Life in Pagan Rome
Her culture and religion
When the modern man is on break at work, does he ever wonder about Rome? What would it be like to live in Rome? In this article, I will answer these burning questions. We shall explore the fascinating world of ancient Rome and her people, starting with the lowest classes — the slaves — working towards the freedman, the artisans, the patrician class, and finally, the emperor and his family.
To keep our imagination engaged, we shall compare pagan Rome with Christian Rome — their customs, laws, and government. Let us see how they compare.
Pagan Rome — caste system and culture
Pagan Rome, like many before and after her, assigned her citizens into a ‘caste’ system; that is, whichever caste or part of society you were born into, that is where you stayed… period. No one from the lower castes — slaves and poor merchants — could move up the social hierarchy without the nobility’s sign-off. However, there was one unique citizen (this did depend on who their former master was) who enjoyed more perks than the patrician class. Former slaves, called freedmen, would wonder about the empire trying to start a new life. For the vast majority, life was still hard and full of suffering. The emperor’s former slaves had it differently. Ambition and ego caused distrust between family members and the royal house: many emperors trusted their household slaves more than their family members and senators. This was especially true for the tyrannical emperors.
To counter potential plots and schemes, many emperors, the most infamous of which was Claudius, would assign essential matters of the crown to their loyal, well-educated freedmen. In a tavern or banquet, one could hear about Claudius sending his freedmen on diplomatic duties to a senator he despised. Robert Knapp, in his book Invisible Romans, gives us an idea of the attitude of Roman elites,
The hatred of imperial freedmen especially, but uppity freedmen in general, brought scathing opprobrium to focus on this societal group. To keep them at bay, they were disparaged as forever despised, inferior; they were marked by law and custom as unworthy of mixing with the elite in politics or marriage or anything (pg. 171).
Under Roman law, slaves had no intrinsic, God-given value while in bondage. (Christ and His teachings did mark a change in Roman society towards slaves. Gradually, slaves became known as ‘serfs’, a class with limited rights under the law — nevertheless, it was a step in the right direction. The ‘citizen’ held the right of sovereignty (participation in politics), which was reserved for Rome’s patrician class — especially during the empire, as Augustus ensured this was the case. Any citizen of Rome, from the emperor to a wealthy freedman, could own slaves. (However, freedmen were banned from holding political offices.) The practice was not limited to the patrician class. Roman citizens could do whatever they wanted with their property, and many did.
In pagan Rome, religion played a meditating role between ruler and ruled. Barbarian tribes became Romanized over the generations thanks to a Roman policy of sending chieftain sons to Rome for schooling. A Roman teacher could draw similarities and suggest that Romans and barbarians worshipped the same gods under different names. Polytheistic religions are helpful in this regard — the gods of Rome dominate. Yet, there are no significant differences in terms of teachings on how to live the good life in polytheistic religions. Also worthy of note is the caste system. Caste systems — the ordering of society — did exist outside of Rome’s borders. In principle, barbarians ordered their kingdoms in much the same way as the Romans; the only difference was who stood at the top. In Rome: the emperors and his nobles. In Germany: a Germanic chieftain and his nobles.
Roman mortals
Before Christ and His teachings began to ring through the ears of Rome’s elite, preaching a life, by authority of the Ten Commandments, of modesty and chastity for both sexes. Pagan Rome’s idea of happiness and meaning is found in worshipping The Self. Biblical religion, unlike Pagans, is a willingness to submit their will to the Lord: a living, just and holy God outside of time and space who communes with man via the Holy Spirit. One can have a relationship with Him by following His Commandments, his Son’s teachings, and listening to His spirit — the Holy Spirit.
Because of the lack of Commandments in Pagan religions, people would worship particular gods of this phenomenon or archetype. Meaning they would pray to the sky, sea, or earth, all phenomenon inside Creation. Therefore, if you wanted to live your life in the pursuit of pleasure, you would find yourself a member of the Dionysian cult — the god of wine and pleasure. Every pagan god, the Christians would claim, is nothing more than an archetype of human nature or Creation; therefore, if one chooses to worship Dionysus or ISIS (the Great Mother Goddess), one becomes Dionysus or ISIS. Morality becomes subjective as these gods are not lawgivers or the revelation of Truth in the cosmos.
Consequently, people worship whichever deity they believe will bless them the most. Pagans choose which gods to worship to serve their own needs. In the Christian paradigm, all humans are under the Lord’s authority whether they like it or not, and acts of sin (like idolatry) will lead us down a path filled with lies and misery.
Public baths are an excellent case study as they give us some idea of Rome’s impression of nudity. The Caesars would try to outbid each other with their public works buildings, a favourite being public baths. During the empire, the sexes were separated from one another, depending on the number of scandals. However, it must be noted that the law was changed because too many people got caught fornicating. It was not a decision born of Biblical principles: man’s propensity to sin forced the empire to act.
To sum up, Pagan Rome’s view on sex was very liberal. State-sponsored brothels and Dionysian parties did indeed occur regularly. The lack of moral values in pagan religions meant the state tolerated this behaviour, only interfering if things of out of hand. In pagan Rome, one could complain about this despicable behaviour, but the state would not legislate against such behaviour. Many have probably attended such festivities and were unwilling to take the risk. Prior to Christianity, sexual sins were part of the higher culture — which only got worse as Rome began to expand her borders. Republican senators of the empire, inspired by the likes of Cato and the Stoics, longed for the long-forgotten values that made Rome. Her men have been corrupted by the pleasures she has to offer.
Rome and her courts
The courts in Rome during the Republic were mainly dominated by one particular faction, family, or alliance. Rome’s republican government was designed to stop the tyrannical will of one man, which it did pretty well. However, ambitious men serving the will of Rome would rule through alliances and ‘favours’ owned by men they helped, receiving special treatment and privileges. Sulla is one such example. Nepotism was hard to combat in such a system due to the lack of a rival branch of government: control over Rome’s legions was all one needed.
The caste system in Roman society made it hard for everyday men and women to prosecute someone above their station. I imagine freedmen and artisans (like blacksmiths) did not take crimes committed by nobles to the courts — they had no money nor the will to do so. Very often, in such situations, another member of the patrician class would stand in on behalf of the lower classes. Usually, to the detriment of his standing within Rome’s elites, one ought not to spend time with slaves and peasants. During the Republic, a Stoic senator who governed Sicily so well the Sicilians wanted to make him an honorary Sicilian managed to find himself in court.
What is the charge, you ask? Jealousy. Rivals jealous of our senator’s competencies and deserved admiration from his peers, his rivals, filled with the spirit of Kane, wanted nothing more than to witness his fall from grace. The kangaroo court sentenced him to exile. Roman law and legislators only applied to Roman citizens — leaving the rest to be exploited — and anyone challenging the status quo would meet the same faith as our senator.
Not much changed during the reign of the Caesars. The nature of monarchical governments — where one man’s will is enacted throughout the government — is seen as divine and just, as the emperor was considered a living god. An opposition voice or party being considered in the Senate is unlikely. No man would dare question the emperor’s divine will unless he was willing to part with his head. Monarchical systems can work well… it all depends on the grace and disposition of the emperor. Plato’s Republic was the model for ancient kings and emperors: over the years, many attempts were made to live up to the ideal of the philosopher-king, although most never came close to the title. Plato claimed that men of philosophy made the best rulers. Marcus Aurelius is a good example. However, many did give in to sin and thus became evil rulers of themselves and their subjects.
The law did begin to change thanks to Christian ethics. The story of Moses freeing the Jews from bondage was no longer told to Jewish children. Greek and Latin were the common languages in the Roman Empire. The story of God leading Moses and the Jews out of Egypt could, thanks in part to the Romans, reach every ear within her border. In effect, the Biblical ethos told through the prophets of the Bible eventually influenced, at first, Rome’s culture and customs as more and more people started to see reality through the eyes of Christ. This would lead to a change in the law justified by Biblical ethics. One would ponder: is this law Christ-like?
Tell me, dear reader, would you last a day in Pagan Rome?
