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Roman Gods and Goddesses<br />
Several emperors encouraged the worship of Mithras as the cult of Mithraism emphasised discipline,<br />
loyalty and courage. The emperors realised it was these qualities which made the Roman legions<br />
such a powerful military force. Like Christianity, followers of Mithras were promised life after death,<br />
so it was a popular cult with the Roman soldiers. Worshippers of Mithras, like Christians, believed in<br />
resurrection, baptising to wash away sins and that their god had descended from heaven. Some historians<br />
believe that Mithraism would have become the dominant religion had Christianity not spread around the known<br />
world in those early times.<br />
Only priests could conduct the sacrificial ceremonies, for if mistakes were made it was believed that the gods<br />
would not accept the sacrifices. Animals were examined carefully to ensure there were no blemishes on the skins<br />
or internal organs. The animals most frequently used were pigs, oxen, sheep, goats and doves. Portions of the<br />
animal were thrown onto an altar for the gods to eat.<br />
Some historians like Livy believed that the Romans had been favoured by the gods for he wrote: ‘Those who<br />
followed the gods had every success’. After the bloody civil wars in the first century BC the poet Horace declared<br />
that the Romans had suffered because they had neglected their gods.<br />
The Christians were the only religious people the Romans constantly persecuted. Christianity spread west from<br />
the Middle East and eventually the believers in only one God outnumbered the pagans, for Christianity promised<br />
the Roman citizens life after death. The Christians developed secret signs to disguise their identity from possible<br />
enemies. They would trace an outline of a fish on their palm, the Greek word for fish containing the letters of the<br />
name and title of their leader, Jesus.<br />
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– 28 – <strong>Ancient</strong> <strong>Rome</strong> Prim-Ed Publishing www.prim-ed.com