One of the assumptions frequently made about religion in antiquity is that Greco-Roman religions were about ritual, while Christianity was about belief. It is a standard line in Roman history and in Christian theology. I know that assumption, I’ve often repeated it myself. However, while researching my
This seems to be a bit of a straw-man argument to argue that Roman religion was all about "ritual" rather than "beliefs"? Surely you would have to have "beliefs" to participate in the rituals? Nevertheless, the idea of "beliefs" is probably a concept that is not that easy to define and there seems to be the suggestion here that the rituals were somehow divorced from the original grounding belief in some way, perhaps as a result of mindless tradition or the passage of time. Reading texts like the Aeneid, it is apparent how steeped the Romans were in their beliefs about their gods and goddesses.
On a different note, walking around Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, it struck me that some cloisters had capitals of Mithras sacrificing his bull, this in a church constructed in about 1172, way after Mithraism was around. What were the beliefs around this by the Christians building the church? Some were horrified. But perhaps a neo-classical revival of sorts.
This seems to be a bit of a straw-man argument to argue that Roman religion was all about "ritual" rather than "beliefs"? Surely you would have to have "beliefs" to participate in the rituals? Nevertheless, the idea of "beliefs" is probably a concept that is not that easy to define and there seems to be the suggestion here that the rituals were somehow divorced from the original grounding belief in some way, perhaps as a result of mindless tradition or the passage of time. Reading texts like the Aeneid, it is apparent how steeped the Romans were in their beliefs about their gods and goddesses.
On a different note, walking around Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, it struck me that some cloisters had capitals of Mithras sacrificing his bull, this in a church constructed in about 1172, way after Mithraism was around. What were the beliefs around this by the Christians building the church? Some were horrified. But perhaps a neo-classical revival of sorts.