Christianity and Ancient Art: Rupture or Dialogue? [1]

When, in the fifth century, the space in Hadrian’s Library in Athens was divided equally between pagans and Christians, the relations between what appeared to be the two flourishing communities in the city were defined both in practice and symbolically. The renovated wings were given to the pagan Sophists and the courtyard to the Christians to build an important church, the well-known Christian tetraconch (fig.1)[1]. The church was probably the first metropolitan church in Athens, later called “The Great Panayía (Mother of God)[2]. An act certainly of political diplomacy, directed and funded either by the eparch of Illyricum, Herculius (408-12), or by the native Athenian empress Evdokia[3], doubtless led to everyday co-existence and symbiosis for the two groups on a site of the greatest importance for both: a place of worship for the Christians and also a place for the practice of pagan philosophy.

Concerning the physical co-existence and interaction between these two religious groups in the Early Christian centuries, there is a rich contemporary bibliography[4]. At the same time, we know that, until the reign of Constantine the Great, relations between Christians and pagans were not always harmonious and that, from time to time, harsh persecutions were ordered by Roman emperors against Christians, as a result of which we have a host of martyrs. It is also well-known that, with the gradual recognition of Christianity, there were also acts of violence, of limited dimensions, by extremist Christian groups.

Within the context of these relations between pagans and Christians, the question may be posed: what was the relationship  between Christians and the monuments of the ancient religion and the art which these represented. We shall attempt to approach the issue from two sides: 1) What was the Christian attitude to the ancient monuments and their preservation? and 2) what influences did Early Christian and, later, Byzantine art receive from ancient art and of what quality were they? The subject is, of course, enormous, and has been more or less thoroughly researched in a variety of ways, so within the framework of the present paper only a fragmented and illustrative treatment is feasible.

As regards the first aspect of the subject, the fate of classical monuments in later antiquity has been linked by many scholars to the clashes between pagans and Christians, in the context of the Christianization of the Roman empire, while the disappearance of many of these monuments has been attributed to their demolition by fanatical bishops, monks or the common rabble. Although isolated incidents of violence on the part of representatives of state authority and Christian groups should certainly not be disregarded, modern scholarship now accepts that there was no systematic destruction of ancient monuments, either as the result of the policy of the Byzantine emperors or because of the theology and decisions of the Universal Church[5]. At the same time, scholarship has long since discarded the ossified view that the spread of Christianity and the new aesthetic concepts it brought were responsible for the end of the ancient world and therefore of ancient art[6].

The conclusions of this research might be summarized as follows:

1) The most numerous and significant of the attacks on ancient monuments, either on the part of the political authorities or by members of the Church are not linked to the triumph of the Church at the beginning of the 4^th century[7], as might have been expected but mainly occurred after the edicts of Theodosius I at the end of the century. Of course, legislation against the pagan religion began with Constantine the Great[8]. Imperial steps were taken which included the closure of ancient temples, the confiscation of their property and the prohibition on the celebration of sacrifices and the worship of idols. The actual destruction of temples was not included in the first edicts[9]. Quite a number of ancient temples must not have been able to function because there simply were not enough adherents to maintain them. Gradually they would also lose their basic financial sources of supply: contributions from believers and funding from the state, making their upkeep impossible and their abandonment inevitable. Their property passed to the public authorities, in accordance with Roman law. Moreover, edicts by Constantius and Constans (341 and 346) regarding the closure of temples of pagan religion were applied in the Christian East, but not in the West or in Athens[10]. But with the edicts of Theodosius (380-392), which established Christianity as the only acceptable religion in the empire, public or private pagan worship was banned and the sanctuaries were abandoned[11]. Imperial edicts from the years 398 and 399 envisaged the demolition of ancient sanctuaries, without any disturbance of public order, and the use of the materials from them in other constructions. Another edict, in 407, ordered the demolition of idols and the transfer of sanctuaries to public use[12]. Finally, the edicts of Theodosius II envisaged the suspension of the operations of ancient temples and their purification. The sanctuaries were sealed and some were transformed into Christian churches.

The appeal by the Athenian pagan orator Libanius to Theodosius for the preservation of the ancient sanctuaries in his essay “In favour of the sanctuaries”, with is basically an argument that they should be conserved as works of art “demonstrates the general conviction that the ancient religion was now a matter for museums in the Roman world”[13].

2) The attitude of the state towards the monuments of the ancient religion were the result, on the one hand of the imperial religious policy and, on the other, of the cultural and social conditions of the age. At the same time, the implementation of imperial edicts largely depended on the interpretation and personality of each local governor, while a variety of local cultural forces produced conflicting attitudes towards the ancient monuments[14]. Significant demolitions of ancient monuments began with the Praetorian Eparch of the East, Maternus Cynegius (384-8) who enforced the imperial edicts with particular fanaticism and brutality. He brought about the demolition of ancient temples and statues, as well as the murder of pagans in the East and Egypt[15]. His actions have been interpreted within the context of political realism (a law of May 385)[16]. Other examples are the destruction of the temples of Gaza by another imperial office-holder, and of the Serapeium in Alexandria, which occurred in 391, after clashes between Christians and pagans[17]. In general, however, the imperial edicts were applied with moderation.

3) The attitude of the Church was similar. There was never a decision by an Ecumenical Synod to destroy ancient sanctuaries. And when, on occasion, certain representatives of the Church, such as local bishops, ordinary believers or monastic zealots, took part in the destruction of monuments, particularly in the East and in Egypt, it appears that they were  encouraged by imperial measures[18]. Well-known instances are those involving Bishop Marcellus in Apameia (391 or 392) and Patriarch Theofilos of Alexandria (345-412)[19].

The sources indicate that gradually, by the mid-5^th century, most sanctuaries had collapsed, not by being attacked by Christians, but because of being abandoned and because it was impossible to maintain them, since they no longer enjoyed funding from the public purse nor contributions from adherents of the ancient religion[20]. A typical description is that of the temple of Mithras in Alexandria, which the historian Socrates tells us was “from days of old abandoned and uncared for” and which Emperor Constantius gave to the Church of Alexandria to use “as a school”[21]. Also typical is the fact that when the Neo-Platonist philosopher Proclus visited Athens before 432 A.D. and went up to the Acropolis, he found the Parthenon and the other sanctuaries had been closed a good number of years before they were sealed by Theodosius II[22]. In any case, it appears that, until at least 410, worship continued, because the Sophist Apronianus erected a statue of Herculius, the eparch of Illyricum, next to that of the Promachus (Athena), honouring him as the promachus (defender) of the institutions[23]. At the end of the 5^th/beginning of the 6^th centuries, after a long period of abandonment, the process of purifying and converting the sanctuaries in Athens into Christian churches began. In a few instances, where such conversion was not worth the effort, new Christian churches were built in their places[24]

The following abbreviations are used in the article:

ABME = Αρχείον Βυζαντινών Μνημείων Ελλάδος

AE =  Αρχαιολογική Εφημερίς

AJP = American Journal of Philology

BZ = Byzantinische Zeitschrift

DOP = Dumbarton Oaks Papers

ΔΧΑΕ = Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας

ΕΕΒΣ = Επετηρίς Εταιρείας Βυζαντινών Σπουδών

ΕΕΘΣΠΑ = Επιστημονική Επετηρίς Θεολογικής Σχολής Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών

ΕΜΜΕ = Ευρετήριον Μεσαιωνικών Μνημείων Ελλάδος

ΙΕΕ =  Ιστορία Ελληνικού Έθνους

JTS = Journal of Theological Studies

ΠΑΕ = Πρακτικά Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας

PG = Patrologia cursus completes, Series graeca

RAC = Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum

XAE = Χριστιανική Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία