539. A Chronicle of the Last Pagans by Chuvin- Summary

539.  A Chronicle of the Last Pagans   - Theodosius I, November 8, 392 AD issued an edict:  no one is permitted to sacrifice an innocent victim, nor to worship one’s Lares with fire, one’s genius with uncut vine, one’s Penates with perfume, to light lamps with incense or hang garlands.  This is the tone of the rest of the book.  It is a sad chronicle of Christians of the time using their power to eliminate Paganism.  This was not easy since pagans were well educated and Paganism was vibrant and very much alive.  The idea that there are many ways by which one may come to an understanding of the divine being was nonexistent.  I found this book hard to read because it made me sad to read how another culture was crushed because there was only one way to view the world. Religious intolerance is still with us; something which was pretty much nonexistent in antiquity.  This should give us pause.