Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 1): Zeus god of the bright sky (Cambridge, 1914)

Zeus superseded by Saint Elias 167

of Paul: ' The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but
mighty before God to the casting down of strong holds.' His
converts should have gone on conquering and to conquer. But,
alas for champions who knew not of what Spirit they were. Fain
to reinforce that Spirit's sword, they turned aside to the old armoury
of argument, altercation, and abuse. Pagan attacks were met by
Christian counter-attacks, and the apologists with all their merits
were in some cases men mainly remarkable for their erudition. As
the new religion spread, matters were equalised externally and more
than equalised : the persecuted became the persecutors. Gratian
urged on by the influence of Ambrose began to plunder heathen
temples for the benefit of Christian priests. Theodosios prohibited
under the severest penalties the perpetuation of pagan worship.
Justinian carried on and completed the outward victory. But
meantime those who thus tried to secure an intellectual and
temporal ascendancy were shrewd enough to perceive that the
scathing periods of church-fathers1 and even imperial mandates
of extermination were powerless to suppress the long-standing
rites of paganism. They concluded that definite substitutes must
be found for the discredited objects of popular cult. And found
they were. Indeed, it is not too much to say that in the fourth
century of our era a momentous transformation was already in
progress, by which Christian saints gradually usurped the position
of pagan gods and demigods.

How far this process of substitution was due to deliberate policy
and official action on the part of church or state, is a question
hotly disputed, and in the comparative dearth of contemporary
evidence2 hard to decide. A priori arguments of course are not
wanting. On the one hand the great majority of Christians then,
as now, were ' corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that
is toward Christ.' Such persons presumably followed the dictates
of worldly wisdom3. On the other hand we have also to reckon
with a cause less conspicuous than ecclesiastical interference, but

1 The Christian apologists largely ignored the small fry of Greek mythology and saved
their finest scorn for the inconsistencies and immoralities of Zeus : see e.g. Clem. Al.
protr. 2. 36. 5—2. 37. 4 p. 27, 19 ff. Stahlin, Arnob. adv. nat. 5. 20—23, Firm. Mat. 12.
i-—9, Rutin, recogn. 10. 20—23, Aug. epist. 5, de civ. Dei 4. 25, alib.

2 See, however, Beda hist, eccles. 1. 30, Ioul. epist. 78 Hertlein, Leo Magnus serm.
8. 9—cited by Miss M. Hamilton Greek Saints and Their Festivals Edinburgh and
London 1910 p. 4 ft. Add cod. Theod. 16. 10. 3.

3 An instructive case is the proposed rebuilding of the Marneion at Gaza as a Christian
church with the old pagan ground-plan : avvefiovkevov ovv nves KTi(rdr\vai avrrjv Kara tt)v
deaiv rod et'SwXetou (Marcus Diaconus v. Porphyrii episcopi Gazensis 75)—a course
eventually disallowed {infra ch. ii § 9 (g)).

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