The Tragic Life Of The Roman Emperor, Julian The Apostate

When Constantine the Great became the ruler of the entire Roman Empire in 324 CE, most of his relatives probably thought they would be set for life in positions of power and luxury. Actually, when Constantine died in 337, only a few people in the royal family benefited. The large empire was divided between Constantine’s legitimate sons, Constantine II, Canstans I and Canstantius II. These three brothers each adopted the title of emperor and ruled their own domains. Unfortunately for all of the other relatives and cousins who were not direct, legitimate heirs of Constantine the Great, their fate was very different. Instead of being seen as allies and kin, the three new emperors saw most of their family as rivals and enemies.

Virgil's Underworld: A Land Of Death...And Reincarnation

  (Dante and Virgil in Hell, by Crescenzio Onofri  (–1714) and Livio Mehus  (1630–1691), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

In The Aeneid, an epic poem written by the Roman poet, Virgil (70-19 BCE), the main character of the story (Aeneas) traveled into the underworld to meet his father. The scenes that Virgil painted about the realm of the dead in book six of his masterpiece are likely some of the most vivid and elaborate illustrations of the ancient Greco-Roman underworld.

Virgil’s description of the underworld was so compelling that it undoubtedly served as an inspiration for Dante Alighieri’s conception of Hell in his famous work, The Divine Comedy. Despite Virgil’s disquieting portrayal of the gloomy, depressing and gruesome side of the underworld, he also described a highly interesting system of reincarnation that occurred in the Fields of Elysium. Although Virgil was not the only person from ancient Greece and Rome to envision reincarnation—Pythagoras and his followers also believed in rebirth—it is, nonetheless very interesting to read about souls in Greco-Roman mythology participating in a system of reincarnation similar to what can be found in Buddhism and Hinduism.

Journeying to the Underworld

  (Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl, by François Perrier  (1594–1649), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Aeneas’ adventure to the underworld began when he decided to break into the realm of the dead to speak with his father. He sought out a renowned Sibyl in Cumae to teach him how a living man could enter the realm of the dead. She directed him to a Stygian marsh, where he needed to obtain a golden bough that would be vital to them during their journey into the depths of the underworld.

Mythology Madness: Magna Mater Cybele

Blood and Body Mutilation in the Great Mother’s Cult

At the start of the 3^rd century BCE, the Roman Republic was desperate. One of the greatest military geniuses in history, Hannibal of Carthage, had led a formidable army eastward through Spain and France and entered Roman territory through the frozen and mountainous Alps. Hannibal then massacred a major Roman military force at Cannae in 216 BCE, and was able to move freely throughout Italy. He had control of the Italian countryside, but lacked the men or materials required to break his way into the Roman cities; The Second Punic War was at a precarious stalemate. By 204 BCE, Rome was willing to accept any help they could receive to turn the tide of the war against the Carthaginians.

Grasping for any leverage or path forward, the leaders of Rome searched through their collection of prophecies—the Sibylline Books. What they found in the prophecies sent them eastward to the city of Pessinus, in the land of Phrygia, the home of a goddess who had a wide following in both Phrygia and Greece. The Romans sought out a meteor, or statue, or image (or a combination of the above) that was venerated by the goddess’ adherents and transported the item from Phrygia to the city of Rome, where the goddess was formally adopted into the growing family of Jupiter and the Capitoline Gods on the Palatine Hill. The Magna Mater (Great Mother), Cybele, was home.

(Roman Statue of Cybele c. 50 CE, photo by Marshall Astor, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Mythology Madness: Dionysus

Dionysus was much, much more than a partying god of wine

(Bacchus by Caravaggio, [Public domain] via Creative Commons)

Remembering a god

Of all the old Greek and Roman gods, Dionysus (also known as Bacchus and Liber Pater) may be the most underestimated and misrepresented in the minds of modern-day people. While Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Hades and Athena remain well remembered in novels, movies and videogames, Dionysus remains largely forgotten. Nowadays, Dionysus is mostly remembered as a toga-wearing (though he mostly wore fawn pelts) god of wine and parties. While this depiction is partially true, this god was much more powerful, and much more influential, than a mere god of good times. Dionysus was a god of earth who controlled plants and animals (and everything that derives from them), as well as having the ability to inspire great ecstasy or great rage—like the wine he is remembered by.

The Ancient Mystery Religion Cults of Rome (Part Two)

The similarities between early Christianity and the cult of Mithras are astounding.

Mystery Religions

This is Part Two of an article discussing the Mystery Religions of Ancient Rome. For information on what Mystery Religions are and how their adherents believed and acted, please read PART ONE.

For the sake of clarity and coherence, here is a brief summary of what ancient Mystery Religion were about: The Mystery Religions of ancient Rome were cults—before any negative connotations creep into our minds, remember that religious cults of antiquity were not viewed as negatively as the modern ‘cult.’ The religious cults of ancient Rome were worshipping the gods and goddesses of mythology well before monsters like Jim Jones and Charles Manson stigmatized cults forever. Modern cults are about feeding the egos of manipulative sociopaths—ancient cults were about creating a more emotional and personal worship experience. The ancient cults were simply groups of people who met regularly at a fixed location to worship a specific deity by reenacting a secret ceremony to induct new initiates to the cult.

In ancient days, especially in Rome and Greece, religion was a public activity done under the observation of the government and temple priests. Understandably, some Romans wanted a closer, more personal, relationship with their deity—these people were the ones who joined the Mystery Religion cults. Instead of giving offerings to their gods in the marketplace temples, they would meet with small congregations and worship through ceremony and ritual.

Christianity, before being accepted and protected by Emperor Constantine and his successors, used some of the characteristics and organization of the Roman Mystery Religions to survive its inhospitable two first centuries of existence. Members of Mystery Religions, like Emperor Constantine (who worshipped Mithras most of his life), were able to understand Christianity and were a heavy source of the Church’s first gentile converts.

(Constantine the Great Statue in York by Philip Jackson c. 1998, photo by Carole Raddato, via Creative Commons)

The Ancient Mystery Religion Cults of Rome - Part One

(Ceremonies of the cult of Isis. Coloured engraving by Ron von Spalart, via Welcome Images and Creative Commons)