A central aspect of Rome's festive life during the fifth century was the ample space given to Christian public ceremonies. However, since the foundation of the Lateran basilica by Constantine, the progress of Christianity had certainly been remarkable, but in about two centuries it had not yet completely replaced the traditional cults. The process was slow, since the religious orientations of Rome during the fifth century were more complex and varied than some scholars have been willing to admit. Since the question remains controversial, in this contribution I examined the documentation, which illuminates three moments in the life of Rome: in 410, during the sack of Alaric; around the middle of the fifth century, during the pontificate of Leo the Great; at the end of the same century, when the ban on Christians attending the Lupercalia was issued. These reflections are necessary to put into a broader perspective some of the choices of the emperor Antemius, who not only wanted to recover a festival linked to the pagan city such as the Lupercalia, but also surrounded himself with advisers and officials who had shown very different and certainly unorthodox religious sensibilities, such as Marcellinus and Messius Phoebus Severus, pagans, and Philotheus, adherent to the Macedonian heresy.

Un aspetto centrale della vita festiva di Roma, nel corso del V secolo, fu l’ampio spazio dato alle cerimonie pubbliche cristiane. Dalla fondazione della prima grande basilica lateranense in età costantiniana, i progressi del cristianesimo erano stati senz’altro notevoli ma in due secoli circa, tuttavia, esso non aveva ancora sostituito del tutto i culti tradizionali. Il processo fu lento, perché gli orientamenti religiosi di Roma durante il V secolo furono più complessi e vari di quanto alcuni studiosi abbiano voluto ammettere. Poiché la questione resta controversa, in questo contributo ho esaminato una varia documentazione, che illumina tre momenti della vita di Roma: nel 410, durante il sacco alariciano; intorno alla metà del V secolo, durante il pontificato di Leone Magno; alla fine dello stesso secolo, quando fu emesso il divieto ai cristiani di partecipare ai Lupercali. Si tratta di riflessioni necessarie per inquadrare in una prospettiva più ampia alcune scelte dell’imperatore Antemio, il quale non soltanto volle recuperare una festività legata alla città pagana come i Lupercali, ma si circondò di consiglieri e funzionari che avevano manifestato sensibilità religiose molto diverse e certamente non ortodosse, quali Marcellino e Messio Febo Severo, pagani, e Filoteo, aderente all’eresia macedoniana.

Inclinazioni culturali e orientamenti religiosi a Roma nel quinto secolo d. C.

Lizzi, Rita
2020

Abstract

A central aspect of Rome's festive life during the fifth century was the ample space given to Christian public ceremonies. However, since the foundation of the Lateran basilica by Constantine, the progress of Christianity had certainly been remarkable, but in about two centuries it had not yet completely replaced the traditional cults. The process was slow, since the religious orientations of Rome during the fifth century were more complex and varied than some scholars have been willing to admit. Since the question remains controversial, in this contribution I examined the documentation, which illuminates three moments in the life of Rome: in 410, during the sack of Alaric; around the middle of the fifth century, during the pontificate of Leo the Great; at the end of the same century, when the ban on Christians attending the Lupercalia was issued. These reflections are necessary to put into a broader perspective some of the choices of the emperor Antemius, who not only wanted to recover a festival linked to the pagan city such as the Lupercalia, but also surrounded himself with advisers and officials who had shown very different and certainly unorthodox religious sensibilities, such as Marcellinus and Messius Phoebus Severus, pagans, and Philotheus, adherent to the Macedonian heresy.
2020
978-88-7228-924-2
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11391/1490699
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