The Decline and Fall of the Mithraea of Rome

Abstract

The end of paganism has traditionally been explained as a result of the rise of Christianity. In recent scholarship, the romantic image of an epic battle between pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity has been significantly altered and corrected. According to the new interpretative model, pagans and Christians lived amicably side by side well into the fifth century, as paganism petered out in a natural way. At the micro-level of the Mithraea of Rome, however, the archaeological record contains clear signs of religious hatred that challenge this revisionist model. The present article discusses how, when, and why the Mithraea in Rome ceased to exist, and it elaborates the question of how these data impact our current understanding of Christian attitudes towards paganism in Late Antiquity.