Superstitio' in the Codex Theodosianus and the Persecution of Pagans1

Bibliographic Data

ID4063184
AuthorsMichele Renee Salzman (Boston University, corresponding author)
Year1987
Volume41
Issue2
Pages172-188
Publication date1987-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueVigiliae Christianae (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0042-6032 • E-ISSN: 1570-0720
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/157007287x00049
OpenAlexW2066824301
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited1

The term superstitio is of fundamental importance for scholars of Roman religion and history, for it addresses a question of vital importance to the Roman state: how does the state deal with religious beliefs and practices-either Roman or alien-which are not part of the state religion and are not easily susceptible to state control? Given its importance, the term superstitio has deservedly been the subject of several scholarly studies. These studies have, by and large, examined this term in the texts from antiquity; but the wide range of its meaning and its changing associations in the eight centuries of its usage necessitate that we discuss this term as closely as possible within its historical and literary context. This is especially true for the subject of this paper, the meaning and usage of superstitio in the Codex Theodosianus, for this special context has thus far been either overlooked or misunderstood in general studies of superstitio. In the course of the fourth century, as Christianity gradually replaced paganism as the religion of the Roman state, a series of laws were passed against paganism, many of which survive in the Codex Theodosianus. In these laws, the term superstitio recurs in contexts which have created certain problems of interpretation for scholars of late Roman religion and history. By focussing on the term superstitio in the Codex, I hope to show that superstitio was a basically ambiguous term in these fourth century legal codes (reflecting earlier ambiguities in legal and general usage) which could have different interpretations in different circumstances; it could imply divination (outside the framework of Roman religion), magic, excessive religious fear, paganism or Christianity. Hence it could be particularly viable as a legal term in areas where christians were not yet strong enough to stamp out their pagan opponents

Archaeology · Art · Biblical studies · Christianity · Context (archaeology) · Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential) · Original meaning · Paganism · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science) · Subject (documents) · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law · Philosophy

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