L’Adversus nationes est un texte polémique où l’auteur, Arnobe de Sicca, défend le christianisme en plus d’attaquer le paganisme. Nous y retrouvons les principales accusations lancées contre le christianisme ainsi que les attaques des intellectuels chrétiens contre les païens. Il s’agit de l’un des derniers textes apologétiques rédigé avant la paix de Milan (311). Arnobe y explique l’importance de s’éloigner des erreurs du paganisme et d’adhérer au christianisme dans le but de sauver son âme. Bien qu’il ne s’agisse pas d’une œuvre à caractère historique, Arnobe fournit, pour étayer son argumentation, plusieurs indices sur sa conception de l’histoire romaine. L’Adversus nationes, qui n’est pas traduit intégralement en français à ce jour, n’a pas été très souvent étudié du point de vue de l’interprétation de l’histoire. Une telle étude permet de comprendre la pensée de son auteur sur Rome, son histoire et ses périodes politiques. La première partie de ce mémoire présentera une petite biographie d’Arnobe ainsi qu’un survol du contexte historique dans lequel il vivait. Puis, les principales caractéristiques de l’histoire rhétorique seront exposées au deuxième chapitre. La seconde partie du mémoire traitera de l’analyse de passages de l’Adversus nationes. Le troisième chapitre sera consacré aux grands personnages romains. Le quatrième chapitre traitera de la providence divine dans l’histoire romaine. Finalement, le cinquième chapitre cherchera à retrouver les sources d’Arnobe lorsqu’il traite d’évènements historiques importants. Ce mémoire offre, comme conclusions, une nouvelle hypothèse concernant la datation du livre 1 de l’Adversus nationes et une nouvelle influence concernant certains récits historiques rapportés par Arnobe. / Adversus nationes is a polemical text in which the author, Arnobius of Sicca, defends Christianity in addition to attacking paganism. This text includes the main accusations against Christianity as well as the counter-arguments intellectual Christians presented against pagans. It is one of the last apologetic texts written before the peace of Milano (311). Arnobius explains the importance of moving away from the mistakes of paganism and of adhering to Christianity in order to save one’s soul. Although the nature of this text is not historical, Arnobius provides several hints on his conception of Roman history, to strengthen his argumentation. Adversus nationes, which has not yet been completely translated into French, has not often been studied from the point of view of interpreting history. Such a study allows a better understanding of its author’s thoughts on Rome, its history and its political systems. The first part of this thesis presents a brief biography of Arnobius as well as an overview of the historical context in which he lived. Then, the main rhetorical characteristics of history are exposed in the second chapter. The second part of this thesis provides an analysis of key passages in Adversus nationes. The third chapter focuses on major Roman figures. The fourth chapter addresses divine providence in Roman history. Finally, the fifth chapter looks for Arnobius’s sources behind his treatment of important historical events. In its conclusion, this thesis offers a new hypothesis regarding the date of book 1 of Adversus nationes and uncovers a new influence concerning certain historical accounts reported by Arnobius.

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This diploma thesis is devoted to the situation of Christians living in the Roman Empire in the first four centuries AD. Every new religion has to face a number of problems in its beginnings, its misunderstanding and its position in society must be gradually enforced. However, the very beginnings of Christianity are not easy to grasp, since so many sources have not been preserved to this day. Likewise, many events are perceived through Christian optics and thus interpreted unilaterally. These are, above all, martyrological texts that have been extensively modified over time and authenticity is now relatively difficult. This diploma thesis is divided into several chapters, while in the first one I try to describe the Roman society and the Roman religion with which the Christian faith was confronted. Further chapters and chapters are devoted to the rise and spread of Christianity, the person of Jesus Christ, and the Church Fathers who report to us about the first centuries of Christian faith. The most extensive part of this diploma thesis is devoted to the main topic of persecution of Christians in the first four centuries AD. To date the individual stages of the persecution of Christians, I will help them by dividing them according to G.E.M. de Ste. Croixe. Chapters to describe the three stages of...

This MA thesis will discuss the reception of common, non-scholarly polytheists (pagans) to the persecution of Christians from the early empire until the Great Persecution (303-313, 322-324). Though modern scholars have addressed this issue and asserted that there was a change in attitude, many have not developed this into anything more than a passing statement. When chronologically analyzing the Christian acts, passions, letters, and speeches recounting the deaths of martyrs deemed historically authentic, and accounting for the literary and biblical topoi, we can demonstrate that the position of non-Christians changed. The methodology of this thesis will chronologically assess the martyr acts, passions, speeches, and letters which are historically accurate after literary and biblical topoi are addressed. These sources are available in the appendix. Throughout this analysis, we will see two currents. The primary current will seek to discern the change in pagan reception of anti-Christian persecution, while the second current will draw attention to the Roman concept of religio and superstitio, both important in understanding civic religion which upheld the pax deorum and defined loyalty to the Roman order through material sacrifices and closely connected to one's citizenship. Religio commonly denoted proper ritual practices, while superstitio defined irregular forms of worship which may endanger the state. As we will see, Christians were feared and persecuted because it was believed that their cult would anger the gods and disrupt the cosmological order. The analysis will begin with a discussion centered on the "accusatory" approach to the Christian church during the first two centuries when the Roman state relied on provincial delatores (denounces) to legislate against the cult. During the first two centuries persecution was mostly provincial, sporadic and was not centrally-directed. We will see that provincial mobs were the most violent during the first two centuries. During the third century the actions of the imperial authority changed and began following an "inquisitorial" approach with the accession of Emperors Decius and Valerian, the former enacting an edict of universal sacrifices while the latter undertook the first Empire-wide initiative to crush the Christian community. It is during the third century that the attitude of non-elite pagans may have begun to change. This will be suggested when discussing the martyrdom of Pionius. When discussing the fourth century Great Persecution under the Diocletianic tetrarchy, it will be suggested that the pagan populace may have begun to look upon the small Christian community sympathetically. The thesis will conclude with the victory of Constantine over Licinius and the slow but steady rise of Christianity to prominence, becoming the official religio of the empire with traditional paganism relegated to the status of a superstitio.

This bachelor thesis goal is to explore how paganism has expressed itself within the world of digitalgames through three different examples. It builds onto already existing research around videogames and history use as well as my own term paper that touched upon this subject. This thesis willbe done using academic literature concerning digital games, history use and paganism from Russiaas well as Japan.

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This study aims to explore the mosaics in the Sala delle Palestrite at Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina, Sicily. These mosaics depict women wearing garments that resemble modern bikinis. However, upon closer examination of the roles of these ten women, it becomes evident that their attire is a form of Roman underwear, worn in an athletic context. Rather than being bikini-dressed figures, the women in the mosaic are athletes engaged in various sports activities from both ancient Greek and Roman cultures. The concept of aretḗ, which celebrates the ideal combination of strength, beauty, and harmony, often explains why Greek athletes are depicted nude. In contrast, the clothed female athletes in the mosaic suggest a different interpretation of female aretḗ, highlighting a paradox between the ideal representations of male and female athletic bodies. This depiction may however also signal an increase in women's autonomy during the 4th century AD, possibly resulting from broader cultural and social changes that reduced restrictions on women during this period. Furthermore, this study argues that these female athletes embody not only progressive but also aristocratic values. The mosaic reflects the upper class's interest in using artistic expressions to convey social status and intellectuality within their homes. With the increased social freedoms of the period, including women's rights to own land, the mosaic could represent the villa's domina attempt to portray a new image of women, diverging from traditional roles. Although the mosaic indicates greater social freedom for aristocratic women, it also reveals the persistence of traditional values in its stylistic expression. Given the historical association between women, fertility, and physical activity, the athletes' bodies might serve to communicate female aretḗ, often linked with fertility and reproduction. Alternatively, this could also highlight a recurring issue in art history; the limited representation of the female body, especially in contexts like athleticism, which did not conform to traditional portrayals of women. In conclusion, the mosaics offer a complex portrayal of female athletes that reflect both progressive and traditional values, illustrating broader social changes and the evolving roles of women in ancient society. It is thus unique evidence of the early female liberation.

This MA thesis deals with the text analysis of the Song of Roland. The text analysis focuses in detail on the formal, content, narrative and symbolic aspects of the Song of Roland. All those features are in the context of the literary and historical frame. The Song of Roland is one of the oldest literary pieces of French literature. It is the most famous heroic song belonging to the "Chanson de geste" and it was created in the 11th century. The main characters of the heroic poem are Charles the great, his nephew Roland, loyal friend Olivier, traitor Galeon and pagan king Marsil. The Song of Roland explores not only the family and friend relations, but the important topics are also betrayal and desire for fortune and glory. The Song deals with the matter of faith being asserted in the way which is typical for the middle ages. The story, which takes part in Spain, where the French have been besieging the pagan fort of Zaragoza for seven years, is very interesting from the historical aspects, but were more interested in the narrative - textual aspects, in which we tried to explore the relationships between the narrators. We focused on individual speeches, who speaks to whom and in which way. We asked ourselves three questions, which we have gradually answered. For the need of an analysis of individual speech...

<p>The prehistoric cemetery of Barshalder is located along the main road on the boundary between Grötlingbo and Fide parishes, near the southern end of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. The cemetery was used from c. AD 1-1100.</p><p>The level of publication in Swedish archaeology of the first millennium AD is low compared to, for instance, the British and German examples. Gotland’s rich Iron Age cemeteries have long been intensively excavated, but few have received monographic treatment. This publication is intended to begin filling this gap and to raise the empirical level of the field. It also aims to make explicit and test the often somewhat intuitively conceived results of much previous research. The analyses deal mainly with the Migration (AD 375–540), Vendel (AD 520–790) and Late Viking (AD 1000–1150) Periods.</p><p>The following lines of inquiry have been prioritised.</p><p>1. Landscape history, i.e. placing the cemetery in a landscape-historical context. (Vol. 1, section 2.2.6)</p><p>2. Migration Period typochronology, i.e. the study of change in the grave goods. (Vol. 2, chapter 2)</p><p>3. Social roles: gender, age and status. (Vol. 2, chapter 3)</p><p>4. Religious identity in the 11th century, i.e. the study of religious indicators in mortuary customs and grave goods, with particular emphasis on the relationship between Scandinavian paganism and Christianity.. (Vol. 2, chapter 4)</p><p>Barshalder is found to have functioned as a central cemetery for the surrounding area, located on peripheral land far away from contemporary settlement, yet placed on a main road along the coast for maximum visibility and possibly near a harbour. Computer supported correspondence analysis and seriation are used to study the gender attributes among the grave goods and the chronology of the burials. New methodology is developed to distinguish gender-neutral attributes from transgressed gender attributes. Sub-gender grouping due to age and status is explored. An independent modern chronology system with rigorous type definitions is established for the Migration Period of Gotland. Recently published chronology systems for the Vendel and Viking Periods are critically reviewed, tested and modified to produce more solid models. Social stratification is studied through burial wealth with a quantitative method, and the results are tested through juxtaposition with several other data types.</p><p>The Late Viking Period graves of the late 10th and 11th centuries are studied in relation to the contemporary Christian graves at the churchyards. They are found to be symbolically soft-spoken and unobtrusive, with all pagan attributes kept apart from the body in a space between the feet of the deceased and the end of the over-long inhumation trench. A small number of pagan reactionary graves with more forceful symbolism are however also identified. The distribution of different 11th century cemetery types across the island is used to interpret the period’s confessional geography, the scale of social organisation and the degree of allegiance to western and eastern Christianity. 11th century society on Gotland is found to have been characterised by religious tolerance, by an absence of central organisation and by slow piecemeal Christianisation.</p>

Les anthropologues ont examiné le syncrétisme religieux, soit l’incorporation d’éléments de sources diverses, au sein des religions du monde depuis plusieurs décennies. Cependant, très peu d’intérêt a été accordé au paganisme contemporain, un Nouveau Mouvement Religieux hautement syncrétique. À travers les récits de plusieurs païens/nes contemporain/es à Montréal, j’examine comment et pourquoi les pratiquants sont inspiré/es à faire le choix d’incorporer divers éléments provenant de sources religieuses et non religieuses. Le recours à des sources différentes reflète l’effort de créer une expérience religieuse plus profonde et personnelle. La créativité impliquée dans la construction d’une pratique spirituelle et d’un système de croyance personnels est souvent conduite par un désir de (re)connexion, que ce soit à la terre, aux ancêtres, ou bien à une communauté. Les acteurs acquièrent un sentiment accru d’agentivité dans ce processus. Ma participation dans cette communauté a influencé mes expériences de recherche; j’examine également ma position en tant qu’anthropologue chez soi. / Anthropologists have been examining religious syncretism—the process of combining elements from diverse sources—in religions of the world for decades, but very little attention has been given to one highly syncretic New Religious Movement: contemporary Paganism. Through the narratives of several contemporary Pagans in Montreal, Quebec, I explore how and why practitioners are inspired to make choices to incorporate diverse elements from religious and non-religious sources; recourse to other sources represents an effort to create a deeper, more personally meaningful religious experience. The creativity involved in constructing one’s own spiritual practice and belief system is often driven by a desire for (re)connection—to the earth, to one’s ancestors, to a community—and a greater sense of personal agency is gained through this process. Being a participant in this community greatly shaped my research experience as well, and I explore my position as an anthropologist at home along side these narratives.