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Description of  The Last Days of Greco-Roman Paganism

Greco-Roman paganism is an umbrella term for the traditional polytheistic religions of the Mediterranean, referring mainly to those of Greece and Rome. The principle gods of the religions are many, as Rome adopted and combined religions across Europe, and some times vary by culture. However, the Roman interpretation had Jupiter (Iapiter, meaning 'Heavenly sky father) as the principle god. Other major gods include, Juno, goddess of motherhood, Pluto, god of wealth, Venus, goddess of female sexuality, Brachuss, god of the theater, Pan, god of male sexuality, Neptune, god of the sea, etc. In fact, down to the 2nd, even the 3rd century CE, pagan worship still seems to have been an important element in the way cities and communities of the Roman Empire worked, sustaining the power of ruling elites, but also defining the way individuals expressed their private concerns and problems. For the overwhelming majority, the old deities kept their hold, and there is a strong tradition of dedications, in fulfillment of vows to gods and goddesses, that bears witness to a continued tradition of individual piety. At the same time, although the Empire was successful from the 1st century BCE onwards in maintaining widespread order and prosperity, the nature of city life was changing in fundamental respects. With stability came a high degree of mobility, and cities of both East and West came to find themselves with religious groups living in tense proximity, first of Jews, then of Christians, Manichaeans, and others. To those with a taste for broad generalizations, it has been appealing to interpret these developments as a great conflict between polytheism and monotheism, some rating monotheism as so superior that it could be treated as an inevitable step up in the evolutionary progression of the human race. Paganism was therefore doomed in advance. What is certain is that pagan religion and its many deities became the target of a concentrated attack by the Christian Fathers but that alone can hardly explain why traditional worship lost its appeal to so many of its adherents in quite a short period of the 4th century CE: pagans suddenly began to abandon age-old practices and join new cults that they had once despised. Efforts at resistance to Christianity, in particular, once thought very important, prove to have been evanescent at best in the light of recent research.