(Originally written November 9, 2006 in Book 11)
The Medieval Mind
2nd Edition
W.T. Jones
Chapter 1 - The New Religious Orientation
"Secularism was perhaps the most pervasive characteristic of the classical mind" (Jones, 1).
The Classical mind focused on the questions of finding man's well-being in this world.
The Middle Ages shifted from self-reliance in this world to a focus on other-worldly interests.
Theology took the region as king of science, succeeding ethics and politics.
Science took a backseat as the view of man shifted from being self-sufficient to a diminished being.
Man's relationship to the supreme good of the supreme being became the focal point of twelve centuries.
Marcus Aurelius can be viewed as a turning point or a paradigm shift in thought.
Stoicism, otherworldliness, deprecation of this life, religious fervor, sense of sin, and notion of universal society can trace its roots to Aurelius. Aurelius can trace them too, but he marked a shift in the emphasis of these things.
The Mystery Cults
The new spirit of the age first emerged in full effect with the many Mystery Cults.
The Great Mother
Worship of the Great Mother was worship of the goddess Cybele.
It began as a fertility cult. Attis, lover of Cybele died and so Cybele mourned. This introduced death into the world. Attis was brought back to life and Cybele rejoiced. This brought the green back to earth.
Worshippers of Cybele fasted and flagellated themselves to mourn Attis' death every spring.
Another ritual to come out of this cult was the "taurobolium". This evolved into the religion of redemption. The "taurobolium" was performed by sacrificing a bull. A person would stand in a pit and the bull would be sacrificed above and the blood would run down on him. The ritual involved soaking one's self in blood and drinking it to purge himself of sins. A person was "reborn into eternity".
Isis and Osiris
This cult involved death and resurrection of a god, Osiris.
Osiris guaranteed salvation of the devout.
The frenzy of the Great Mother cult was noticeably absent from the Isis and Osiris cult. It was much more restrained involving only an idol and veil, no blood drinking or blood baptism.
Mithra
Mithraism was concerned with a savior god and worship for the reward of eternal life.
Mithraism was more sophisticated and involved a complex theology based on dualistic metaphysics.
The cult denied the Greek notion that the universe was explicable on a simple scientific notion.
Mithraism held that two principles are at work in the world:
1) Good = order
2) Evil = disorder
Each of these was not an actual force but a supernatural power. The world was a battleground for these two powers and man ought to side with the good as loyal soldiers.
Souls came to earth from heaven, but were imprisoned in bodies while on earth, if the soul was continent, loyal and devout it would return to heaven to be united with god.
If it does not return because it was bad it will suffer in hell for all eternity with demons.
Mithra was both judge and savior. He judged man's merits and demerits post-death. In the good outweighed the bad, he gave eternal life. If not, well...
The struggle of good and evil was eternal.
Mithra was associated with the Sun. His rituals were tied to solar events.
He was worshipped three times a day: dawn, noon and sunset. The seventh day of the week was very special and sacred. The big holiday in Mithraism was December 25, when he was reborn after the winter solstice.
Reception of the cults at Rome
The cults received mixed receptions in Rome. The Republican days saw them outlawed while the Empire days saw them heralded.
The Great Mother cult was credited for the turn around in the Punic wars, but her worship was limited by the Senate.
The worship of Isis was likewise limited by the Senate in 59, 58, 53, and 48 B.C. Her altar was decreed to be destroyed in 21 B.C. and the religion outlawed.
Despite sensational decrees and severe persecution the sect remained strong in the public and emperors even worshipped the Great Mother at later times.
Mithraism came to Rome via Persia but met little success for 100+ years. It then exploded under the Antonines and was picked up by the soldiers. It subsequently spread across the empire.
The initial resistance to the cult was due to the Roman conservatism of old. The ancient Roman religion was cold and the upper class had all but abandoned it by the time of Julius Caesar.
The Senate opposed the cults because of acceptance of them by the populace would disrupt the social order.
The cults exploded in popularity during the 3rd century AD due to the weak leadership of emperors post-Marcus Aurelius.
Diocletian radically altered the Empire in the late 3rd century and restored authority.
Politics, economics, literature and art experienced death in the 3rd century AD. The mood was despondent.
Diocletian's alterations caused an enormous but effective, bureaucracy. The Emperor now could control every inch of the Empire. People lost the sense of control of their own destiny.
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