Religion and absurdity: Why does religious faith get out of control? - 2024.01.19 No.4 - When was the consciousness of "fighting the enemy to protect the motherland's glory" born?
A)
People's distrust of religion continues to grow, with religious feuds such as the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war and the shooting incident of former Prime Minister Abe in the country. Why does religion lead to conflict?
A theologian familiar with international affairs and a master of ancient Roman history will discuss the mysteries of faith in depth.
B)
"Religious Piety" is a Characteristic of the Roman People
Mr Sato) Christianity is now the largest religion in the world, but its expansion cannot be discussed without mentioning the history of ancient Rome. Christianity, initially suppressed, was later recognised by the Edict of Milan and eventually became the state religion of Rome.
Before I talk about how this happened, I would first like to ask about the religiosity of the Romans: basically, they believed in the same gods as the Greeks, right?
Mr Motomura) Initially, for the Romans, "gods" were entities close to spirits, not human-like beings with joy, anger and sadness like the gods of Greek mythology.
As they had no mythology of their own, they accepted Greek mythology along with Greek culture. Although the Greek "Zeus" was called "Jupiter" in Rome, and the Greek "Aphrodite" was called "Venus" in Rome, they had different names but believed in the same gods with the same mythology.
C)
However, regarding religious piety, there seems to have been a significant difference between Greece and Rome. This can be seen in the histories written by Polybius, a Greek, describing the rise of Rome.
Polybius, who lived in Rome for about 20 years from 168 BC, was impressed by the funeral rites of Roman aristocrats. He wrote, "What scene could be better than this?" of relatives, similar in size to the deceased, appearing at funerals wearing masks depicting the face of the deceased.
In the eyes of the Greeks, the Romans seemed to be a "pious people". By this time, the Greeks no longer saw much point in the funeral ceremony itself and instead gathered together in a festive mood, drinking alcohol and making a fuss.
D)
Sato) It's the turn of Bacchus, the god of sake. No, that's his name in Roman mythology; in Greek mythology, it's "Dionysus".
Motomura) That's right. The Romans, on the other hand, are arrogant towards their gods. That seemed pious to Polybius.
Sato) From Rome's point of view, Greece was a developed country then. Were the Romans themselves aware of their backwardness?
Motomura) Even 100 years after Polybius' time, the Roman poet Cicero wrote: "The Greeks cannot match their academic ability". Nor are the Greeks the only people to feel inferior.
They were inferior in physique and vitality to the Celtic-Germanic Gauls, outnumbered by the Hispanics of the Iberian Peninsula, and could not match the Etruscans in blacksmithing and other skills.
In addition to blacksmithing, the Etruscans were also highly skilled in construction, and by the 5th to 6th century BC, they were making things like dental bridges.
Sato) Roman architecture is also said to have imitated the Etruscan culture.
Motomura) That's right. Etruria was a country in what is now Tuscany and was influenced by Greece even earlier than Rome. Therefore, early Rome could not compete culturally. Furthermore, the Carthaginians were commercially successful traders, so the Romans were inferior to them in that respect as well.
E)
Sato) It's just a feeling of inferiority.
(Motomura) Even in the war, the Germanic troops with muscular physiques were hopelessly frightening to the small-bodied Latin Romans.
When the Germanic legions marched, Roman soldiers were placed on either side of them, but they were not allowed to attack at first. We start by letting them observe the habits of Germanic people for a while and getting them used to their large bodies. Then, they went through the process of having them fight. There is a case where the Roman general Marius did this.
After listing these negative aspects, Cicero asks himself, "Then what is the superiority of the Romans?" The answer was "religious piety." The Greek Polybius and the Roman Cicero saw this as a characteristic of the Roman people.
F)
"Love of the Fatherland" in Greece and Rome
Sato) Did this religious piety influence the development of Rome?
Motomura) At least Polybius thought so. His main concern when he wrote his history was: "Why did only Rome become so powerful?"
At that time, about 2,000 city-states in the Mediterranean, including small ones. One of the outstanding features of Rome is its religious piety. This will also lead to a more robust public spirit.
G)
Whereas the Greeks valued the "individual" more than the "public", the Romans valued public safety. Polybius found this in the background of the emotional funerals of the Romans.
Roman youth were imbued with the idea that their heroic deeds would be remembered forever, even in death. Polybius thinks so. I believe the intense fear of the gods is connected with the love of the Romans for their homeland.
Sato) This is "patriotism", which differs from modern "nationalism".
Motomura) Before nation-states were born, wars were based on love for the homeland. However, there are various theories about when the idea of "fighting the enemy to protect the glory of the homeland" was born.
Some people think that "in Greek polises, the citizens had a strong love for their homeland," while others believe, "It was in Rome that love for the homeland was most pronounced." I have doubts about Greece's "love for the motherland." This is because Greece does not try to move out of the realm of the polis.
H)
Sato) Greece did not build large waterworks like Rome. This shows that they had little intention of expanding their territory.
Motomura) That's right. The terrain there is mountainous, so they probably didn't want to get too big. That's why Macedonia ended up taking advantage of us. The Greek states were severely damaged by the invasion of Philip II in 338 BC.
Sato) For example, Athens and Sparta can understand each other's language, but each has a different meaning of "patoli".
I)
Motomura) There are dialects of the language, so there is a sense of patriotism in that sense, but I don't feel a strong sense of love for the homeland within the framework of "Greek". In this respect, the Greeks seem to have supposed that their roots differed from the Romans.
In the 3rd century BC, when Greece was in a period of decline, Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in northern Greece, sent an envoy to Rome. He was gathering information to stop the Roman advance.
The envoy reported that every member of the Roman Senate had the dignity of a king. And even at the level of the ordinary people, they are not too reluctant to sacrifice their lives for their country. It can, therefore, be assumed that patriotism was stronger in Rome than in Greece.
J)
Sato) What happened when Persia became a common "enemy" for the Greek polis?
Motomura) Against Persia, Athens took the initiative and showed some cohesion. Every Greek polis shares a common culture and religion. But it doesn't reach the level of patriotism that Rome had. They fought against it in the form of a coalition of nations.
Sato) It's as if they only unite under the Seii Taishogun when there's an enemy, just like today's Chechnya.
K)
Motomura) This is the big difference between Greece and Rome. This difference is also reflected in the granting of citizenship. Since Greece is only ruled by its polis, it does not give much citizenship to areas it recognises as other countries.
Meanwhile, as Rome continued to expand its territory, it actively granted citizenship to famous and wealthy people from all over the country.
Sato) This looks like a British degree. America does not give degrees to foreigners easily. But Britain is a colonial country and is pretty lenient with foreigners unless their position is threatened. They think it is positive for people with a university doctorate to go to a colony.
Motomura) Britain has learned much about colonialism from Rome since the 17th century. Books like Edward Gibbon's "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" became widely read because of the interest in the Roman way.
Religion and absurdity: Why does religious faith get out of control? - 2024.01.19 No.4 - When was the consciousness of "fighting the enemy to protect the motherland's glory" born?
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