The Death of Tolerance

Alexandria, that beautiful gem of Egypt, was the site of many great and beautiful temples. Most importantly though it was home to a massive library. The Library of Alexandria was constructed by Ptolemy I Soter around 300 B.C.E. and housed thousands upon thousands of scrolls on nearly every subject imaginable, from astronomy to Zoology. Ptolemy set about copying and purchasing scrolls from all across the Greek word to put in his new library, he wanted to make the Library the crown jewel of the Greek world. His successors more or less continued to support to library throughout the years, some even paid philosophers to stay and teach there.

Unfortunately, the library was probably accidentally burned down by Julius Caesar during his stay in Egypt in the 40's BCE. Fortunately, the library annex was left unscathed! The annex or Serapeum was dedicated to the Greco-Egyptian God Serapis. The temple also housed an impressive amount of scrolls and served as a small library itself. The rise of Christianity saw the slow erosion of the Serapeum, but its death blow came under the reign of Eastern Emperor Theodosius I.

In 381 CE, Emperors Theodosius I and Gratian declared that Nicene Christianity was the state religion of the Roman Empire, and ordered the closing of all Pagan temples and heretical churches.

In their words -"It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our Clemency and Moderation, should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine apostle peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition, and which is now professed. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title of Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since, in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of the divine condemnation and in the second the punishment of our authority which in accordance with the will of heaven we shall decide to inflict."


This edict was loosely followed in most provinces with the exception of the Imperial capitals, but it was still a revolutionary piece of legislation. The Empire was effectually silencing all discussion on the nature of Christ, this was a big deal if you look at the people in the Greek east who constantly argued and discussed philosophical and religious issues.

The edict was not carried out in Alexandria, but local Christians would sometimes vandalize and “appropriate” Pagan temples while the authorities would turn a blind eye.

Alexandria in particular was a true Roman melting pot, it contained numerous sects of Christianity, a thriving Jewish community, and a large number of Pagans who believed in the Old Gods. Trouble arouse there in 391 when a Christian bishop named Theophilius "found" a Pagan temple full of statues and treasures, and openly displayed them in the streets. Theophilius wanted to provoke an attack by the Pagans and to do so he desecrated a large number of the statues. Predictably, the Pagans attacked and the Christians then counterattacked, and soon chaos broke out on the streets of Alexandria. The Prefect of the city could not contain the violence and the Pagans fled to the Serapeum, where they barricaded themselves in for a long period of time. Theodosius I eventually had to get involved in the situation, he decreed that the Pagans were at fault and pardoned them, but at the cost of the Serapeum, which he ordered to be sacked and converted to a Christian church. The great Roman historian Edward Gibbon described Theophilius as "The perpetual enemy of peace and virtue, a bold, bad man, whose hands were alternately polluted with gold and with blood."


With the destruction of the Serapeum, the Bishops soon turned on the worst enemy of Christendom, other Christians! The Novatianists were as Gibbon put it "the most innocent and harmless of sectaries." This did not deter the new Bishop of Alexandria, a man named Cyril, who confiscated the Novatianists churches and began persecuting them severely. This did not sit well with the new Praefectus Augustalis, Orestes. Orestes resisted Cyril's power advances and did what he could to stop the persecution of the Novatianists and the extinction of the Jewish community. The situation got so bad that Orestes himself was struck in the head by a rock that was thrown by a group of fanatical desert monks and left to die by his guards. Fortunately, a group of Christians saved him and drove the monks off.

Orestes wrote to the Emperor Theodosius II blaming Cyril for the unrest in Alexandria, and for getting hit in the head by a rock; Cyril also wrote to the Emperor about Orestes role in the mess. Unfortunately for Orestes, the Emperor was under the thumb of his sister Pulcheria, the fact that the Augusta was made a Saint when she died should tell you who Theodosius II sided with.

The monk who struck Orestes was found and later executed by the Prefect, in response Cyril declared the monk a martyr; the monks vowed revenge and soon found a way to strike back at Orestes.

Hypatia of Alexandria was a mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer. She was the head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, and taught both Christians and Pagans the philosophies of the great Platonic philosophers of old.
Hypatia also was a friend of Orestes and a member of his advisory council. Most contemporary Christians describe Hypatia in glowing light. Socrates of Constantinople writes that she "made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time." Many of her students would later become Bishops, she even kept a regular correspondence with a former student who was the Bishop of Ptolemais. Her close connection with Orestes gave the crazed monks an excuse to murder her.
It was said that she was riding home in her chariot when she was suddenly seized by the monks. They dragged her to a former Pagan temple and brutally murdered her with oyster shells.
With the death of his closest friend and advisor, Orestes soon gave up the struggle with Cyril and disappears from the historical record.

The story of Hypatia and the destruction of Greco Roman Paganism has always saddened (and infuriated) me, but it has taught me the valuable lesson of tolerance.




Now for the coin!
Theodosius II AR Siliqua
Struck 438-450 CE.
1.66 Grams






It is not the nicest coin, but it was cheap!
Siliquae of Theodosius II are not rare, but they are scarce and expensive.
Please post your coins of Theodosius II or that you think pertain to the post.
Thanks and best wishes.

Pictures
The few scant remains of the Serapeum of Alexandria


An artists rendition of daily life in the Library and Annex.


A rare surviving image of Theophilius of Alexandria standing atop the recently destroyed Serapeum



Sources
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/alexandria-serapeum
Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Luciano Canfora, The Vanished Library

 

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Nice read! I feel that I've taken my scholarly vitamins for the day and can return to mindless TV shows with no guilt.

Here are my two scant Theodosius II tidbits. I really need to rectify that - they seem lonely...

 

Great silver. I just have bronze.


Theodosius II (402 - 450 A.D.)
Æ4
O: D N THEODO-SIVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right.
R: cross in wreath, SMKB in exergue.
Cyzicus Mint
1g
13mm
RIC X 449

 

Outstanding post!

 

There was a terrific movie made of this story. I forget the name but am sure others will be able to post it.

Btw, I saw this post and thought it was about college campuses today!

Edit: I just googled it, and the name of the movie was Agora. Terrific movie released in 2009 with Rachel Wiesz as Hypatia. Sad movie of course, but well done film.

 

Thanks guys!

I hear you mate!

 

Excellent again. A bit of history during LC v MU futbol half.

I was posting the same, but you beat me. I liked the movie, but yes, very sad.

 

Agora is a great movie, but I got the sense that the director wanted it to be more "science vs religion", where in reality it was more "secular authority vs religion."
Still a great movie though.

 

Yes, but in this time it really was both. The Christians were zealots who actively destroyed all knowledge not associated or developed by Christians. It was not the fall of Rome that brought the dark ages, it was the advent of Christianity really. So you have Science, (Pagans), versus Religion, (Christians), and you had "Secular Authority, (Christians), versus Religion, (Pagans).

 

@medoraman You bring up a valid point.
Unfortunately many historians gloss over this critical period of time.

 

If you know the real Hypatia then of course it's sad, lol. Shame it's ending happened to many historical figures over ignorance & differences.

 

@> M.M.
I love to read your dissertations. They transport me to places 'new' and times 'afresh'. You see, I wasn't disrespecting my tutors by sleeping in class - I was merely waiting for the 'really important' lessons to start.
Congrat's on the write-up and congrat's on getting that Siliqua. Nice.
No Theo IIs I am afraid. My only Theo II purchase turned out to be Theo I when it arrived.

 

@Topcat7 I know right, when I was reading some Gibbon @ 2:00 AM in the morning, I thought to my self " Wow, I wonder what life was like back then".
Thanks!

 

Excellent stuff MM, an enjoyable read, and nice coin.

Many years ago, I forget when, I heard that archaeologists were digging what was thought to be an unknown library. They kept warm by burning these "logs" that they found. It is thought that the "logs" were probably scrolls. It doesn't bear thinking about.

 

Thanks Pish!

You are going to make me cry!!!!!!
Feel free to post a coin!

 

It is always a sad moment when anyone of any religion/creed/group/etc. attacks others solely over their beliefs. Nice write up and coin MM.

 

What remains from History ? What sense, what interpretations. Who knows? At least we have there coins in our hands to prove a thin light of reality.

 

The first coin to left is well- known, having the cross in wreath on reverse. The second is attributed as RIC X-CONS- 410

 

Thanks for a GREAT history lesson. Not much changes except the cast of characters and the date does it?

 

CRACCCCKK!!! => Mag-Max, you've batted this thread outta the park, my coin-friend!!



=> sweet write-up and cool coin (congrats)