'Jews, Christians and Mithraists. Urban Traces and Traditions of three "Oriental" Religions in Imperial Rome'

No other place in the world is better suited to study the development and interaction of three major religious movements of Antiquity that are often labelled as “oriental”, Hellenistic Judaism, Early Christianity and Mithraism, than Rome. In the history of these three religions, the city played a pivotal role: Despite its ambiguous social position, the Jewish community of Rome was the largest in ancient Europe and culturally very diverse and dynamic (several catacombs in Rome, a synagogue in Ostia); after having quickly grown out of its Aramaic-speaking Palestinian matrix, the early Christian movement quickly settled in the capital and absorbed social forms, theological concepts, cultural expressions and leadership ambitions; and Mithraism – although commonly known as “cult of soldiers and traders along the Limes” – very likely originated among freedmen and lower officials in or around the capital when an unknown religious genius some time at the end of the 1st c. CE combined Persian folklore with astral speculation to forge a new “brotherhood for men”. Rather than as “odd kids on the block”, or “cultural aliens”, in this course we will look at Judaism, Christianity and Mithraism as integral elements of the tremendously diverse spiritual landscape of imperial Rome. What does it mean to run such a religion in Rome when it comes to social structure, physical spaces or group-related language? How “eastern” could these religions remain, and how “Roman” did they need to become to survive in an environment as challenging and inspiring as the caput mundi?

In this class we will explore central sites, literary and non-literary texts and traditions of these three religions in and around Rome, critically reflect the impact the urban environment of Rome had on their formation and investigate elements of their reception in the following centuries of Western intellectual history.

For more information on the course and how to register visit see the KNIR website.