The End of Paganism
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I found these two interesting quotes in a book I'm reading, The Closing of the Western Mind, about the transition from the classical rational mindset to the doctrine-based mindset at the end of the 4th century AD. From about 380 to 400 AD, the last remnants of classical Greek and Roman religion (the Altar of Victory in the Roman Senate House, the Olympic Games, etc.) were shut down by the authorities. The Christian ascetic Jerome writes:
"The gilded Capitol falls into disrepair; dust and cobwebs cover all Rome's temples. The city shakes on its foundations, and a stream of people hurries, past half-fallen shrines, to the tombs of the martyrs."
One of the last oracles received at Delphi was this:
"Go tell the king
Apollo's lovely hall
Is fallen to the ground. No longer has the god
His house, his bay-leaf oracle, his singing stream.
The waters that spoke are stilled."
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I found these two interesting quotes in a book I'm reading, The Closing of the Western Mind, about the transition from the classical rational mindset to the doctrine-based mindset at the end of the 4th century AD. From about 380 to 400 AD, the last remnants of classical Greek and Roman religion (the Altar of Victory in the Roman Senate House, the Olympic Games, etc.) were shut down by the authorities. The Christian ascetic Jerome writes:
"The gilded Capitol falls into disrepair; dust and cobwebs cover all Rome's temples. The city shakes on its foundations, and a stream of people hurries, past half-fallen shrines, to the tombs of the martyrs."
One of the last oracles received at Delphi was this:
"Go tell the king
Apollo's lovely hall
Is fallen to the ground. No longer has the god
His house, his bay-leaf oracle, his singing stream.
The waters that spoke are stilled."
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posted by Anonymous at
9:58 PM
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