In the early Republic of the Roman Empire, the religio, or religion, was a polytheist one, or more than one god. Christianity cam along and was completely different because it believed in one God. Religion in Rome underwent an overwhelming change from the time of the Early Republic to the end of the Western Empire. These changes from a polytheist religion to Christianity not only changed how people practiced religion, but how women were viewed. These things lead to people becoming confused and angered at Christianity. The early Republic was a polytheist religio state. Religio, is the practice that binds together the gods and the state, reaffirming their connection. They worshiped gods such as Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Mars, Mercury and Juno. Each of their gods and goddesses was a patron of different things. If a ship was about to go out on a journey, they would worship and offer up a sacrifice to Neptune, because he is the god of the sea. Christianity was a new and up incoming religion, that followed Jesus of Nazareth. After he is crucified, His apostles and disciples, go out and spread the word that he taught. The one disciple that lead to the spreading to and through the Roman Empire, was Saint Paul. Saint Paul wrote many letters to communities in the Roman Empire and even Rome itself. One of the differences between these two types of religions, is how the Roman Paganism was focused on the worship of the community. In Christianity, worship is more about the individual. Also when a community worshiped a god, they made a sacrifice to them. In Christianity, prayer how you show appreciation to God. Another difference was that Christianity gave people virtues and values to live by. In the polytheist society, it was philosophers who gave people words and ideas to live by. When Christianity first came to the Empire, it was viewed as a superstitio. A superstitio is any form of religious or magicial practices that are unsanctioned by the state. There were many forms of this, but mystery cults were properly the most well know. Mystery cults focused on worshipping on god more. They also were unique, because they focused on the individual, similar to Christianity. Another form of superstitio was defixio, or cursing someone. People did this by writing a curse into a tablet and putting some place only the gods could see. Women in the early Roman Empire had a lot more freedom than the women of Ancient Greece. They were the center social life in the household. Along with that, they were allowed to visit friends, shop, and attend games, theaters, and temples. Although they had those freedoms, they were not allowed to participate in public life, such as politics. One of the things that attracted women to
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This is why Christianity was popular for poor people, non-citizens, and women. Christianity, also gave women the power to be leaders and play significant roles in the Church. In Paul’s letter, he ends them with greetings to people he knows or had heard of. In Romans, he shows that women can be in high positions in the Church. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.” Paul calls her a servant, which was translated for the word deaconess. Deaconess was the head of an area, and they were in charge of splitting the wealth between all of its
This is why Christianity was popular for poor people, non-citizens, and women. Christianity, also gave women the power to be leaders and play significant roles in the Church. In Paul’s letter, he ends them with greetings to people he knows or had heard of. In Romans, he shows that women can be in high positions in the Church. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.” Paul calls her a servant, which was translated for the word deaconess. Deaconess was the head of an area, and they were in charge of splitting the wealth between all of its