On Christianity and the Shadow of the Colosseum
And a passing thought on Marcus Aurelius
In the Director’s Cut of Gladiator, there is a scene in Morocco in which oxen are pulling an open slave wagon through a crowded provincial street, one of the slaves being the main character Maximus Decimus Meridius. As he traverses through the foreign land and its local culture towards an arena in which he will be forced to fight, to his left, he sees a bearded man with long hair in a robe emblazed with the ichthys (fish) symbol[1] and holding a wooden cross. Beneath him, appears to be several believers (presumably those under his spiritual care) praying as they await their inevitable death as sacrifices from the gladiator’s blade (or wilder beast’s claw). It is clear that the scene was intended to invoke the traditional image of Yeshua the Messiah,[2] who died over a century and half before the events depicted in the film. Christianity was known to have existed in the region, through the Berbers (being the descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa), yet the ethnicity of the Christians in the brief scene infer they are most likely captives brought to the region for the purpose of gladiatorial entertainment. They, like Maximus, were taken from their homelands. As brief as the scene is, for those studying the film, several questions arise; how long had Christians been part of the cultural landscape in ancient Rome, what did they believe and did those beliefs make them a target by Roman authorities and those operating the gladiatorial games, and how did Christians perceive life in ancient Rome and the threat of the gladiatorial arena?
In the wake of Messiah Yeshua’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Christians were opposed for a range of reasons: they were a threat to dearly held traditional values, a threat to economic losses, (alleged) vilification of opponents, and threat of social unrest.[3] This was particularly true in the ancient Roman Empire.[4] Plescia believes that “this ideological conflict between the Graeco-Roman world and the Christian world… moulded public opinion, which in turn, fanned by pagan writers, influenced the public authorities in condemning Christianity” and being that it was not bound to a single ethnicity, believed the state was subordinate to their religion, and was exclusivist regarding their claims of both soteriology and the supernatural realm, made them unpopular in ancient Rome.[5] Fearful of the unknown, the ancient Romans charged Christians with everything, ranging from the great fire of Rome (64 AD) to accusations of sexual orgies, incest, cannibalism, infanticide, and even natural disasters.[6] Where history shows that often, such religious groups become extinct or become secluded to a small geographical location, Christianity was very different as attested by secular historians, past and present. Ironically, while threatening the concept of Romanitas (the Roman way of life), Christianity actually thrived because of Pax Romana, which encouraged cultural growth. While the physical means of persecuting Christians has already been established, the legal means has long been debated; some say it was “the whim of the emperor,”[7] while others insist it was “coercitio (police coercion).”[8] Regardless, ancient Rome felt threatened by Christianity as it was a cultural-religious phenomenon that had never truly dealt with before. The threat of death was initially seen as the most effective means of suppressing religious growth. But the possibility of death was interpreted by Christians as martyrdom for the faith.[9] Salisbury writes that “people with little faith who were searching for spiritual truths believed that people willing to die horrible deaths must be on to something,”[10] later noting that by persecuting Christians, the Roman Empire lost power, causing their victims to gain “respect and strength.”[11] The relationship with the divine displayed by the Christians would have fascinated the ancient Romans. What is remarkable here, is that Christians chose this outcome and “had a good deal of precedent to draw on as they face persecution…[the] Jewish tradition – from the Maccabean martyrs to the martyrs at Masada – offers praise for those who chose death of impiety.”[12] Death was not a deterrent and as the scene in the the Director’s Cut of Gladiator, the calmness of the robed man holding the cross is evident, for he did not fear “those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear[ed] Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). In the precursor to death, ancient and modern Christians alike draw closer to YHWH and see good come from evil (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28); whether it be the strengthening of a believing community under oppression or persecution, the conversion of one impacted by the passing of a believer, or the legacy a believer leaves behind. Their deaths are not, so to speak, in vain. This school of thought was prominent in post-first century Christianity, for as Penner notes
It was this understanding that sacrifice, suffering, shame, and even death were the normal cost of discipleship that fuelled the evangelistic efforts of the first century Church. They did not expect to experience all of the blessings of heaven in this world. They knew that by their faithfulness, even unto death, they were storing up rewards in heaven. Contrary to the Western belief that it is a blessing not to be persecuted, they knew that it was the persecuted who are blessed (Matthew 10-12). Rather than following the common Western practice of thanking God for the privilege of living in a free country where we do not suffer for Him, the early Christians thanked God for the honor of suffering for His sake (Acts 5:41). They knew that in order to bring life to others, they must die; to see others experience peace with God, they would have to suffer the violence of the world; to bring the love of God to a dying world, they would have to face the hatred of those whom they were seeking to reach. It is in this context that the biblical authors described spiritual warfare; not freedom over bad habits or psychological problems, but the brutal reality of witnessing to the faithfulness of God in the face of suffering, sacrifice and death. It was only in this context that the purposes of God would be accomplished.[13] (2008:3)
By abiding in Messiah Yeshua (John 15:4), even in death, Christians lay down the foundations for further growth of the Christian church,[14] both locally and globally (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-8) and as Gonzalez notes, early Christians believed martyrdom ‘was not something that one chose, but something for which one was chosen by God.”[15]
Excursus: On Marcus Aurelius and the Christian Religion
It is only in recent years that the role of Marcus Aurelius (121–180) and his relationship to Christianity, has been reconsidered. Though not favourable to the Christian religion, he did make reference to Christians and their theology in Meditations (e.g. I.6, III.6, VII.68, VIII.48.51, and XI.3). For a great deal of time, scholarship has leaned towards him being either apathetic of those who persecuted Christians under his reign or not concerned with Christianity enough to be seen as either a friend or foe. Consider a familiar summary by Rhee:
In the reign of Marcus Aurelius (ca. AD 165), the great plague, which eventually devastated the entire eastern and central parts of the empire, was followed by local persecutions of the Christians… The charge of atheism (Christians’ refusal to worship the traditional gods), which had been a familiar accusation against the Jews, was not turned against Christians and lay at the core of enmity toward them. Among the pagans, it generated intense anxiety and fear of the gods’ wrath and identified Christians as a direct enemy of the pax deorum and mos maiorum; enemies of the gods were the enemies of the people and of the empire… [t]he accusations of Cornelius Fronto, Marcus Aurelius’ tutor, preserved by Minucius Felix, were undoubtedly scandalous: worship of a donkey’s head, ritual murder of an infant and cannibalism… incestuous and promiscuous unions of feast days (Oct. 9.6; 31.1-2)… [and t]he practise of black magic… constituted another serious social charge… [16]
Rhee adds that Church historian Eusebius contended that during this time “the greatest persecutions existed in Asia” (Hist. eccl. 4.15.1) and recounts the torture, beheading, murder by animals, and desecration of Christians at Lyons and Vienne in Gaul (Hist. eccl. 5.1; Martyr. Lyons) as one of many examples of persecution.[17]
There is however, a consensus that this position may not be as balanced as once thought. This is not to say that there were was no persecution of Christians at the time, but specifically, that Marcus Aurelius was aware or responsible for such acts of violence. Two notable Christian texts, Tertullian’s Apologeticus and Melito of Sardis’ Apology for Christianity differ significantly on their assessment of the emperor when compared to that of Eusebius.[18] Furthermore, Irenaeus makes no reference to the persecution at Lyon in his Adversus Haereses and if we are to attribute Letter of Antoninus to the Common Assembly of Asia to the hand of Aurelius, then truth be told, he was not supportive Christian persecution. Yet, if Eusebius and others were writing Christian propaganda, the persecutions themselves did take place and some scholars believe that the while Aurelius did not spearhead Christian persecution, he did not actively seek to end its existence or was ignorantly not aware of its existence in the Empire.[19]
[1] ἸΧΘΥΣ (IKhThUS) is an acronym or acrostic for the Greek phrase "Ἰησοῦς Χρῑστός Θεοῦ Υἱός Σωτήρ", which translates into English as “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” The word is constructed as follows: Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), Χρῑστός (Khrīstós), Θεοῦ (Theoû), Υἱός (Huiós), Σωτήρ (Sōtḗror), which translated, stands for Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior.
[2] Christ being the Koine Greek word for Messiah, a title meaning “anointed one.” Jesus is a Latin rendition of the Hebrew name, Yeshua.
[3] Chee-Chiew Lee, When Christians Face Persecution: Theological Perspectives from the New Testament (London, UK: Apollos, 2011), 40, 41-50.
[4] For an exceptional study on the daily life of Christians in Rome leading up to the events in Gladiator, see: Peter Lampe, From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003).
[5] Joseph Plescia, “On the Persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire,” Latomus 30, no. 1 (1971): 120-121; Ivor J. Davidson, The Birth of the Church: From Jesus to Constantine AD 30-312 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2004), 189-212.
[6] Ibid., 127-128; Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language. 4th ed (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 41-42.
[7] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity – Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, NY: HarperOne, 1985), 35.
[8] Joseph Plescia, “On the Persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire,” Latomus 30, no. 1 (1971): 131.
[9] See: Bryan M. Litfin, Early Christian Martyr Stories: An Evangelical Introduction with New Translations (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014) and John Foxe, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (Eureka, MN: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2013). In scriptural events such as Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7:58), it is shown that Christians were beginning to understand the words from Messiah Yeshua’s ministry which clearly stated that in following Him, persecution would occur because of humanity’s aversion to the truth of YHWH (cf. Matthew 16:24-26; Luke 9:23-25). The apostle Paul warned Christians (2 Timothy 3:12). As such, Christianity was not deterred by the concept of a physical death because they had been spiritual reborn (i.e. “born again”).
[10] Joyce E. Salisbury, The Blood of Martyrs: Unintended Consequences of Ancient Violence (New York, NY: Routledge, 2004), 1.
[11] Ibid., 28.
[12] Ibid., 194; Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity – Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, NY: HarperOne, 1985), 45.
[13] Glenn Penner, “A Biblical Theology of Persecution and Discipleship,” Voice of the Martyrs (2008) https://idop.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IDOP-2016-Biblical-Theology-of-Persecution.pdf.
[14] “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” was one of Tertullian's most well-known statements on the topics, himself a second-to-third century Christian theologian.
[15] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity – Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, NY: HarperOne, 1985), 44.
[16] Helen Rhee, “Persecution, Martyrdom, and Christian Self-Definition in the Early Church,” in the Suffering Body: Responding to the Persecution of Christians ed. Harold D. Hunter and Cecil M. Robeck, Jr. (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster, 2066), 5-6.
[17] Ibid., 8.
[18] For an intriguing article on these points, see: Donald Robertson, “Did Marcus Aurelius Persecute the Christians?” DonaldRobertson.name (2017). https://donaldrobertson.name/2017/01/13/did-marcus-aurelius-persecute-the-christians/.
[19] Consider the comments of professors Mar Marcos and Douglas Boin in Guillermo Altares, “Massacring Christians: A stain on the legacy of Marcus Aurelius as Rome’s ‘enlightened emperor’,” El País (2022). https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-08-20/massacring-christians-a-stain-on-the-legacy-of-marcus-aurelius-as-romes-enlightened-emperor.html.