THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
Instructor Information
Course Title: History 101: World Civilizations
Instructor: Professor Max Grivno
Institution: University of Southern Mississippi
Semester: Spring 2026
RELIGIOUS WORLD OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Statue of Dionysus
Date: ca. 27 BC – 68 AD
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
GLIMPSES OF ROMAN RELIGION
Altar from the Temple of Vespasian
Location: Pompeii, Italy
Fresco of Bacchus
Location: Pompeii, Italy
Villa of the Mysteries (Cult of Bacchus)
Location: Pompeii, Italy
Lararium in the House of Menander
Right: Lararium
Left: Phallus on exterior of building
Location: Pompeii, Italy
Temple to Mithras
Location: London, United Kingdom
Mithras Slaying a Bull
Date: ca. 175 AD
Location: Northern Italy
Bronze Plaque of Mithras Slaying a Bull
Date: ca. 2nd Century AD
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Worship of Isis Ceremony of the Water
Location: Herculaneum, Italy
THE JEWISH CONTEXT OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY
Geographical Context: Map featuring significant locations
Mediterranean Sea and surrounding notable cities/locations: Tyre, Zarephath, Galilee, Nazareth, etc.
HEROD THE GREAT
Role: Builder and Collaborator
Right: Image of Herod
Left: Herod’s Temple
MAKING A ROMAN WORLD IN OCCUPIED JUDEA
Ruins of Sepphoris
Location: Galilee
JUDAISM IN THE FIRST CENTURY
Key Groups:
Sadducees
Pharisees
Essenes
Zealots
Ossuary of Joseph Caiaphas and Yehoseph bar Qyppa
DEPICTIONS OF JESUS
Depiction of Jesus
Date: ca. 3rd Century AD
Location: Rome, Italy
First Century Fishing Boats
Discovered in Sea of Galilee (1986)
MEGIDDO CHURCH
Date: 2nd Century CE
Inscription: “Donated by Akaptos lover of God who contributed the table to the god Jesus Christos as a memorial”
Oversight: Building managed by Primilla, Cyriaca, Dorothea, and Chreste
ROMAN FUNERARY STELE
Date: 250-350 AD
Description: Combines pagan message (DM or Dis Manibus) with Christian iconography (IXOYC and fish imagery)
COMBINING PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN IMAGERY
Pendants
Date: ca. 3rd Century AD
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
ROMAN GRAFFITI
ALEXAMANOS WORSHIPS HIS GOD
Date: ca. 200 CE/AD
Elements of the Text: PAN ENO CEB
THE GREAT PERSECUTION (30-311 AD)
Emperor Diocletian
Libellus from Diocletian’s Persecution
Date: 4th Century AD
Description: Certificate showing an individual made a sacrifice to Roman gods
TRANSITION TO A STATE RELIGION
Events Summary:
311 CE/AD: Establishment of Christianity as a recognized religion after Constantine’s victory
313 CE/AD: Edict of Milan - Ended persecution of Christians
325 CE/AD: Council of Nicaea - Formation of Nicene Creed
380 CE/AD: Edict of Thessalonica - Established Christianity as state religion
381 CE/AD: Paganism outlawed in Roman Empire
NICENE CREED (325 CE/AD)
Textual Components:
Affirmation of belief in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth
Acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the only-begotten Son of God, being of one substance with the Father
Details regarding the incarnation and suffering of Christ, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension
Belief in the Holy Spirit and the universal church
Text of the Nicene Creed (Selected Excerpts)
“I BELIEVE in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.”
“And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, Begotten of his Father before all worlds…”
“And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son…”
“I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the Resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.”
SUMMARY OF NICENE CREED SIGNIFICANCE
Established uniformity in doctrine across the Christian church
Clarified foundational beliefs regarding the nature of God and Christ's divinity
Encouraged the growth and acceptance of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire