Faded Memories

[xephyr]

History is a funny thing. Written history goes back four thousand years, and yet there are periods simply rife with myth to the point that it didn't matter if "actual" history had been recorded. There does appear to be a natural tendency for famous people to accumulate mythology as they become farther removed from the living. Someone like the Roman

Comments

[litch]

I also seem to remember that Part of Constantine's impulse to go with the xians was that they were providing a large share of the public assistance to the poor and downtrodden in his empire at the time. Sort of a Hammas with fewer weapons. With all his wars and the other costs of empire there were a lot of rabble floating around and by buying off the christers he helped ensure that they would discourage any revolutionary impulses.

[xephyr]

I think my post lacks a summary along the lines of this: "Christian" meant different things in the past than it does today. Lots of words undergo such changes and often in less time. When we think of "Christian" today, we think of this hoary collection of rites and dogma, "Jesus Christ" and "Virgin Mary". What we forget is that in 300AD, "Christian" was an umbrella term that referenced followers of Attis, Mithras, Osiris, along with a raft of other obscure, localized mystery cults from every port in Asia