The Oxford History of the Biblical World (97 page)

The letters of Pliny do not reveal any systematic oppression of Christianity during the age of Trajan. What they do show is that in society as a whole, the name
Christian
had developed a negative connotation. It is tempting to read the admonitions in 1 Peter 4.14 and 16 in this context; the answer of 1 Peter to those who were suffering was different from the book of Revelation’s apocalyptic vision. Although concern for the end times was part of 1 Peter’s message (see 1.5, 13; 4.7), the author was more interested in advising people about how to live in their present circumstances: “For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right” (1 Pet. 2.13–14). Right behavior toward political
powers was seen as the appropriate way to respond to the negative pressures felt by the churches.

According to 1 Peter and other authors, this attempt to conform to society also required harmony and good order within Christian households. Wives were told to accept the authority of their husbands and to be an example of good and holy women (1 Pet. 3.1–6). The same combination of respect for political authorities and restrictions placed on women was also an important element in the Pastoral Epistles. Although 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are written as letters of Paul, most scholars read them as pseudonymous documents from the early second century. The admonition to pray “for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Tim. 2.2) reflected a desire to avoid political alienation by appeasing the government.

At the same time, the author of the Pastorals commanded that a woman may not teach or have authority over a man, and used the image of Eve to state that “she will be saved by childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty” (1 Tim. 2.12, 13–15). The message to women in the churches was clear: find your proper place and stay there. Such a warning would have been unnecessary unless women were doing the opposite, involving themselves in leadership roles at the expense of the reputation of the churches. The undisputed letters of Paul provide ample evidence for women as active and vocal leaders in the churches (see 1 Cor. 1.11; 11.5; Rom. 16.1–7), and apocryphal writings from the second century such as “The Acts of Paul and Thecla” make it clear that women apostles were viewed as heroes in some churches. The Pastoral Epistles attempted to use the authority of Paul to limit the rights and roles of women in the churches, and for most of Christian history they have been successful. It is no accident that this effort to domesticate the Jesus movement and make it more socially and politically acceptable coincided with Trajan’s nineteen-year reign of order and prosperity.

The only area in which Pliny’s expectations for moderation in Trajan’s reign were disappointed concerned military matters. At the outset Pliny urged Trajan to exercise restraint and not to emulate Domitian, who fought wars for the sake of gaining honors at home (
Panegyricus
16–17). Trajan did, however, fight two successful wars against the Dacian tribes along the Danube River, finally defeating them in 106
CE
. Trajan died in 117
CE
while waging a major campaign in the east against Rome’s longtime nemesis, the Parthian empire.

Trajan used the spoils of his military campaigns to finance major building projects. In addition to construction in the provinces, such as the Temple of Zeus Philios and Trajan in Pergamon, there were also substantial developments in Rome, including a market area, a bath complex, and an elaborate forum of Trajan, which stood as a monument to the Dacian victories. A central feature of the forum complex was a column on which was engraved a continuous spiral relief frieze detailing the Dacian conflicts. Including its base and a statue of Trajan at the top, the piece towered 40 meters (131 feet) above the ground.

Although it stands alone in the middle of a plaza today, the column was originally surrounded on at least three sides by structures that would have provided a vantage point for viewing the upper level and statue. Dedicated in 112
CE
, the forum complex also included an equestrian statue of Trajan, large ground-level relief panels of the
Dacian conflict, numerous statues of captured Dacians, and a podium temple. This temple was perhaps dedicated first to the deified Nerva, but then rededicated to the deified Trajan by his successor, Hadrian. The structure made a powerful visual effect. When the emperor Constantius II visited the site in the fourth century, he was awestruck, and he is reported to have hoped that he “could breed a horse equivalent to the bronze horse on which Trajan was riding” (Ammianus 16.10.16). This spectacular structure gave fitting testimony to the successful reign of Trajan and the prosperity of his times. But it is only a prelude to the impact of Hadrian on the empire, which was monumental far beyond his architectural accomplishments.

Like his predecessor, Hadrian was a Spanishborn aristocrat who gained power and influence in Rome through his military leadership in the provinces. Hadrian was serving as governor of Syria in 117
CE
when Trajan died during his Parthian campaign. The report was sent to Rome that Trajan had adopted Hadrian as his heir shortly before his death, but rumors circulated freely that Hadrian’s adoption was the work of Trajan’s wife Plotina, who withheld news of her husband’s death until after Hadrian’s succession was assured (
Scriptores historiae Augustae, Hadrian
4.4.9–10). Whatever the details of his coming to power, Hadrian did not waste time in setting his own agenda. Armenia and Mesopotamia, taken by Trajan in the Parthian campaign, were abandoned, and Hadrian attempted to secure the borders of the empire and unite its disparate elements. Central to these efforts was an ambitious campaign of travel, reorganization, and building by which Hadrian left his mark throughout the empire.

Hadrian came to power convinced by his experience in the provinces that the empire had grown too large and complex to be ruled by decree from Rome. Despite his absence from the capital for more than half of his reign, Hadrian did have a significant impact on Rome and its environs. Most notably, he constructed a greatly expanded and redesigned Pantheon in the city and developed a sprawling villa complex near Tivoli. His travels took him throughout the empire, as a rough itinerary for his first extensive tour in 120 (or 121) to 128
CE
reveals (
Scriptores historiae Augustae, Hadrian
10–13).

Passing through Gaul, he continued into the Germanic regions, where he lived with the troops guarding the borders, reinvigorating discipline among the legion and instituting numerous military reforms. These included regulating leaves of absence, clearing the camps of banqueting rooms and other places of leisure, and ordering that no one should serve as a soldier “younger than his strength allows, or older than humanity permits” (
Hadrian
10).

From Germany, Hadrian crossed to Britain, first invaded by Julius Caesar in 55–54
BCE
and then partially conquered by the Romans under Claudius in 43
CE
. As he had done in the east, Hadrian first withdrew forces to a reasonable point. He then ordered the construction of a frontier wall to protect against barbarian incursion. The wall ran 117.5 kilometers (73 miles) across what is now northern England, and parts of it and an adjacent defensive system are still visible. Returning to the Continent, Hadrian traveled south through Gaul and stayed for some time in Spain before going to Syria, probably by sailing the length of the Mediterranean Sea. The
Scriptores
historiae Augustae
claim that Hadrian’s personal intervention in negotiations with the Parthians helped prevent another conflict in the East (
Hadrian
12.8). Returning from Syria, the emperor traveled through Asia Minor to Greece and back to Rome. Along his route, material remains and evidence from inscriptions reveal that he founded new towns, built monuments, and made numerous other dedications.

It was in Athens, however, that Hadrian’s generosity and love of Greek culture were most vividly displayed. Pausanias, who traveled extensively in Greece during the later second century, marveled at the sanctuary of Olympian Zeus, which was completed by Hadrian (1.18.6). The huge temple, 44 meters × 110 meters (144 feet × 361 feet), featured a forest of over 100 columns, 10 meters (33 feet) high. The gold and ivory statue of Zeus was complemented by statues of Hadrian at the entrance and all around the expansive temple precinct (129 meters × 206 meters [423 feet × 676 feet]). Many inscriptions have been found in Athens dedicated to Hadrian as “founder” by cities from all over the Greek world. These provide evidence for the Panhellenic league, which Hadrian established as a means of uniting Greek cities and cities that had been colonized by the Greeks.

While staying in Athens, Hadrian made a connection with the ancient past of Greek mystery religions by being initiated into the venerable mystery cult for Demeter and Persephone with its shrine at nearby Eleusis. By this time, however, other mystery religions were steadily gaining popularity. Sanctuaries of the Egyptian deities Isis and Serapis and of the youthful Persian god Mithras have been discovered throughout the empire. Because the adherents of these cults were offered mystical access to divine power, they were popular across a wide spectrum of society. The Mithras cult especially appealed to men from the lower strata of society. It is striking that both the Mithras cult and the early Jesus movement could develop strong followings in the religious climate of the first three centuries
CE
.

By Hadrian’s time, Christianity had begun to assert itself as an increasingly significant social force, and reaction against the churches had grown correspondingly. The monotheistic belief system of Jews and Christians set them apart from the rest of the Greco-Roman world, and by the mid-second century the Jesus followers had broken ties with their roots in Judaism. From the Roman perspective the Christians were an unconventional group, outside any longstanding tradition. As such they were potentially dangerous and subject to a variety of criticisms, many unwarranted. The second-century Roman orator Fronto described in vivid detail Christian gatherings in which young children were eaten and participants were driven by “unspeakable lust” to engage in illicit sexual activities (cited in Minucius Felix,
Octavius
9.5—6).

In response to such criticism and to harsh, repressive actions, some Christians attempted to put forward a logical defense of their faith. Eusebius, a fourth-century church historian, mentions Quadratus, who addressed a defense of the faith to the emperor Hadrian (
Historia ecclesiastica
4.3). Such later second-century apologists as Justin Martyr and Athenagoras directed some of their writings to the emperor, answering charges and seeking relief from persecution. Justin even cited a rescript from Hadrian to the proconsul of Asia that warned against false claims being lodged against Christians “merely as slanderous accusations” (
Apologia
1.69). The document portrayed
the emperor as approving of punishment for people who had broken the laws, but unwilling to bring to trial people who were accused only of being Christians. Whether the rescript is authentic or not, this more open attitude toward believers was not characteristic of society at large, where persecution of the churches continued to accelerate.

At the same time, internal conflict was also becoming an increasing problem for the churches. Near the end of Hadrian’s rule (he died in 138
CE
), church leaders in Rome became concerned about the teachings of Marcion, who advocated a sharp separation between the Gospels’ principles of love and the law of the Jewish Bible. His attempts to organize his followers and to limit their reading to ten letters of Paul and an edited version of the Gospel of Luke led to his excommunication in 144
CE
. Marcion’s canon, however, was the first recorded attempt to establish an authoritative list of documents within the churches. Eventually, after two hundred more years of debate, the churches would for the most part agree on the twenty-seven books of the New Testament canon.

The book of 2 Peter is often considered the last of those twenty-seven documents to be written. Some scholars date it as late as 150
CE
, in the reign of Hadrian’s successor, Antoninus Pius (138–61
CE
). Second Peter attempted to counter destructive teachings of “false prophets” among the people (2.1). The book ends with a reference to the letters of Paul, parts of which are said to be hard to understand, and a return to a Paulinelike emphasis on the second coming of Jesus. According to 2 Peter, believers should not be led astray by teachers who claim that the Lord is slow in fulfilling his promise to return. Rather, he “is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (3.9).

Whether through renewed expectation of Jesus’ second coming or through the reasoned words of the early apologists, second-century believers found reason to hope despite growing opposition from the society around them. Over a century and a half of persecution lay ahead before Christianity gained official acceptance within the empire (312
CE
). By the middle of the second century, the churches were already beginning to create the ecclesiastical structure and common doctrine that would eventually enable Christianity to dominate the empire that had tried to destroy it. On the basis of this structure and doctrine, the Roman world would become the Christian world in the Mediterranean region and beyond.