In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Hadrian and the Christians
  • Trudie Fraser
Hadrian and the Christians. Edited by Marco Rizzi. [Millennium Studies: Studies in the Culture and History of the First Millennium C.E., Vol. 30.] (New York: Walter de Gruyter. 2010. Pp. vi, 186. $98.00 ISBN 978-3-110-22470-2.)

Hadrian and the Christians is a publication that must excite curiosity about this emperor whose reign is widely considered to be one of peace, prosperity, and religious tolerance. It is sixty years since Stewart Perowne expressed his opinion that Hadrian was the catalyst for the rise of Christianity. Now editor and contributor Marco Rizzi proposes a fresh approach that will investigate the role played by Hadrian in creating an environment in which Christianity was able to define and present itself (for example, p. 2). Five other scholars from related disciplines have each contributed essays. These are of varying standards with some lapses in providing accurate references and coin catalog numbers.

It is commendable that a comprehensive list of ancient sources is supplied, but it would have been even more useful to have a general discussion of these in Rizzi's introduction with his observations on the writings of Aristides, Ignatius, and Justin. An alteration in the order of the essays would have permitted a better understanding of Hadrian; Marco Galli could then have provided more commentary on Hadrian's early influences, particularly how his paideia was gained and the rôle models who informed his later policy making, especially in religious matters. Some mention should have been made of Hadrian's year (or more; c. 110-12) in Greece and his initial introduction to the mystery cults and their connection with Hercules. This might explain Hadrian's early coins depicting Hercules, in addition to his acknowledgment of the deity of Gades, his mother's patria.

Apparently, the essayists worked closely together and determined that 124/25 represented a turning point in Hadrian's religious policy. This is never clearly stated except by Alessandro Galimberti; he concludes that the fake letter of Hadrian to Servianus provides a fifth-century retrospective insight into Hadrian's religious policy, showing that he had "settled his accounts with Judaism, embarked on a new course with Christianity and reviewed the relationship with Egyptian cults" (for example, p. 120). Hadrian was always aware [End Page 338] of his duty as pontifex maximus, but there is no doubt that his curiosity and personal search for religious fulfillment would have led him to thoroughly examine the beliefs of his subjects. From the start of his reign there were no persecutions against Christians. Ignatius's martyrdom took place during Trajan's reign, recorded as during the consulship of Senecio and Sura, so in 107. At this time Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria, Trajan was concluding the second war in Dacia, and Hadrian was en route to his appointment as governor in Pannonia Inferior. Hadrian's tolerance of Christians, apparent from his letter to Minicius Fundanus (replying to Gratianus's request for guidance), cannot be attributed to the Apologists to whom he may have granted an audience in 124/25 or even c.131/32, according to Galimberti. Although the excavations of the Antinoeion at the Villa are of enormous interest, the cult of Antinous was very late in Hadrian's reign. Elena Calandra could have made her essay more pertinent by including a discussion of Burton MacDonald's theory of mystery cult activity in the subterranean passages and the South Theatre.

Hadrian's vision of Panhellenion both reflected his love for Greece and the Greeks and his awareness of their persistent intercity rivalry. It represented Hadrian's pursuit of tranquillitas. Yet despite Hadrian's best intentions, as Giovanni Bazzana shows in his scholarly and thorough essay on the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the emperor misunderstood the Judaean Jews. His reaction to the rebellion was a typical Roman response, exacerbated by worsening health, his grief for Antinous, and the destruction of his dream of pax Romana.

Livia Capponi makes several very interesting points: that Hadrian visited both Jerusalem and Alexandria early in his reign; that the Egyptian cults played a vital role in providing a spiritual background for Christianity, with the customs...

pdf

Share