\ y d p Iai<; eaxi pev TO xfjq
(puaecoq Qr\kv) and is receptive of every form of generation (Kal 8£KTIK6V
drcdc?T)<; yeveaecoq), in accord with what she is called by Plato the gen-
de nurse and the all-receptive (Ka96 xi8r|vr| Kai navdexftq vnb xou ntaxxcovoq),
and by most people she has been called coundess names (hub 8e xcov
rcoAAxov pupicovupoq KeK^xai), since, because of the force of Reason,
she turns herself into this thing or that and is receptive of all manner
of shapes and forms (8id xo naoaq vnb xou Adyou xpErcopevii uopcpdq SexeoGai
Kai i8ea<;).
De hide et Osiride 372 E, 53
T h e world here, seen u n d e r the aspect of Isis, receives the F o r m s

from vouq or Aoyoq that is L o r d Osiris.
At a n o t h e r point, in a m e t h o d t h a t proceeds by a variety of analo
gies a n d not by a h e r m e n e u t i c that is systematic theology, Isis is
seen as the m e a n s by which the vouq or Aoyoq is restored to a world
that has b e c o m e d i s m e m b e r e d a n d chaotic. It is H o r u s , their m u t u a l
offspring, on w h o m she impressed the eternal forms of things as he
represents in the allegory m a t t e r that c a n n o t m a i n t a i n its eternity.
As P l u t a r c h says in e x p l a n a t i o n of Isis w a n d e r i n g to collect a n d
reassemble the d i s m e m b e r e d b o d y of Osiris:
. . . for that which really is and is perceptible and good (xo y d p ov Kai
vor|xov Kai dya06v) is far stronger than destruction and change (cpGopaq
Kai pexapoATJq Kpetxxov eaxiv). The images from it with which the sen
sible and corporeal is impressed (&<; 8' an avxov xo aiaOnxriv Kai acouaxiKov
eiKovaq eKpdxxexai), and the relations, forms and likenesses which this
9 5
In 3 7 3 A, 5 4 w e are informed that the world or H o r u s OVK ai'Sioq ot>8' anc&r\<;
y
ov>8' acpBapxoq, aXX aeiyevriq cov but also that, in 3 7 4 E, 5 7 , |Lru9oA.oyoi)Oi TTJV
'Oa(pi8o<; \|/\)x?iv d(8iov eivai Kai dcpBapxov, xo 8e acoua noTCkaKiq Siaojiav K a i dcpaviêiv
xov Tixpcbva . . . H o r u s w o u l d therefore be from a Platonic point o f view, a far bet
ter representative o f the world o f matter bearing the Forms but d i s m e m b e r e d by
T y p h o n . But Plutarch could not c h a n g e too arbitrarily the myth in favour o f his
philosophical theology, and was exploring analogies rather than e n g a g i n g in sys
tematic theology. S e e also C . P a n a g o p o u l o s , V o c a b u l a i r e et mentalite dans les
Moralia d e Plutarque, in Dialogues d'histoire ancienne 3 (= Annates Litteraires de I'Universite
de Besancon, 1977), pp. 1 9 7 - 2 3 5 .
284 CHAPTER SEVEN
takes upon itself (Kai Xoyovq Kai ei'8r| Kai opoioxrjxaq dvaA,ap|3dvei), like
impressions of seals in wax (raGdrcep ev Kt\p& o(ppayi8e<;), are not per
manent and lasting (OVK dei 8iapevo\)oiv), but disorder and disturbance
overtakes them (aXXa KaxataxpPdvei 8e axaKxov avzaq Kai xapaxa>8e<;),
a
being driven hither from the upper reaches (evxauOa xf|<; dvco xa>P S
T
a7ceX,T|Xapevov) and fighting against Horus (Kai paxopevov 7cp6<; xov Qpov),
whom Isis brings forth as the image, perceived by the senses, of the
perceptible world (6V Iaiq eiKova xov vorjxoO Koopoi) aiaftr|x6v ovxa yevva).
De hide et Osiride 373 A-B, 54 *
T h e details of the mythology whose imagery Plutarch wishes to fol

low does not exacdy license the philosophical a c c o u n t that h e wishes
to derive from it by m e a n s of allegory. P e r h a p s we m i g h t follow
Plutarch's Platonic logic to its p r o p e r conclusion, as we shall argue
N e o p l a t o n i s m did, with some modification to the mythology. H o r u s ,
w h o m Isis brings forth from their union, is the i m a g e not so m u c h
of the perceptible world, b u t r a t h e r the eiicow aioOnxoc; of which she,
as the m o t h e r of H o r u s , is the CIKCOV vonxoq. Isis n o w b e c o m e s truly
an eiKcov of Osiris-Sarapis, "of the sovereign a n d intelligible first prin
ciple (xou Tcpcoxou Kai KUpioD Kai vonxou)."
Clearly Plutarch was developing an ontology that reflected a view
of social o r d e r to w h i c h his resistance to the absolutism of a divine
e m p e r o r was otherwise opposed. But the quest for a social o r d e r
controlled a n d legitimated by a first principle from which all power,
goodness, a n d o r d e r w e r e ultimately derived, a n d r e p r e s e n t e d by
Osiris, is clearly reflected in his speculation. Resistance to that o r d e r
was of a p o w e r , personified as T y p h o n , which was " t h e b a d that is
always fighting against the better (xrjv cpav^nv . . . rcpoq xf|V peA/ciova
dei S u a p a x o u a a v ) . "
Certainly Isis behaves, in the p r e c e d i n g q u o t a t i o n , like the n a t u r e
96
that we saw in Apuleius' De Mundo "revealing o n e t h o u s a n d F o r m s
(pupiaq i8eaq dvacpawouaa) a n d again concealing t h e m (xe Kai jcdîv
d 7 c o K p t ) 7 c x o u a a ) . " Osiris clearly represents the R u l e r a n d Progenitor
of All (6 rcdvxcov fiyepcov xe Kai yevexcop) w h o actualises in n a t u r e the
variety of potential F o r m s from the one first principle (EK piaq dpxfiq).
Half-real m a t t e r for a Platonist is always intractable in terms of the
F o r m s , but Plutarch's language has a far closer fit t h a n Plato's to the
social world of R o m a n imperialism. Osiris as first principle a n d Isis
as the EIKCOV vonxiKoq a r e far m o r e active a n d directive in m a i n t a i n -
Apuleius De Mundo 6, 3 9 9 a 3 0 - 3 5 (7B 3.1).

ing order, like Aristode's first principle, than Plato originally conceived
his transcendent world to be. T h u s Plutarch's reflections interconnect
with a religious a n d philosophical culture out of which N e o p l a t o n i s m
was to develop, a n d which was to represent also the philosophical
basis for the Severan iconography of divine imperial order.
But h o w was the development of b o t h C h u r c h O r d e r , a n d the
Christian theology that was likewise to reflect social o r d e r n o w to
proceed? W e shall see that the counter-culture developed here too
as the reversed image of the p a g a n culture t h a t it confronted.
PART C . SOCIAL O R D E R AND THE

DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY
Plutarch h a d claimed the wise m e n or aocpoi of the history of G r e e k

philosophy as witnesses to the religion of Isis, a n d its justifying o n t o
logy. " T h e most wise m e n of the Greeks b e a r witness (uttpxupouow
8e K a i xcov 'EXXr\v(ov oi ao(pcbxaxoi), Solon, T h a l e s , Plato, E u d o x u s ,
Pythagoras (lotaov QaXr\c, IlAxxxcov EuSoôq riuBayopaq). . . w h o c a m e
to Egypt a n d consorted with their priests (eiq Aiyujcxov dquicouevoi Kai
97
auyyev6|ievoi xoiq i e p e u a w ) . " T h e r e was m o r e to this claim t h a n
simply a n appeal to the authority of the past in o r d e r to substanti
ate a religious claim.
T h e world of the late second century, of Irenaeus and the Hippolytan
school n o less t h a n Hellenistic historiographers such as Diogenes
Laertius or Philostratus in his Vita Apollonii, was c o n c e r n e d even
before Plotinus c a m e to R o m e (c. 244 A.D.) with the quest for a
single historical dpxf| for the true philosophy or the true religion.
Plotinus a n d even A m m o n i u s Saccas can thus be seen as products
of the quest for a single dp%r| o r d e r i n g not only the cosmos, b u t
h u m a n history a n d h u m a n society. T h e most valid philosophy or
religion will not simply be the most ancient, b u t the o n e from which
all o t h e r philosophies or religions are derived w h e t h e r as logical
developments or as logical corruptions.
Both Diogenes Laertius a n d Philostratus were to d e n y Plutarch's
claim for Egypt as providing in Isis worship, or r a t h e r in the o n t o
logy of which it was an allegory, the ultimate historical dp%r| of phi
losophy as the criterion of its truth. For Diogenes philosophy h a d
1,7
Ibid. 3 5 4 E 10.
286 CHAPTER SEVEN
to b e a wholly G r e e k p h e n o m e n o n a n d the oocpoi quite i n d e p e n d e n t

of such n o n - G r e e k influence. F o r Apollonius the Egyptians were to
be quite u n w o r t h y a n d the true dpxri was to be found in the Indian
gymnosophists. W e shall show a similar concern for the dpxri of the
Christian c o m m u n i t y a n d its theology in expressions of t h e theory
of the apostolic succession that characterised the later second a n d
early third century (7C 1).
W e shall seek (7C 2) to place the theological d e v e l o p m e n t of the
Trinity, as finally derived from a povapxioc or first principle, in the
contra-cultural context of the growth of a p a g a n , Neoplatonic onto
logy that restored cosmic o r d e r in the face of the chaos of a Gnostic
world view. T h e growth of Christian theology, we shall argue, n o
less reflected t h e social o r d e r of the Christian c o m m u n i t y as h a d the
growth of a theological justification of imperial order.
7C 1. Irenaeus a n d Pseudo-Hippolytus: 8ia8oxou drcooToAxov
Irenaeus p r o d u c e d his episcopal succession list for R o m e , a n d argued,

from this o n e e x a m p l e , that all valid churches h a d valid doctrine
that ultimately was derived from the apostle o r apostles that initi
ated the succession. All heresy was derived from the doctrine of
98
S i m o n M a g u s a n d his successors. T h e s e h a d 8ia8oxai or successiones
in teaching office that, despite a p p a r e n t variety a n d conflict, m a d e
t h e m d e p e n d e n t u p o n a n d derived from this c o m m o n origin. It was
insufficient to simply attribute their origin to distinct Hellenistic philo
sophical schools, t h o u g h this was m o r e historically accurate. A sin
gle origin t h a t was n o t apostolic was essential for the intellectual
credibility of a n a r g u m e n t in the context of a culture obsessed with
social, cultural, political a n d ontological unity.
Pseudo-Hippolytus a n d his g r o u p within that collection of groups
that formed t h e R o m a n EKKX^GIOL of the late second a n d early third
99
century p u r s u e d a n a r g u m e n t formally similar to that of I r e n a e u s .
But Pseudo-Hippolytus perfected the m o r e e m b r y o n i c Neo-Platonic
9 8
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., 1,23, 1-2; II, Praef. 1: " . . . et progenitoris ipsorum d o c -
trinam, Simonis M a g i Samaritani, et o m n i u m e o r u m , qui successerunt ei, manifes-
tavimus . . . o m n e s a S i m o n e haeretici initia sumentes . . . et differentias ipsorum et
doctrinas et successiones adnotavimus . . . " I l l , Praef.: "Agressi sumus a u t e m nos,
arguentes eos a S i m o n e , patre o m n i u m haereticorum, et doctrinas et successiones
manifestare . . . "
9 9
Brent (1995), Hippolytus, chapters 6 7.
a r g u m e n t of the latter that justified o r refuted ideas in terms of trac

ing their ultimate historical origin. C o n t r a r y to Irenaeus, the heretical
schools d o not go back to Greek philosophy, as Simon M a g u s applied
it to Christianity, b u t to the G r e e k philosophers themselves, whose
ultimate origin is in the snake worship of the Naasenes.
Plato erred w h e n , according to Timaeus 22 b 4, he derived Solon's
teaching from a n Egyptian priest. H e did not inquire further for the
true dpxr| which h e w o u l d have found to b e the serpent-worship
characterising all p a g a n religion. F u r t h e r m o r e the H i p p o l y t a n school,
in its c h r o n o g r a p h i c concerns shared by Julius Africanus a n d des
tined to be c o n t i n u e d by Eusebius, reflected the quest for a n ulti
m a t e origin by m e a n s of which the teaching of Moses a n d A b r a h a m
could be shown to be older t h a n either G r e e k philosophy or p a g a n
religion a n d thus m o r e real. T h i s was the conclusion t h a t the p a r
allel lists of Olympiads, R o m a n Consuls, Patriarchs etc. were intended
100
to establish.
As such, the concerns of Christian writers such as Irenaeus a n d
those of the H i p p o l y t a n school reflected a historiography that they
held in c o m m o n with such imperial writers as Philostratus or even
Diogenes Laertius, w h o formed p a r t of the circle of J u l i a D o m n a ,
to w h o m the former dedicated the Vita Apollonii shortly after h e r
d e a t h (A.D. 217). Philostratus is d e t e r m i n e d to show t h a t the ulti
m a t e origin of philosophy is not in Egyptian religion b u t in the
I n d i a n gymnosophists. Laertius will d e n y such a n extraneous origin,
a n d will a r g u e instead t h a t philosophy was a purely G r e e k p h e
n o m e n o n whose origin was in the golden age w h e n the twelve wise
101
m e n lived.
7C 1.1. Diogenes Laertius and philosophical origins

Laertius uses the c o n c e p t of 8icc8oxf| to d e m o n s t r a t e the cultural
purity of Hellenistic philosophy, as does Pseudo-Hippolytus regard
ing purity of o r t h o d o x doctrine h a n d e d d o w n by those w h o share
in the teaching a n d hierocratic 8ioc8o%r| of bishops. In order to d e m o n
strate the validity of conflicting schools of G r e e k philosophy, Laertius
has to c o m e to terms with the existence of basically four 8icc8o%a{,
1 0 0
A. Brent, D i o g e n e s Laertius and the Apostolic Succession, in JEH 4 4 , 3 (1993),
pp. 3 6 7 - 3 7 1 ; idem. (1995), Historiography, p. 3 4 3 ; idem. (1995), Hippolytus, p p . 2 6 2 - 2 6 5 ;
493-495.
101
Brent (1995), Historiography, p p . 2 3 8 - 2 4 0 .
288 CHAPTER SEVEN
Platonism, Stoicism, Aristotelianism, a n d E p i c u r e a n i s m . N o Latin

e x p o n e n t of these writers such as Seneca, Cicero, or Lucretius are
m e n t i o n e d or summarised. T h e four 8ia8oxou effectively c o m e to an
e n d in the mid-second century B.C. Hellenistic philosophy from that
time until Diogenes' o w n is treated by h i m as a finished p r o d u c t
that can be taught a n d a d m i r e d in all its u n c o n t a m i n a t e d Hellenic
purity. But in the intellectual culture t h a t was to n u r t u r e a nascent
Neo-Platonism, such diversity as four 8ia8o%a{, with n o a c c o u n t of
their essential unity from which they could b e historically or logically
derived, was highly unsatisfactory. A n d so Laertius was to m a k e a n
102
already highly artificial a n d schematised account even m o r e s o .
H e r e d u c e d the four 8ioc8o%ai to two dpôu that b e g a n t h e m , a n d
these two were respectively the work of T h a l e s a n d Pherekydes. But
then he uses the literary device of epistolary pseudonymity to unify
the various seven, eleven or twelve wise m e n , inhabiting the Urzeit
of G r e e k civilisation a n d representing the c o m b i n e d wisdom of the
oocpoi of which the cpiAxSaocpoi are clearly the cpiAoi. T h a l e s writes to
103
Pherekydes a n d vice versa. Pherekydes on his d e a t h - b e d writes to
T h a l e s that h e is sending his writing for the latter to publish it " p r o
vided that you together with the other wise m e n approve of it (ou
8e r\v 8oici|LicboT|<; GUV xoiq aAAoiq oocpoiq) a n d not otherwise (Succ. 1,122)."
T h e r e is thus suggested a c o m m o n a g r e e m e n t between T h a l e s a n d
Pherekydes a b o u t their work to which all the oocpoi consent as a n
expression of the o n e true philosophy. T h u s the p s e u d o n y m o u s lit
erary device suggests t h a t the two &p%ai are in a g r e e m e n t , a n d that
a g r e e m e n t has its ultimate historical origin in the unity established
by the e x c h a n g e of letters b e t w e e n all the oocpoi in the Urzeit of
104
Hellenistic civilisation.
W e thus see a m o n g s t the i m m e d i a t e precursors to Plotinus the
development of a firm ontological presupposition that amongst the
diversity of p h e n o m e n a reality must be, contrary to Stoicism, not an
i m m a n e n t b u t a transcendental O n e . T h i s general assumption, whilst
not articulated in terms of the precise metaphysics of Neo-Platonism
before Plotinus, was nevertheless reflected in the historiography of
ideas at the e n d of the second century.
1 0 2
Brent (1993), pp. 3 7 2 - 3 7 5 ; Brent (1995), Historiography, p p . 2 4 0 - 2 4 3 .
103
Succ. 1, 4 3 - 4 4 and 122.
104
Brent (1993), pp. 2 4 0 - 2 4 3 ; Brent (1995), Historiography, pp. 3 7 2 3 7 6 .
7C 1.2. Historiography within the circle of Julia Domna

W e saw (7A 2.3) that J u l i a D o m n a , as fj (piXooocpoq, founded a philo
sophic circle that p r o d u c e d a n ideology that justified the Severan
Reformation. Such a n ideology was p r o p a g a t e d by the iconography
of Sol Invictus a n d KoouoicpaTCGp, in which a universal religious syn
cretism could justify the goal of imperial unity e m b r a c i n g the diverse
cultures of the empire.
W e n o w see that h e r school was interested not simply in a cos
mic uovccpxia b u t a historical uovocpxicc too. Diogenes Laertius a n d
Philostratus, on the p a g a n side, the former a m e m b e r of the circle
of J u l i a D o m n a almost as certainly as the latter, p r o d u c e different
answers to their c o m m o n quest for the true philosophy as the his
torically original philosophy from w h i c h all others a r e derivative
reflections. T h e i r differences are n o t a b o u t the m e t h o d of deter
m i n i n g w h a t is of ultimate value b u t simply a n d substantively w h a t
is the particular origin of ultimate philosophy undiluted by dimin
105
ishing reflection a n d d e r i v a t i o n .
Diogenes answered that philosophy derives from the oocpoi of the
golden age of Hellenistic culture, whose testimony was of o n e p h e n o
m e n o n vouchsafed by their epistolary exchanges a n d a g r e e m e n t s .
Philostratus has, also from within in the circle of Julia D o m n a , replied
that the true philosophy was from the I n d i a n gymnosophists a n d
not from the Egyptian priest to w h o m Plato attributes his philoso
p h y in the Timaeus. Pseudo-Hippolytus, w h o addressed o n e work o n
the Resurrection to J u l i a M a m a e a a n d a n o t h e r to a certain Severina,
m a y also have b e e n , like the Christian writer a n d architect of the
106
P a n t h e o n , Julius Africanus, a Christian m e m b e r of that circle.
Pseudo-Hippolytus too is a w a r e that Plato in Timaeus derives his
philosophy from a n Egyptian priest which in t u r n he has n o w derived
from the universal p a g a n religion, reflected in every p a g a n cult, the
107
snake worship of the N a a s e n e s . T h e true test for validity of doctrine
is its ultimate derivation from the apostles t h r o u g h a n u n c o r r u p t e d
succession of teachers. In this respect Pseudo-Hippolytus is closer to
Diogenes Laertius t h a n to Philostratus. Both agree on a golden age
of u n c o n t a m i n a t e d truth by twelve oocpoi or twelve apostles, before
1 0 5
Brent (1995), Historiography, p p . 2 3 7 - 2 4 8 .
1 0 6
M . Sordi, II Cristianesimo e R o m a , in Storia di Roma X I X , Istituto di Studi
R o m a n i , (Bologna: Cappelli 1965), p. 2 4 0 .
107
Plato, Timaeus, 19 E 8 - 2 2 B 4 and Brent (1995) Hippolytus, p p . 2 6 2 - 2 6 5 .
290 CHAPTER SEVEN
extraneous a n d foreign accretions h a d set u p their counter claims in

the form of either Hellenistic religion (for Laertius) or heresy (for
Pseudo-Hippolytus). S u c h a quest to locate the true faith in a n ulti
m a t e historical origin also, I have argued elsewhere, lay b e h i n d the
epistle of Peter to C l e m e n t a n d C l e m e n t to J a m e s in the C l e m e n t i n e
Homilies. T h e purpose of their exchange of letters is formally simi
lar to that of T h a l e s a n d Pherekydes in Diogenes Laertius. T h e
Petrine a n d J a c o b e a n traditions are shown by this use of the device
108
of pseudonymity to constitute a c o m m o n origin or &p%f|.
A M o n a r c h i a n historiography as well as a M o n a r c h i a n ontology
were b o t h present in the cultural soil from which Neoplatonism was
to grow a n d flourish. Historiography a n d ontology b o t h contributed
fundamentally to the legitimation of a process of religious syncretism
that was seeking to o r d e r the chaos of cultural diversity by m e a n s
of the religious cult of a divine e m p e r o r . A coherent syncretism could
be achieved by charting the origin of the diversity of cultures in a n
ultimate source or ocpxn from which that diversity was derived. This
was the historical M o n a r c h i a n i s m justifying Severan universalism.
H e r e we have found a direct relationship between the political icono
g r a p h y of the e m p e r o r ' s person a n d the later Neoplatonist ontology.
But on the Christian side, the doctrine of the Trinity, a n d the
quest for a n expression of the unity of the G o d h e a d in terms of
uovccpxicc against Gnosticism, accompanied the development of C h u r c h
O r d e r that was to result in a m o n a r c h - b i s h o p . T o the details of this
case we must n o w t u r n .
7C 2. Monarchian theology, Gnosticism and Imperial Order
W e emphasised the growth of Middle Platonism a n d Neoplatonism

as a response to the d i s m e m b e r m e n t of Stoic holistic hylomorphism
by Gnostic dualism. J u s t as the former was the ontological reflection
of imperial unity, so the latter, in its emphasis o n the disorder of
creation a n d the individual c h a r a c t e r of r e d e m p t i o n , was, in its por
trayal of cosmic chaos, the ontological reflection of the denial of the
imperialist social construction of reality.
T h e growth of the threefold O r d e r , originally with Ignatius a typo
logy but, in the second a n d early third century to develop into a
hierarchy with a m o n a r c h bishop at its apex, likewise was a denial
Brent (1993) pp. 3 7 7 - 3 8 0 ; Brent (1995), Hippolytus, pp. 4 9 2 - 5 0 0 .

of Gnostic individualism. It is not without significance that the e x a m

109
ple of a G n o s d c liturgy that we have is indeed a charismatic liturgy.
W e have a r g u e d that C l e m e n t directed his view of C h u r c h O r d e r
against such a charismatic c o m m u n i t y (4B 3).
Furthermore, the claimed orthodoxy that created against Gnosticism
a system ruled by m o n a r c h bishops was itself M o n a r c h i a n in theo
logy. Although Ignatius did not believe in m o n a r c h bishops as such,
his nascent Trinitarianism does exhibit tendencies suggestive of the
later M o n a r c h i a n s . W e have, furthermore, a r g u e d that his view of
the significance of the procession of the m a r t y r bishop does show
ecclesiastical o r d e r as a reversed, contra-cultural reflection of i m p e
rial o r d e r in the Imperial Cult (6A 2). T h e admittedly fourth cen
tury Apostolic Constitutions, celebrating the bishop as sole ruler, also
claimed a subordinationism in the G o d h e a d that required o n e source
a n d origin for its first principle, in o t h e r words a d y n a m i c form of
110
uovotpxicc. Between the claims of Ignatius a n d the Apostolic Constitutions
we have Callistus' revolution in ecclesiastical o r d e r t h a t we shall
argue mirrors that of the c o n t e m p o r a r y Severan e m p e r o r , Elagabalus
in imperial o r d e r ( C h a p t e r 8).
Let us for the m o m e n t begin by e x a m i n i n g I r e n a e u s ' attack o n
the plurality of creators, a n d its implication for a universe of o r d e r
that is essentially good. H e r e we shall find a parallel d e v e l o p m e n t
to the p a g a n precursors of Plotinus, in which a plurality of powers,
w h e t h e r in n a t u r e or in society, is seen for the sake of o r d e r to b e
reducible to the o n e . Plotinus, as we have already seen, was to argue
this case against the fundamental Gnostic ontology in Enneads II,
9 , 1 , 1 3 - 1 6 (7B 2).
7C 2 . 1 . Irenaeus and the KoouoKpdxopeq

It was, as we saw, the image of Caracalla as KoauoKpdxcop, t h r o u g h
w h o m shone the divinity of Sol Invictus, which, in philosophical terms,
was n o w identified as vouq or Aoyoq, the ultimate a n d first principle
of o r d e r which was the O n e a n d the G o o d . But in asserting the
1 0 9
K. Koschorke, D i e Polemik der Gnostiker g e g e n das kirchliche Christentum,
in Nag Hammadi Studies X I I , (Brill: Leiden 1978), pp. 6 7 - 7 1 ; idem., Eine neugefun-
d e n e gnostische G e m e i n d e o r d n u n g , in %ThK 76 (1979), p p . 3 0 - 6 0 .
1 1 0
F.X. Funk, Die Apostolischen Konstitutionen: Eine litterarhistorische Untersuchung, (Minerva
G m b H . , Frankfurt/Main 1970) (Rottenberg 1891); G. Strecker, D a s Judenchristentum
in den Pseudoclementinen, in TU 7 0 (1958 and 1981), cf. Brent (1995), Hippolytus,
pp. 4 6 1 - 4 6 2 ff.
292 CHAPTER SEVEN
i m a g e of t h e rcavxoKpdxcop in these terms, t h e imperial ideology was

negating Gnosticism in which, as Irenaeus in his Christian response
makes plain, there w e r e a plurality of 7r.avxoKpdxope<; responsible for
the created o r d e r of evil darkness, chaos, a n d enslavement.
T h e a u t h o r of t h e p s e u d o Pauline letter to t h e Ephesians h a d re
ferred to such a Gnostic mythology when h e spoke about the Christian
struggle "against d o m i n i o n s (rcpoq y a p dpxdq), against authorities (npbq
xdq eôuaiaq), against t h e cosmic rulers of this darkness (npbq xouq
111
K O o p o K p d x o p a q xou OK6XOU<; xouxou)." C l e m e n t of Alexandria attrib
u t e d such a s e n t i m e n t also t o Plato w h e n h e said: IlAdxcov ev xcp
epSopcp xf|<; IIoAaxeiaq xfjv evxauGa fipepav vuicxepivnv KeicA,T|Kev 8 i d xoix;
112
KoapoKpdxopaq o l p a i xou OKOXOIX; xouxou. I r e n a e u s witnesses t h e
Valentinian conception of t h e D e m i u r g e as o n e such K o o p o i c p d x c o p
w h o believes that h e alone is t h e creator: "I a m G o d a n d beside
m e there is n o other ('Ey© Geoq, nXr\v epou ou8ei<;)" as in Isaiah 45,5
a n d 4 6 , 9 . T h e D e m i u r g e creates t h e IlavxoKpdxcop ( . . . Aiyouai xov
8e KoapoKpdxopa Kxiapa xou Anpioupyou).
O n e m a y n o t e that t h e Valentinians m a d e t h e KoopoKpdxopeq into
a single power, as did the iconography of Caracalla. But the Valentinian
K o a p o K p d x c o p has his origin as o n e of the spirits of evil (xd rcveupaxiKa
xfjq T c o v n p i a q ) from t h e sorrow (EK TT\<; X\)Ky)<;) that causes t h e cosmic
catastrophe t h a t is t h e creation of t h e world. H i s substance is the
same "spiritual substance of evil (xrjv 7rveupaxucf|v xr\q rcovripiag imo-
oxaavv)" as t h e d a e m o n s , a n d is identified b y I r e n a e u s with t h e devil
113
(xov SidpoXov . . . ov Kai KoapoKpdxopa KaAxnxn). F u r t h e r m o r e , h e is
the i n h e r e n t spirit of evil in t h e material world (xov 8e Koopoicpdxopa
114
ev xcp Ka0' fjpaq Koapcp). C e r d o , likewise, in succession to M a r c i o n ,
115
called t h e lesser g o d Koopoicpdxcop. Caracalla's iconography has
cleansed t h e p o w e r of t h e KoapoKpdxcop, flowing t h r o u g h o u t t h e
world as t h e S u n , from all associations of grief a n d evil, a n d of
111
Eph. 6,12. I a m indebted for m a n y o f these references a n d their discussion to
C u m o n t a n d C a n e t (1919), p p . 2 3 4 - 2 3 5 .
112
Strom. 5 , 1 4 .
113
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 1,5,4 (= Frag, graec. 1, 5 3 6 - 5 4 3 ) : 'Eyo) Oeoq, nXr)v epov
ovSeiq, EK 8e xfjq X\)nr\<; xd jwevpaxim xfj<; 7tovr|pia<; SiSdoKouai yeyovevai- o0ev Kai
xov 8idpoAx>v XTJV yeveaiv eaxilKevai, ov Kai KoapoKpdxopa icaAouoi, Kai xd 8 a i p 6 v i a
Kai rcaaav xfjvrcvevpaxiicrivxfjq TcovripCaq VTtoaxaaw.... Xeyovai xov 8e KoapoKpdxopa
Kxiapa xo\) AT|pio\)pyo\).
1.4
1,5,4 (= Frag, graec. 1,549).
1.5
1,27,2.
uncontrolled subordination. T h e p o w e r of the e m p e r o r as Sol Invictus

is a benign a n d g o o d o r d e r i n g of the imperial whole.
Later N e o p l a t o n i s m was to o r d e r the seven planets, called t h e
KoouoKpdTopeq, within the m o n a r c h y of Sol Invictus as Plotinus h a d , in
Enneads II, 9 , 1 , 1 3 - 1 6 , r e d u c e d all o t h e r powers to the status of deri
vative b e i n g of the O n e . Pursuing the same project with the s a m e
ontological p u r p o s e , Proclus will later a d m i t the seven cosmocrators
as the seven planets into his Neoplatonist scheme. " T h e planets a r e
called 'cosmocrators' (01 ydp KaAouuevoi rcXdvrixec; KoouoKpdxopeq)" b u t
they a r e n o longer rebellious aeons fragmenting the p l e r o m a t h r o u g h
their ignorance. R a t h e r , " e a c h of t h e cosmocrators (eraoxoc; xcov KOO-
uoKpaxopcov), being a m o n a d (uovdq cov), is a r r a n g e d together as p a r t
116
of a c o m m o n assembly (xcp 7iA,f|9ei auvxexayuivn)."
T h e a r r a n g e m e n t is the work of K i n g Helios. As Proclus says:
The king of all visible things (6 pev ydp xcov opaxcov ndvxcov pcxoiXeix;
[TIA,IO<;]), imitating the creative powers through rays of the light (Kai
xd<; 6*Tipio\)pYiKd<; 5\)vdpei<; 5id xcov xou cpcoxo<; dKXivcov drcouauouuevoq), is
accompanied as his bodyguard by the cosmocrators (imorcdvxcov8opu-
117
cpopeixai xcov KoapoKpaxopcov).
A n d b e h i n d K i n g Helios stands the D e m i u r g e from w h o m his p o w

ers in imitating n o u m e n a l o r d e r a r e derived a n d subordinate. It is
quite clear that Helios is considered o n e of the cosmocrators, b u t
the s u p r e m e o n e , since "for the sake of the genesis of this (phe
nomenal) world (evem xfjq xouxou yeveaecoq), h e begat (drcoyevva) b o t h
sun (Kai fjtaov) a n d the o t h e r cosmocratores ( K a i xoix; aXXoxx; KoouoKpd-
118
xopa<;)." T h u s clearly the KoouoKpdxopeq are assigned by the demiurge
their subordinate role in the operation of the whole, t h r o u g h a d u e
gradation. T h e D e m i u r g e as K i n g Helios is t h e n o u m e n a l S u n , a n d
s u p r e m e cosmocrator. T h e p h e n o m e n a l sun reflects the n o u m e n a l
S u n t h r o u g h which the o t h e r cosmocrators m e d i a t e m o v e m e n t a n d
being to the p h e n o m e n a l world. T h e Demiurge is one (6 Srjuroupyoc;...
cov eiq) b u t h e e n d o w s with assimilative p o w e r (xf|v dcpouoicoxncriv
Suvapiv evxiGeiq) t h e n e w creators with h i m (xoiq p.ex' auxov veoiq
Srjpioupyoiq). T h e s e are therefore b u t the m e a n s of reflecting p o w e r
l l b
E. Diehl, (Ed.), Prodi Diadochi, In Platonis Timaeum Commentaria, (Teubner: Leipzig
1 9 0 3 / A m s t e r d a m : Hakkert 1965), III p. 5 8 , 8 a n d 18.
117
W . Kroll, (Ed.), Prodi Diadochi, In Platonis Rem Publicam Commentarii I (Teubner:
Leipzig 1 8 9 9 / A m s t e r d a m : Hakkert 1965), p p . 2 2 0 , 2 5 - 2 8 .
1 , 8
Proclus, Comm. in Platonis Timaeum III, p p . 9 5 , 3 1 - 3 3 .
294 CHAPTER SEVEN
derived from him. H e c o m m a n d s t h e m to imitate his o w n p o w e r

(pipeio0ai xfjv e a u T o u 8uvapiv) with regard to their o w n creative activ
ity (nepi zr\v cruicov y e v e o i v ) . " H e n c e (oruxoGev) he appoints the cosmo-
crators as g u a r d s (xovq KoouoKpdxopocq cp\>A,aKa<; ucpiornoi) over the
intervals of time (TCOV dpiGpcov TOU % p o v o u ) a n d as the g u a r d of night
a n d day (Kai TTVV cputaxKa vuKioq Kai r i p e p a q ) . " 1 1 9
T h e D e m i u r g e being
one, he injects the assimilative p o w e r similarly into those n e w d e m i
urges with h i m , w h e n h e c o m m a n d s t h e m to imitate his o w n power.
T h u s the cosmocrators (oi KoouoKpdiopec;) a r e those w h o are m o v e d
( T p e r c o p e v o i ) b y the n o u m e n a l D e m i u r g e w h o is "exceedingly K i n g
120
Helios (8iacpepovTco<; 6 p a a i t a i x ; "HAaoq)." As Proclus says:
. . . it is also clear (<p Kai 8fjA,ov), that indeed time is not, since it has
numerical property, the sole participant in movement (&q dpa 6 xpbvoc,
OX>K eaxiv 6 pexexopevoq povov Kai dpiBpoq wv xfj<; Kwr|aeco<;), even though
the cosmocrators maintain the order appropriate to it [npbc, avxov x d £ w
oi KoapoKpdxopeq), but the unseen God and eternal in essence (aXka
Qebq d<pavr|<; Kai Kax' ovaiav aicovioq) is the source of power (evepycov)
for all their movements (rcepircdoa<;xdq KIVTJOEI^) and the entire rota
tion of the universe (Kai xr|v oXrjv xov Koapoi) rcepioSov), and he uses as
his own individual means these gods themselves (6pydvoi<; 8e xpcbpevoq
121
d>q pepiKcoxepoi(; pexpoiq eavxoi) xomoiq xoiq Oeoiq).
T h u s the disordered universe of b o t h polytheism a n d Gnosticism

is finally o r d e r e d , a n d its analogical m o n a r c h i c a l political p o w e r
legitimated.
Both Plotinus a n d his p a g a n predecessors can clearly be r e g a r d e d
as sharing a c o m m o n cause with I r e n a e u s in r e d u c i n g the disordered
world of Gnosticism to a single first principle from which other divine
entities c o u l d p r o c e e d by o r d e r e d e m a n a t i o n o r procession. F o r
Plotinus a n d his predecessors the process of e m a n a t i o n was o n e by
which a n essentially g o o d ultimately reality shared its being with the
cosmic o r d e r without thereby experiencing diminution. F o r Plotinus
no m o r e t h a n the O n e (TO "EV), the t h o u g h t (Nouq) that proceeds
from the thinking O n e , a n d Soul (Vuxfl) are to be found in the intel
ligible world (ev TCO vonrcp). A m o n g the three there was a direct gra
d a t i o n o f b e i n g , a s u b o r d i n a t i o n o f lower to h i g h e r until finally
p h e n o m e n a l n a t u r e could b e c o m e the p h e n o m e n a l napdSevypa o f
the n o u m e n a l o r v o r r r o v .
119
Ibid. p. 2 , 1 0 .
120
Ibid. p. 2 2 7 , 2 8 .
121
Ibid. p. 4 0 , 2 .
For Irenaeus a n d some of his predecessors there was a G o d h e a d

m a d e of two or three persons, w h o were j o i n e d together with the
c o m m o n tide of Kupioq. Against the Gnostics h e asserts at o n e p o i n t
that Scripture knows only two divine beings assigned this n a m e :
Neither the Lord (oike ouv 6 Kupioq) nor the Holy Spirit (oike rcveupa
ayiov), nor apostles (oike drcoaxotan) would have ever expressed with
accurate theology that he was not God (xov OUK ovxa Geov Kupico<; kQzoXo-
ynaevrcoxe)unless he was not truly God (ei \ir\ rjv aXrfiax; Geoq), nor would
they have used the term 'Lord' for someone (oike eKupioêKxnadv xiva)
on grounds of his own personal nature (e£ i5iou rcpooamou) unless he
was the God and Father of all that exercised sovreignty (aXk' r\ xov
KupieuovxarcdvxcovOeov rcaxepa) and his Son who received the sover
eignty from the Father of all creation (Kai xov uiov auxou xov xnv Kupieiav
A.a(36vxa rcapd xou rcaxpoq auxou rcdoTiq ir\q Kxiaecoq). . . Since therefore
the Father is truly Lord (&A,T|8co<; ouv Kupiou ovxoq xourcaxpoc;),and the
Son is truly Lord (Kai xou uiou dA.r|0cbq ovxo<; Kupiou), the Holy Spirit
naturally indicated them by the tide of 'Lord.' (eiKoxcoq xo rcveupa xo
ayiov xii xou Kupiou 7cpocrnyopia eor|pT|vev auxotx;).
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., 6,1.
T h u s I r e n a e u s reduces the gnostic p l e r o m a to a G o d h e a d of two

122
persons to which he will a d d elsewhere the H o l y Spirit as a t h i r d .
If it should be a r g u e d t h a t a G o d h e a d of two or three persons will
replicate the chaos of gnostic creation, clearly h e r e I r e n a e u s claims
a unity of p u r p o s e in a divine plan, elsewhere described by h i m as
oiKovouia. But note h o w this unity is conceived in terms of a polit
ical analogy. F a t h e r a n d S o n have created all that there is as a well-
o r d e r e d a n d g o o d creation, a n d n o t chaotic a n d evil as was t h e
creation that was the outcome of the b a t d e of the aeons over Sophia's
expulsion. T h e Son is united in p u r p o s e with the F a t h e r . His sov
ereignty a n d therefore divine tide (ldipioq), s h a r e d with the F a t h e r
(xov Kupieuovxa rcdvxcov Geov rcaxepa), is by delegation (XTJV Kupeiav
Axxpovxa 7tapd xou rcaxpoq). I r e n a e u s ' ontology, like that of Plotinus,
is reflecting imperial o r d e r against Gnostic dxac;(a.
Elsewhere I r e n a e u s will follow Jn. 14, 1 0 - 1 1 a n d assert:
Through the Son who is in the Father (8id xou uiou ouv xou ovxoq ev
xcp rcaxpi), and who has in himself the Father (Kai exovxoq ev eauxco xov
icaxepa), he who is God is manifested (6 cov ecpavepcb&ri Geoq), with the
122
Adv. Haer. I l l , 2 4 , 2 ; IV, 7,4, a n d 3 4 , 3 in which n o clear distinction is drawn
b e t w e e n the Christ as Verbum a n d Sapientia, a n d the H o l y Spirit as Sapientia, cf.
Brent (1995), Hippolytus, pp. 2 1 5 - 2 1 8 .
296 CHAPTER SEVEN
Father witnessing to the Son (xov 7taxp6<; papxvpfioavxoq xcp via>), and the
Son proclaiming the Father (Kai xov viov Kaxayyeitaxvxo*; xov rcaxepa).
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., Ill, 6,2,48
But without the theology of persons in the G o d h e a d (rcpoacorca) which

123
Tertullian a n d Hippolytus were to d e v e l o p , such an a c c o u n t of
the unity of the G o d h e a d seems far closer to the M o n a r c h i a n i s m
124
that both of t h e m opposed, as Simonetti points o u t . In Ochagavia's
125
telling p h r a s e , for Irenaeus the Filius was visibile patris.
Let us therefore e x a m i n e further the thesis t h a t a M o n a r c h i a n
ontology was reflected in the o r d e r of the Christian c o m m u n i t y that
accepted such a theology, with particular reference to some of Irenaeus'
predecessors.
7C 2.2. Ignatius of Antioch: nascent Monarchianism

W e have already argued a contra-cultural parallelism between Ignatius'
conception of the bishop's office, a n d his confrontation with the
126
imperial p o w e r focused u p o n the Imperial Cult itself (6A 2 ) . We
shall now see that in Ignatian theology we possess a nascent M o n a r
chianism in the G o d h e a d that also flows over into his conception of
C h u r c h O r d e r . H o w e v e r , we d o well to emphasise that the M o n a r
chianism is a nascent one.
D a s s m a n n , using the insights he h a d g a i n e d from w h a t today
would be described as Peterson's sociology of knowledge, originally
connected Ignatius of Antioch's modalistic tendencies with his argu
127
m e n t for a n episcopal m o n a r c h y . I have a r g u e d elsewhere against
the view that Ignatius envisaged a m o n a r c h bishop as later e m e r g e d
in R o m e , a n d in the Syria of the Didascalia. Ignatius' concept of the
threefold O r d e r I have a r g u e d earlier to be far m o r e influenced by
typological analogies shared with p a g a n worship between divinities
a n d their sacral representatives r a t h e r t h a n on a n y direct relation
ship between a developed doctrine of the Trinity a n d subordination
within ecclesial O r d e r (6A 2).
1 2 3
Tertullian, Adv. Prax., 1 and 9 a n d Hippolytus, CJV. 14, 2 - 3 . For m y c o m
ments o n these passages see Brent (1995), Hippolytus, p p . 2 5 2 - 2 5 8 and p p . 5 3 0 - 5 3 5 .
1 2 4
M . Simonetti, II problema dell'unita di D i o da Giustino a Ireneo, in RSLR
2 2 , 2 (1986), p p . 2 2 9 - 2 3 7 .
1 2 }
J. O c h a v g a v i a , Visibile Patris Filius, A Study o f Irenaeus' T e a c h i n g o n R e v e
lation and Tradition, in OrChrA 171 (1964), chapter 3.
12<>
See also A. Brent, Ignatius o f Antioch and the Imperial Cult, in VCh 52,1
(1997), pp. 3 0 - 5 8 .
1 2 7
E. D a s s m a n n , Zur Entstehung des Monepiskopats, in JbAC 17 (1974), p. 74.
I have a r g u e d in detail elsewhere that C h u r c h O r d e r for Ignatius

is not m o n a r c h i c a l , as a comparison with the Didascalia Apostolorum
will show. His threefold O r d e r is a three-fold typology r a t h e r t h a n
128
a three-fold h i e r a r c h y . T h e Laity are instructed to submit, for the
sake of reflecting the divine oiicovouia or plan of salvation, to Bishops,
Presbyters, a n d D e a c o n s . But neither the Presbyters n o r D e a c o n s
receive instructions to submit to the Bishop, b u t are r e g a r d e d as nat
urally d o i n g so, in the s y m p h o n i c chorus that they form together
(6B 2). T h e O r d e r of the C h u r c h is a result of the liturgical incar
nation, in the life of the c o m m u n i t y , of the words a n d actions of all
three O r d e r s , a n d their r e - e n a c t m e n t of the way in which the F a t h e r
Bishop, sends the diaconal Son, in the context of the Presbyteral
spirit-filled council of the Aposdes.
Yet u n d o u b t e d l y Ignatius has tendencies towards a M o n a r c h i a n
version of the Trinity that is not consistent with his m o r e T r i n i t a r i a n
view of O r d e r . It was the former t h a t was b o t h to develop a n d to
prevail in the anti-Gnostic writers of the second century. F u r t h e r m o r e ,
I shall a r g u e that w h e n T r i n i t a r i a n M o n a r c h i a n i s m developed in its
final form, it provided a contra-cultural reflection of divine imper
ial order, a n d its consistent reflection in the social construction of
reality by the Christian contra-culture p r o d u c e d m o n a r c h - b i s h o p s ,
u n i t e d b y m u t u a l i n t e r - c o m m u n i o n a n d r e c o g n i t i o n . T h e episco-
patus. . . una, centred on the See of R o m e , was thus to form the
contra-cultural c o u n t e r p a r t to the person of the e m p e r o r as source
of imperial order.
Ignatius of Antioch h a d spoken of "Jesus Christ w h o p r o c e e d e d
from the one Father (xov a<p' evoq rcaxpoq rcpoeAflovxa) a n d w h o returned
129
to him w h o was one (Kai eiq eva ovxa Kai xcopuaavxa)." It was clearly
such t h e m e s that were to develop further in the cultural matrix of
the second a n d early third century from which, as we have argued,
Neoplatonism was to arise. H e r e there is clearly O r d e r in terms of
1 2 8
A. Brent, Cultural Episcopacy and E c u m e n i s m , Representative Ministry in
C h u r c h History from the A g e o f Ignatius o f Antioch to the Reformation, with spe
cial reference to contemporary e c u m e n i s m , in Studies in Christian Mission 6, (Leiden:
E J . Brill 1992), p p . 6 7 - 7 3 ; Idem. History a n d Eschatological Mysticism in Ignatius
o f Antioch, in EThL 6 5 , 4 (1989), p p . 3 1 6 - 3 2 0 ; Idem. T h e Relations b e t w e e n Ignatius
o f Antioch a n d the Didascalia Apostolorum, in Second Century, 8,3 (1991), p p . 1 3 0 - 1 3 4 ;
Idem. E c u m e n i c a l Relations a n d Cultural Episcopates, in AThR 7 2 , 3 (1990), p p .
266-269.
1 2 9
Ignatius, Magnes., 7,2. C f also Magnes. 1,2: . . . evcooiv e u x o u a i . . . 'biaou Kai
rcaxpoq.
298 CHAPTER SEVEN
derivation from a n ultimate origin that we have witnessed also in

the metaphysics a n d iconography of imperial order.
T h e C h u r c h in Ignatius is p o r t r a y e d as deriving its o r d e r e d life
from the o r d e r of the G o d h e a d . T h e risen Christ was "united with
the Father in Spirit (7ivei)paxiKco<; f|vcopevo<; xcp rcaxpi)" as he a p p e a r e d
to "those a r o u n d Peter in the flesh (d><; oapKiKoq)." T h e g r o u p that
founds historically the C h u r c h "immediately t o u c h e d him (Kai euOix;
auxov f|\|/avTo) a n d believed (Kai ercioxeuoav), since they h a d b e c o m e
mingled (KpaGevxeq) with his flesh a n d spirit (xf| oapKi auxou Kai xcp
130
rcveupaxi)." Ignatius n o w describes a procession in the structure of
the c o m m u n i t y that mirrors the ontology of the G o d h e a d .
Ignatius' language, in Rom. 6 , 1 , as we have seen (6B), reflects the
imperial ideal, a n d to the Imperial Cult his own martyrological p r o
cession represents his contra-cultural c o u n t e r p a r t . F u r t h e r m o r e , as
counter image of the imperial ideal we read:
For Jesus Christ (mi yap Tnaovq Xpicxoq), our indivisible life (xodSiaKpi-
xov fjpcov £fjv), is the mind of the Father (xov naxpoq r\ yvcbpri), even as
the bishops w h o are found at the earth's ends (ox; Kai oi e7iiGK07ioi, oi
Kaxd xd Ttepaxa opioGevxeq) are in the mind of Jesus Christ (ev 'Incou
Xpiaxov yvcbpri eiaiv).
Ignatius, Ephes., 3,1.
Ecclesiastical authority thus comes from the indivisible life (xo d 8 i d K p i -

xov fjpcbv £fjv) of the ultimate O n e F a t h e r from w h o m Christ J e s u s
c a m e a n d to w h o m h e returned. Such authority is therefore derived
from divine, unifying p o w e r that gives t h e m their authority in the
c o m m u n i t y , just as Neoplatonist political theology was to claim for
Caracalla the KoapoKpdxcop a n d his successors.
J u s t as the L o r d did nothing without the F a t h e r d u e to their union
(rivcopevoqaW), n o r without the apostles w h o shared that u n i o n as we
saw with "those a r o u n d Peter," so the c o m m u n i t y is to d o n o t h i n g
without the bishop w h o represents the Father, n o r the presbyters
131
w h o represent the apostles. T h e unity of the G o d h e a d must b e
reflected in the unity of the community. Social structure reflects onto
logical structure. T h u s :
1 3 0
Ignatius, Smyr., 2 - 3 .
131
Ibid. Magnes. 7,1: coarcep oi>v 6
K v p i o q avev xovrcaxpoqoi)8ev ercouiaev, fivcopevoq
"ov, oi)xe 5i' eavxov oike 5id xcov &7toax6Xcov• ovxox; pn5e upeiq aveu xot> e i c i a K O T c o D K a i
xcov upeapDxepcov pnSev jcpdoaexe.
Be subject to the bishop and each other (urcoxdynxe xcp erciaKOTicp Kai
aXkr\Xoi(;), as Jesus Christ to the Father according to the flesh (cbq
'ITIGOUC; Xpiaxoq xcp rcaxpi Kaxd cdpKa), and the aposdes to Jesus Christ,
and to the Father and Spirit (Kai oi d7coaxoXot xcp Xpiaxcp Kai xcp rcaxpi
Kai 7Tveuuaxi), in order that there may be a unity of flesh and Spirit
(iva evcocu<; f| aapKiicri xe Kai Ttveuuaxucri).
Magnes. 13,1
Ignatius sees in the person of the bishop a n expression of divine

o r d e r t h a t is euxaîa:
It is clear that it is necessary to look upon the bishop as the Lord

himself (xov ouv eTuoKorcov Sr\Xov oxi cbq auxov xov Kupiov 8ei Ttpoo-pAirceiv).
Onesimus himself praises strongly your good order in God (auxoq pev
ouv 'Ovr|aipo<; i)7cepe7caivei upcbv XT^V ev 0ecp euxaîav).
Ephes. 6,2
T h e g o o d o r d e r of society thus reflects the ontology of t h e G o d h e a d .

F u r t h e r m o r e , the ontology that legitimates social o r d e r must, in
o r d e r to justify its assumptions, reject the divided a n d chaotic view
of creation p r o p o u n d e d by Gnosticism, with a n early version of which
Ignatius clearly deals. T h e star of Bethlehem "was manifested to the
aeons (ecpavepcoOri xoiq aicoaiv)" a n d "all magic a n d every b o n d of
evil d i s a p p e a r e d (rc&ca uoryeia K a i naq 8eaud<; f|cpavi£exo; Ephes. 19,3)."
T h e escape from a world of w a r , division, a n d passion is u n i o n with
the threefold typology that mediates the unity of the G o d h e a d for
" w h e r e there is division a n d w r a t h (oi) 8e |i£piaud<; eaxiv K a i 6pyr|),
G o d does not abide (Geoq ou Kaxoncei.). T h e L o r d forgives all that
repent (rcaaiv ouv pxxavoouaw dcpiei 6 Kupioq) if they turn in repentance
to the unity of G o d a n d t h e council of the bishop (edv u£xavor|acocyiv
eiq evoxnxa Geou K a i auveSpiov xou eniGKonov; Philad. 8,1)."
W e h a v e seen h o w , in Ephesians 13, the pax deorum t h a t underlies
the imperial p e a c e is realised instead for Ignatius ev xfi ouovoia upxbv
xf|<; jdaxecoq. "Nothing is better than peace (ouSev eaxiv apxvvov eipnvriq),
in which all w a r of earthly a n d heavenly things is abolished (ev r\
naq rcoXeuoq K a x a p y e i x a i ercoupavicov K a i eTuyeicov)." (6B 2.4) W e n o w
see h o w specifically that o r d e r is created for Ignatius t h r o u g h the
procession of S o n from the F a t h e r that continues in the threefold
typology of Bishop, Presbyters a n d D e a c o n s . W e have noted, m o r e
over, h o w that procession from the O n e F a t h e r that returns to the
O n e F a t h e r (7C 2.2) is indicative of a general intellectual culture.
T h e unity of n a t u r e , history, o r society is derived from a n ultimate
reality in relation to which they a r e b u t m o d e s o r gradations of the
300 CHAPTER SEVEN
real, good, a n d O n e . It was a y e a r n i n g that we have a r g u e d Plotinus

was to satisfy in a finished ontological system that found its prior
expression in p a g a n a n d imperial as well as Christian reflections on
the structure of reality a n d its reflection in social order.
A consequence for Ignatian doctrine was that the unity of G o d
n e e d e d to be emphasised, with gradations allowed t h r o u g h the per
sons of the Trinity that lead in turn to their legitimating expression
in C h u r c h O r d e r . Ignatius often speaks as t h o u g h F a t h e r a n d Son
were b u t g r a d e d manifestations of a single reality. J e s u s Christ, the
" o n e physician (eiq iccxpoq)" is yevvnTOc; a n d , pace the Nicene C r e e d ,
132
also dyevvnioq. As we have considered in a n o t h e r context (6B 1),
Ignatius speaks of the Ephesians as dva£co7rupr|oavTe<; ev aipa-ci Geou
(Ephes. 1,1). In Rom. 6 he wishes to be a pipr|Tr|<; "of the suffering
133
of m y G o d (TOUrcdGotx;TOU Geou p o u ) . " T h e a u t h o r of the L o n g e r
Recension, w h o m a y have b e e n himself a n Arian, corrected the for
m e r , t h o u g h not the latter of these expressions in a subordination-
134
ist d i r e c t i o n .
W e see, therefore, a M o n a r c h i a n t e n d e n c y in Ignatius, not wholly
reconcilable with his justification of ecclesiastical O r d e r , b u t which
m a n y of his successors developed in such a direction. Let us n o w
t u r n o u r attention to three o t h e r second century writers w h o tell us,
before Callistus, n o t h i n g directly a b o u t O r d e r b u t clearly participate
in a n intellectual culture that seeks a n ultimate ontological origin in
its metaphysical quest.
7C 2.3. Monarchianism: Athenagoras, Justin and Tatian

As Simonetti has pointed out, there was a strongly M o n a r c h i a n strand
135
in the Christian apologists of the second c e n t u r y . A e o n specula
tion of Gnostics such as Valentinus a n d Basilides was strongly rejected.
T h e emphasis on the unity of G o d is often attributed to the J u d a i c
132
Ephes. 7,1, cf. J . B . Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers. Part I S. C l e m e n t o f R o m e ,
2, II: S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp, (London: M a c M i l l a n 1889), p p . 9 0 - 9 4 .
1 3 3
See also Rom. 3,3: &ya7rnv 'Iriaov Xpioxov xov Geou \iov cf. Simonetti (1986),
pp. 2 0 2 - 2 0 3 .
1 3 4
Pseudo Ignatius, Rom. 6 retains the phrase, but in Rom. 3 it is omitted alto
gether. In Ephes. there are extensive alterations, see Ephes. 1: dva£co7rupr|oavx£<; ev
ai'paxi Xpioxov and 7: iaxpoq 6e fipcov eaxi 6 povoq dXriGivoc; Geoq, 6 ayevvr|xo<; K a i
drcpoaixoq, 6 xcov otaov Kupioq, xov 8e povoyevotx; naxr\p K a i yevvr|xcop. exopev iaxpov
K a i xov Kt>piov fipcov Geov 'Ir|aovv xov Xpiaxov, xovrcpoaicbvcov vibv povoyevfj K a i
AxSyov.
135
Simonetti (1986), p p . 4 4 6 - 4 4 7 .
b a c k g r o u n d of M o n a r c h i a n g r o u p s . O n t h e o n e h a n d , d y n a m i c
M o n a r c h i a n s c o n s i d e r e d J e s u s a m e r e m a n e n d o w e d with e x t r a
o r d i n a r y p o w e r s at his b a p t i s m , a n d w e r e c h a r a c t e r i s e d later by
E p i p h a n i u s as Ebionites. O n the other, modalistic M o n a r c h i a n i s m
t u r n e d the persons of the Trinity into phases or m o d e s of the divine.
H o w e v e r m u c h the J u d a i c b a c k g r o u n d m a y have emphasised the
unity of G o d , that unity, even within J u d a i s m , c a m e to be expressed,
in the works of Philo a n d others, in terms of Hellenistic philoso
136
phy. By the middle of the second century the e m b r y o n i c doctrine
of the Trinity begin to assume modalistic features in o t h e r writers
in addition to Irenaeus.
7C 2 . 3 . 1 . uovocpxia and the Godhead in Justin and Tatian

137
T a t i a n (A.D. 165), echoing J u s t i n , expresses the relation of the
Logos to the first principle, which he calls in the following passage
b o t h dpxr| a n d 6 rcpcoxoq navioq:
By his mere will the Logos sprang forth (6eAr|uaxi 8e xfjq ankox^zoq auxou
7ipo7cr|8a Aoyoq) and the Logos, not proceeding in vain (6 8e Aoyo<; ou
Kaxd KEVOU xcoprioaq), he became the firstborn work of the Father (epyov
TcpcoxoxoKov xou rcaxpoq yivexai). The latter we know as the first princi
ple of the world (xouxov i'apev xou KOGUOU XT^V dpxt|v), and he came into
being by partition (yeyove 8e Kaxd peptapov) and not by section (ou m x '
drcoK07rr|v). For that which is cut off as a section (xo ydp drcoxurjBev) is
separated from its origin (xourcpcoxounavibq Kexcopiaxai), but what is
divided into parts (xo 8e |iepic0ev), requiring distinction for the sake of
a plan of arrangement (oiKovopiaq xdpiv xf|v Siaipeaiv rcpoataxPov), is
not bereft of the origin from which it came (OUK ev8ea xov o0ev exkr\n-
xai 7t£7toir|Kev).
Tatian, Oratio ad Graecos, 5,7-10.
In this passage, as I have a r g u e d elsewhere, T a t i a n is far closer to

the M o n a r c h i a n i s m o f the later Callistus, to w h o m Hippolytus in the
Contra Noetum was to m a k e the conciliatory gesture of denying that
the Aoyoq daapKoq was xzkexoc, uioq before he (it) b e c a m e taSyoq evoapKoq
138
t h r o u g h i n c a r n a t i o n in the V i r g i n . In T a t i a n the Aoyoq is a cre
ation (epyov TcpcoxoxoKov), albeit inseparable from its creator (ou rax'
1 3 6
Philo, De spec, legib I, 1 3 - 3 1 a n d Peterson (1935), p p . 2 3 - 2 4 a n d pp. 107- 108.
137
J u s t i n Martyr, Dial., 6 1 , 2 w h e r e oi) K a i ' arcoxouriv coq eXaxTCoGfjvai xov ev
f|uiv \6yov parallels closely this passage. S e e M . M a r c o v i c h (Ed.), Tatiani, Oratio
ad G r a e c o s , in PTS 4 3 , (1995), p. 1.
I3H
E.g. CJV. 4,8 a n d 15,7. For other references a n d a full discussion, see Brent
(1995), Hippolytus, pp. 2 1 0 2 4 0 .
302 CHAPTER SEVEN
dt7COK07cf|v) like a b u r n i n g torch that creates a second one by contact.

It is the i m a g e of the b u r n i n g torch that T a t i a n , like J u s t i n before
139
him, now employs:
For even as many fires are lighted from one torch (coarcep yap anb piaq
dadb<; dvdrcxexai pev Trupd noXXa), but the light of the first torch is not
diminished because it has been lit from many torches, (xfjq 8e 7tpcbxr|<;
babbc, 8id xf^v eâvjnv xcov noXk&v 8a8cov oi)K eAxxxxovxai xo cpcoq), so also
the Logos proceeding from the power of the Father (oikco Kai 6 Aoyoc;
7ipoeA,0o)v CK xfjq xov naxpbq 8\)vdpeco<;), does not deprive the one who
gave him birth of rational speech (OVK dôyov ne7toir|Ke xov yeyevvriKoxa).
Tatian, Oratio ad Graecos, 5, 11-15.
N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the parallel with J u s t i n , we have seen that Apuleius

also, in De Mundo 6, 398a 3 1 - 3 5 , m a d e use of the image of the
transmission of light signals to explain the transmission of the divine
p o w e r that directs the universe CK piaq cxp%fj<;. In the previous pas
sage too there is a similar p r e o c c u p a t i o n with cosmic unity in terms
of derivation from the o n e first principle. T h e Logos proceeds from
the F a t h e r as xov Koopou TTIV dp%r|v without being cut off from xov
rcpcoTou navxbq.
But T a t i a n shared a quest for a unified cosmos with the follow
ers of Isis, a n d indeed with M a r c u s Aurelius w h o , as we h a v e seen,
identified Faustina with the religious i c o n o g r a p h y of a unified n a t u r e
expressed in a unified imperial o r d e r (7A 1.1.3). T h e Isis h y m n from
A n d r o s spoke of " t h e sign of y o u r m o n a r c h y , O Q u e e n (aapoc xeaq,
140
Seorcowa, p o v a p x e i a q ) , " a n d T a t i a n sought such a unified o r d e r
which he found in the J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n tradition. In the perplexity
that lead to his conversion, h e r e a d the O l d T e s t a m e n t Scriptures,
t h o u g h they a p p e a r e d " b a r b a r i c . " H e claims:
I was persuaded by these (Kai poi 7teio0f|vai xavxaiq a-uvePrj) because of

(Sid xe). . . the easily intelligible account of the creation of the world
(xfj<; xovrcavxoq7tovr|Geco<; xo ei)Kaxd^r|7rxov), the foreknowledge of the future
(Kai xcov peAAovxcov xo rcpoyvcoaxiKov), . . . and the monarchical doctrine
of the universe (Kai xcov oXxov xo povapxiKOv).
Tatian, Oratio ad Graecos, 29, 11-15.
I i 9
Justin Martyr, Dialogus, 6 1 , 2 : Kai orcoTov erci irupoq opcopev OLXXO yivopevov, OX>K
eXaxxoDpevoo e K e i v o v e£ oi) f| dva\}/i<; yeyovev.
1 4 0
W . Peek, Der hishymnus von Andros und verwandte Texte, (Berlin: W e i d m a n n 1930),
p. 15,6 (= Totti (1985) n o . 2, 6), cf. Peterson (1935), p. 21 and p. 105.
I n d e e d , T a d a n disregards the strong, p a g a n currents that were con

tributing to such a p a g a n doctrine b o t h in the political ideology of
imperial p o w e r , a n d in the developing, justifying metaphysic that
Apuleius a n d Plutarch exhibit. T a t i a n proceeds to attack p a g a n cul
ture for failing to exercise the principle of founding the religious
o r d e r of the cosmos o n a single first principle from which all is
derived (uovapxia). As he says:
You Greeks are the sort of people (xoiouxoi xiveq eaxe Kai upeiq, co
"EM,r|ve<;) whose words are fluent, (pnpaai pev axcouuAui) whose ideas
are bizarre (yvcopriv 8' exovxe<; CCAAOKOTOV). Y O U practice the rule of the
many rather than of one (Kai xfy 7ioA,uKoipavrnv paAAov rfrep xfiv povapxiav
e£uaKT|oaxe), and are used to following the daemons as if they were
strong (raGdrcep ioxupoiq vouiôvxeq aoyaXeq zolq Saipooi KaxaKOôuGeiv).
Tatian, Oratio ad Graecos, 14,1-3
In a d o p t i n g a polytheistic framework he argues therefore that the

G r a e c o - R o m a n world is, inconsistendy with the imperial ideal, attack
ing the uovapxia. His claim hardly did justice to the work of Apuleius
a n d Plutarch, let alone those w h o constructed the i c o n o g r a p h y of
the i m p e r i a l c o i n a g e a n d p r e s i d e d over t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of the
Imperial Cult.
7C 2.3.2. Political structure and the Trinity in Athenagoras

T a t i a n does not explore the relationship of ontological uovapxia to
political uovapxia, as opposed being simply parasitic u p o n the b r o a d e r
culture in which the two concepts were intertwined. Athenagoras
conversely does n o t use the w o r d uovapxia, b u t we find the concept
of derived authority from a single dpxr| clearly d r a w n in ontology by
analogy with political structure.
A t h e n a g o r a s begins by addressing the e m p e r o r s M a r c u s Aurelius
141
a n d C o m m o d u s (A.D. 1 7 6 - 1 8 0 ) as " p h i l o s o p h e r s . " But in the
course of his address he attacks the worship of images (etKoveq) on
the g r o u n d that the n a m e s of those w h o sculpted t h e m a n d thus
b r o u g h t t h e m into existence are k n o w n . "If they are gods (ei xoivuv
Geoi), w h y were they not so from the beginning (xi OUK rjoav e£ dpxf|<;)?
W h y a r e they m o r e recent t h a n their makers (xi 8e eiaiv vecoxepoi xcov
142
ne7coir|K6xcov)?" H e then uses an a r g u m e n t to M a r c u s Aurelius a n d
141
M . Marcovich (Ed.), Athenagoras, Legatio pro Christianis, in PTS 3 1 , (1990), insc.
142
Athenagoras, Legatio, 17, 3 4 - 3 5 . S e e also E. O s b o r n , The Emergence of Christian
Theology, (Cambridge: U . P . 1995), pp. 1 2 5 - 1 2 9 ; pp. 1 7 4 - 1 7 8 .
304 CHAPTER SEVEN
his son C o m m o d u s in which he uses a n analogy between the grades

of imperial p o w e r a n d relations between F a t h e r a n d Son:
May you find it possible to examine by your own efforts also the heav
enly kingdom (e'xoixe 8' dv oruioi dip' eauxcbv Kai xfjv enoupdviov PaaiXeiav
e£exd£eiv); for as all things have been subjected to you, a father and
a son (d>q yap i)piv rcaxpi Kai vicp ndvxa Kexeipcoxai), who have received
your kingdom from above (dvcoGev xfjv paaiêiav eiXr|(p6aiv), for "the
e i l
king's life is in God's hands («paaiAico<; yap \|/i)xr| ev x P Geot>»)," as
the prophetic spirit says ((pnai xorcpocprixiKovrcveupa),so all things are
subordinated to the one God and the Word that issues from him whom
we consider his inseparable Son (omcoq evi xcp Gecp Kai xcp n a p ' amov
Xoycp, \)icp voovpevcp dpepiaxcp, rcdvxa imoxexaKxai).
Legatio 18,10-14
H e n c e it is the inseparable Son p r o c e e d i n g from the true a n d ulti

m a t e dp%r| that g u a r a n t e e s b o t h cosmic a n d political o r d e r which
paganism, with its variety of myths in chaotic discorder, c a n n o t . H e
143
goes through a n u m b e r of p a g a n m y t h s of which he gives a Platonic
critique, a n d o n the following principle:
Each of the beings endowed with divinity by them (eraaxov yap xcov
xeGeoXoyrjpevcov), must be perishable on the grounds that it has a begin-
ing (ox; xfjv dpxrjv e'xov, Kai cpGapxov 8eov eivai). For if they, not existing,
have come into existence (ei ydp yeyovaaiv o\)K ovxeq), as those who the
ologize about them say (cbq oi rcepi avxcbv GeoôyoOvxeq êyoDGiv), they
do not exist (O\>K eia(v). For either something does not begin its exist
ence (fi ydp dyevrixov xi), and is eternal (Kai eaxiv diSiov), or it come
into existence (fi yevrixov), and is perishable (Kai cpGapxov eaxiv).
Athenagoras, Legatio, 19,1.
A t h e n a g o r a s therefore is able to present a n apologetic tour de force.

H e can suggest that the true metaphysics of order, reflected in the
derived p o w e r of C o m m o d u s from his father, M a r c u s Aurelius, can
not find s u p p o r t in the theologoumena of p a g a n i s m . T h e divine unity
of imperial society reflects r a t h e r the relationship b e t w e e n F a t h e r
a n d Son in the Christian G o d h e a d . It was a Platonising solution that
Plotinus was later to find persuasive, t h o u g h with a different a n d
p a g a n a c c o u n t of the unity of the cosmos a n d its derivation from
the O n e .
O u r conclusion m u s t be that iconographic expression of universal
m
C h r o n o s , Zeus, H e r a , R h e a , Osiris, and Isis all c o m e under his censure in
chapters 2 0 - 2 3 .
p o w e r from o n e universal source or origin, such as we have seen

with M a r c u s Aurelius a n d Faustina II (7A 1.1.3) in connection with
the Sarapis-Isis motif on their coins, has failed to impress Athenagoras.
H e clearly does not share the convictions of Plutarch or Apuleius
on the uovapxia of Isis, a n d the universality of the o n e goddess with
m a n y n a m e s . But the ontology of the Christian G o d h e a d with which
he replaces such a quest for a theology of imperial unity equally can
service a n imperialist political ideology. T h e spirit of the a u t h o r of
Luke-Acts, a n d his message to T h e o p h i l u s a n d his circle clearly con
tinues in the second century.
Certainly A t h e n a g o r a s ' language of derivation is to find echoes in
later Neoplatonism. H e does not distinguish a Trinity of persons,
a n d in the following passage rcveuuo: is not distinguished from Xoyoc;,
vouq, or oocpia. E a c h is descriptive of the n a t u r e of the Son:
For as we say, God, the Son his Logos and Holy Spirit (coq ydp 9e6v
(papev, Kai inov xov Xoyov auxou, Kai rcveuua dyiov) are united in power
(evoupeva pev Kaxd 8uvap.iv) but distinguished in rank (Staipoupeva 8e
Kaxd xd^tv) as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (eiq xov rcaxepa, xov
uiov, xo rcveupa) since the Son of the Father is mind, Logos, wisdom,
and the Spirit is effluence of God, as light from fire (oxi vouq, Adyoc;,
oocpia 6 uio<; xourcaxpoqKai drcoppoia xou Geou cbq cpcoc; anb jcupoq, xo jweuua).
Legatio 24,2.
O n c e again, the analogy of derivation, of light from the fire, is r e m

iniscent of the political analogy of the Aristotelian o r d e r of the cos
mos as Apuleius expressed this, in a Platonic form, in De Mundo 6,
398a 3 1 - 3 5 , a n d indeed used also by Tatian (7C 2.3.1). It is significant
however that not merely the concept of xdîq but also that of drcoppoia,
144
b o t h found in this passage, are used in a political c o n t e x t .
In the H e r m e t i c fragment entitled Kopu Koouou, Isis begins h e r
sacred discourse. T h e earth entreats h e r that to m a i n t a i n o r d e r a n d
goodness amongst the elements it contains: "if not yourself (KOCV ou
oeauxov) . . . a certain sacred effluence of yourself (oauxou x w a iepdv
145
drcoppoiav)." W e learn then that H e r m e s is to c o m e as " a n o t h e r
1 4 4
For a useful s u m m a r y o f references to uses o f arcoppoia a n d cognates, see
J. A m a n n , D i e Zeusrede des Ailios Aristeides, in TBA 12 (1931), p. 75 and Peterson
(1935), p p . 2 3 - 2 5 ; 1 1 0 - 1 1 1 .
1 4 5
A . D . N o c k a n d A.J. Festugiere, C o r p u s H e r m e t i c u m IV: Fragments extraits
de Stobee, IV, in Collection des Universites de France, Association Guillaume Bude, (Paris:
Societe d'Edition «Les Belles Lettres» 1954), Fragment X X I I I (= Stobaeus, I, 4 1 ,
44), 6 2 , 1 9 - 2 0 .
306 CHAPTER SEVEN
effluence from m y n a t u r e (exepa ydp ev uuiv xi<; r\5r\ xr\q eufjq drcoppoia
(puaecoq) w h o shall also be the holy e x a m i n e r of all that is d o n e (oq
5f| K a i ocioq eoxai xcov rcpaxxouevcov EKOKXJ]^) . . . " 1 4 6
But the drcoppoia does not e n d with H e r m e s alone. W h e n H o r u s

asks his m o t h e r by w h o m the terrestrial sphere is to be o r d e r e d , Isis
replies by " t h e one w h o becomes e m p e r o r from time to time (6 m i d
m i p o v yevouevog Paaiêuq.)." She continues:
For, my child, the gods give birth to emperors (yevvcooi ydp, cb xeicvov,
paaiêiq) who are worthy of their earthly progeny (oi 0eoi enafyoxx; xr\q
eTiiyeio-u yovfiq). And rulers are emanations of the emperor (Kai eiaiv oi
ap%ovxe<; xot> PaaiAicoc; dnoppoiai), and the ruler amongst whom is near
est to him (GOV 6 udAAov eKeivco nXr\oiov) is also more royal than the
others (ot>xo<; Kai xcov dMcov paaiXiKcoxepoq). For the sun, as it is nearer
to God (6 uev ydp TIXIOQ, Ka06 eyyiov eaxi xov 0eo\>), is greater and more
powerful than the moon (xfjq oekr\vr\q erciuei^cov Kai 8\)vauiKcbxepo<;) . . .
Corpus Hermeticum, Fragment 24,1-2
T h u s we find the divine o r d e r of w h a t is elsewhere described as Isis'

uovapxia pervades through existence to divine m o n a r c h y in the earthly
political sphere. T h e e m p e r o r h e r e , like C a r a c a l l a as Koojioicpdxcop,
is the source from w h i c h all o t h e r divine political p o w e r e m a n a t e s
to the dpxovxeq. A view of the world as orderly e m a n a t i o n derived
from a Platonised Aristotelianism once again presupposes a refuta
tion of a Gnosticism t h a t m a d e the aeonic dpxovxeq xou K O O U O U the
source of cosmic disorder a n d imperfection.
A t h e n a g o r a s finally describes the H o l y Spirit, w h o m he identifies
with the Son w h o is vouq, oocpia, a n d Aoyoq, as we have seen, in
the following terms:
The same Holy Spirit that empowers (mixoi Kai avxb xo evepyovv) those
who proclaim prophetically (xoiq eKcpcovouoi 7tpoq>rixiKcb<;) we say is the
effluence of God (dyiov Ttvevuxx drcoppoiav eivai (pauev xov 0eov) which
flows forth from him (drcoppeov) and returns (Kai eTcavacpepojievov) like
the rays of the sun (ox; dKxiva f|A,(o\)). Who then would not be amazed
(x(q ovv o\)K dv drcopricai) if he heard of men called atheists (aKovoaq
d0eov<; Katayouevouc;) who bring forward God the Father, God the Son
and the Holy Spirit (xoix; dyovxaq 0e6v rcaxepa Kai mov 0e6v Kai KVEVLIOL
dyiov), and who proclaim both their power in their unity (5eiKv\>vxa<;
avxcbv Kai xf)v ev xfi evcoaei 8\)vauiv) and their diversity in rank (Kai xfjv
xfi xdêi Sia(peaiv).
Athenagoras, Legatio 1 0 , 4 - 5 .
Corp. Herm., Frag. XXIII (= Stobaeus, I, 41, 44), 62, 19 21.

Certainly A t h e n a g o r a s ' language h e r e can be paralleled in p a g a n

M o n a r c h i a n i s m as it sought to explain all divinity as derived from
a single dcp%r|. Aelius Aristides, his p a g a n c o n t e m p o r a r y , speaks of
Zeus as the dpxu. a n d the divinity of the o t h e r gods as derivation
147
(dTtoppofi). T h u s though Athenagoras does not use the term uovapxia,
he is nevertheless involved in the same conceptual world as T a t i a n
a n d , as we shall see, T h e o p h i l u s , w h o clearly did. Political p o w e r
a n d derived authority is clearly seen by analogy with t h e rays of the
sun, just as in the Corpus Hermeticum a n d in the coinage of Caracalla.
'Arcoppoicc as a t e r m for e m a n a t i o n or derivation in n a t u r e is applied
to the p a g a n political structure in explication of the concept of an
e m p i r e of unity in diversity.
Clearly therefore A t h e n a g o r a s ' analogy between the derivation of
authority by e m a n a t i o n or effluence within the G o d h e a d a n d the
derivative relationship b e t w e e n his son C o m m o d u s a n d the e m p e r o r
M a r c u s Aurelius was sustained by b o t h the p a g a n religious back
g r o u n d a n d the supportive Platonism that gave that b a c k g r o u n d its
intellectual credibility. T h e r e was also a p a g a n uovapxia in accord
a n c e with which divine political p o w e r overflowed from the o n e
E m p e r o r a n d t h r o u g h the o n e E m p i r e , just as in n a t u r e all was sub
ordinate to the u i a dpxu..
Let us finally look at the c o n c e p t of uovapxia as it frequently
a p p e a r s in T h e o p h i l u s , w h o might well have b e e n employing the
concept of uovapxia in a n a r g u m e n t similar to that of A t h e n a g o r a s
w h o strongly implies the t e r m even t h o u g h he does n o t use it.
7C 2.3.3. Theophilus and the pagan quest for the uovapxia

W e have seen h o w T a t i a n used the t e r m uovapxia against p a g a n s
on the g r o u n d s that in their polytheism they were denying a con
cept, b o t h ontological a n d imperial, to which they were otherwise
c o m m i t t e d . T h e o p h i l u s will n o w challenge the ability of p a g a n reli
gion to b e able to use philosophy to p r o d u c e its required ontologi
cal uovapxia.
147
Aelius Aristides, Eiq Aia, 7,9: Zeix;. . . rcpoxepov auxoq eavxov e£ eauxoi) ercoi-
r|G£v K a i ouSev rcpoae8ef|U>| exepou eiq xo e i v a i , aXX' auxo xovvavxiov rcdvxa e i v a i arc'
eKeivou rjpâxo. K a i OUK eaxi Xpovov eiTteiv • ou8e yap xpovoq r\v TWO rcoxe, oxi uTjSe aXXo
u r | 8 e v Snuiovpyoi) y a p epyov ouSev eaxi rcpeapvxepov. ouxco 5f| dpxrj uev drcavxcov Zevq
xe K a i £K Aibq rcdvxa; 7,15: coaxe m i 0ecov o a a (puXa drcoppofiv xf|<; Aioq TOX> rcdvxcov
T t a x p o q 8\)vdueco<; e m a x a e'xei. (= B. Keil, Aelii Aristidis Smyrnaei, opera quae supersunt
omnia, (Berlin: W e i d m a n n 1897), II, pp. 3 3 9 347).
308 CHAPTER SEVEN
J u s t i n M a r t y r h a d claimed that the basic philosophical a g e n d a in

the second century consisted in inquiries (£nxr|G£i<;) a b o u t the ulti
mate first principle (rcepi uovapxia<;) a n d about the divine foreknowledge
148
(rcpovoiaq). Certainly T h e o p h i l u s (A.D. 180) is c o n c e r n e d with the
uovapxia as such. But t h o u g h he is c o m m i t t e d to the basic quest for
the u i a dpxu., b o t h religious a n d philosophical, which he shares with
his p a g a n contemporaries, he nevertheless denies their particular solu
tion to the quest, c o m m o n in the late second century, to b o t h P a g a n
a n d Christian.
It is in the light of his failure to fulfil the second century a g e n d a
of discovering a n ultimate first principle t h a t Plato, a c c o r d i n g to
T h e o p h i l u s , is to be j u d g e d . By denying the creation of m a t t e r that
exists therefore eternally alongside a n u n c r e a t e d G o d , Plato presents
an a c c o u n t t h a t fails to d e m o n s t r a t e the uovapxia:
But if God is uncreated (ei 8e 6 9e6<; dyevrixo<;) and matter is uncreated

(Kai VXT\ dyeVnxcx;), then, according to the Platonists God is not the
Maker of the Universe (OUK exi 6 9e6<;rcovnxr)*;xcov 6X,cov eaxiv Kaxd xoix;
nXaxcoviKouq), and, as far as they are concerned, the unique sover
eignty of God is not demonstrated (ou5e pr|v povapxia 0eou 5eiicvuxai,
oaov xo Kax' auxouq).
Theophilus, Ad Autolycum, 2,4-6.
It was not however simply the secondary, philosophy of religion that

h a d failed b u t the p r i m a r y religious discourses themselves. H e labours
to d e m o n s t r a t e the contradictions of the poets, since "nevertheless
they introduce a multitude of gods (KXT\V KaircA,r|9uv0ecov eioriyayov)
149
or else spoke of one single ultimate origin (r\ K a i uovapxiav eutov)."
But why should the first cause of the universe be clear to p a g a n
poets without divine revelation such as the p r o p h e t s possessed as
they were m o v e d by the p r o p h e t i c spirit? T h e o p h i l u s ' explanation is
that sometimes the poets, shaking off the d a e m o n possession that
p e r s u a d e d t h e m otherwise, " m a d e statements (eiitov) in a g r e e m e n t
with those of the p r o p h e t s (aKoAouGa xoi<; Tcpocprixaiq) in o r d e r to b e a r
witness to themselves (ox; eiq uapxupiov eauxoiq) a n d all m e n (xe K a i
rcaaiv dvOpamou;) c o n c e r n i n g the monarchia of G o d (rcepi x e Geou uovap-
15
Xiaq) . . ." °
T h e o p h i l u s does not bring out any explicit political analogies with
148
Justin Dial. 1,3: xi ydp; ox>x oi cpiXoaocpoi rcept Geov xov drcavxa rcoiovvxai taSyov,
eKeivoq e'Xeye, K a i rcepi uovapxia*; ai>xoi<; K a i rcpovoiaq a i £rixT|aei<; yivovxai e m a x o x e ;
TI oi) xorno epyov eaxi <piA.oao(p(a<;, eêxdêiv 7cepi xov Beicu.
I4<)
T h e o p h i l u s o f A n t i o c h , Ad Autolyc, 2,8,6.
130
Ad Autolyc, 2,8.
the ontology of povccpxioc. But we have seen that T a t i a n does so,

whilst sharing the general perspective of the search for the one ulti
m a t e origin. T h a t quest, we have emphasised, in the Weltanschauung
of the second a n d early third century, was not simply to do with
physical n a t u r e b u t with h u m a n society a n d history as well. Between
T a t i a n a n d T h e o p h i l u s , a n d clearly sharing their c o m m o n ontolog
ical perspective, c a m e A t h e n a g o r a s , w h o whilst not using povocp%{a
explicitly, is well a w a r e of the political analogy d r a w n from the o n t o
151
logy of the ultimate cause or first p r i n c i p l e . I have a r g u e d that
their c o m m o n apologetic project cannot be divorced from their syncre-
tistic, p a g a n religious a n d philosophical backgrounds. T h e analogies
of light, the sun's rays, of e m a n a t i o n a n d derivation, are exemplified
both by general religious philosophy a n d by the specific iconogra
p h y a n d claims of the Imperial Cult.
N e i t h e r Justin, n o r T a t i a n , n o r A t h e n a g o r a s , n o r T h e o p h i l u s , de
scribe in any detail the organisation of their communities. Theophilus,
writing in the late second century, was one of the episcopal succes
sors of Ignatius of Antioch. However, there is n o discussion of C h u r c h
O r d e r a n d its relation to a wider theology of the G o d h e a d , as was
the case in Ignatius of Antioch. W e have b e e n able to study their
views o n the Christian G o d h e a d a n d its m o n a r c h i c a l o r d e r as a
reflection both of p a g a n ontology a n d of imperial order. W e have
not however been able to examine h o w imperial order, a n d specifically
imperial o r d e r expressed in the Imperial Cult, was also expressed in
C h u r c h O r d e r , as we were able to d o in the case of Ignatius.
But c o n c u r r e n t with the Severan reformation, particularly in the
form into which Elagabalus was to try unsuccessfully to press it, we
witness also a n a t t e m p t e d revolution in C h u r c h O r d e r in w h i c h
Callistus was involved as p r i m e mover. W e witness also a M o n a r c h i a n
theology in C h u r c h O r d e r p r o p o u n d e d by the advocate of a m o n a r c h -
bishop over all the house-churches of the fractionalised R o m a n c o m
munity. W e are, c o m e these events, in a better position to study the
relationship b e t w e e n a M o n a r c h i a n theology a n d a M o n a r c h i a n
C h u r c h O r d e r , a n d its contra-cultural relationship with a n imperial
order t h a t has developed in a formally similar way.
It is to a consideration of this relationship that we n o w t u r n for
our final a n d concluding chapter.
1 , 1
J. Badewien, D i e A p o l o g e t e n und Tertullian, in Schindler (1978), pp. 3 2 - 3 3 ,
fails to grasp the relation of all three Apologists to a conceptual backcloth that they
clearly shared.
CHAPTER EIGHT
T H E EMERGENCE O F IMPERIAL AND

CATHOLIC ORDER
Elagabalus and Callistus:

A Monarchian Episcopate for an Imperial Monarchy
In A . D . 218, following the assassination of Caracalla the year before,

V a r i u s Avitus Bassianus as e m p e r o r a s s u m e d the title of M a r c u s
Aurelius Antoninus. H e took the additional title of Elagabalus, the
n a m e of his favoured deity, a n d a t t e m p t e d to introduce into R o m e
the cult of Sol Invictus Elagabal, that is to say the cult of Sol Invictus
in its specifically Syrian form, as the universal religion of the E m p i r e .
T h a t attempt, characterised by the imposition of the specific ritual
a n d priestly dress of the form of a cult that was alien to R o m a n
culture, failed for that reason. It is i m p o r t a n t however to emphasise
that it was not a failure of the process of syncretism itself, however
m u c h this might be suggested by the damnatio memoriae of Elagabalus
himself, but the failure of a kind of fundamentalism in its o w n way
inimical to such a syncretism.
Parallel with these events, we have, described in Pseudo-Hippolytus,
Refutatio, IX, 6-13,2, a n attempted religious reformation of the R o m a n
c o m m u n i t y by Callistus, in w h i c h we h a v e a m o v e m e n t towards
monarchical episcopate a c c o m p a n i e d by a n advocacy of uovapxia
in the g o d h e a d . Callistus a p p e a r e d to Tertullian as b e h a v i n g like a
p a g a n Pontifex Maximus in trying to b e c o m e episcopus episcoporum} In
doing so he, as putative bishop of R o m e , was b u t m a k i n g similar
claims to those of the e m p e r o r Elagabalus, as Pontifex Maximus of a
syncretism that found its final expression in the Baal of E m e s a as
Sol Invictus. As a M o n a r c h i a n theologian, he was looking for the ulti
m a t e principle in the g o d h e a d from which all lesser beings or persons
were derived, just as Elagabalus could find that principle in Sol Invictus.
Both e m p e r o r a n d putative p o p e were reflecting, in their own way,
1
in T e n s i o n before the E m e r g e n c e of a M o n a r c h - B i s h o p , in Suppl.VCh. 31 (1995),
pp. 511 5 1 2 .
THE EMERGENCE OF IMPERIAL AND CATHOLIC ORDER 31 1
ideals of imperial unity in the societies over which they claimed to

have the right to rule absolutely. W e must n o w e x a m i n e the rela
tionship between these parallel events in the light of m y thesis that
the d y n a m i c a n d parallel d e v e l o p m e n t of Imperial a n d Christian
O r d e r be understood dialectically a n d interactively in terms of a socio
logical theory of counter-culture.
Let us begin with Elagabalus a n d his place in the d e v e l o p m e n t of
the Imperial Cult.
PART A. ELAGABALUS AND UNIVERSAL MONOTHEISM
W e have seen in the case of Isis a n d Sarapis, a n d of the image of

Sol Invictus with which that worship h a d b e e n associated a n d whose
iconography Septimius a n d Caracalla h a d also employed, a clear con
fluence a n d absorption of a polytheism into a n o r d e r e d m o n o t h e i s m
(7A 2.1-2.2). T h e worship of Cybele too h a d reflected similarly the
divine imperial p o w e r (7A 1.2). Elagabalus, whose religious practices
c a n n o t b e considered normative, did himself j o i n the ranks of that
priesthood, was castrated a n d infibulated, a n d placed the statue of
2
Magna Mater in his own favoured sanctuary of the Baal of E m e s a .
But A n t o n i n u s Pius before h i m h a d introduced the taurobolium into
h e r cult that was performed expressly pro salute imperatoris as well as
on occasions pro salute totius domus divinae? W e have already witnessed,
even before the Severans, examples of the assimilation of cults for
merly sanitised into the i m m e d i a t e circle of cults offered on behalf
of the e m p e r o r (7A 1.2-1.2.1).
W e witnessed a syncretistic process on the p a r t of the early Imperial
Cult in which o t h e r hitherto i n d e p e n d e n t deities were assimilated
with the worship of the e m p e r o r a n d related to this in a new way.
O n e e x a m p l e of that process was to describe the various deified
Virtues by the addition of variants of augustus, so that the divine
Virtues b e c a m e p a r t of the collective personality of the e m p e r o r
(2B 3). A n o t h e r example was the reception of a n e m p e r o r such as
H a d r i a n into the cult of Dionysus so that he becomes a veoq Aiovuaioq
(6B 2), b u t m o r e t h a n simply an ordinary initiate. But w h a t is new
2
H e r o d i a n , V , 5 , 1 - V I , 1,3; D i o Cassius, 78, 3 1 , 2 - 7 9 , 2 1 , 2 ; S H A , Heliogab.; cf.
G . H . Halsberghe, T h e Cult o f Sol Invictus, in EPRO 2 3 (1972), p p . 6 2 - 7 8 .
< CIL 8 , 8 2 0 3 .
312 CHAPTER EIGHT
in the second century is clearly b o t h the adoption of universal eastern

deities a n d their cults, a n d their association with the imperial image
in o r d e r to express imperial unity m o r e comprehensively.
In support of Elagabalus' reforms, there h a d b e e n a recognition
of the Syrian Artagatis, a goddess associated with a n u m b e r of Syrian
Baals such as H a d a d . F u r t h e r m o r e there was also M i t h r a i s m , whose
synthesis with the cult of Sol Invictus should not, as Halsberghe has
argued, blind us to the separate existence of this cult with claims to
4
one pedigree in traditional R o m a n religion. T h e ambiguity also con
tinued w h e n the e m p e r o r was b o t h high priest a n d object of high-
priestly action of cult offered by a n d to the same person. T h u s the
events of the reign of Elagabalus were to witness, not a defeat, b u t
a setback to the development of the solar m o n o t h e i s m towards which
the Imperial C u l t was moving, in c o m b i n a t i o n with other major reli
gious m o v e m e n t s with which it h a d associated itself.
Although a m a r r i a g e to a Vestal Virgin lead to great outrage in
a R o m a n cultural context in which there was clearly n o c o m p r e
hension of such Eastern a n d Syrian justifications, his third m a r r i a g e
did not. His m a r r i a g e to A n n i a Faustina was m a r k e d by the trans
lation of the image of the goddess Dea Caelestis from C a r t h a g e a n d
N o r t h Africa in o r d e r to enter his Elagabalium, a n d b e c o m e p a r t of
the cult of Sol Invictus. H o w e v e r , a temple to that cult h a d existed
on the Palatine since 2 0 4 B.C., with some of the constraints con
nected with its worship having been removed by Claudius. Elagabalus
clearly h a d tried too h a r d to expedite a process of syncretism that
was already progressing, albeit without the a c c o m p a n i m e n t of child
5
sacrifices a n d castrated priests.
T h e r e was clearly a widespread use of syncretistic iconography to
reinforce imperial ideology. Septimius a n d Caracalla h a d used a vari
ety of images from various cults duly syncretised. Elagabalus' mistake
h a d b e e n paradoxically to deny that syncretism in practice t h r o u g h
the imposition of the ritual of his one, favoured cult, a n d by subor
dinating other deities to his own r a t h e r t h a n acknowledging that all
were, as it were, consubstantial a n d co-eternal with each other. In
this respect his mistake m a y have been theological as well as politi
cal. H e simply h a d not realised that the Baal of E m e s a was simply
4
Varro, De Re Rustica, 1,1,5; Dionysios of Halicarnassus, Antiqu. Rom., 11,50,3;
Tacitus, Annal. X V , 4 1 , 1 ; 74,1 and Halsberghe (1972), chap. 2.
s
Halsberge (1972), pp. 8 4 88.
THE EMERGENCE OF IMPERIAL AND CATHOLIC ORDER 313
one m o r e image or aspect of the o n e light b e y o n d t h e m all, j u s t as

d e a d a n d deified e m p e r o r s stood for the collective a n d not individual
imperial virtues. T h e conspiracy that swept h i m away in A . D . 222,
l a u n c h e d by J u l i a M a m a e a his a u n t a n d h e r son Severus Alexander,
his cousin, was not to halt the syncretistic d e v e l o p m e n t that was to
6
lead to a solar m o n o t h e i s m reflected in a universal m o n a r c h y .
O u r thesis has b e e n that the authority structure of Christian c o m
munities that were to form the G r e a t C h u r c h developed, as contra-
cultures develop, in dialectical relationship to the authority structure
of the wider culture in which they arise. W e must n o w ask h o w the
5
developments in the Imperial Cult witnessed in Elagabalus p a g a n
empire found their reflection in the Christian R o m a n C o m m u n i t y
of Callistus a n d his a n o n y m o u s o p p o n e n t , the a u t h o r of the Elenchos.
PART B. CALLISTUS, M O N A R C H BISHOPS AND MONARCHIANISM
W e have already emphasised h o w the process of theological reflection

within early Christian communities at the e n d of the second cen
tury paralleled such p a g a n developments (7C). A similar, parallel
process of syncretism reflected in C h u r c h O r d e r was also proceed
ing. I have already m e n t i o n e d the C l e m e n t i n e Homilies, in which
J a c o b e a n a n d Petrine traditions flow together into a unity expressed
cryptogramically in the p s e u d o n y m o u s letters with which this work
begins (7C 1). But with the d o c u m e n t s in which Callistus prefigures,
we are in a position to evaluate specifically developments in the
authority structure of the Christian c o m m u n i t y that directly parallel
the Elagabalan reformation.
8B 1. Callistus' revolution in Church Order
Callistus, as I have a r g u e d in detail elsewhere, was n o t a P o p e in

the later sense b u t presided over a g r o u p of house churches with
loose b o n d s of i n t e r c o m m u n i o n between the presiding e7UGK07to<;-
7
7tpeaPuT£po<; of each individual c o m m u n i t y . T h e presbyters, like their
counterparts in the Jewish synagogue, did m e e t formally for discus
8
sions, a h e a t e d e x a m p l e of which is found in El. I X , 1 2 , 1 5 - 1 6 .
6
Ibid. Chapter 5.
7
Brent (1995), pp. 3 8 8 - 4 5 7 .
8
Ibid. p p . 4 2 4 - 4 3 1 .
314 CHAPTER EIGHT
T h e y did have at their h e a d a chairman-secretary, w h o , as L a m p e

9
also a r g u e d , supervised the distribution o f letters from e x t e r n a l
C h u r c h e s amongst the house-churches, a n d w h o w a s responsible f o r
writing replies w h e r e necessary on behalf of all the groups. C l e m e n t
of R o m e h a d b e e n such a figure, a n d , if n o t identical with h i m , also
the C l e m e n t of H e r m a s Vis. II, 4 , 2 ~ 3 , w h o h a d such a function
10
entrusted to h i m ( e T U T e T p o m a i ) as his ministry.
T h e p u r p o s e of Callistus' reformation was to r e d u c e the semi-
a u t o n o m o u s congregations to a m o n a r c h i c a l whole with himself as
m o n a r c h - b i s h o p at the centre. His m e t h o d in executing the revolu
tion was to exercise a policy of leniency in matters of discipline.
Callistus was p r e p a r e d to a d m i t to his h o u s e - c h u r c h those w h o h a d
been e x c o m m u n i c a t e d f o r various sins from o t h e r house-churches in
R o m e . T h o s e house-churches h a d always, as Ignatius' Romans, insc.
(TT\ e K K ^ n o i o c . . . ring K a i 7ipoKd0r|xai e v xon& xcopiou Tcopaicov), or f o r
that matter Paul's Romans 16, make clear, regarded themselves together
n o t as separate churches b u t constituting the o n e c h u r c h of R o m e .
A m a r k of this unity was i n t e r c o m m u n i o n m a r k e d by the e x c h a n g e
of the fermentum between themselves.
A g r o u p such as the Q u a r t o d e c i m a n s h a d b e e n e x c o m m u n i c a t e d ,
a n d the m e a n s was p r e s u m a b l y that the o t h e r congregations ceased
11
to exchange the fermentum with t h e m . M a r c i o n a n d Valentinus h a d
12
left, with their followers, of their o w n a c c o r d . It is against such a
backcloth that we m u s t u n d e r s t a n d Callistus' strategy. His offence,
in the eyes of the a u t h o r of the Elenchos, was n o t that Callistus was
an anti-Pope erected against his o w n lawful p a p a c y . T h i s a u t h o r
never claims to possess himself w h a t Callistus h a d only t h o u g h t ,
according to h i m , that he n o w possessed as the object of his a m b i
13
tions a n d the reforms which he initiated. Callistus h a d r a t h e r b r o
ken the disciplinary convention of n o t c o m m u n i c a t i n g with those
w h o m another presiding presbyter of another house-church has excom-
9
P. Lampe, D i e stadtromischen Christen in d e n ersten beiden Jahrhunderten,
in WUKT 2,18 (1989), cf. Brent (1995), p p . 3 8 8 - 4 1 2 .
10
Hermas Vis. II, 4 , 2 - 3 and Lampe (1989), pp. 3 3 5 - 3 3 7 cf. A. Brent, Pseudonymity
and Charisma in the Ministry of the Early Church, in Aug 2 7 , 3 (1987), p p . 3 4 7 - 3 7 6
which appeared at the same time as the first edition o f his book. See also Brent
(1995), pp. 4 1 0 - 4 3 4 .
11
Eusebius, H.E. V , 2 4 , 1 5 and Brent (1995), p p . 4 1 2 - 4 1 5 .
12
Brent (1995), pp. 4 1 8 - 4 2 1 ; L a m p e (1989), pp. 3 3 1 - 3 3 2 .
11
El. IX, 12,15: vop(^(ov TeiDxriKevai oi) eQr|paxo without here specifying xov xfjc;
e7ucnco7rii<; Bpovov as in IX, 11,1. See also Brent (1995), p. 4 1 9 and p. 4 2 7 .
m u n i c a t e d . It was this convention that clearly constituted the "cus

14
t o m a r y b o u n d a r y (opoq)" that Callistus was o v e r s t e p p i n g .
8B 1.1. The charges against Callistus

T h e once or twice widowed clergy that Callistus allowed to r e m a r r y
twice o r three times h a d previously clearly c o m m u n i c a t e d with the
house-group of the a u t h o r of EL Callistus clearly asserted they suffered
n o i m p e d i m e n t such as that i m p o s e d by w h a t was to b e c o m e the
N e w T e s t a m e n t d e m a n d that a bishop or d e a c o n be " h u s b a n d of
15
one wife (uiaq yuvancoq a v 8 p a ) . " U n i o n s b e t w e e n patrician ladies
a n d household slaves or freedmen were allowed by h i m . S o m e w h a t
casuistically, Pseudo-Hippolytus claims that this lead to the c o m m i t
ting of m o r t a l sin after baptism.
T h e m o r t a l sins of adultery a n d m u r d e r w e r e , he claims, encour
aged. "Adultery (uoi%eia)" he a p p a r e n d y claims is c o m m i t t e d by a
w i d o w e d clergyman w h e n he remarries, or is indeed a n apt descrip
tion of "fornication (rcopveiot)" w h e n c o m m i t t e d c o n t r a r y to R o m a n
16
law with a s l a v e . M u r d e r (cpoveia) results from a b o r t i o n s w h i c h
s o m e p a t r i c i a n w o m e n s o u g h t in view of capital legal sanctions
17
following the conception of a child from such a u n i o n . Callistus
was also a p p a r e n d y to be held responsible for Elkasite second b a p
tism in that he h a d created the climate in w h i c h m o r t a l sins could
be absolved after baptism, a n d thus even second baptism itself be
18
justified.
Callistus' strategy of relaxing discipline p r o v e d a very successful
one. It achieved his m a i n objective of centralising ecclesiastical p o w e r
on himself a n d his successors, such as his predecessors, including
C l e m e n t , h a d never wielded in their secretary general's office over
other house-churches. It is of course paradoxical that the loosening
of discipline s h o u l d h a v e h a d this e n d b u t , vis a vis t h e o t h e r
e7UGKorcoi-7tpeapUT£poi, it u n d o u b t e d l y did. Callistus was m a k i n g n o
threats. His were simply acts of forgiveness a n d reconciliation. Like
Tertullian's adversary, w h o m we believe was in fact Callistus h i m
self, he could q u o t e often Romans 14,14, a n d a d d that "the sons of
14
EL I X , 1 2 , 2 0 - 2 1 and 2 5 , cf. Brent (1995), pp. 4 1 7 - 4 1 8 ; pp. 4 3 2 - 4 3 6 .
15
Ibid. 1 2 , 2 1 - 2 2 a n d 1 Tim. 3,2, cf. Brent (1995), p. 5 1 8 .
16
Ibid. 1 2 , 2 4 - 2 5 cf. Brent (1995), p p . 5 2 0 - 5 2 3 .
17
U l p i a n , Dig., I, 9,8, cf Brent (1995), p. 5 2 1 , particularly references in footnote
101.
18
El. I X , 12,6 a n d 13, 1-4.
316 CHAPTER EIGHT
G o d ought to be compassionate a n d p e a c e m a k e r s , giving in return

19
just as Christ has given to us, not j u d g i n g that we be not j u d g e d . "
Faced with a growing c o m m u n i t y composed of e x c o m m u n i c a n t s from
other house-churches w h o n o w flooded into the school of Callistus,
w h a t could the other e7ciaK07coi-7cpeo|3uxepoi possibly do?
T h e y could refuse to exchange the fermentum as a n act of e x c o m
munication, thus placing themselves in the w r o n g a n d m a k i n g t h e m
selves righteous minorities. O r they could simply acquiesce in the
new situation. If they took the latter course however, their a u t h o r
ity was considerably diminished since they were h a n d i n g over to
Callistus the right to d e t e r m i n e the discipline of the c o m m u n i t y a n d
the conditions of c o m m u n i o n . If they took the former course, in an
increasingly minority position, they would also suffer diminution of
authority if Callistus' g r o u p c o n t i n u e d to grow. A n d if i n d e e d he
h a p p e n e d also to be, like C l e m e n t in H e r m a s Vis. II, 4,2~3, the p a r
ticular £7UGK07i;o<;-7ip£oPuT£po<; with the entrusted ministry of writing
to external churches in the n a m e of the R o m a n C h u r c h as a whole,
then his growing central authority would also b e , by default, rein
forced by this position as he w o u l d b e , in t h e eyes of e x t e r n a l
churches, the best k n o w n clerical figure.
Such then were the events of t h e ecclesiastical reformation taking
place c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s l y with the reformation of the Imperial Cult
by Elagabalus a n d its political repercussions. But there are two ques
tions related to o u r overall concerns that we n o w n e e d to ask.
1. W h a t b r o a d e r justification did Callistus give for his policy of

reform, a n d h o w does this further illuminate h o w he saw the p u r
pose of his reformation?
2. H o w did those reforms a n d their rationale reflect the reforms of
Elagabalus a n d their purpose?
I shall n o w a r g u e that the answers to b o t h these questions are inter

related. W e c a n only expose Callistus' true p u r p o s e by r e a d i n g this
off against the b r o a d e r cultural a n d political events of his time, p a r
ticular those represented by Elagabalus, w h i c h gives his acts p u r p o s e
a n d motive.
19
Tertullian, De Pudic, 2,2 where, together with Rom. 14,14 (= El. I X , 12,22),
are q u o t e d Mat. 7,1 and Lk. 6,37; cf. Brent (1995), p p . 5 1 7 - 5 2 5 .
8B 1.1.1. Callistus' broader justification

W e are d e p e n d e n t primarily on Callistus' o p p o n e n t , the a u t h o r of
the Elenchos, w h o m , as we have seen, uses e x t r e m e casuistry to p r o
duce a biased account of his claims. But we c a n also, I believe, use
Tertullian w h o b o t h in the Adversus Praxeam, a n d in his attack on the
"edict" of the episcopus episcoporum a n d pontifex maximus, is in fact attack
ing Callistus. T h e m a i n g r o u n d s against such a n identification were
always t h a t an early third century p o p e could not issue universal
edicts so that Tertullian's attack h a d to be u p o n a purely local bishop.
But, as I have a r g u e d in detail elsewhere, m y identification does not
d e p e n d o n Callistus having functioned as a p o p e in the later sense.
A factionalised c o m m u n i t y at R o m e in tension between its various
house churches, a n d raising such questions as absolution for m o r t a l
sin after baptism a n d clerical r e m a r r i a g e , could not fail to d r a w it
self to the attention of a similar c h u r c h in N o r t h Africa divided by
a M o n t a n i s m that h a d not yet b r o k e n completely from the great
20
C h u r c h . Tertullian himself does m e n t i o n the contesseratio hospitalitatis
b r o u g h t by a Christian travelling from one Christian c o m m u n i t y to
a n o t h e r such as frequendy occurred between R o m e a n d N o r t h Africa.
T h e conditions of absolution as of ordination would i m p a c t u p o n
21
such signs of i n t e r c o m m u n i o n present at this early p e r i o d .
Let us look therefore at w h a t Callistus was claiming. H e was claim
ing that the C h u r c h would be a mixed congregation such as the ark
of N o a h in which clean a n d unclean animals were combined together.
A n o t h e r proof-text for his policy was the Parable of the W h e a t a n d
2 2
the T a r e s . F r o m the a u t h o r of £7.'s m o r e p u r i t a n i c a l position,
Callistus can be m a d e to say that the clean a n d unclean should exist
both together in the C h u r c h . But n o d o u b t Callistus would have
h a d a n o t h e r reason. His was a policy of c o m p r e h e n d i n g a wide diver
sity of views a n d positions within a c o m m o n unity. In that respect
he reflected the general Severan political policy that we have oudined,
2 0
S e e D . Rankin, Tertullian and the Church, (Cambridge: U . P . 1995), p p . 3 5 - 3 6 ff.
for a c o g e n t restatement of the argument that in De Anima, 9,4 Tertullian is describ
i n g a M o n t a n i s t p r o p h e t e s s h a v i n g private visions d u r i n g the n o r m a l , catholic
Eucharist a n d only rehearsing these w h e n the Montanist group within the catholic
congregation meets afterwards by itself. Cf. U . N e y m e y r , D i e christlichen Lehrer
im zweiten Jahrhundert: Ihr Lehrtatigkeit, ihr Selbstverstandnis, und ihre Geschichte,
in Suppl. VCh 4 (1989), pp. 1 2 9 - 1 3 1 . See also Brent (1995), pp. 5 3 8 - 5 3 9 .
21
Tertullian, De Praesc. Haer. 2 0 , 7 - 9 cf. Brent (1995), pp. 5 0 5 - 5 0 9 .
22
El. I X , 1 2 , 2 2 - 2 3 .
318 CHAPTER EIGHT
if not the m o r e radical a n d forced imposition of that policy repre

sented by his c o n t e m p o r a r y e m p e r o r Elagabalus.
8B 1.1.2. Callistus and Elagabalus' reformation

W e have a r g u e d that c o n t e m p o r a r y imperial policy was reflected in
a n ontology of uovapxia. Callistus d e f e n d e d a C h r i s t i a n form of
M o n a r c h i a n i s m that we have seen to be present in the apologists,
a n d e m p l o y e d by t h e m in conscious awareness of the relationship
b e t w e e n politics a n d ontology. C o n s e q u e n t l y they could imply that,
if a justification of ontological uovapxia was i n c o h e r e n t , t h e n so
would be the principle of political uovapxia. Callistus argued, accord
ing to his o p p o n e n t :
Of that he says the Son himself is also the Father (on 8e Kai xov auxov
uiov eivai Aiyei Kai rcaxepa), no one is ignorant (ouSeiq dyvoei). For he
speaks as follows (Aiyei yap ouxcoq): when then the Father has not been
born (oxe pev ouv pri yeyevrixo 6 rcaxnp), he is jusdy called "Father" (8iKaico(;
rcaxriprcpocrriyopeuxo).But when he is pleased to experience birth from
the virgin (oxe 8e t|u86icnae yeveaiv EK rcapGevou upopeivai), the Father,
being begotten (yevvr|0ei<; 6rcaxTip),becomes himself Son of himself, and
not of someone different (mbq eyevexo auxoq eauxou, oux exepou). Thus
he thinks (ouxcoq youv 8oKei) he has established the monarchia (povapxiav
auviaxav), asserting that Father and Son subsist as one and the same
being (ev Kai xo auxo (pdaKcov u r c d p x e i v Ttaxepa Kai uiov), becoming not
different the one from the other (yivopevov oux exepov e£ exepou), but
the same from himself (aXX auxov e£ eauxou).
Elenchos IX, 10, 10-11.
W e see here w h a t was n o d o u b t Callistus' o w n expression of his aim,

namely uovapxiav auviaxav. It is impossible that such a n expression
could be or o u g h t to b e dissociated from the conceptual w e b that,
by the e n d of the second century, formed the backcloth to the dis
cussion of cosmic a n d social order, P a g a n or Christian, imperial or
apologist. S u c h a t e r m c a m e already value-laden, a n d we have seen
h o w T a t i a n c a n accuse the Greeks of d e n y i n g uovapxia in a n i m p e
rial a n d political sense because their polytheism c a n n o t support their
ontological case for a single origin (7C 2.3.1). W e have seen h o w
for A t h e n a g o r a s the earthly k i n g d o m of father M a r c u s Aurelius a n d
his son C o m m o d u s is a reflection of the heavenly k i n g d o m of F a t h e r
a n d Son (7C 2.3.2). In establishing the uovapxia against the alleged
ditheism of the a u t h o r of El. a n d his g r o u p , Callistus was following
23
the p a t t e r n set by writers such as T a t i a n against p o l y t h e i s m .
23
El. I X , 1 2 , 1 5 - 1 6 .
T h e r e a r e , however, several points to be m a d e in d e m o n s t r a t i o n

of t h e m o r e t h a n accidental relationship b e t w e e n Callistus' refor
m a t i o n a n d that of Elagabalus. W e see in t h e following examples
clear reflections of the latter in t h e former.
8B 1.3.1. Pontifex M a x i m u s and episcopus episcoporum

W h e n Tertullian attacks Callistus in these terms, he is clearly c o m
p a r i n g t h e latter's activity a n d claims with those of t h e reigning
R o m a n E m p e r o r . Pontifex Maximus is clearly a p a g a n title for t h e
E m p e r o r as High Priest of the R o m a n Pantheon in which the Imperial
Cult was increasingly e m e r g i n g as central. T h e bishop of R o m e was
not as yet given this tide. F u r t h e r m o r e , Tertullian mentions a n edict
of this bishop which clearly the bishop of R o m e would n o t be able
to deliver in C a r t h a g e . It will n o t d o , however, o n this account to
substitute a shadowy Agrippinus as local bishop of C a r t h a g e in o r d e r
to fill this role. Tertullian wishes to represent at all costs the R o m a n
bishop as b e h a v i n g like t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y e m p e r o r , a n d so he uses
highly m e t a p h o r i c a l language in which Callistus is represented as if
24
he were a n e m p e r o r doing such t h i n g s .
W e emphasised in connection with the theology of Ignatius of
Antioch t h e essentially p a g a n b a c k g r o u n d of his regarding bishops,
priests, a n d deacons as eiKove<; of t h e saving mystery of the incar
nate g o d h e a d (6A 2.1). I n this respect he reflected t h e position in
the East w h e r e "priests a n d priestesses personified the deity w h o m
25
they s e r v e d . " It is in such a context that H a l s b e r g h e locates t h e
m a r r i a g e of Elagabalus with the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa. S h e
represented Vesta as he represented Elagabal.
T h e palladium of M i n e r v a - A t h e n a , taken o u t of the temple of t h e
former, was transported to Elagabalium o n the Palatine. Vesta's shrine
contained n o image of herself. T h u s the marriage of priest a n d priest
ess was in fact regarded by h i m as a theogamy. T h e i r children would
be the representatives of c o m b i n e d divinities, a n d Sol Invictus would
thus exhibit the divine essence also of Vesta-Minerva. "I did this
(TOUT' eTcoinaa) in o r d e r that, of course (iva 8f| Kai) godlike children
(Georcperceiq 7tai8e<;) might b e b o r n from m e t h e high-priest a n d from
this high-priestess (EK xe epou xou apxiepecoq EK xe xauxnq xf|<; dpxiepeiaq
26
yevvcovxai)." His justification for this act to t h e Senate was that " a
2 4
Tertullian, De Pudic. 1,1-2 cf. Brent (1995), pp. 5 0 4 - 5 0 5 .
2 5
Halsberghe (1972), p. 9 0 .
2 h
D i o (Xiphilinus) 8 0 , 9,3.
320 CHAPTER EIGHT
m a r r i a g e of a priest a n d a priestess was a thing of reverence (oePda-

27
uiov eivai yduov iepecoq xe K a i iepeiaq)." T h u s Elagabalus justified his
m a r r i a g e to the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa as a t h e o g a m y that
united t h r o u g h their sacred a n d divine offspring the c o m b i n e d divini
ties of Sol Invictus a n d V e s t a - M i n e r v a . A line of divine priests incar
nating the essences of the male a n d female divinities into a unity or
povap%ia would thus result. In that justification, the claim for b o t h
to b e dp%i£p£t><; a n d dpîepeia n o w c o m b i n e d was clearly present.
Such a controversy is m i r r o r e d too in the dispute between Callistus
a n d the a u t h o r of EL Callistus is c l a i m i n g the ultimate right to
absolve over presbyters of the o t h e r house groups. A n d for the first
time in the history of the apostolic ministry images of dpxiepaxeia
n o w b e c o m e i m p o r t a n t . I have a r g u e d elsewhere that the notion that
J a m e s ' authority was sacerdotal, a n d that the episcopal succession
28
lists were modelled on those of J e w i s h H i g h Priests is misconceived.
But in the literature of the H i p p o l y t a n c o m m u n i t y , in particular,
that composite work published u n d e r the tide of the Apostolic Tradition,
Aaronic a n d sacerdotal images of the bishop's office begin to fuse
with Mosaic images t h a t h a d characterised that office as essential
one of a teaching succession. T h a t fusion is one of the consequences
29
of the Callistan r e f o r m a t i o n .
Certainly the a u t h o r of EL insists o n a plurality of successors to
the apostles. As he says, referring to himself as o n e a m o n g s t others
in the R o m a n c o m m u n i t y by use of the collective " w e " :
We have become their successors (cbv ripeiq 5id8oxoi xuyxdvovxeq), and

we participate in the same grace of both high priesthood and teach
ing, (xnq xe auxfjq xdpixoq pexeôvxeq dpxiepaxeiaq xe Kai 8i8aoKaA,ia<;), and,
being reckoned as guardians of the Church (Kai.cppoupoi xfjc; eKK^r|cria<;
A.eta>ytGpevoi), we neither let our eye slumber (OUK ocpGa^pfjq vuoxd-
£opev), nor do we keep silence about orthodox discourse (ou8e Xoyov
6p06v aiconcopev). . . .
Elenchos I, prooem. 6
In the confluent currents of imagery, Mosaic a n d Aaronic, Callistus

is claiming t h a t at the h e a d of the tradition must stand not simply
a single Moses w h o could have b e e n Christ, b u t a sacerdotal rep-
2 7
Herodian V,6,2.
2 8
A. Brent, D i o g e n e s Laertius and the Apostolic Succession, in JEH 4 4 , 3 (1993),
pp. 3 6 7 - 3 8 9 ; Brent (1995), p p . 4 7 7 - 4 8 1 .
29
Ap. Trad. 3 a n d 7 cf. Brent (1995), pp. 471 4 9 2 .
resentative of Moses (Christ), w h o , like a n Ignatian bishop or indeed

like Elagabalus stood as a n icon of the divine being t h a t he r e p r e
sented. But according to Pseudo-Hippolytus, all the presiding £7C{OKO7COI-
rcpeoPuxepoi could be said not simply to participate in the priesthood
b u t in the high priesthood (xr\<; xe am?[q %dpixo<; pexeôvxec; dpxiep-
axeiaq xe Kai 8i8aoKaA,ia<;). Callistus could not simply m a k e himself
the s u p r e m e t e a c h e r by claiming t h a t such a n office n e e d e d to be
consecrated in the person of a single dpîepeix;.
But Elagabalus was clearly claiming the indivisibility of the dp%-
tepaxeia. T h e povapxia required the drcoppoia from a single dp%f|,
Sol Invictus. T o secure a single hierocratic iconography, children m u s t
be p r o d u c e d (Georcperceic; 7cai8eq) w h o were icons of Sol Invictus incor
p o r a t i n g Vesta-Minerva. Callistus likewise is c o n c e r n e d with povap%ia
in which one source of p o w e r within the g o d h e a d corresponds to
one source of authority over the fractionalized R o m a n c o m m u n i t y .
H e will secure this, as h a d Caracalla, by pointing to the d p / i e p a x e i a
as flowing t h r o u g h him as his high-priest, as opposed to existing as
a n abstract principle in which all could generally a n d without gra
dation participate. F o r h i m , as for Ignatius, there could b e only o n e
H i g h Priest a n d therefore, w h e n the sacerdotal is imposed u p o n the
Mosaic, o n e leader emerges over the rcpeopuxepoi from whose spirit
30
their authority was d e r i v e d .
T h e title episcopus episcoporum, w h i c h goes with the title Pontifex
Maximus, reflects clearly Tertullian's criticism of w h a t was h a p p e n
ing specifically within the c h a n g i n g p a t t e r n of authority within the
R o m a n C h u r c h . But that such a title c a n be seen to b e p a r t of the
c o m m o n P a g a n a n d Christian p r o g r a m of the early third century,
in which the real c h a r a c t e r of historical m o v e m e n t s a n d ideas could
be established with reference to their ultimate historical origin, can
be seen from its use in the C l e m e n t i n e literature. H e r e J a m e s in
called episcopus episcoporum in the p s e u d o n y m o u s letter of Peter to
31
h i m . But, as we have a r g u e d , in D i o g e n e s ' historiography, the two
successions are fused into o n e by m e a n s of a fictional epistolary
e x c h a n g e . A fictional e x c h a n g e of letters is also the literary device
which the Clementines share with Diogenes Laertios. T h e e x c h a n g e
of letters express the validity, w h e t h e r of Christianity or of G r e e k
Brent (1995), p. 4 7 3 .
Petr. ad lac. insc. cf. Brent (1995), pp. 512513.
322 CHAPTER EIGHT
philosophy, by reference to a n ultimate historical dpxu., an Urzeit in

which the e x c h a n g e took place a n d such a unity arose (7C 1.1).
O n c e m o r e we find ourselves at the centre of discourse a b o u t ulti
m a t e origins that is clearly controlling b o t h Christian a n d P a g a n
o n t o l o g y a n d t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g ideology of b o t h I m p e r i a l a n d
Christian O r d e r .
Callistus therefore a p p e a r e d to Tertullian as b e h a v i n g like a p a g a n
Pontifex Maximus in trying to b e c o m e episcopus episcoporum. In so doing
he, as putative bishop of R o m e , was b u t m a k i n g similar claims to
those of the e m p e r o r Elagabalus, as Pontifex Maximus, of a syncretism
2
that found its final expression in the Baal of E m e s a as Sol Invictus?
As a M o n a r c h i a n theologian, Callistus was looking for the ultimate
principle in the g o d h e a d from which all lesser beings or persons were
derived just as Elagabalus could find that principle in the cult of Sol
Invictus. Both e m p e r o r a n d putative p o p e were reflecting, in their
own way, ideals of imperial unity in the societies over which they
claimed to h a v e the right to rule absolutely.
Let us n o w turn to the second way in which Callistus is seen to
be associated with the events of his time, a n d to reflect imperial pol
icy in his ecclesiastical policy.
8B 1.1.2.3. Social values of Callistus a n d Pseudo-Hippolytus

T h e highly contrived piece of casuistry by m e a n s of which the a u t h o r
of El. convicts Callistus of absolving the m o r t a l sin of m u r d e r reads
as follows:
For he even allowed women (Kai yap Kai yuvaiîv ercexpevj/ev), if they
should be without husbands (ei dvav8poi elev) and they burned due to
their youthful age for a man (Kai TjXtKia ye xe eiq av8pa eKKaioivxo), they
[being] of noble rank (a! ev dîa), if they were unwilling to degrade
their rank (ei XT^V eauxcov dîav r\v pfj poutanvxo KaGaipeiv) through legal
marriage (8id xou vopipcoq yapr|8Tivai), to take someone whom they
should choose as a bed partner (e'xeiv eva, ov av aipf|acovxai, ouyKoixov),
whether household slave or free (eixe oiKexnv eixe etauGepov), to treat
this person (Kai xouxov Kpiveiv) as in place of a husband (dvxi dv5po<;)
even though she was not married by law (xf|v \n\ vopcp yeyaprjpevriv). In
consequence (ev6ev) women who were so called believers began to try
(ripâvxo ercixeipeiv ai rciaxai Xeyopevai) even to bind themselves round
with medicines against conception (dxoKioic; (pappaKoi<; Kai xa> rcepiSeo-
2
•* For the use o f these terms in the cult of Sol Invictus, a n d their association with
the Emperor, see Halsberghe (1972), p. 77.
peioGai) in order to abort what they had conceived (itpbq xo xd ovX-

taxpPavopeva KaxaPdMeiv) because they were unwilling either to have
a child from a slave (8id xo pr|xe EK bo\)Xo\) fiovXzoQai e'xetv xeicvov) or
from a social inferior (pr|xe e£ evxeXotx;), because of their noble and
superior birth (6id xrjv oruxcov euyeveiav Kai vrcepoyKov ouaiav).
Elenchos IX, 12,24-25
As Preysing p o i n t e d out, the a u t h o r here reveals a clash of social

values between Callistus' g r o u p a n d his own. His critique assumes
33
a senatorial a n d patrician perspective on Callistus' activity. For the
leader of one g r o u p of w h a t is an illegal sect to accuse the other of
not following p a g a n law o n m a t r i m o n y seems bizarre, b u t that is
precisely to w h a t the criticism a m o u n t s : Callistus h a d sanctioned a
u n i o n involving a w o m a n xf|V pr| vopcp yeyapnpevr|v, t h a t is to say
p a g a n m a r r i a g e law. N o d o u b t , as Dollinger pointed out, Callistus
would h a v e replied that there w e r e n o distinctions after b a p t i s m
34
between " m a l e a n d female, b o n d n o r free."
T h e writer clearly attributes the quest for dxoKioc cpdppam to the
p r o p e r r e p u g n a n c e of "ladies of noble rank (ai ev dîa)" not to dilute
their "noble a n d superior birth (TX\V auxcov euyeveiav K a i urcepoyKov
o u a i a v ) " with p r o g e n y "from s o m e o n e socially inferior (e£ euxeXouq)."
U n d o u b t e d l y this represents the patrician r e p u g n a n c e that he feels
a n d which he attributes to the ladies in question. But for t h e m child
birth in this situation was not necessary a question of r e p u g n a n c e
towards offspring from a p a r t n e r w h o was euxeAriq, which m e a n s lit
erally "of depleted value", n o r indeed a desire to avoid d e g r a d i n g
their r a n k (XTJV . . . dîav . . . KaGaipeiv). R a t h e r the quest for abor
tions, a n d hence the cpoveia of their u n b o r n children, was because
they as w o m e n of senatorial r a n k lived u n d e r the t h r e a t of capital
35
p u n i s h m e n t for cohabitation with a slave (oiKexriq). Certainly m a r
36
riage with a freedman was illegal, as the a u t h o r claims.
3 3
K. v o n Preysing, D e r Leserkreis der P h i l o s o p h o u m e n a Hippolyts, in %KTh 38
(1914), p p . 4 2 1 - 4 4 5 .
34
Gal. 3,28 cf. I. v o n Dollinger, Hippolytus und Kallistus, oder Die romische Kirche in
der ersten Halfte des dritten Jahrhunderts, (Regensburg: J o s e p h M a n z 1853), p. 2 5 4 .
3 5
In Justinian, Dig. I, 9,8, U l p i a n , the c o n t e m p o r a r y o f the author o f EL, states
that a matrona was subject to the death penalty for sexual relations with slaves.
3 6
Justinian, Dig. X X I I I , 2,42: "Modestinus, Bk 1 D e ritu nuptiarum: Si senatoris
filia neptis proneptis libertino vel qui artem ludicram exercuit cuiusue pater materue
id fecerit nupserit, nuptiae n o n erunt," w h i c h clearly denies the validity of the mar
riage of ai ev a£(a (= senatoris filia) to an etavGepoq (= libertinus) or even a free ei)xeA,f|<;
(vel qui artem ludicram).
324 CHAPTER EIGHT
Certainly Elagabalus would have n o claim to share the value-

system of R o m a n patrician society. Indeed, the Severan dynasty itself
was founded o n the perfidy of the m u r d e r of Pertinax, whose n a m e
Septimius Severus b o r n with ostentatious pride as his own, by Didius
J u l i a n u s w h o lead a senatorial reaction t h a t clearly failed (A.D. 193).
J u l i a n u s ' credentials with the Senate were high d u e to his having
37
been prosecuted several times d u r i n g the reign of C o m m o d u s . But
the notion that, with a p p r o p r i a t e theological justification, senatorial
ladies should m a r r y their slaves or freedmen, despite patrician hos
tility, would n o t have a p p e a r e d as scandalous as before, in the social
e n v i r o n m e n t of the imposition of Sol Invictus Elagab as the final form
a n d definition of the Imperial Cult. Certainly such marriages would
not b e m o r e scandalous t h a n the action of the E m p e r o r as Pontifex
Maximus of the Imperial Cult of Sol Invictus m a r r y i n g a Vestal Virgin
also with a n e w a n d radical theological justification.
Certainly the senaculum mulierum, established by Elagabalus, m e n
tioned in an otherwise dubious source b u t confirmed by excavations,
was indicative of a social policy in which social roles a n d status were
38
b e c o m i n g fluid. T h e writer of the S H A mentions, moreover, the
predecessor of this senaculum being held o n certain festivals (sollem-
nibus. . . diebus). Its prior function was to provide kinswomen of the
emperors w h o h a d m a r r i e d h u s b a n d s w h o were not nobilitati with
" o r n a m e n t s of consular m a r r i a g e (consularis coniugii ornamenta)" T h e
purpose was t h a t "they should not lose their consular rank (ne inno-
bilitatae remanereni)" in consequence of such marriages. T h e a u t h o r of
EL would clearly have upheld this previous function in his desire
that cd ev oc^toc did not degrade their r a n k (xfw dîav Ka0aipeiv). But
clearly new rules, the p u r p o s e of which it is difficult to discern, were
now being developed. Upholders of traditional senatorial values might
well criticise Elagabalus for transgressing established n o r m s (opoi) of
R o m a n , p a g a n society, just as we have seen the a u t h o r of EL to
have d o n e in the case of Callistus a n d Christian society.
W e must n o w consider a third piece of evidence for how, in the
minds of c o n t e m p o r a r y observers, the events of Callistus' career p a r
alleled those of Elagabalus.
3 7
A. Birley, Septimius Severus, the African Emperor, (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode
1971), p. 154.
3 8
S H A , Elagab., 4,3 cf. A. Pasqui, R e g i o n e V I . A n t i c o edificio riconsciuto per la
sede del senaculum mulierum, in NScavAnt, A n n . 3 1 1 , 5,11 (1914), pp. 1 4 1 - 1 4 6 .
See also Halsberghe (1972), p. 70.
8B 1.1.2.4. Callistus' m a r t y r d o m a n d the fall of Elagabalus

Both the m a r t y r d o m of Callistus a n d the violent e n d of Elagabalus
took place in the same y e a r (A.D. 222). T h e r e is n o n e e d to see
Elagabalus as a definite s u p p o r t e r of Christianity, o n the shallow
basis of the S H A , a n d on the very dubious notion that his consort
a n d former Vestal Virgin, Aquilia Severa, was in fact the Severina
to which o n e work on the Statue of the H i p p o l y t a n c o m m u n i t y was
39
dedicated. M o s t of the references to d e d i c a t i o n s p o i n t to J u l i a
M a m a e a a n d h e r circle, in the next reign, that of h e r son Severus
Alexander, after Elagabalus' downfall in which she was direcdy instru
mental. Certainly the Hippolytan c o m m u n i t y addressed J u l i a M a m a e a
40
with respect. But it was otherwise with the reforms of Elagabalus,
a n d with w h a t Callistus partially against the b a c k g r o u n d of those
reforms p r o p o s e d for the Christian c o m m u n i t y .
T h a t a later martyrology will describe the events of the latter's
d e a t h in similar terms to those of Elagabalus show that the general
impression on the m i n d s of c o n t e m p o r a r i e s a n d later was that the
two figures were in some w a y associated. It is m y a r g u m e n t that t h e
sociological thesis that I have p u r s u e d a n d invoked t h r o u g h o u t this
m o n o g r a p h can explain the association without any conscious a n d
intentional links on the p a r t of the individuals participating in the
action. Christian communities form contra-cultures to the p a g a n host
culture, in p a r t imitating b o t h its social a n d its ontological con
struction of reality. But in p a r t they also reconstruct the host cul
ture, so t h a t their d e p e n d e n c e on that culture is concealed b u t n o n e
the less necessary.
T h e r e was, according to Allard, a historical core to the late Acta
1
Martyrii Sancti Callisti.* T h e r e is at all events clearly a relationship
between the descriptions of the m a n n e r of their deaths, suggesting
a clear folk m e m o r y that these were the p r o d u c t s of similar histo
rical events at a similar m o m e n t which were in some w a y related to
3 9
S H A , Elagab., 3,4 cf. M . Sordi, II Cristianesimo e R o m a , in Storia di Roma
X I X , Istituto di Studi R o m a n i , (Bologna: Cappelli 1965), p. 2 3 8
4 0
For the identification of this with a work m e n t i o n e d in T h e o d o r e t , and in
Anastasius Sinaitica, see Brent (1995), pp. 8 4 - 8 5 and p. 3 3 1 . For Julia M a m a e a ' s
role in the downful o f Elagabalus, see Halsberghe (1972), pp. 1 0 1 - 1 0 3 .
41
P. Allard, Histoire des Persecutions pendant la premiere moitie du troisieme siecle (Septime
Severe, Maximin, Dece), d'apres les documents archeologiques, (Paris: LeCoffre 1886), p p .
1 8 8 - 1 9 0 cf. H . D a l C o v o l o , I Severi e il cristianesimo: R i c e r c h e sull'ambiente
storico-istituzionale delle origini cristiane tra il s e c o n d o e il terzo secolo, in Biblioteca
di Scienze Religiose, 87 (Libreria A t h e n e o Salesiano: R o m e 1989), p. 16 and pp. 6 4 - 6 5 .
326 CHAPTER EIGHT
each other. Callistus is m a r t y r e d by being " t h r o w n t h r o u g h the win

d o w of a house (per fenestram domus praecipitari) a n d with a stone tied
to his neck (ligatoque ad collum ems saxo), s u b m e r g e d in a well (in puteum
2
demergi), a n d rubbish piled u p o n h i m (et in eo rudera cumulari)."*
After Elagabalus is slain by t h e p r a e t o r i a n g u a r d o n A l e x a n d e r
a n d M a m a e a ' s instruction, his mutilated b o d y is dragged t h r o u g h
43
the streets. T h i s , o n e source informs us, is:
in order that the soldiers might throw it into the sewer (ut id in cloa-
cam (- cloaca maxima) milites mitterent). But when the cloaca by chance
failed to take it (sed cum non cepisset cloaca fortuito), they attached a weight
that it should not float (adnexo pondere nefluitaret),and threw it into the
Tiber from the Aurelian bridge (per pontem Aemilium . . . in Tiberim abiec-
tum est), so that it could never be buried (ne umquam sepeliri posset). His
body had also been dragged around the Circus (tractum est cadaver eius
etiam per Circi spatid) before thrown into the Tiber (priusquam in Tiberim
praecipitaretur).
SHA, Elagabalus, 17, 1-3.
T h e idea that the cloaca maxima could not take his b o d y seems strange,
but clearly r e q u i r e d t h e second stage of t h r o w i n g the b o d y into the
T i b e r direct. T h e Epitomist to Cassius D i o claims that the b o d y was
t h r o w n direcdy into t h e T i b e r (eq xov rcoxctuov evepXr|0r|), b u t m e n
tions the unsuccessful a t t e m p t to escape by hiding in a chest (epeXXev
44
xvXXov e|xpA,T|0ei<; eicSpavai). It is H e r o d i a n , however, w h o gives
us t h e simplest a n d most likely original account, namely that, after
Elagabalus a n d Soaemias were d r a w n a n d mutilated: " h e was t h r o w n
into the sewers (eq xoix; 6%exouq &7t£ppi(p9r|) which r u n d o w n into the
45
river T i b e r (xouq xov Guppiv rcoxapov peovxaq)."
I n a t t e m p t i n g to reconstruct t h e true relationship b e t w e e n t h e
a c c o u n t s of t h e m a r t y r d o m of Callistus a n d t h e assassination of
Elagabalus, w e c a n b e certain only of equivalences o r n e a r equiva
lences in both descriptions. Both Callistus a n d Elagabalus are " t h r o w n
(praecipitari/praecipitaretur/drceppicpOri)" into a well o r sewer (in puteum/
4 2
Acta S. Callisti Papae Martyris R o m a e , 8, in M i g n e P.L. 10, col. 120.
4 3
S H A , Elagab., 17, 1 - 3 : "Post h o c in e u m impetus factus est atque in latrina
ad q u a m confugerat occisus. tractatus deinde per publicum; addita iniuria cadav-
eri e s t . . ." cf. D i o Cassius L X X X , 2 0 , 2 : m i oci xe K e c p o c t a x i d7t£K07tT|oav, m i xd
acbuaxa yuuvGoOevxa TO |iev T t p a k o v 8 i d 7idor|<; xfjq rcoXeox; e c \ > p T | . . a n d H e r o d i a n V ,
8,9: i d 5 e oa>|iaxa xou xe 'Avxcoviou K a i xfj<; Ioai|i(8o<; 7 i a p e 8 o a a v a v p e i v xe m i
evoppiêiv xoiq poiAouevoK; • arcep in\ KQ\X> 5 i d T c d a r i q xr\<; TioXeax; a v p e v x a . . .
4 4
D i o Cassius, 8 0 , 2 0 , 2 .
4f)
Herodian, V , 8,9.
in cloacam/kq tox>q 6x£iox>q) which in Callistus case, given the region

of the city, is clearly the sewers or cloaca maxima as it is in Elagabalus'
case. A weight was a t t a c h e d to Elagabalus' b o d y (adnexo pondere) j u s t
as a stone was tied to Callistus' neck (ligatoque ad collum eius saxo).
W e could emphasise the historicity of this " c o r e " in the m a r t y -
rology, as we have seen that Dal Covolo proposes, following Sordi
46
a n d A l l a r d . If we did so, we could consider that it was the k n o w n
relationship of Callistus a n d his policies, as favouring or enjoying
favour of the regime, t h a t lead to his d e a t h in the same revolu
tionary turmoil that saw the e n d of Elagabalus with w h o m he h a d
been associated in the p o p u l a r imagination. But there is n o n e e d to
go thus far, particularly since the policies a n d behaviour of Elagabalus
as r e c o r d e d would have b e e n equally r e p u g n a n t to Callistus as to
the a u t h o r of El T h e latter does not accuse the former of sympa
47
thising with child sacrifices countenanced by Elagabalus, even though
h e might try to m a k e h i m indirectly responsible for the m u r d e r of
the u n b o r n due to his m a r r i a g e policy.
O u r a c c o u n t in terms of contra-cultural theory does not however
require such a m e e t i n g of the m i n d s of individual participants in the
events to account for such association. It is e n o u g h that in the m i n d s
of those w h o passed on the a c c o u n t of Callistus' m a r t y r d o m there
was a consciousness that his e n d was similar to that of Elagabalus,
a n d so for t h e m there was some association between the two events.
M y application of contra-cultural social theory to the d e v e l o p m e n t
of C h u r c h O r d e r shows h o w the events could be interpreted socio
logically. T h e structure of the Christian R o m a n c o m m u n i t y in terms
of a collection of house-churches, loosely related to one another, was
u n d e r g o i n g d y n a m i c c h a n g e t h r o u g h their interaction with wider
society. T h e O r d e r of the Christian C o m m u n i t y , as we have argued,
m i r r o r e d contra-culturally the o r d e r of the Imperial Cult, reversing
some of its imagery a n d values, in o r d e r to give that c o m m u n i t y
status a n d legitimation in the eyes of its m e m b e r s that wider society
denied t h e m .
T h e social construction of reality develops in terms of a contra-
culture in marginal groups deprived of status a n d legitimation by
their host culture. It is therefore inevitable that, w h e n radical c h a n g e
4 6
See footnote 41 above.
4 7
D i o Cassius 8 0 , 11, w h e r e Sardanapalus is recorded as sacrificing boys to
Elagabalus.
328 CHAPTER EIGHT
occurs in the structure of the host culture, that c h a n g e , however

t e m p o r a r y , is a reversal of a n evolving goal. In consequence, the
contra-culture that is related dialectically with the host culture will
find itself subject to the same revolutionary forces e n d e a v o u r i n g to
c h a n g e the host culture. This has clearly h a p p e n e d in the case of
Callistus. N o d o u b t he a n d his followers would not have identified
themselves with the host culture, yet, in o r d e r to m a k e their case
against it plausible with a legitimation of their existence to t h e m
selves as well as to others, they n e e d e d the backcloth of b o t h o n t o
logy a n d political ideology derived from the host culture o n which
they were parasitic. But having p u r s u e d a n d constructed such a legit
imation, that legitimation was b o u n d to fail in the eyes of those seek
ing to change radically the direction of the host-culture. T h u s Callistus
fell, or a p p e a r e d in the eyes of his c o n t e m p o r a r i e s to fall, for simi
lar reasons a n d in a similar way to Elagabalus.
T h e a u t h o r of EL a n d his g r o u p , w h o sought to construct their
legitimacy in a different way regarding the host culture, would not
have l a m e n t e d Callistus' fate. As I have already pointed out, those
whose thinking was clearly at h o m e in the circle of J u l i a D o m n a
(7C 1.2) did not shrink from dedicating works of theological philo
sophy to J u l i a M a m a e a , m o t h e r of Severus Alexander, w h o lead the
revolution.
PART C . IN CONCLUSION:
T H E LEGACY FOR DECIUS AND CYPRIAN
T h e r e was n o concerted persecution of the Christian C h u r c h before

the fall of the Severan dynasty a n d the accession of M a x i m u s w h o ,
according to Eusebius, persecuted the leaders of the C h u r c h w h o
48
h a d befriended the former r e g i m e . Callistus died, as we have seen,
as the result of a perceived association with imperial policies that
were overthrown by revolution within the Severan dynasty itself, a n d
in the general chaos t h a t swept Elagabalus away. T h e general per
secution, w h e n it c a m e , was that of Decius T r a j a n in A . D . 2 5 1 , with
which we b e g a n o u r discussion in C h a p t e r 1.
But as F r e n d has cogently argued, the political structures in which
that persecution occurred, a n d the legitimation of those structures
Eusebius, H.E. VI, 28,1 2, cf Brent (1995), p. 8 1 ; p. 2 9 1 ; pp. 3 7 8 3 7 9 .

49
were the creation of the Severan dynasty. T h e s e religious a n d polit
ical objectives Elagabalus shared. H e simply failed in the m e a n s to
secure t h e m because of a religious fundamentalism that identified his
o w n local Baal of E m e s a with Sol Invictus, a n d thus obscured the
syncretism of a gradualist policy. Caracalla's citizenship law in A . D .
212, a n d his interpretation of his sacred role as E m p e r o r as the
source of divine p o w e r as KOOuoKpdxcop t h r o u g h which the unifying
archetypal light flowed, m a d e possible the D e c i a n persecution. If the
majority of the p o p u l a t i o n t h r o u g h o u t the R o m a n E m p i r e w e r e
inscribed o n rolls of citizens, the administrative m a c h i n e r y was in
place to secure their act of sacrificing incense at their local altar of
the Imperial Cult. If the Imperial Cult was n o w the m e a n s of sym
bolising imperial unity, a n d indeed effecting w h a t it symbolised by
the participation of all citizens, then the logic of w h a t was in effect
the s a c r a m e n t of imperial unity clearly required that participation to
be legally enforced.
O v e r against t h a t cult, as we saw also in C h a p t e r 1, C y p r i a n
placed his view of the C h r i s t i a n episcopatus, in w h i c h every local
bishop stood for the whole, like the sun's rays e m a n a t i n g from a
c o m m o n source a n d giving unity a n d light to the n a t u r a l order.
T h e i r m u t u a l recognition a n d i n t e r c o m m u n i o n constituted the unity
of the Body of Christ. At the centre of the nexus of i n t e r c o m m u
nion stood the bishop of R o m e . T h e successors of Callistus truly
were a converse reflection of the divine E m p e r o r as Pontifex Maximus,
a n d m e d i a t i n g a unifying ontological reality j u s t as finally Caracalla
a n d Elagabalus h a d claimed. T h u s Episcopal O r d e r reflected Imperial
O r d e r , n o t as a derivation or expression of it, b u t as its reverse
image in a n opposing counter-culture. T r u e Christians were not to
participate in the s a c r a m e n t of imperial unity b u t in the s a c r a m e n t
of the Body of Christ.
T h i s m o n o g r a p h has d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t C y p r i a n ' s theology of
O r d e r was not simply a n ad hoc reaction to Imperial p o w e r as m a n
ifested in the D e c i a n persecution. C y p r i a n finished a n edifice of
C h u r c h O r d e r that developed, pari passu, with Imperial O r d e r , as
the priesthood of the Christian Cult h a d developed, pari passu, with
the Imperial Cult, w h e t h e r in St. Luke or St. C l e m e n t , the Seer
4 9
W . C . H . Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church, (Oxford: Blackwell
1965), p. 3 1 2 ; idem. The Rise of Christianity, (London: D a r t o n , L o n g m a n and T o d d
1986), p. 4 4 0 . See also Dal C o v o l o (1989), pp. 5 4 - 5 5 .
330 CHAPTER EIGHT
of the Apocalypse or St. Ignatius, or indeed in St. Irenaeus or St.

Hippolytus.
T h e d y n a m i c of the development a n d its dialectic has also been
at least p a r d y explained by a sociological model of counter-culture.
But I a m a w a r e that the e m e r g e n c e of C h u r c h O r d e r supported by
a M o n a r c h i a n theology of the g o d h e a d that arose as a contra-cultural
reaction was a n heretical a n d not an o r t h o d o x theology. A n d , to the
extent that m o d e r n forms of episcopacy, of the kind that I have
attacked in a previous work, reflect such a M o n a r c h i a n basis, they
50
clearly reflect, in b o t h theology a n d practice, heretical r o o t s .
T h e e m e r g i n g o r t h o d o x doctrine of the Trinity as three persons,
each consubstantial a n d co-eternal, c a n n o t fit into the m o u l d of a
such a socially a n d culturally conditioned development. In conse
quence there m a y here be the possibility of a n a r g u m e n t for the tran
scendent grounds of divine revelation breaking into, b u t not absorbed
by, its s u r r o u n d i n g culture.
But that must be a n o t h e r a r g u m e n t a n d a n o t h e r story.
1 0
A. Brent, Ecumenical Relations and Cultural Episcopates, in AThR 72,3 (1990),
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Trankle H . , Livius und Polybios, (Basle/Stuttgart: S c h w a b e 1977).
Trebilco P., Asia, in T h e Book o f Acts in Its G r a e c o - R o m a n Setting, (Ed. W J . Gill
a n d C. G e m p f ) , in The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting, Vol. 2 (Michigan
a n d Carlisle: E e r d m a n s / P a t e r n o s t e r 1994), p p . 2 9 2 - 3 6 2 .
Treitinger O . , Die ostromische Kaiser- und Reichs-idee nach ihrer Gestaltung im hofischen
êremoniell vom ostromischen Staats- und Reichsgedanken, (Darmstadt: G e n t n e r 1956).
Trevett C , Prophecy and Anti-Episcopal Activity: A T h i r d Error C o m b a t t e d by
Ignatius? in JEH 3 4 (1983), pp. 1 6 5 - 1 7 1 .
T u r c a n R., Heliogabale precurseur de Constantin? in Bulletin de VAssociation Guillaume
Bude, 1 (1988) pp. 3 9 - 5 2 .
Vaillant M., D u titre de N e o c o r e dans les medailles frappees sous les empereurs
romains, in Histoire de VAcademie royale des inscriptions, 2 (1717), 5 4 5 - 5 6 1 .
BIBLIOGRAPHY 343
V a n g g a a r d J . H . , The Flamen: A Study in the History and Sociology of Roman Religion,

( C o p e n h a g e n : M u s e u m T u s c u l a n u m Press).
Vermaseren M J . , Corpus Cultus Cybelae Attidisque (CCCA), in EPRO 5 0 (1978-1987)
V o l . I (1987) Asia Minor; II (1982) Graecia atque Insulae; III (1977) Italia-
Latium; I V (1978) Italia-Aliae Provinciae.
V e r m a s e r e n M.J. (Ed.), D i e Orientalischen Religionen i m R o m e r r e i c h , in EPRO 9 3
(1981).
W a c h s m u t h C , Ioannis Stobaei, anthobgii libri duo priores qui inscribi solent Ecbgae Physicae
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Wallace-Hadrill A., T h e Emperor and his Virtues, in Historia 30 (1981), pp. 2 9 8 - 3 1 4 .
, R o m e ' s Cultural Revolution, in JRomS 79 (1989), p p . 1 5 7 - 1 6 4 . ;
Walasky P.W., "And so W e C a m e to R o m e " : T h e Political Perspective o f St. Luke,
in SNTSMS 4 9 (1983).
Walsh P.G., Lwy: his Historical Aims and Methods, 2nd Ed. (Bristol: Classical Press
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Walter E. Victor, From Counterculture to Subculture: an Episode in the History
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Whittaker M . (Ed.), Tatian, Oratio ad Graecos, a n d fragments, in OECT (1982).
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University of M i c h i g a n Press 1990).
INDICES
1. B I B L I C A L CITATIONS
O L D TESTAMENT
Genesis 13,22 156

2,9 178 45.5 292
31,31-35 241 46,9 292
Exodus 58.6 105
30,1 a n d 7 88 60,17 148
61,1-2 105
Leviticus
2 92 Daniel
2,33-45 55
Numbers 9,27 79
24,17 186 10,10-21 219
1 Samuel 12,1 219
2,7 155 Hosea
2 Samuel 11,1 96
22,3 92 Joel
1 Chronicles 2,2 79
13,10-11 88 Micah
23,16 88 5,2 83
Psalms Malachi
2,7 96 3 156
2,7-9 186 3,2-6 100
17,18-19 92 3,22-23 100
40,3 156
78,25 182 Wisdom
118 115 3,1-9 197
Proverbs 2 Baruch
20,27 153 6,7-10 182
29,8 182
Isaiah
2,1-4 100 2 Maccabees
7,14 57, 96 2,4-7 182
10,33 155 1 Enoch
11,1-11 100 6,11 197
NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew 2,15 96
1,18-25 95, 96 3,7-12 100
1,22-23 96 3,17 96
2,1 83 7,1 316
2,1-2 96 9,28 131
2,5-6 96 10,1-23 80
348 INDICES
10,2 132 1,5 75

10,13 114 1,5-25 88,91
10,34 114 1,8-11 88
12,33 80 1,9 114
19,16-21 132 1,11 102
19,23-30 132 1,14 113
19,28 116, 131 1,15-17 100
20 96 1,20 96
20,20-28 116 1,26-56 91
20,23 116 1,32 96
20,25 117 1,32-33 99
20,26-27 117 1,34 97
21 96 1,35 97, 9 8
21,9 115 1,41-52 91
24-25 80 1,46-55 98
24,15 81 1,48-5 99
24,32-35 157 1,51 156
24,37-42 81 1,52-53 101, 102, 103, 117, 155
24,43-51 81 1,55,71,77,79 105
25,1-13 81 1,57-80 91
25,14-30 1,68 94
25,31-46 81 1,69 92
1,69-70 99
Mark
1,6-8
1 11
100
96
I'nVSf
'
'' ' * 1,72-73 119
77 9 2
534 14 >>
' 1 77-7Q
1 , 7 7
Q4
8,27-30 72, 100 1,79 ^ 9 4 , 9 5 , 113, 114, 156
9,1 78 2,1 124
10,4 116 2,1-2 83
10,35-45 116 2,1-21 91
10,42 117
10,43-44 117 V 95 115
11,10 115 ' '
2 2 4 7 7
13 9 - 1 3 79 '
is! 12 158 2,26-3 95
13 14 81 14^ '
OL, 1*0 O QC_QQ Q1
13 2 0 - 2 8 79 ^'
2 4 6 4 8 1 0 4
158 ' "
1 0 4
13^28-31 157 ^ ^ '
3 7 1 5 1 0 0
13 78 9 4 A
' " J 1 U U
,13,37
OO %80 Q 3,10-14 100, 101
4 1 6 3 0 1 0 4
5 39 98
Y T 5
' ~
' 4,18 9 1 , 122, 155
Luke 4,19 105
1-2 75, 105, 115 6,13 132
1-3 77, 100 6,15 115
1,1 119 6,37 316
1,1-4 93 7,50 114
1,3 93 8,48 114
1,3-4 106 9,18-20 100
1,4 112, 124, 138 11,21 115
BIBLICAL CITATIONS 349
12,51 114 6,1-6 133, 134

13,13 94 6,6 133
14,32 115 10,36 119
19,37-38 115 11,1 134
19,42 115 11,27 134
21,7-28 94 11,28-30 132
21,20-24 81 11,30 133
21,24 74 12,1-5 137
21,25-26 94 12,2 133
21,25-27 81 12,21-22 122, 123
21,28 94 13,1-3 132
21,29-33 157 13,3 133
22,19b-20 116 13,5 107
22,24 116 14,2 107, 133
22,24-27 116 14,4 132
22,25 117 14,11-18 123
22,26-27 117 14,19 107
22,27 117 14,21 134
22,28-30 116 15,1-35 134
22,30 131 15,2,4,6,22-23 133
22,35-38 115 15,20 181
24,36 114 16,20-21 125, 126,
17,5-9 107
John
17,6 124
6,48-50 182
124
12,13 115
17,8-9 125
14,10-11 295
18,1 107
14,27 114 1 8 2 g 2
1 7 1 0 6
J c S 21/26 114 ; ^ - 1 0 7
2019-22 222, 239 °''

20,22 222 >jg
Acts 18,13 124, 126
1.1 93 18,16-17 107
1.6 115 18,25 119
1,6-8 82 19,21-40 120
1.7 74 19,23 120
1,9 81 19,27 124
1,9-11 82 19,31 121
1,12-26 135 19,35 168, 120
1.13 115 20,17 133
1.14 133 20,28 133
1,15-26 8 2 , 132 22-23 114
1.22 133 23,25 93
1,24-26 137 23,25-27 82
1,25 137 22,30-23,10 114
2.2 94 24,1-9 107, 112
2.23 9 4 , 113 24,2-3 113
2,42 77, 118 24,5-6 114
2,44-45 117 24,24-25 107
2,46 116, 117, 118 24,26 108
5,12 118 24,27 118
5,30 178 25,1-11 108
350 INDICES
25,13-26-32 118 3.4 156

26,6-7 119 3,10 157
26,24 122
Apocalypse
26,30 108
1,12-1 196
Romans 1,20 196
9-11 127, 138 2,1 167, 2 1 9
9-12 74 2-3 219
11,5 132 2-4 166
11,13 132 2.7 168, 2 1 3
11,17-24 127 2,9 168, 187
12,11 132 2.9 a n d 3,9 169
14,14 315, 316 2,9-3,22 177
16 314 2,10-11 179
16,7 132 2.13 180, 181
2.14 181, 186
1 Corinthians
2,17 183, 185
8,1-6 181
2,20 186
15,6-7 132
2,20, 2 6 - 2 7 186
2 Corinthians 2,28 168, 186
8,23 132 2 178
8-10 135 3,4-5 186
3.5 187
Ephesians
3.8 188
5,1-2 232
3,12 188
Colossians 3.20 189
1,15 196 3.21 189
4-5 214
Galatians
4-19 190
1-2 134
4 204
2,6 135
4,4 198, 2 0 1 , 2 0 2
2,10 135
4,4-11 204
3,8 323
4.10 199, 2 0 5
3,10-14 127, 138
4.11 201,201
3.13 178
5,1 206
Philippians 5.6 200
1,2 134 5.8 8 9 , 180, 2 1 5
6,12 292 6 and 8 197
6,6 165, 188
1 Timothy
6.9 a n d 11 197
3,2 134, 3 1 5
6,11 197
3,8 a n d 12 134 6,14 200
4.6 134
7.9 199, 2 0 0 , 2 3 3
5,17 134
7.10 201, 205, 206
Titus 7,10-12 206
1.7 134 7,14 201
7,17 217
Hebrews 8,3 200
9,4 182 8,3-4 197
1 Peter 12,1 166, 167
2,2 178 12,1-6 166
4.14 245 12,5 167
13-14 196
2 Peter
13,14-15 196
2,4 156
13,15 196, 197
ANCIENT CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH WRITERS 351
14,2-3 199, 2 3 3 19,9 182

14,9, 1 5 - 1 6 , 1 9 - 2 0 196 19,9 and 17 189
16,2 193 20,2 180
16,3-21 193 21,7-8 179
17,1-6 169 2 1 , 1 4 and 19 213
17.9 165 22.1 217
17,9-11 165 22.2 213
17.10 165
2. A N C I E N T C H R I S T I A N A N D J E W I S H WRITERS
Acta Sancti Justini 40 147

1 14 41,1 147
41,3-4 1474
Acta Sancti Callisti Papae Martyris Romae
42,3 159
8 (Migne PL. 10, col 120) 325,
42,4 159
326
42,4-5 148
Athenagoras 44 149
Legatio pro Christianis 44,1-5 133
Insc. 303 45,3 161
17,34-35 303 46,6 159
18,10-14 304 46,7 159
19,1 304 51,2 161
56 160
C l e m e n t o f Alexandria 57,2 159
Stromateis 59,3 152, 155
5,14 292 60-61 216, 234
60,1 152
Clement of R o m e
60,2 156
Ad Corinthios
60,4 153
1,1 140, 159
60,4-61,2 52
1,1-2 145
60,4-61,3 151
2,2 61
61,1 153, 156
2,6 160
61,2 150, 156
2,8 161
61,2-3 163
3,2 159
61,3 154
3,3 159
62,2 159
3,4 161
62,3 160
7,1 143
63,1 159
14,2 154
63,2-3 160
20 152
64 159
20,3 147
21-22 156 Constitutiones Apostolicae
21,2 153 2,26 222
21,6-7 158 (= Didasc. Apost.) II, 5 7 , 4 - 5 217
21,9 153
Constitutiones Apostolicae (Epitome)
23-27 156
51-77 38
23,4-5 157
23,5 156 Cyprian
24,2 157 De Lapsis
32 152 28 14
37 146 Epistulae
37,2 243 30,6 5
352 INDICES
43,5 4 V , 8,39 235

55,8 4 IX, 6 - 1 3 , 2 310
59,7 4 IX, 7,1-3 5
59,14 4 IX, 10,10-11 318
73,7 4 I X , 11,1 314
75,16 4 I X , 12,15 314
Zte Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate IX, 12,15-16 313, 318
5 3 IX, 12,20-21 315
4 4 IX, 12,21-22 315
Sententiae Episcoporum I X , 12,22 316
19 5 IX, 12,22-23 317
IX, 1 2 , 2 4 - 2 5 323
Didache
I X , 12,25 315
8 15
I X , 12,6 315
9,4 158
IX, 13,1-4 315
11,3-6 132
Traditio Apostolica
14,3 218
3 1, 120, 3 2 0
Didascalia Apostolorum 4 214, 216
II, 5 7 , 4 - 5 214 7 320
Epiphanius Hippolytus
Haer., 6 8 , 2 5 Contra Noetum
4,8 301
Eusebius o f Caesarea 14,2-3 296
Historia Ecclesiastica 15,7 301
111,20,3-4 112
VI, 2 8 , 1 - 2 328 Hypostasis of the Archons (Robinson)
II, 10,3 123 II, 9 5 - 9 7 274
V, 1,3-63 6
Irenaeus o f Lyons
V , 1,14 6
Adversus Haereseos
V , 1,19 14
I, 5,4 (= Frag, graec. 1, 5 3 6 - 5 4 3 )
V , 1,33 6
292
V, 24,15 314
I, 5,4 (= Frag, graec. 1, 549)
III, 18 142, 165
292
V, 6 148
I, 2 3 , 1 - 2 286
VI, 2 1 , 3 - 4 142
I, 2 7 , 2 292
Martyres Palestinae
II, praef 1 286
11,30 122
III praef. 286
Chronicon
III, 3,3 1
II, p . 160 140
III, 6,1 295
C h r o n i c o n A n n . Abr. 2 1 1 2 ,
III, 6,2,48 296
D o m i t . 16 140
III, 2 4 , 2 295
C h r o n i c o n II ann. Abr. 2 1 1 0
V, 30,3 165
D o m i t . 14 142
V, 30,3 140
Hegesippus Ignatius o f Antioch
A p u d Eusebium, Historia Ecclesiastica Epistula ad Ephesios
III, 2 0 140 1.1 231, 238, 300
Hermas 1,3 218, 219, 228
Visiones 1,5 234
II, 4 , 2 - 3 314, 316 4,1-2 233, 240
II, 4 , 3 215 4.2 234
HI, 9,7 215 5.1 219, 222, 228
5.2 232
(Pseudo) Hippolytus 6,2 299, 243
I proem. 6 320 7,1 300
ANCIENT CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH WRITERS
9,2 238 2-3 298

12,2 235 3,2 221
13.1 221, 239, 299 6,1 221, 239
13.2 240 8,2 219
14.2 80 10,2 231, 246
19,1 235 11,2-3 228
19.3 299 11,2 246
21,1 231 Vistula ad Trallianos
Epistula ad Magnesios 1,1 228
1,2 297 3,1 218, 222
6.1 218, 219, 222, 239 3,1-3 222
6,1-2 222 3,2 219
6.2 240 5,2 235
7.1 29813 227 8,2 219
7,1-2 222 11,1 218
7.2 232 11,1-2 213
13.1 217, 221, 222, 234, 12,1 228
299 12,2 240
13.2 221
P s e u d o Ignatius
15 240
Ad Romanos
Epistula ad Philadelphenses
3 300
Inscr. 240
6 300
1.1 212
2.2 247 Jerome
4 232 Epistulae
6.1 168 108,7 140
7.2 235
8,1 299 J o h n Chrysostom
9.1 235 Homilia in Iohannem
10.1 228, 244, 246 27,1 5
10.2 229, 244
Josephus
11 240
Antiquitates Iudaicae
Epistula ad Polycarpum
1,322 241
2,6 246
12,265 88
7.2 246
15,339 72
8 228
16,136 122
8.1 228
18,66-80 258
Epistula ad Romanos
19,343-351 123
insc. 225, 314
20,12 93
1-2 15
20,102 83
2.2 229, 232, 233, 238
20,197-203 82
3 300
Bellum Iudaicum
3.3 300
1,152 128
4.1 232
1,414 72
4.2 233
2,166 82
6,1 229, 298
6,387-391 79
6.3 233
7,162 79
6,3 235
8,3 232 J o a n n e s Malalas
9,3 229 Chronographia
10,1-2 228 10 140
10,2 228
Epistula ad Smyrnaeos Justin Martyr
inscr. 238 Cohortatio ad Graecos
1,1 218 15 269
354 INDICES
Dialogus cum Tryphone Tatian

1,3 308 Oratio ad Graecos
41 218 5,7-10 301
61,2 301, 302 5,11-15 302
Apologia 14,1-3 303
1,98 225 29,11-15 302
Lactantius Tertullian
De Mortibus Persecutorum Adversus Praxeam
3 140 1 296
9 296
Melito o f Sardis
Apologia
A p u d Eusebium, Historia Ecclesiastica
5 140, 142
IV, 2 6 140, 142
De Anima
Papias 9,4 317
A p u d Eusebium, Historia Ecclesiastica De Idolatria
III, 3 9 , 1 5 79 18,1 176
De Pallio
Passio Poly carpi (Lightfoot (1891))
2 140
8,2 6, 14
De Praescriptione Haereticorum
9,2 6
20,7-9 185, 317
9,2-3 6
De Pudicitia
10,1 6
1,1-2 319
Passio Sanctae Perpetuae (Armitage 2,2 316
R o b i n s o n (1891))
Theodoret
1 3 - 1 4 (p. 16) 14
Graec. Affect. Cur.
3,1 (pp. 6 2 / 6 3 , 2 - 6 4 / 6 5 ) 14
9 140
18,1 (p. 86,16) 14
T h e o p h i l u s of Antioch
Passio Scillitanorum (Armitage R o b i n s o n
Ad Autolycum
(1891))
2,8 308
p. 112, 1 8 - 2 2 4
2,4-6 308
p. 116, 2 - 3 5
p. 112, 9 - 1 1 5
Philo o f Alexandria
De specialibus legibus
I, 1 3 - 3 1 301
3. A N C I E N T P A G A N W R I T E R S
Acta Alexandrinorum (Musurillo (1979)) Apollonius o f T y a n n a

1. 1 7 - 1 8 241 Epistolae
1. 5 1 - 5 5 242 65 168, 179
66 168
Aelius Aristides
Eiq A(cc Apuleius
7,9 307 De Mundo
6, 2 0 - 2 2 278
Aeschyles 6, 3 9 7 b 2 3 - 2 4 278
Eumenides 6, 3 9 7 b 3 0 - 3 5 279
737-756 182 6, 3 9 8 a 3 1 - 3 5 280, 305
ANCIENT PAGAN WRITERS 355
6, 3 9 8 b 6 - 1 4 280 Corpus Hermeticum (Nock and Festugiere)

6, 3 9 9 a 3 0 - 3 5 281, 284 Frag. X X I I I 305
Metamorphoses Frag. X X I I I , 6 2 , 1 9 - 2 1 306
11,10 224,237 Frag. X X I V , 1-2 306
Aristotle D i o Cassius
Metaphysics Historia Romana
12 279 27,37 38
14 277 37,24,1 38, 39
Politics 37,24,2 40
6,7 55 37,25,1 40
40,47 265
Augustus 42,26 265
Res Gestae 45,6,5 204
3 51 47,40,1-5 44
4,2 51 51,19,7 61
4,7 136 51,20,3 40
6,2 53 51,20,4 38, 4 0
7,2 44 51,20,6 120
7,3 52, 59 51,20,7 180
8,2 8 4 , 8 6 , 124 53,17-19 39
10 33 54 39
11 54 54,33 70
12 54, 65 59,24,3-4 204
1 2 - 13 35 59,28,5 193
13 37 63,4,2 201
19 41 63,4,28-29 201
21 41 65,7,2 128
24 41 67,14 164
67,14,1-2 129
Cicero 67,14,1-3 141
De Divinatione 68,1,2 129
2.74 20 76,7 270
2.75 21 78,3 271
De Legibus 78,20,1 200
2,31 21 78,31,2-79,21,2
De Natura Deorum 80,9,3 319
2,2 20, 23 80,11 327
2,4 2 0 , 4 8 , 147 80,20,2 326
2.29 23
D i o Chrysostom
2.30 22
O r . 45,1 170
2,73 22
3,95 25 D i o d o r u s Siculus
De Republica 3,57,3 262
6,10 63
D i o g e n e s Laertius
6,10 273
Successiones Philosophorum
De Oratore
1, 4 3 - 4 4 288
3,78 19
I, 122 288
In Pisonem
7, 1 1 5 6 - 1 1 5 7 273
40 247
Pro Lege Manilia Dionysius o f Halicarnassus
13 65 Antiquates Romanae
16 65 II, 5 0 , 3 312
356 INDICES
Gellius 5,23,4-11 32,

Nocks Atticae 6,1,12 29
VII, 8,7 136 6,37 84
8,6,9 32
Herodian
8,6,11 32
II, 2,9 187
V, 5,1-VI, 1,3 311 8,6,12 33, 60
8,9,1 42
V, 5,6-7 227, 260
V , 6,2 320 11-20 31
V , 8,9 326 22,21,7 64
VIII, 7,2 201, 205 23,36,9-10 42
25,1,7 30
Horace 25,1,8 30
Carmen Saeculare 25,1,11 30
29-33 61 25,1,12 30
Epodes 25,16,1-4 42
16 58 27,16,15 43
Odes 27,23,1 29
I, 2 , 2 9 - 3 0 173 27,23,4 29
I, 3,5 173 27,26,14 43
III, 14,1 33 28,2,2 33
IV, 14,1 33 28,12,12 37
29,14,2 28
Justinian
29,16,6 30
Digestae (Modestinus)
29,16,7 30
X X I I I , 2,42 323
31,5,7 43
X L V I I I , 10,27,2 247
31,24 247
Digestae (Ulpian)
36,1,3 43
I, 5,17 251
I, 9,8 315 37-142 31
X X I I I , 2,42 323 39,8-19 7
39,8,1-19 150
Juvenal 39,22, 4 - 5 85
Satires 39,22,5 47
XIII, 4 6 - 4 9 167 40,63,4 38
41,14,7 43
Livy
45,16,6 47
Ab Urbe Condita
46-142 31
1 31
67,12,4 38
1 praef 1 32
69,51,1 38
1 praef 9 a n d 12 55
142 32
1,7,9 32
dius Obsequens
1.18.6 34
9 43
1,18,7-10 34
1,19,1-3 33 12 47
13 85
1.20.7 41
1,31,6-8 28 44 85
46 85
1.31.8 30
49 85
1,44,2 84, 85
52 85
3.6.5 28
63 85
3.7.6 28
67 44
3.7.7 28
3,8,1 28 Lucan
4 31 Pharsalia
4,20,7 26, 41 1,557 46
4.30.10 30 1,604 47
4.30.11 30 1,617 47
ANCIENT PAGAN WRITERS
1,664 48 8,82,1-5 170

1,670 48, 50 9,8,6 174
1,672 48 9,16 180
1,248-250 46 9,18,1 173
1,265-330 49 9,66,3-4 170
1,522-605 46 9,86,7-8 173
1,559-560 46 9,101,22 167
1,562-563 46 13,64 170
1,564-565 46 13,74 170
1,572-574 46 14,1,2 174
1,580-583 46 14,124 167
1,585-588 47
1,589-590 47 Ovid
1,591-595 47 Fasti
3,55,57 62
1,593-595 85
Metamorphoses
1,606-610 47
47 15,41-411 182
1,609-615
47 15,858-870 173
1,617-629
15,867-870 58
1,633-634 48
Tristia
1,638-672 48
5,2,47-48 173
1,641-645 48
2,478-525 49 Pausanius
4,49-130 51 Graeciae Descriptio
4,121-126 51 V I , 16,5 247
Lucian Plato
De Dea Syria 15 235 Respublica
415A-C 54
Lucretius
Timaeus
D e Rer. N a t . 6 , 8 4 8 - 9 0 5 24
22B4 287
Macrobius
Philostratus
Sat. Conv.
Vita Apollonii
I, 18 18
4,34 180
III, 5,7 136
6,42 166
Martial
Pliny the Elder
Epigrammata
Historia Naturalis
3 103
X V I I I , 2,6 136
4,8,12 173
5,2,176 172 Pliny the Y o u n g e r
5,3,3 173 Epistulae
5,5 170 X , 96,1 143
5,7,4 173 X , 96,2 6
6,2,5 173 X , 96,5 110, 111
6,10,9 174 Panegyricus
6,87 170 2,23 170
7,2,2 170 52,6-7 174
7,2,5-6 170 80 173
7,5-6 170
7,5,1-6 170 Plotinus
7,21 27 Enneades
7,23 27 I, 7 , 1 , 2 5 - 2 , 1 - 3 277
7,34,8-< ) 17( II, 9 , 1 , 1 3 - 1 6 275, 292,
8,2,6-7 170 293
8,80,5 173 V I , 9,9 3
358 INDICES
Plutarch 4,3 324

Ad principem ineruditum 17,1-3 326
7 8 0 E, 3 282 Severus Alexander
781 A, 3 281 29,2-3 142
Alcibiades
22,2 182 Silvius Statius
De Communibus Notitiis Punica
36,5 273 3,629 167
De hide et Osiride
3 5 2 A, 2 282 Statius
3 5 2 B, 3 236 Silvae
3 5 4 E, 10 285 I, 1 174
361 D , 27 235, 239 I, 1,62 170
3 6 4 E, 35 235 I, 2 , 1 7 5 173
371 A, 4 9 282, 283 I, 2 , 1 7 8 174
3 7 2 E, 5 3 283 I, 4 , 9 5 174
3 7 3 A, 5 4 283 I, 6 , 8 3 - 8 4 171
373 A - B , 54 284 III, 4 , 2 3 - 2 4 180
3 7 6 A, 61 282 IV, 3 , 1 1 - 1 2 166
Demetrius IV, 3 , 1 2 8 - 1 2 9 173
10, 2 - 4 281
Strabo
Polybius XII, 8,18 188
Historiae XII, 567 261
6,4,5-10 55 X I V , 1,4 109
6,4,7 55 X I V , 1,23 168
6,9,10-14 55
Porphyry Stobaeus
Vita Plotini Eclogae
3, 1 3 - 1 6 275 I, 4 1 , 4 4 305
Proclus Suetonius
In Platonis Timaeum Commentaria (Diehl Augustus
(1903)) 1 38
III p. 2, 10 294 29,3 60
III p. 5 8 , 8 293 57,2 200
III p. 5 8 , 18 293 Claudius
III p. 9 5 , 3 1 - 3 3 293 25,4 110
In Platonis Rem Publicam Commentarii Domitianus
(Kroll (1899)) 1,2 259
I p. 2 2 0 , 2 5 - 2 8 293 1,4 266
4 226
Propertius
4,4 175
Elegiaca
7,2 166
4,6,37 60
12,2 128
Quintilian 13,1- 2 16
Institutio Oratoria 15,17 141
4, proem. 141 Tiberius
20 66
Seneca
37 168
Quaestiones Naturales
2,32,4 45 Titus
5,3 258
Scriptores Historiae Augustae
Elagabalus Oracula Sibyllina
3,4 325 7,148-149 182
ANCIENT PAGAN WRITERS 359
Tacitus 8,704 60
Annales 6,791-794 58
II, 4 7 , 3 - 4 188 Eclogae
III, 6 0 - 6 3 168 4 54
IV, 37 180 4 60
X V , 41,1 312 4,6 97
XV, 44,4 7 4,8 56
X V , 44,3 110 4,11 57
X V , 44,4 111 4,15 95
X V , 44,5 110 4,17 58
XV, 55-56 180 4,26-36 56
Historiae 5,54 57
2,55 199 4,4-10 54
4,81 258 4,15-17 56
4,18-25 56
Varro 4,37-45 56
De Re Rustica Georgics
I, 1,5 312 1,24-30 58
1,24-42 57
Vergil 1.26 58
Aeneid 1.27 58
1,257-296 173 1,500-501 58
1,287 58 1,502-503 58
1,291 58 3,13-44 58
1,617-620 97
6 63 Xenophon
6 273 Cyropaedia
6,791-794 95 1,3 64
6,791-807 173
4. INSCRIPTIONS AND COINS
INSCRIPTIONS
A u b r e t o n a n d F. Buffiere CIL
350,8 224 2,172 175
361,1-2 224 2,1963 175
367,5 224 3,1433 176
3,7118 120
CIG 4 suppl. II (1909), 4 3 2 (1982),
949 189 1142 184
3173,15 183 4 suppl. II (1909), 4 8 3 184
3 1 7 6 a. 183 4 suppl. II (1909), 4 8 6 1 184
3 1 7 6 b. 183 6,512 262
3642 203 6,715 264
6,2080,22 137
IG 6,4,29609 273
5,1,1368 184 8,8203 311
11,4,1299 150 8,17896 176
12,2,58 203 9,3184 63
12,5,291 236 10,1624 188
12 suppl. p. 98: 14A 257 12,6038 187, 2 0 2
360 INDICES
Ehrenberg and J o n e s (1955) 1288,5 206

98 68, 69 39 a , 1 0 203
98,37-38 105 3 9 b.,6 206
98a 70 39 b.,30-31 205, 206
9 8 a. 70 39 b.,24 206
9 8 a.,6 94 3 9 b.,34 206
98 a.,8,10-11 95 105 180
98 b.,35-41 70 145 203
99 72, 2 4 4 145,5 206
100 a . , 2 0 - 2 7 71 180 70
102,25 204 309 152
102 a. 201, 232 353 182, 194, 198, 199
128 69, 70 353 a.,4-5a 194
3 5 3 a.,5 b. 194
EPRO 5 0 (Vermaseren)
353 a.,17-18 194
I, 5 5 261
353 a.,30-31 194
I, 57 262
3 5 3 a.,31 198
I, 5 9 , 5 - 9 262
3 5 3 b.,5 194
I, 6 0 , 4 - 7 262
353 b.,12-19 195, 2 3 4
I, 3 5 2 262
353 b.,15-16 203
III, 2 4 4 262
353 b.,18-19 234
III, 4 7 6 262
3 5 3 b., 2 0 196, 197, 2 3 2
Horsley New Documents 3 5 3 c.,10 199
III, p. 13 105 353 c.,10-11 195, 196,
IV, p. 4 6 - 5 5 109 237
353 c.,4-7 182, 195, 196,
/. Ephesus
224
la, 2 2 , 1 - 8 194
3 5 3 d.,14 183, 185
la, 2 7 , 2 9 2 - 2 9 7 194
353 d.,14-15 199
la, 4 5 A , l - 8 194
522 192
la, 4 7 , 7 3 194
522 199
II, 2 3 192
522 234
II, 2 8 6 223
661, 22-23 226
II, 5 9 9 206
778,1 and 15 202
III, 6 4 5 , 3 - 7 194
847 203
III, 9 0 2 120
1167.4 202
IV, 1279 194
1304.5 204
VII, 1 3 0 1 5 , 2 194
1393 183
VII, 1 3 0 7 4 194
1399,5-6 183
VII, 2 4133,9 194
1400,9-10 183
V I I , 2 4311(a) 194
1558, 2 7 - 3 0 202
VII, 2 4 3 1 4 194
1608 199
VII, 2 4 3 1 8 (a) 194
1608 a., 10 234
I. Pergamon 1608 b.,5 199, 2 3 4
336 236 1608 c. 103
1608 c. 181
/. Sardis
1708. 105
7, 1,8,12 72
1756 71, 244
7, 1 , 8 , 1 2 - 1 4 244
1756 1 , 1 0 - 2 3 243
IGRR 1756 II 244
1, 1150 258 1756 1 1 , 3 2 - 3 3 246
3, 209 234 1756 X , 1 0 4 245
3, 209,1-5 234 1756,14 105
3, 1287,4 206 180 69
INSCRIPTIONS AND COINS 361
IGUR, Moretti 8,1, 548, 26 257

1,33 225 8,1,548,27-28 257
1,67 223 8,1, 549 257
1,78 225 9,1,192, 4 - 8 256
1,80 225 11, 922,25ff. 201
n r r Q 11,922-923 204
U(
Y2i 207 11,922-933 89,232
332,27—29 187 2y' 758 3 225
332,29 187 29' 1527 225
38
III' i«7 2 3 8 3 1
' 1 7 0 3 2 2 3
Hi IN' 35,826,9-10 225

TJO DO NR 1 99^
479 192, 192, 199, 2 2 5 , 2 3 4 ?;£
1 6 8 9 3 39
71 '> 1 8 4 0 - 1 8 4 1 129
A 00 4 2 , 1745 247
6o7,4 9.3 4 3 7 4 6 n o
669 207 ^
669,8-9 207 Syll?
730 204 30 247
695,33-34 204
SEG
695,35 187
4, 517 194
695,50-54 225
6, 5 9 234
736 236
8,1, 548, 1 4 256 7 3 6 v i 30-31 236
8,1, 5 4 8 , 4-10 257 761 A 2 - 5 244
8 1 <S48 1 4 - 2 4 9«S7 '
1* 989 168
COINS
£AfC, Mattingly p. 3 7 3 , n o . 3 4 7 , plate 73,6

1, p. 100 nos 61 Iff. 167 207
1, p. 142 n o 155, plate 26, 3 2, p. 367 n o . 3 1 4 208
167 (Plates 16 a n d 17) 2, p. 3 7 2 n o . 3 4 6 , plate 7 3 , 4
2, p. 8 n o . 4 7 , plate 1,15 167 167 (Plates 2 4 a n d 25)
2, p. 77 n o . 381 173 2, p. 3 7 8 n o . 3 6 5 , plate 74,8 208
2, p. 2 1 2 n o . 8 5 6 , plate 4 1 , 9 2, p. 4 1 3 n o . 5 0 1 , plate 8 2 , 8
208 167
2, p. 2 5 5 n o . 156 208 2, p. 4 1 4 n o . 5 0 4 a n d 5 0 5 ,
2, p. 2 8 0 208 plate 8 2 , 8 167
2, p. 2 8 2 - 2 8 3 nos 2 6 6 , 267, 2, p. 4 1 4 nos 5 0 4 and 5 0 5 ,
and 2 7 1 , plate 5 4 , 3 plate 8 2 , 8 167
186 (Plates 18 a n d 19) 3, pp. 2 3 2 - 2 3 3 nos 1 4 3 6 - 1 4 4 0 ,
2, p. 311 n o . 6 2 , plate 61,6 plate 3 4 , 4 2 6 3 (Plates 2 8
167 (Plates 2 2 a n d 23) a n d 29)
2, p. 311 nos 6 3 - 6 5 , 3, p. 3 3 9 a n d p. 4 8 9 260
plates 6 1 , 7 - 9 3, p. 382 n o . f 263
167 (Plates 2 0 a n d 21) 3, p. 3 8 5 n o . 1059 263
2, p. 3 6 0 n o . * 207 3, p. 3 8 6 n o . 1060, plate 72,6
2, p. 3 6 4 n o 3 0 3 , plate 71,6 [61,6?] 263
167 3, p. 3 9 6 n o . 1095, plate 75,7
2, p. 3 6 5 n o . 3 0 4 , plate 71,5, and 2 6 3 (Plates 2 6 and 27)
362 INDICES
3, p. 4 8 5 260 RIC, Mattingly and S y d e n h a m

4, p. 4 0 2 no. 132 262 2, p. 267 n o 3 2 6 nos 166 and 167
4, p. 4 0 3 no. 134 263 268
4, p. 5 1 5 no. 8 3 6 262 2, p. 4 4 4 no. 8 2 6 260
4, p. 5 3 4 nos 9 3 2 - 9 3 4 , plate 73,11 4,1 p. 170 no. 5 7 7 , plate 9,9
2 6 3 (Plates 3 0 and 31) 270
4, p. 5 4 5 no. 1006 261 4,1 p. 2 5 6 no. 2 9 0 268
4, p. 571 no. * 263 4,1 p. 2 5 6 n o . 291 (a)-(c)
4, p. 6 1 0 no. * 263 268
4, p. 755 no. 3 5 4 and p. 8 3 4 4,1 p. 2 5 6 no. 2 9 3 (a)-(f)
n o . 6 8 0 , plate 109,15 268
2 6 3 (Plate 32) 4.1 p. 317 n o . 21
5, p p . 1 6 6 - 1 6 7 , nos 75, 76, 77, [Plate X I V , 5 ] 268
plate 2 8 , 1 8 , n o s 7 8 - 8 2 270 5.2 p. 108 no. 8 2 9 252
(Plates 33 a n d 34)
C o h e n , Description Historique des
Ionia Monnaies
III, p. 2 3 6 no. 70 268
p. 2 6 8 nos 2 6 6 - 2 6 8 193
III, C . 2 9 8 , C . 2 9 9 and C . 3 0 4
Phrygia 261
p. 3 0 7 nos 1 8 1 - 1 8 2 , 185 189
5. G R E E K V O C A B U L A R Y
dyd^paxcc 201 dvoaioi 161

dyaA,pdxia 241 dvoaioq 248
dydjcTi 158 dvxuroov 2 3 0 , 231
dyiocpopoi 240 dvcopGcbGn 94
dyiocpopoi 230, 238 dvcbpGcoaev 6 9 , 9 4 , 113
dycovoGexfiaai 234 dicapxai 148
dGepixoq 6pyr| 154, 160 djrriyyeAji 245
d0eoi 129 drcoPdAAeaOai
dOeoxTiq 129, 141 xr\q XeixoDpyia^ 149
d(8ia 3 d7to8e8eiypevo<; 94
a i a i o i q oicovoiq 51 drcoyevva 293
aKaxaoxaoia 160 dnoypdcpecGai 83, 88
dicpf| 70 dTcoXvxpcoaiq 94
dicpodpaxa 89 drcovoCa 159
dîGeia 122 drcoTcpeaPeCa 245
dtayoq djcovoia 159
O\)K dA.oyov 7cejcoiT|Ke 302 drcoppeov 306
dpcopoq S i d v o i a 219 drcoppori 282
dva£co7ru pt|oavxe<; Gecbv o a a cpvtax drcoppori
ev a i p a x i Geou 245 307
dvdAji\j/i<; 14 drcoppoia 3 0 5 , 3 0 6 , 307
dvajiauopevoi dyiov jrvevpa diroppoiav . . . xov
dvarcauopevoK; eiq Aiftavov Geou 306
7tpoxpT|aei 6 dpxcov 196, xov Geov ox; cpcoq 305
197 cpvaecoq 3 0 6
dvd7toa)Gi<; 14 drcoppoiai
dvarccxvaovxai 197 dpxovx£<; xov |3aaiAico<; drcoppoiai
dv8pa7to8ioxT|<; 179 306
dv8pocpovoi 6 dicoxexprixai 277
GREEK VOCABULARY 363
drcoTOur| po\)Xt| 92
oi) m x ' d7ioxouT|v, cb<; eXaixcoQf|vai xfi cbpiouivfi $o-oXr\ 9 4 , 113
301 $OVXT\GI<;
drcoxporcri 241 9e(av PovXriaiv 94
dp£XT| xfi i)7cepxdxcp auxov po\)A.r|aei
'HAAO-U peydA.01) lapdrciSoq 267 147
dpiaxoKpaxia 55 pcopoq 34, 202
dpxoq 1 8 2 , 195 Pcouocpopoi 230, 238
dpxai 275, 276 Pcopocpopoq 2 3 6
dpxri 3, 95, 285, 287, 290, 321,
322 yeve0A,io<; n p e p a 84, 94
EK pia<; d p x i k 284, 302 yevvrixoq 300
eâwcn? , 3 0 3 yevvcbjievov 97
ecp' exepaq dp%d<; 275 y£po\)a(a 2 4 3 , 183
u i a dpxf| 279, 307, 308 ypappaxetx; 195
xfi xcov rcdvxcov dpxfi 68, 84 yuvf| 166
dpxiepaxeCa 320, 321
dpxiepevq 109, 1 1 0 , 154, 2 0 3 , 2 6 2 , Sacpvncpopoi 201
320, 321 Sacpvncpopoc; 201
dpxiepei peyCaxcp 189 8e8oKipaapevoi av8pe<; 148, 149
dpxio"ovdycoyo<; 107 8ev8pov 178
dpxovxeq 275 8ripio\)py6(; 293
oxparnyot 126 Sfipoq 6 4 , 123, 2 4 3
xov Koopoft 306 8ia8e^covxai 148, 149
xcov eOvcov 117 8ia8oxai 149, 286, 2 8 7
daePeia 129, 1 31, 1 drcooxotaov 286
daxf|p npmvoq 186 SiaSoxri 1, 8 , 2 8 7
dacpdXeia 124, 138 8id8oxoi 320
dxa£(a 295 8iaKov(ca
dxoidoi 9apudicoi 322 iSiai 147
dx\>xe<; 6 9 , 160 Tterciaxevpevcov 8iaKoviav . . .
a\)6d8eia 159 222
avxoKpdxcop 5 SidKovoi 8, 117, 148
d(peX6xri<; 118 8iaKovo<; 134
a<peai<; 94 Siowteutxov 240
d(p(8p\)pa 261 Siaarccopev 159
acppove<; 159 Siaxayn 145
8i8aoKaA.(a 3 2 0 , 321
PotTtxCauct 5 8tiA,icopev 159
paaiXeia 9 6 , 9 9 , 116 SieuOvvov 156
erco-opdviov paaiA,e(av e£exd£eiv SiriKcuaa 279
304 8iraioa\)VTi 64
Paaitaiou 8IOIKT|OI<; 146
xov aicovoq xovxou 2 2 9 xfj 8ioiicf|aei auxou a a t a u o p e v o i
paaitaix; 115, 117, 124, 163 145
P<xoiA,ei 8o\)Xet)oêv 4 5top6cbpaxa 113
PaaiXe\)£iv 8icoyn6<; 160
xcov jcepdxcov xr\c, ynq 229 8oKipdoavxe<;
paoxdêw 241 xcp rcveuuaxi 148
P8eAA)icx6<; 145 86yua 8 8 , 124, 217
pSekuyua xr\q epTi^cooeax; 79,81, 86â 1 5 1 , 1 5 2 , 163, 2 0 5 , 2 0 6 , 2 4 9
145 Softvai
PipAxx; 186 yvcoaiv acoxnpfac; 92
£K Tfjq p{pA,o\) xfjq £cofj<; 187 5p6uo<; 5rm6aio<; 247
364 INDICES
8t>vau«; 205 ; 207, 249^ eXevQepioq 72

Svvduei xpwêvoq dxpvxcp 278 iXniq 70
uyioxov 98 eXnideq
8(o8eKd<p\)Xov 119 zXnibaq xcov 7tpoA,aP6vxcov
euayyeXia jcdvxcov 105
e(38eAA)Y|ievoi 179 evBeov nXrfioq 219
eyicpaxeCa 159 evcoaiq
eGri 130 aapKiicri 221
ei8coA,a eiq evoxrixa 0eo\) 299
rcoAAaxoGi dvOpcbrccov ecpavxdaOri ev xfi evoxrixi 247
40 evcoaiv eiSxouai 297
ei8cota)taxxpai 179 evcoOfivai
ekoveq 7 0 , 8 9 , 192, 1 9 3 , 195, 2 2 3 , evco9t|xe xcp e7tiaK07ccp 239, 240
226, 2 3 4 - 2 3 6 , 239, 2 4 9 eêujttaxpiov
xcov lepaaxcov 194, 195, 2 2 4 xr\<; dydjiriq -bjucbv 219
eiq eiKovaq xcov ZePaaxco 195 e^crooidôvxec; 117
ekcbv 172, 1 9 3 , 196, 2 2 3 , 2 2 4 , eiovaia 292
227, 230, 236, 2 3 8 , 281, 2 8 2 , 2 8 4 SeSopevriv eôvaiav 152
vorixiKoq 284 empxia 123
eiKova ueyiaxTiv ypd\j/aq 227 ercapxcx; 146
T
Iai<; eiKova xov vor\xox) KOGUOI) ejciveiiacx; 189
284 ejucxnuoi
e k o v i xov 9r|p{o\) 1 9 3 , 196, xolq anocxoXoic, 132
197 eiciaK07if| 149
e'uxapixevTi 51, 55, 59, 272 e7iioKOTcfi<; d7copdA<co|iev 149
eipr|vet>eiv 244, 245, 246 enioKOKoc, 225, 226, 313
eipr|VTi 70-72, 91, 94, 95, 99, eiuaKOTcoi 8, 1 3 3 , 134, 146, 148,
102, 110, 1 1 2 - 1 1 5 , 1 2 3 , 127, 2 4 8 , 3 1 5 , 3 1 6 , 321
136, 145, 1 5 1 - 1 5 4 , 156, 1 6 0 , Ttpeaftoxepoi 146, 3 1 5
162, 2 4 3 , 2 4 8 m i udpxvpa 226
ev eipf|vfl 115 ejcixeêiaGai 147
i)7coxdaaea9ai 146 ejctxexaypevoi optaucn 147
\)7ioxdcaovxai 145 ercupaveCa 70, 72
evayyeXiôiievoq eipf|vr|v 119 in6nxT]q 306
ev oupavco e i p f | v t | 115 epyov TipcoxoxoKov 301
ovSev . . . dpeivov eipf|vr|<; epic; 160
240, 299 evayyeXia 7 0 , 72
noXXr\q eipr|vr|<; xvyxdvovxeq evayyeXiov 104, 113
113 xolq Ttxcoxoiq 122
eior|ta6aiov 1 8 3 , 185 EvayyeXiGaadax
eKaxovxapxoq 146 nxwxolq 105
eKK^TioCa 240, 286 evayyeXioQr] r\ noXiq 7 2 , 105,
eKKtaiaia 6 e o t > . . . dyiocpopco 245
238 evayyeXia 105
xfj eKKA.r|o{a xov 9eoa) xr\ evepyexai 117
7rapoiKot>aTi KopivGov 151 evepYernq 117
rcpoTiyoDjievoK; xfjq eKKA.r|a[a<; eikoauoq 195
215 evXoyia 206, 207, 249
a\)U7capoi)aaiq . . . eiacA,r|a{ai<; cuvouia 70, 6 4
228 evaePeia 6 4 , 145, 2 0 4
eK7ti>pcoGi<; 273 evoePeiaq ouov SiSaypa
eKxeveia 119 239
ZKxvoiq jcepi x' euaepelaq 203
nXr\pr\<; nveviiaxoq ayiov 161 evaxdGeia 1 5 1 , 153
evxdicxco<; 146 Ovonai

EK GeAjinctxoq Geov 148 Gvaiaq xe rcapioxdvai xoiq Geoic;
evxcîa 146, 2 4 3 , 2 9 9 243
E\>xvxr\\ia 94, 160 Gvaiaaxripiov 216, 232
evxapiaxfjaou 206 GvaiaaxTjplov xov Gvuiduaxoq
evxapiaxia 205, 2 0 6 88
evepyeaicov 206 exoiuov 230-233, 238, 250
eiq evxapioxiav XT|A,IKOVXOV Geov
206 iepaxeveiv 88
iepoupopoi 230,236, 237, 238
âmpoq ieped 202
xcov 9e{cov eiicovcov xr\<; xcov Xeâoxcov Evae(3e(a<;
237, 238 181
^Tvrfiuaxa 107 iepeia 262
tfyXoq 159, 160 Lepevq 75, 195
On 3, 178 iepo(pdvxTj
^cofjc; evpexpia 7tdcrn<; 2 5 6 uvoxTipicov 192
EK xov tpkov xr\q £co*k tepocpopoq 2 3 6
178 iepcbuaxa 241
i|idxia Aevm 186
fiyeuovia 152 iuaxiov
fiyepoviKov 22 ev iuxxxioiq XevKoiq 187
fiyeucov 82,2 8 2 1OV8CUK6<; 129, 130, 131
Tiyovuevoq 117 ior| Avoia 184
HAIOC CAPAniC 269 iaT|A,va{ov
fiiiepoSpopoq 244, 247 icrn^vaiov rcapeêi 6 mxaoxcxGeiq
183
Gdvaxo<; 147 iaxv<; 206, 207, 249
Ged 'Pcbpri 192, 194, 198
GeoSpouoi 247 KaGnpevoc; 202, 215
GeoSpouoc; 244, 246, 247 raGiaxduevoi
GeoAoyot 199, 2 3 4 e^coxiKoC 195
GeoAxSyoc; 194, 196, 198, 205, KaGvuvovvxeq 234
208, 230 KavTicpopoq 2 3 6
GeorcperceTq icaTSeq 3 2 1 Kaxeôvaidôvoiv 117
0£orcpeaPt>XTi<; 244, 246 mxevGvvai 9 4 , 113, 118, 1 5 6
GeocpdvxTK 230, 236 raxTixT|Gn<; AxSycov 138
0eocp6poi 237, 238 KTipvypa 78
Geoq>6po<; 230, 236-238, 241 KTipvâi 91
6ecop(a 123 aix|iataoxoi<; dcpeaiv 105
OXiîq 79 KiGdpa
G6pvpo<; 124 e'xovxe<; eicaoxoq KiGdpav
Gpovoq 9 9 , 189, 199, 200, 204, 215
205, 217 KiGapcp8cov KiGapiôvxcov ev xai<;
xov Geov 199, 2 0 4 KiGdpatq 199
xovlaxava 180, 181, 185 Kiv8vvevouev eyKcxAeiaGai axdoecoq
Gvuidua 120
xfi copa xov Gvuaduaxog 88 K(V8VVO<; 147, 154, 2 4 8
Gvuiduaxa 197 Kivovvxa
Gvuuxaai 88 axdaeiq 113
Gvuiaxripiov 89 ldaxai
Gvaia eiciKeiuevac; Kioxaq exovoaq iepd
Gvolav ox; KCXMAGXTIV 225 236
Geov Gvaia evpeGco 233 Kioxa(p6po<; 236
366 INDICES
icXdSoi uiur|xa{ 2 3 0
xou axavpov 213 uiuTixriq 226, 233,238, 300
KOivcov(a 77 uiuovuevoq 2 3 5
Kopri Kooiio-u 305 uoixeCa 3 1 5
KoauoKpdxopeq 291-294 uovapxeia-Tila 253, 308
KoajioKpdxcop 4, 267-270, 276, a d u a xedq, 5earcoiva, fiovapxe(a<;
289, 292, 292, 298, 306, 329 302
KoauoKpdxopa Kx(aua xov uovapxia 253,277,281, 289, 290,
At|uio\)pyov 2 9 2 301, 303, 306, 307, 309, 310, 318
icoauoicpdxopa M(dpKov) dKaxaaKevcoq Kal cpuciKax;
A\)(f|Xiov)... lejiaaxov 2 7 0 cuvioxaxai uovapxia 55
Kpdxiaxoq 9 3 ,106, 1 2 6 uovapxiav eutov 3 0 8
Kpdxoq 163, 2 0 6 , 2 4 9 avviaxdv 3 1 8
ev ppaxiovi avxov 1 5 6 jcepi xe Geoa) uovapxicu; 3 0 8
KVKkoq
eiaxT|Keiaav Kt>ictao XOV Qpovov vdo<; 1 2 0
199 vaocpopoi 230, 238
vea
XaiKoq 1 4 7 "Ioi<; 2 5 8
A,eixoi)pynaavxe<; duiurcxcoq 1 4 9 Ar|(XTixpa 203
taixovpyCa 147 veoc;
A,evxeiuovoi)vxe<; 2 0 1 Aiovvoioq 239, 311
A,iPavo<; 95, 197 vecoKopoq 120
XiPavcoxoq 197, 2 0 2 xr\c, ueydA.Ti<; 'Apxeuiooq 1 6 8
A,iKva<popo<; 2 3 6 viicr, 64,71, 72, 99, 123
teyoq 18, 2 2 , 4 5 , 4 7 , 4 9 , 1 5 2 , 1 9 8 , vor|x6<; 2 9 4
282, 283, 291, 305, 306 ev xcp voiixcp 2 7 5
daapKo<; 301 vouoq 25, 107
euyvxcx; 2 8 1 vovq 3,276,283,294,305, 291,
evSidOexoq 152, 2 7 2 305, 306
evSidGexoq 2 7 2
rcpoeXBcov 3 0 2 tyXov 178
7ipo7iTi8a Xoyoq 301 TTJ<; ^(or\q 178
7tpo(popiKo<; 152
Xoycp, vm voouuevco duepiaxco oiKexriq 322
304 oiKovou(a 297
Mxpcooiq 92, 94, 99, 102 oiKovoufaq xdpiv 3 0 1
Xvxvia okouuevTi 67,98, 113, 124
ev ueaco xcov A.DXVICOV 196 oi'voi 182, 195
Mxvoi 1 9 5 oi'voix; a7cev5ovai 2 2 7
oXiyapxia 55
pav{a 121 oXedpoq 2 2 1
udvva 6uor|0eia
KCKpDupevov 180-182 9eo\) 240
uavxiicfi 21 ouovoC 1 4 6
udpxyq 226 ouovoia 7, 17, 18, 4 3 , 4 4 , 6 8 , 7 0 ,
6 nioxoq uov 1 8 1 91, 118, 151, 153, 154, 156, 157,
pexexovxeq 160, 234, 216, 239, 240, 243, 248
dpxiepaxeiaq 1 evouovo(a 216, 221,239, 240,
uiapd 1 5 9 299
uiapol 6 8ixa 7tdar|<; 7tapeicpdoeco<;
uiueiaGai 2 9 4 145, 147
|iiur|uaxa 223, 239 'Ouovoia lePaaxfi 1 9 2
u(uTiatq 235 ovoua Kaivov 184, 185
6pia|io{ 146 7coxf|piov

open 324 eiq evcoaiv xov ai|iaxo<; avxov
opo<; 315 232
TtpeaPeia 205, 241-246
6 dpxaioq, 6<; eaxiv Aidpotax; jcpeapeiaq e7teu7iov 201
180 7tpeapei<; 198, 2 0 2 , 2 0 5 , 2 2 0 , 2 4 3 ,
oxôKpaxia 55 244, 250
6xAo7coif|aavxe<; 107 fipeOriaav Ttpeopeic; 243
upeapevaai 244, 245
rcaiSefa 158, 160, 162 TipeoPevxaC 207, 244
rcdOoq jcpeopvxepoi 134, 1 8 3 , 1 9 3 , 198,
ncSovc, xov Qeov [iov 199, 2 0 0 , 2 0 1 , 2 0 2 - 2 0 5 , 2 4 9 , 3 2 1
233, 300 KaGriiievoi 201
7iaXi7yevea{a 116, 132 e7t(aK07ioi 8
jcavxoKpdxepia 256 npeG$vxr\<; 244
TtavxoKpdxopeq 292 TipoeSpia 2 0 1 , 202
jcavxoKpdxcop 292 m A , e i a 9 a i eiq 7cpoe8p(av 202
7capaPcou{ov 199 xexeiuT|uevov . . . upoeSpiaiq
7capd8eiypa 276, 294 202
7capa8eiao<; 168, 178 7tpoe8piai 106, 2 4 9
ev xcp TcapaSeiaco xov deov TipoyvcbaK; 9 4 , 113
168, 178, 2 1 3 TtpoTixoiuaauevoi
rcapauuOiov 239 eiq OIKO8OUT|V 213
TtapeicPawcov 147 7ipoiaxr|ui 225
napeKpdaiq rcpoeaxax; 225
8(xa ndariq TtapeKpdoecoq jcpoeaxcoaa xr\q noXeax; fjucov 0e6q
146 225
Ttapovaia 79 TtpoKaOrmevai
7taxpon{>axTi<; 183 6 e a ( xr\<; noXeax; 225
TievxriKovxapxoi 146 TipomOTmevoi
jieTuoxe-Duevoq 235 eiqxvmov 220, 238
TtepipaXeixai 187 7tpom(%ievo<; 217, 218, 223, 224,
Ttepipeptainevoax; oxoXaq 200 225, 242
TcepiTixcbaei^ 140 eiq xo7cov xov Geov 222, 224,
nXavj]xe<; 293 225, 242
nkr\Qo<; 219 ei<; ximov rcaxpoq 230,241
mv 219 [ir\xponoXiq KiAiidaq
7cAo\)xo86xi PaoiAeia Gecov 256 7ipom9eôuevr| 225
nXovxoq 206-208, 249 7cpomGr|(Lievo\) xov EKIGKOKOV
TivevuaxiKoq 249 221
axe\pavo<; 226 TipoKaGC^co (npoKaBx\\iai) 224
7CVOT| 153 Ttpovoia 2 2 , 2 4 , 2 5 , 6 9 , 9 4 , 110,
noXeiioq 160 308
TioXixdpxai 107 7tpoampxepot>vxe<; 6uo0\)ua86v 117
rcoAixeia 7tpoaxdY|icx 146
aepaojiico noXixeia K e K o a u r u i e v o i ev xolq ducbuoi<; Tcpooxdyjiaoiv
161 145
7toAixei>ea9cxi 161 xoiq Aa'iicoiq upoaxdyuaaiv 8e8exai
noXvnXÊia 219, 228 147
noXvwviLoq 257, 258, 260 jcpoaxexayuevoi Kaipoi 147
TcouTCTi 200, 204 jcpoacpopd 147, 217
7co7cavov 182, 195 Tcpoyvcooiq 92
rcopveuoai 181 npovoia 6 7 , 7 1 , 72, 9 2 , 9 4 , 105,
iiopvoi 179 113, 2 7 2
368 INDICES
Ttpoxouri axecpavcoaai
lapdrciScx; 241 Xpvaco oxecpdvco 204
rcpcoTOKocGeSpCai 215 ev eaunoiv taxu7tpaT<;
TcpcoxoaxaTTiq eoxecpavcouevcuq 187, 238
xfj<; xcov Na^copaicov aipeaeox; axecpavcooovciv 207
114 axoXf) 197
rcupcpopcx; 236 axpcban; 195
a\)yxapfivai 246
po8iapo<; 95 ai)vxapT|aopevT|v auxcp 243
Tcoua fi rcaupao&eia 206 auyxcopeiv 5
avyxcopf|oi<; 5, 6
oe(3dCea0at 3, 9, 126 a\)7xcopf|aeco<; dîcoOfivai 5
aepdauiov <xoupot>>itov
e i v a i yduov iepecoc; 320 dyayeiv 8eo7tpe7tecxaxov 246
lePaaxoi 181, 191, 203 avuu\)Gxai 230, 235
aepaaxoAxSycx; 230 (XUUCpCOVOl
aepaaxocpdvni; 192, 196, 197, 199, ovxeq ev ouovoia 216
230, 234, 236, 239, 250, 262 ovve5piov 183
Geocpopoq 250 xcov drcoaxotaov 222
oepaaxocpopoq 230, 236, 237, 239 a\)VT|9eia 219, 228
aePouivai 107 <ruvr|puooxai
oepouevoi 129, 130 xcp e7uaK6rccp 216
crnueia 117 cxuvoSoi
xov anooxohov 132 ndvxeq 235, 238
omuuxx GVOXOLGIC, 152
aicdupaxi 143 ovaxaaw . . . ecpaveporcovnaaq
aocp(a 185, 206, 305, 306 152
aocpoi 285, 289 avaxripa 183
a7tov5ia6fjvai 232 ocppayi8e<;
0eq> 232 KaBdjiep ev icripco ocppayi8e<;
cxaaid£ou£v 159 284
axdaei<; 107 axT|ua
axdoiq 110-114, 118, 119, 121, dvcopGcoaev 160
123, 128, 131, 145, 148, 152-154, ev eipriviKcp oxrâxi 201
157, 159-161, 248 axiaua 119, 145
dvoaioq 145 acocppoovvT} 159
axecpavr|cpopfioai 187 acoxflp 71, 72, 91, 92, 97, 113,
ev AxxprcpaTq eaGfiaiv 180, 181, 159, 194
axecpavricpopeiv dnavxaq ueyiaxcp Zcoxfi pi 189
238, 243 acoxfi pa xapiaauivT| 105
axecpavTicpopot 179, 203, 204, xox> Koivoi) xcov dvOpamcov
249 yevoxx; 70
oxecpavTicpopoq 202, 204 acoxnpia 71, 92, 97, 99, 102, 110,
oxecpavoi 193, 217, 201, 202 112, 121, 123, 128, 156, 162, 206,
XpvooC 201, 202, 249 249
eaxeupevcov 5dcpvr|<; oxecpdvoiq xr\<; xcov fiyeudvcov acoxripiaq 89
201, 204 acoxTipiav e£ exOpcov 92
axecpdvovq xoiq i)uvco8oiq 195, acoxT|p(a<; eopxr|v xiva xavrnv
204, 234 erciaxdjievoc; 123
oxecpavoq acoxT|piov 95
Xpvaouq 206 acocppcov 145
Ccofiq 179
dîo7cA.oKo\) Kve\)uaxiKo\) xanewoi 104
oxecpdvoi) 217, 234 xa7ieivcoai<; 99
xdyuoc 146, 162 \)7tojiovf| 59

ev xcp i6{cp xdyuaxi 147 \)7coxayr| 146, 162
xdfo 146,' 305 urcoxdyexe
xfjc; xdêcoc; 7ipoxexu7tco|ievr|<; 94 xcp ejciaKOTccp 221, 299
xdpaxoq 120
x&eioq moq 157, 245, 280, 323, cpayeiv 178
324 ei5coA6Guxa 181, 185, 186
xeAexai CK xou £uAou xfjq ^CO^K 168,
xaiq dyicoxdxaiq dvapiâoa 213
xeAexaiq 235 (papudicoK; 179
xejxevri 203 (pGopd
xeuevoq 120, 168, 169 riSiaxa dv Seâuevco cpGopdv
xiuri 152, 205 69, 95
xojcoq cpGovo; 159, 160
ei<; xoTcov 218 cpidAai 180, 193, 208, 249,
ev xoTtcp dyico 81 193
XcopCou 'PcouocCcov 225 cpidAxxq xpucrd(; yeuouoaq
8co8eKdxcp xorcco . . . drco xcov Guuiaudxcov 215
drcooxotaov 150 (pidtai 89
xpixcp xoTtcp 150 xou Guuou xou Geou 193
xpdrceâ 89 cpiAx)oe|$aaxo<; 203
xurcoq 222-224, 226, 227, 230, 233, cpiAoaocpoi 288
237, 238, 242, 245, 250, 266 (piAoaocpo; 270, 289
xfjq i)|itcov Geou 'Apxeua8o<; (ptA,ooxopy(a 64
242 (poiviKeq
xou e7uxcop(o\) Geou 227, 260 ev xai<; xepî 200
eiqxurcov 222, 239 (pove(a 315
Geou 221, 225 (ppoviuoi 159
mxpoq 218, 227, 238, 260 (ppoupoi 320
ouve8p(ou xcov drcoaxotaov (pt>ai<; 45, 49, 71, 278
221 (pcovf|
xurcov opGiov 223 ev 9covfj jiia 216
xurcoi 220, 222, 224, 226, 239,
240, 241, 260 xapi<; #
xupavvoq Xdptxoq jLiexexovxeq 320

Eiciq atcovo<; \iovr\ 256 Xeipoxovfiaat 246
X\)XTI 71, 111, 122 5idicovov 244
Xeipoxovt|aavxe<; 133
uioq 72, 96, 99 XiA.(apxoi 146
Geou 152 Xop8a( 216
Kaioapoq Geou uiou 71 Xopo(
daxepcov 145
uyieicx 72, 151, 153, 248 Xop6<; 230, 233, 240
Ar|uoaia 70 ev dydjcTi xop<k 233
uuvco8e(ov Xpiaxocpopoi 230, 238
ev xcp uuvcoSeCco 195 XP%a
uuvcp8oi 194, 195, 198, 199, 204, Geou Axxpovxeq, ev evoxi 216
205, 234, 249
'ApxefiiSi auveSpiov xcov ujavcoScov \|/eu8o7cpo(pr|XTi<; 215
194 \|/f|(pioua 199, 234
uuvcp86<; 199 xjnicpoc; 183-185
xfi iepa uuvcoScov auvoSco xaipew A.euKT| 180-182, 185
' 199,' 234 vj/uxri 275-277, 294
PLATES
P l a t e 1. A r a P a c i s A u g u s t i . D A I N e g . 5 3 . 3 0 7 .
P l a t e 2. A r a P a c i s : T e l l u s : c e l e b r a t i o n o f Pax in n a t u r e a n d society. D A I N e g . 86.1448.
P l a t e 3. A r a P a c i s : T e l l u s a n d h e r c h i l d r e n in a f r u i t f u l e a r t h .
DAI Neg. 32.1744.
P l a t e 4. A r a P a c i s : N y m p h (Hard) o f s e a - r e a l m s e a t e d o n a t a m e d d r a g o n .
DAI Neg. 32.1746.
P l a t e 5 . A r a P a c i s : C l o s e - u p o f T e l l u s ' c h i l d in N a t u r e ' s s u p e r a b u n d a n c e .
D A I N e g . 86.1458.
P l a t e 6. A r a P a c i s : S a c r i f i c i a l S c e n e (Suovetaurilia). DAI Neg. 66.107.
P l a t e 7. A l t a r o f L a r e s : A u g u s t u s a s augurwith lituus. D A I N e g . 7 5 . 2 9 3 .
P l a t e 8. A l t a r o f t h e L a r e s : Vicomagistri a t j o i n t s a c r i f i c e . D A I N e g . 6 0 . 1 4 7 2 .
P l a t e 9. A l t a r o f L a r e s : A u g u s t u s h a n d s s t a t u e t t e s t o ministri o f a compitum.
Mus. Vatic. Arch. F o t o g . N e g . N . A. 16.6.
P l a t e 10. Ministri with s t a t u e t t e s o f Lares a n d Genius Augusti. Mus. Vatic. Arch. Fotog. N e g . N . X X X V . 5 . 9 .
P l a t e 1 1 . A l t a r d e d i c a t e d t o t h e Lares o f A u g u s t u s .
M u s . C a p i t . A r c h . F o t o g . Inv. 8 5 5 / S .
P l a t e 1 2 . A u g u s t u s p r e s e n t s s t a t u e o f M i n e r v a t o magistri o f w o o d w o r k e r s .
M u s . C a p i t . A r c h . F o t o g . Inv. 1 9 0 9 / S .
P l a t e 13. G e m m a A u g u s t e a . V i e n n a , K u n s t h i s t . M u s . Inv. I X . A . 7 9 .
P l a t e 14. P o m p e i : P r i e s t e s s with stola a n d patera.
N a p l e s , M u s . N a z . Inv. 6 0 4 1 .
Plate 15. Priest with i n c e n s e b o x .
Lyon, Mus. Gallo-Rom. (Photo: Ch. Thioc).
P l a t e 16. H e a d o f A u g u s t u s w i t h t h u n d e r b o l t a n d star.
B M C ( T i b e r i u s ) 1 5 1 . c 2 1 6 . 2 0 (PL 2 6 . 3 ) . ( O b v . )
P l a t e 17. L i v i a a s p r i e s t e s s h o l d i n g patera a n d s c e p t r e .
B M C ( T i b e r i u s ) 1 5 1 x . 2 1 6 . 2 0 (PL 2 6 . 3 ) . ( R e v . )
P l a t e 18. H e a d o f A u g u s t u s w i t h star.
B M C (Titus) 2 7 1 . c 2 1 9 . 8 6 (PL 5 4 , 3 ) . (Obv.)
P l a t e 19. A l t a r t o Providentia.
B M C ( T i t u s ) 2 7 1 . c 2 1 9 . 8 6 (PL 5 4 , 3 ) . ( R e v . )
Plate 20. Domitia Augusta.
B M C ( D o m i t i a n ) 6 5 . c l 9 4 . 5 6 (PL 6 1 , 9 ) . ( O b v . )
P l a t e 2 1 . D o m i t i a ( P i e t a s ) with s c e p t r e , left, e x t e n d i n g r i g h t
h a n d towards h e r child.
B M C ( D o m i t i a n ) 6 5 . c l 9 4 . 5 6 (PL 6 1 , 9 ) . (Rev.)
Plate 22. Domitia Augusta.
B M C ( D o m i t i a n ) 6 2 (PL 6 1 , 6 ) . ( O b v . )
Plate 23. Divus C a e s a r (Domitian's s o n ) as baby J u p i t e r

s e a t e d o n a g l o b e c i r c l e d by s e v e n s t a r s .
B M C ( D o m i t i a n ) 6 2 (PL 6 1 , 6 ) . (Rev.)
Plate 24. Victory (Domitian) d r a p e d a n d h o l d i n g a shield.
B M C ( D o m i t i a n ) 504.C.220.3. (Rev.)
P l a t e 2 5 . Aeternitas h o l d i n g t h e s u n a n d m o o n .
B M C ( D o m i t i a n ) 3 4 6 . c 2 1 9 . 9 4 (PI. 7 3 , 4 )
Plate 26. S a b i n a A u g u s t a .
B M C ( H a d r i a n ) 1 0 9 5 . C . 3 9 1 . 8 (PL 7 5 , 7 ) . ( O b v . )
Plate 27. Cybele, towered, d r a p e d a n d seated.

B M C ( H a d r i a n ) 1095.C.391.8 (PL 7 5 , 7 ) . (Rev.)
P l a t e 2 8 . F a u s t i n a (I) A u g u s t a .
B M C ( A n t o n i n u s P i u s ) 1 4 3 6 . c 2 2 3 . 1 9 0 (PL 3 4 , 4 ) . ( O b v . )
P l a t e 2 9 . C y b e l e t o w e r e d a n d e n t h r o n e d w i t h two l i o n s .
B M C ( A n t o n i n u s Pius) 1 4 3 6 . c 2 2 3 . 1 9 0 (PL 3 4 , 4 ) . (Rev.)
Plate 30. F a u s t i n a (II) A u g u s t a .
B M C ( M a r c u s Aurelius) 934.C.225.1 (PL 7 3 , 1 1 ) . (Obv.)
Plate 3 1 . Cybele (Mater M a g n a ) towered.

B M C ( M a r c u s A u r e l i u s ) 9 3 4 . C . 2 2 5 . 1 (PL 7 3 , 1 1 ) . ( R e v . )
Plate 32. Matri D e u m Salutari: Cybele towered a n d on a
lion's back.
B M C ( C o m m o d u s ) 6 8 0 (PL 1 0 9 , 1 5 ) . ( R e v . )
Plate 33. J u l i a ( D o m n a ) Augusta.

B M C ( S e p t i m i u s S e v e r u s ) 7 7 . c l 9 8 . 1 5 4 B ( a ) (PL 2 8 , 1 8 ) (Obv.)
P l a t e 3 4 . Isis w i t h H o r u s in b o t h a r m s .
B M C (Septimius Severus) 7 7 . c l 9 8 . 1 5 4 B (a)
(PL 2 8 , 1 8 ) ( R e v . )

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T H E IMPERIAL CULT AND T H E DEVELOPMENT

D i e Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme

© Copyright 1999 by Koninklyke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands

Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal

PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

I. Christian a n d P a g a n Cultus by the T h i r d C e n t u r y 1

II. T h e Foundations of the Imperial Cult 17

III. Imperial Ideology a n d the Origins of C h u r c h O r d e r 73

IV. C l e m e n t of R o m e a n d D o m i t i a n ' s E m p i r e 140

V. T h e Apocalypse a n d D o m i t i a n ' s I c o n o g r a p h y 164

V I . Ignatius of Antioch a n d the M a r t y r ' s Procession 210

B. T h e M a r t y r Procession a n d Cultic Ambassadors .... 228

V I I I . T h e E m e r g e n c e of Imperial a n d Catholic O r d e r 310

AAWG A b h a n d l u n g e n d e r A k a d e m i e der Wissenschaften in

BeitrHistTh Beitrage zur historischen Theologie

JBL J o u r n a l of Biblical Literature

PWK A. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-encyclopadia der classischen Alter-

SPAW Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Akademie der Wis­

1. Ara Pads Augusti

* T h e Plates Section can be found at the end o f this book.

11. Altar dedicated to the Lares of Augustus.

14. Pompei: Priestess with stola and patera.

28. Faustina (I) Augusta.

T h e received opinion on the Imperial Cult of p e r h a p s a majority of

t h r o u g h its ability to synthesise itself with traditional p a g a n cults in

that we have a nascent C h u r c h O r d e r , developing pari passu with

In C a m b r i d g e I m u s t m e n t i o n Professor William H o r b u r y , F.B.A.,

(i) Deutsches Archaologisches Institut, R o m (Plates 1-8).

ALLEN BRENT BRITISH SCHOOL AT R O M E

Contra-cultural theory and Cyprianic Order

T h e victory of early Christianity a n d its success in annihilating its

a n almost universal acknowledgment to a given episcopal succession.

PART A. CYPRIANIC HIERARCHY AND DECIUS TRAJAN

In C y p r i a n ' s edifice we have the clearest e x a m p l e of C h u r c h O r d e r

stood the now developed, Cyprianic hierarchy. T h e bishop as high

C y p r i a n ' s justification of ecclesia una est is that each bishop in the

T h e act of offering incense at the altars of the Imperial Cult as

PART B. CHRISTIAN AND IMPERIAL C U L T :

T h e parallelism between participation in the Christian Cult a n d the

a different e m p e r o r that t h e Christians were o n trial. T h e decree

the cult of Christ a n d in that of Caesar. Both have their indulgentia/

PART C . C H U R C H O R D E R AS APOLOGIA: T H E REACTIVE THESIS

It is possible to present an account of the development of C h u r c h

'* E. B a m m e l , Sukzessionsprinzip im Urchristentum, in StEphAug 31 (1990), p p .

gent. Y o u could be a m o r a l citizen, a n d therefore a g o o d a n d loyal

1. It fails to a c c o u n t for the p h e n o m e n o n of stages in the develop­

h a d failed in augurium a n d haruspicium to secure the pax deorum in the

PART D . IMPERIAL AND CHRISTIAN ORDER:

D u r i n g the 1950s C o h e n a n d his associates outlined a theory of how,

w h o h a d " h e a r t " , w h o would risk their lives in acts considered by

W h e t h e r in C o h e n ' s teenage gangs, or in the C a n d D streams

m a r k e d by the radical or Spiritual Franciscans, suppressed by J o h n

T h u s we find contra-cultural features in early Christian descrip­

to the pax deorum p r o d u c e d by Augustus' augural act a n d witnessed

The religious character of the Augustan Revolution

T h e Augustan revolution was as m u c h religious as it was political.

n a t u r e a n d society in terms of a Stoic, hyloholistic theology of for-

PART A. REPUBLICAN ANTECEDENTS OF THE IMPERIAL CULT

T h e practice of worshipping deified e m p e r o r s , w h e t h e r alive or d e a d ,

2A 1. The political and constitutional significance of divination

As Balbus is quick to point out, C o t t a ' s participation in divination

This, as we shall see, was a constitutional point not lost u p o n Augustus

W e shall n o w see, in the context of the later republic, h o w such a

SPAW Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Akademie der Wis

1. It fails to a c c o u n t for the p h e n o m e n o n of stages in the develop

T h u s we find contra-cultural features in early Christian descrip

can be a n c h o r e d . T h u s the social o r d e r is b o t h h a r m o n i s e d a n d sta

T h e r e must, o n e feels, have b e e n something m o r e , which con

It was thus of political as well as of cultic i m p o r t a n c e that the vis

W e c a n parallel the i m p o r t a n c e of the victory in Spain with the ide

Xiphilinus has already explained that C a e s a r (Augustus) by n o w con

w h e n haruspices prophesied that they would all die following a whirl

such as exta or flights of birds. Divination therefore becomes a ratio