The ruins of an ancient pagan temple under a parking lot in central Italy, 70 miles (112.65 km) north of Rome, shed light on cultural change in the transition from theology Roman Empire to Christianity. The structure dates from the time of the Roman emperor Constantine, who ruled Rome from 306 to 337 AD. His reign was marked by being the first Roman emperor to officially convert to Christianity.
The temple was found in Spello, Italy, as part of the Spello Project, an international effort to uncover the lost history of the ancient town formerly known as Hispellum. The announcement was made by Douglas Boin, professor of history at Saint Louis University, during a meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in Chicago, according to a Saint-Louis University press release.
Constantine’s Conversion to Christianity: A Watershed Moment
The excavation team led by Boin discovered three walls of the monumental structure using underground imaging. The significance of this discovery is related to the concessions made by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. In a letter recorded at Spello Town Hall, Constantine allowed the townspeople to celebrate a religious festival in Spello, which had become a Roman colony in the 1st century BC, rather than having to move a long way.
The enormous marble head of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, 4th century, is in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. (D. Benjamin Miller/ CC0 )
To facilitate this, he instructed the town to build a temple dedicated to his divine ancestors, the Flavian dynasty. The Flavian family, associated with notable works such as the Colosseum, was chosen by Constantine because of its reputation for good governance among the empire’s multicultural population.
Constantine’s conversion to Christianity marked a pivotal moment in Roman history because at that time most of the Roman Empire followed the Roman imperial sect (officially, it would be another 70 years). New Christianity became the official religion). Boin emphasizes the historical significance of Constantine ruling an empire with a diverse religious context.
“Constantine’s adoption of Christianity was an important milestone in the history of the Roman Empire,” Boin said. “But what was also a milestone was that he inherited a non-Christian empire. So the fascinating window into history that his reign provides is how a ruler of one faith ruled or governed an empire where the majority of citizens did not necessarily have the same beliefs as he did. me.”
Fresco of the Baptism of Emperor Constantine in the main apse of the church of Chiesa di San Silvestro in the Capite of Pope Sylvester by Ludovico Gimignani. ( Renata Sedmáková /Adobe Stock)
Christian Rulers’ Support for the Imperial Cult: A Gradual Transition?
Boin explains that there is evidence from various sites throughout the Roman world showing Christian rulers’ support for imperial cult practices. The worship of pagans at their temples during the fourth century has been previously acknowledged, although only minor and unimportant finds have been made. It has also been confirmed that Christians endorse the royal cult, but the specific locations of such events are not known, Cosmos magazine reported.
The discovery of this temple connected these two important points, setting it apart from any other temple known from the Mediterranean world of the fourth-century Roman Empire. He emphasized that any examination of the royal cult in the 4th-century Roman Empire would now need to consider this temple, which represents an extraordinary discovery.
Panoramic view of Spello, the ancient town formerly known as Hispellum, where the ruins of an ancient pagan temple were found.
(WikiRomaWiki/ CC BY-SA 4.0 )
“This changes everything about how we view the pace of social change and our impressions of the impact of social and cultural change,” Boin said. “This building, in a very radical way, shows us the lasting power of pagan traditions that existed for centuries before the rise of Christianity, and it shows us the Roman emperors How Ma continues to negotiate their own issues.” their own values, hopes and dreams for the future of the emperor and the Empire without overthrowing or burying the past.”
A remarkable religious continuity existed between the Roman world and the early Christian world, emphasizing that the changes did not happen overnight. Before its discovery, there was no indication of the existence of visible religious sites associated with the late ‘imperial cult’. Thanks to the inscription and mention of a temple, Newsweek reported, Spello raised the intriguing possibility of a significant revelation about an Imperial sect under Christian rule.
In the Roman world, no separation between religion and state existed. The Romans’ strong sense of patriotism influenced all of their public endeavors, including their worship. In an empire characterized by linguistic diversity, a population spread across three continents, and the preservation of various local traditions, the royal cult had the effect of uniting people behind ideals. shared. There is no way that the transition will happen smoothly overnight but rather a mixture of strange detours and strange cultural mixes, with the full support of members of a temple or church.
“We’re on the cusp of giving people a very clear piece of evidence that really changes the neat and tidy way people think about big moments of cultural change. Cultural changes are never as great as we think when we experience them, and there are many gaps between people’s customs and wider society and culture. And a lot of it could be left out of the story. So for this temple to potentially become a temple dedicated to Constantine’s divine ancestors as a way to worship the emperor in an increasingly Christian world at the time, is strange. and I love that we can bring it to light,” Boin concluded.
Boin and team plan to return to Spello in the summer to complete excavation of the entire site and examine the temple more closely.
