photo #8411359

17 years after Rome banned Paganism, Rome found itself under siege to Alaric the Goth: - The core of the ban was to eliminate the sacrifices and the temples - The Romans saw the city of Rome as something of a magic spell - They diligently and almost robotically did sacrifices and this created a vortex of power that expanded out of Rome - Ending these rituals killed off Rome’s expansive will - It’d be like banning Churches; this would carry huge downstream problems in funerals, marriages, and sense of coherency in the modern population — - They pagans were furious this new regime was obsessed with purifying Rome instead of defending the wide open borders that the Gothic gangs crossed - This siege was clear proof for the pagans that abandoning the God’s had been a dangerous move for Rome - They rallied and demanded that sacrifices be reintroduced - The Christian Emperor, Honorius, was miles away and had abandoned Rome, so to hell with him… “ignore his mandates and protect Rome!” - Pope Innocent I actually conceded the point, but said to put the question to the people - The pagans tried to convince the people but the people were hesitant… Rome was now a heavily Christian city… it’s against their religion to allow idol worship - Distraught, the pagans gave up - Just then, Alaric’s messengers arrived saying they would lift the siege if they were paid 10,000 kg of silver - The Christian senators saw opportunity in the pagan’s failure - They seized the silver pagan statue of the god Victory that stood in the senate - Sidenote; Victory is called Nike in Greek, where the footwear brand gets its name - The regime melted Victory down and paid it to the Goths - The pagans lamented, what a twisted proof that Rome had lost its will… the selling of Victory to the enemy — - Two years later Alaric returned with menace and sacked Rome - Rome would fall, never to recover again - St. Augustine would write “City of God” a few years later in 414 to try an address these obvious problems - He would claim that the fall isn’t proof of Christian failure, but of Rome’s Gods failing to protect Rome - The Roman project that emanated from their power was a “City of Man” - This materialistic city was necessary to wash away to usher in the new “City of God”