The cultural influence of Greece on the Western Empire diminished rapidly from the third
century A.D. onwards, chiefly because culture in general decayed. For this there were many
causes, but one in particular must be mentioned. In the last times of the Western Empire, the
government was more undisguisedly a military tyranny than it had been, and the army usually
selected a successful general as emperor; but the army, even in its highest ranks, was no longer
composed of cultivated Romans, but of semi-barbarians from the frontier. These rough soldiers
had no use for culture, and regarded the civilized citizens solely as sources of revenue. Private
persons were too impoverished to support much in the way of education, and the State
considered education unnecessary. Consequently, in the West, only a few men of exceptional
learning continued to read Greek.
(2) Non-Hellenic religion and superstition, on the contrary, acquired, as time went on, a firmer
and firmer hold on the West. We have already seen how Alexander's conquests introduced the
Greek world to the beliefs of Babylonians, Persians, and Egyptians. Similarly the Roman
conquests made the Western world familiar with these doctrines, and also with those of Jews
and Christians. I shall consider what concerns the Jews and Christians at a later stage; for the
present, I shall confine myself as far as possible to pagan superstitions. *
In Rome every sect and every prophet was represented, and sometimes won favour in the
highest government circles. Lucian, who stood for sane scepticism in spite of the credulity of
his age, tells an amusing story, generally accepted as broadly true, about a prophet and miracle-
worker called Alexander the Paphlagonian. This man healed the sick and foretold the future,
with excursions into blackmail. His fame reached the ears of Marcus Aurelius, then fighting the
Marcomanni on the Danube. The Emperor consulted him as to how to win the war, and was
told that if he threw two lions into the Danube a great victory would result. He followed the
advice of the seer, but it was the Marcomanni who won the great victory. In spite of this
mishap, Alexander's fame continued to grow. A prominent Roman of consular rank, Rutilianus,
after consulting him on many points, at last sought his advice as to the choice of a wife.
Alexander, like Endymion, had enjoyed the favours of the moon, and by
* See Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism.