Lunchtime Reading
So lately I've been back at making time to read over my lunch break. Lately it's been God Against the Gods. In previous chapters the author talked about monotheism and polytheism in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Palestine, right up to last chapter talking about Constantine's rise to power in Rome. This chapter he talked about the relationship between Constantine's established empire and the various Christian churches of the time.
He talked about the Council of Nicaea and Constantine's handling of it. This wasn't entirely new to me, but it was my first time hearing it described by someone who was both educated about it and also not in the employ of the modern Catholic Church, so it was an interesting perspective. The writing makes it easier to get inside Constantine's head and understand something about his character, even if we're still today dealing with some of the fallout of his historic conversion.
The thing that I really don't get, though, is why he built Constantinople. The author didn't go into much detail beyond contemporary accounts (read: the ever-unbiased Eusebius of Caesarea) of a divine vision, and that doesn't sit well with me as a complete explanation. An Emperor needs a pragmatic reason to move his capital, whatever religious reasons may support it. The text makes reference to a growing divide between the Eastern and Western Empires since Constantine grabbed the whole thing for himself. Was he just looking for a way to centralize his power geographically to better control both halves? Did he think that doing so would be worth the immense drain on the coffers of the Empire, or did he not understand how bare they were growing? The text hints at the growing divide between the Eastern and Western partitions of the Church and also at a parallel between these and the partitions of the Roman Empire. Did control over the religious divide play a part in Constantine's move, and was that more or less of a concern than the political divide? Or was there more to it than that?
I guess at some point I should probably read Gibbon, shouldn't I?
(LJ Spellchecker Genius of the Day: Eusebius -> Busboys)
He talked about the Council of Nicaea and Constantine's handling of it. This wasn't entirely new to me, but it was my first time hearing it described by someone who was both educated about it and also not in the employ of the modern Catholic Church, so it was an interesting perspective. The writing makes it easier to get inside Constantine's head and understand something about his character, even if we're still today dealing with some of the fallout of his historic conversion.
The thing that I really don't get, though, is why he built Constantinople. The author didn't go into much detail beyond contemporary accounts (read: the ever-unbiased Eusebius of Caesarea) of a divine vision, and that doesn't sit well with me as a complete explanation. An Emperor needs a pragmatic reason to move his capital, whatever religious reasons may support it. The text makes reference to a growing divide between the Eastern and Western Empires since Constantine grabbed the whole thing for himself. Was he just looking for a way to centralize his power geographically to better control both halves? Did he think that doing so would be worth the immense drain on the coffers of the Empire, or did he not understand how bare they were growing? The text hints at the growing divide between the Eastern and Western partitions of the Church and also at a parallel between these and the partitions of the Roman Empire. Did control over the religious divide play a part in Constantine's move, and was that more or less of a concern than the political divide? Or was there more to it than that?
I guess at some point I should probably read Gibbon, shouldn't I?
(LJ Spellchecker Genius of the Day: Eusebius -> Busboys)