Quo Vadis - where are you marching?

[dnewhous]

This movie picks up quite a bit at the end.  It features Christians being eaten by lions, which is why I didn't like the empire when I was young.  That's one of the first stories that I heard.  What's the difference now?  As saint Augustine wrote, Rome is the city of God.

Anyways, this movie appears to reveal that Terpnos is the name of the devil in Roman mythology.  The name pops up on the cast list when you watch it on Amazon.  If the devil is Terpnos in Roman mythology, is it Typhon in Greek?  That might be too easy.  Typhon is the monster that fought Zeus in Greek mythology.  

[caldrail]

Important point - Rome had a cultural tolerance for other peoples religions. They didn't like early christianity because of some nasty rumours concerning practises misinterpreted by observers. Rome did not throw Christians to the lions. However, if you could prove a Christian was a criminal, that was another matter.

[guy]

On 10/31/2020 at 4:03 PM, dnewhous said:

This movie picks up quite a bit at the end.  It features Christians being eaten by lions, which is why I didn't like the empire when I was young.  That's one of the first stories that I heard.  What's the difference now?  As saint Augustine wrote, Rome is the city of God.

Anyways, this movie appears to reveal that Terpnos is the name of the devil in Roman mythology.  The name pops up on the cast list when you watch it on Amazon.  If the devil is Terpnos in Roman mythology, is it Typhon in Greek?  That might be too easy.  Typhon is the monster that fought Zeus in Greek mythology.  

I am not sure which version of the film you are referring to since there are several versions.

The 1951 version with Peter Ustinov as Nero and Leo Genn as Petronius (my favorite character in the movie) is the most famous one. At least these two characters were based on some reality.

This film also included two totally fictional main characters: the Roman general Marcus Vinicius (played by Robert Taylor) who embodied the Roman ideal of dedication and duty to the Roman state, as well as Lygia (played by Deborah Kerr) who exemplified Christian virtue and faith.

 

Also recommended is the more adult version, a Polish / HBO film from 2001.

 

On 11/6/2020 at 11:55 AM, caldrail said:

They didn't like early christianity because of some nasty rumours concerning practises misinterpreted by observers. Rome did not throw Christians to the lions. However, if you could prove a Christian was a criminal, that was another matter.

 

I think one has to better define the charges against Christians. Nero may have blamed the Christians for starting the fire that burned Rome in 64 AD, but the Roman state would have considered Christians (and other religious sects) as traitors:

According to Roman laws, Christians were:

1. Guilty of high treason (majestatis rei)
   1. For their worship Christians gathered in secret and at night, making unlawful assembly, and participation in such collegium illicitum or coetus nocturni was equated with a riot.
   2. For their refusal to honor images of the emperor by libations and incense
2. Dissenters from the state gods (άθεοι, sacrilegi)
3. Followers of magic prohibited by law (magi, malefici)
4. Confessors of a religion unauthorized by the law (religio nova, peregrina et illicita), according to the Twelve Tables).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnatio_ad_bestias

Interestingly, there is no good historical evidence of the Christians ever being executed in the Colosseum in Rome. But what is a good movie without an execution or two in the Colosseum?

 

 

guy also known as gaius

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by guy

[guy]

A nice review of the 1951 version of Quo Vadis.

 

http://blogs.dickinson.edu/classicalstudies/2018/05/17/faith-and-spectacle-examining-quo-vadis-1951/

[caldrail]

1. Guilty of high treason (majestatis rei)
   1. For their worship Christians gathered in secret and at night, making unlawful assembly, and participation in such collegium illicitum or coetus nocturni was equated with a riot.
   2. For their refusal to honor images of the emperor by libations and incense
2. Dissenters from the state gods (άθεοι, sacrilegi)
3. Followers of magic prohibited by law (magi, malefici)
4. Confessors of a religion unauthorized by the law (religio nova, peregrina et illicita), according to the Twelve Tables).

Interesting but very specific. Feels like the @ of persecuting periods, though I do note the Twelve Tables connection. Odd when you consider the respect the Romans paid to tribal beliefs when they encountered them. The Roman habit of assimilating such beliefs into their own pantheon has less to do with authority than cceptance.