Eberhard Sauer. The archaeology of religious hatred in the Roman and early Medieval world.

Eberhard Sauer. The archaeology of religious hatred in the Roman and early Medieval world. EBERHARD SAUER. The archaeology of religious hatred in the Romanand early Medieval world. 192 pages, 77 figures, 25 colourillustrations. 2003. Stroud & Charleston (SC): Tempus; 0-7524-2530-7paperback 17.99 [pounds sterling] & $29.99. The destruction of pagan shrines and monuments in the reign ofTheodosius I Theodosius Ior Theodosius the Great,346?–395, Roman emperor of the East (379–95) and emperor of the West (394–95), son of Theodosius, the general of Valentinian I. (379- 95), not least in Syria under the governorship ofCynegius, is well known. At this period, monks are described by Libaniusas 'clothed in black and with the appetites of elephants',making 'illegal attacks on temples and destroying them completelywith their images, with stones andiron implements' (Oratio 30 Protemplis 8). Sauer provides archaeological evidence for this with hisscholarly and well researched study of the hatred felt by theperpetrators for all forms of paganism and its artwork. He concentrateson the destruction of mithraea and, in particular, of images of the godsacrificing the sacred bull and of the massive images in some of thegreat temples of Egypt, and even beyond the Roman frontier. He is alsoat pains to defend himself against criticisms made, by R.L. Gordon, ofhis earlier work, while disagreeing with R. Turcan, who proposed thatChristianity was successful in the Rhineland as early as the first halfof the third century through its ability to offer a better understandingof reality than did the pagan cults. These concerns, however, sometimesmake for lengthy arguments over details which tend to distract from theauthor's main thesis. The early chapters concentrate on the fate of Mithraic shrines inthe west. Among the Roman settlements, whether in the Agri Decumates,abandoned c. 260, or along the Rhine frontier, the same phenomena couldbe observed. Figures of the god and his worship have been carefully andsystematically destroyed. Even fragments of statues have beenpulverised. A statue of Mercury from the mithraeum at Dieburg had beenhacked into 23 pieces. In Italy, the same process could be observed inthe mithraeum at Ostia Ostia(ŏs`tēə), ancient city of Italy, at the mouth of the Tiber. It was founded (4th cent. B.C.) as a protection for Rome, then developed (from the 1st cent. B.C.) as a Roman port, rivaling Puteoli. while, at Carmona near Seville, a large statue ofan elephant had been smashed up and thrown into a well 20m deep. Whilebarbarians could be suspected of carrying away loot from temples, theirsystematic destruction points to Christians and sometimes to theirmonastic leaders. Monuments in some of the great Egyptian temples suffered identicaldamage. Sauer comments on the huge undertaking needed to destroy thegiant Hathor heads and other monuments at Dendara. It is a pity that, atthis point, he extended his research to what to him was unfamiliarterritory, beyond the Roman frontier, at Qasr Ibrim Qasr Ibrim (Arabic: قصر ابريم) is an archeological site in Lower Nubia. Originally it was a major city perched on a cliff above the Nile, but the flooding of Lake Nasser after the construction of . The'second-fifth century coins' allegedly recovered from thefloor of the Ta Harqa (?) temple were in fact discovered by the reviewerat the base of a plinth outside the west entrance of the temple, coveredwith a wafer-thin layer of mud, as if forming part of libations. Themain series dated from 277 (an Alexandrian billon bil��lon?n.1. An alloy of gold or silver with a greater proportion of another metal, such as copper, used in making coins.2. An alloy of silver with a high percentage of copper, used in making medals and tokens. tetradrachm of Probus)to imitation 3AE of the House of Theodosius. Moreover, bricks from thetemple could not have been used in the construction of the cathedral,which was built almost exclusively of great blocks taken from thePtolemaic temple, of which the podium, incorporated in the laterfortifications of the site, formed the only surviving part. Reasons for the progressive retreat of paganism in the Greco-Romanworld The Greco-Roman or Graeco-Roman World, as understood by medieval and modern scholars, geographers and miscellaneous writers, refers to those geographical regions and countries who were directly, protractedly and intimately influenced by the language, culture, government and remain obscure. The author discusses 'a world waiting forChristianity?'. He is certainly correct in arguing that Mithraismwas among the last resisters to Christianity, pointing to evidence forits comparative prosperity, including many small coin offerings from thepoor, as late as the reign of Theodosius I and even beyond. From thetime of Justin Martyr Justin Martyr (also Justin the Martyr, Justin of Caesarea, Justin the Philosopher) (100–165) was an early Christian apologist and saint. His works represent the earliest surviving Christian apologies of notable size. (c. 150), it had been regarded as a most hatedrival of Christianity (I Apol. 66), a prime example of demonic imitationof the faith, and hence the fanaticism with which its monuments wereattacked. Otherwise, Sauer is inclined to place the decisive advance ofChristianity later than much of the evidence suggests. The GreatPersecution (303-12) failed because, by then, Christianity was toostrong both in town and countryside. Examples from some of theMediterranean provinces may be quoted. Thus, Denis Roques (1987:319) hasshown that no priests of Apollo can be identified after 285-8. In NorthAfrica, the last annual visit of the magistri of Aquae aq��uae?n.A plural of aqua. Thibilitanae totheir grotto of Bacax was dated to 284 (Alquier 1929:133), and the lastknown dated dedication to Saturn in Numidia was in 272 (Frend 1952: 84).At the same time, Coptic peasants in the Thebaid had turned with theenthusiasm of martyrs to Christianity by the time Maximin Maximin, d. 238, Roman emperorMaximin(Caius Julius Verus Maximinus) (măk`sĭmĭn), d. 238, Roman emperor (235–38). attempted tosuppress them in 311 (Eusebius Hist. Eccl. viii.9.). On the other hand,Sauer is correct in placing the high point in the prosperity ofRomano-Celtic temples in Britain as the Constantinian era or even later.The progressive Christianisation of the empire challenges furtherresearch. The author ends on a sombre som��bre?adj. Chiefly BritishVariant of somber.sombreor US somberAdjective1. serious, sad, or gloomy: a sombre message2. note, reminding his readers how theworld watched in disbelief as explosives laid by Al-Qaeda and theTaliban reduced the great Buddha statues at Bamiyan to powder.Fanaticism had returned. Where would it end, he asks. Sauer writes,therefore, with a sense of mission. His well illustrated descriptions ofthe remains of mutilated statues sound a warning note. Where he iswriting as an archaeologist from his first-hand experiences he ispowerfully convincing. Where he strays beyond his brief he is less so.He would have benefited from the essays in L'intolleranza (Beatrice1990) for useful combinations of archaeological and literary evidencerelevant to his theme. But with all said and done, this is an importantbook, a valuable contribution towards understanding the springs of earlyChristian fanaticism on its road to domination in the West. References ALQUIER, J. & P. 1929. Le Chettaba el les grottes ainscriptions latines du Chettaba et du Taya. Constantine: Paulette. BEATRICE, P.F. (ed.). 1990. L'intolleranza cristiana neiconfronti dei Pagani. Bologna: Dehoniane. FREND, W.H.C. 1952. The Donatist Church: a movement of protest inRoman North Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ROQUES, D. 1987. Synesios de Cyrene et la Cyrenaique du Bas-Empire.Paris: CNRS CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research, France)CNRS Centro Nacional de Referencia Para El Sida (Argentinean National Reference Center for Aids). W.H.C. FREND Little Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire, UK.