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Professor Paul Burke and his students explore the art, history, language and religion of ancient Mediterranean civilizations. |
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A pagan vision and a Christian church
Professor Paul Burke's research
Research question: What are the roots of a legend that inspired the construction of an early Christian church?
The vision
The story goes that "once upon a time," the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, during a consultation with a prophetess about the future of the Empire, was told that another yet to come would be divine ruler of the world. Then Augustus beheld in the sky a ring of light surrounding the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. Augustus told the senators of Rome about his vision, and with their encouragement built an altar to commemorate his vision.
The church
Many centuries later, the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli (meaning "celestial altar") was built in Rome to honor this miraculous vision. But how was it that the impetus for the construction of a Christian church had its roots in a vision attributed to the pagan Augustus Caesar and a prophecy by a Roman sibyl? Augustus's death in A.D. 14 occurred almost twenty years before that of Christ, and Christianity didn't become Rome's official religion until 380.
The connection
Professor of classics Paul Burke, wanting to learn more about the story behind the church, traveled to Italy in search of clues. His investigation encompassed the church with its carved depictions of Augustus's vision, the geography and history of the city of Rome, and documents of the late Roman and early Christian era in the libraries of the American Academy of Rome and the Vatican.
Burke explains that the story of Augustus's vision was widely circulated throughout early Christendom as one of a collection of stories called the Book of the Miracles of Mary. Burke was able to trace a version of the story back to a 7th century Latin manuscript in the Vatican library and suggests that this may be the oldest Christian version of the story known to exist. He also notes references to a possibly related prophecy in the City of God by St. Augustine, who died in 430 A.D.
Burke was also interested in any non-Christian sources that might shed light on the story's provenance. In Suetonius's Life of Augustus, Burke identified two possibly relevant events: Augustus's refusal during his lifetime to accept the status of god and his witnessing of a halo around the sun, light from which struck the tomb of Julius Caesar's daughter.
Finally, Burke delved into the history of the church itself, learning that the present 13th century structure replaced the earlier church of Santa Maria in Capitolio, itself built on the site of a Roman temple to the goddess Juno. Capitolio refers to the Capitoline area of Rome, where some stories located the altar. (However, other versions put the altar in Augustus's palace, known to have stood on the Palatine.) Interestingly enough, Burke also cites the discovery in the 19th century of an epitaph referring to Juno as 'dea virgo coelestis' or celestial virgin goddess. The link between Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a tribute to a Christian virgin mother, and a temple to a pagan virgin goddess, is intriguing.
In Depth
Professor Burke's research was published in the August 2005 volume of the New England Classical Journal as "Augustus and Christianity in Myth and Legend."
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Additional Resources
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13th c. altar, S. Maria in Aracoeli, Rome |
Detail of altar: the Emperor Augustus |
Mary and Jesus within the ring of light
Photos copyright Paul Burke |
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