In order to prove that Christians are enemies of neither the state nor humanity
(Apol.35– 8) and that it is unjust to call their associations illegal, and with the aim
of modifying their classification as a sect, he charmingly describes the Christian cult
(Apol.39– 41). The final paragraphs are devoted to highlighting the superiority of
revealed truth and, recalling Roman examples such as Cicero and Seneca, he con-
cludes with a subtle exhortation to martyrdom.De spectaculis
Tertullian’s criticism of Roman religion and of the institutions derived therefrom
leads us to pay attention to his observations in chapter 38 of Apologeticum, where
the two topics he develops in his treatise De spectaculisare present. Here, he details
the link between public shows and idolatry, and their incompatibility with Christian
life:
We renounce all your spectacles, as strongly as we renounce the matters originating
them, which we know were conceived of superstition, when we give up the very things
which are the basis of their representations. Among us nothing is ever said, or seen, or
heard, which has anything in common with the madness of the circus, the immodesty
of the theater, the atrocities of the arena, the useless exercises of the wrestling-ground
(cum insania circi, cum inpudicitia theatri, cum atrocitate arenae, cum xysti vanitate).
(Apol.4)Although De spectaculisdoes not belong to the apologetic writings, and is there-
fore not directed to the “others,” it is nonetheless interesting for our purpose because
Tertullian devoted several chapters to criticizing rituals and Roman festivities,
based on a lost work by Suetonius, Ludicra historia, and perhaps also on Varro’s
Antiquitates. De spectaculis belongs to the third group of writings, that of the
practical-ascetic writings, about discipline and morals, and in this work Tertullian
condemns absolutely all forms of Roman ludi, that is, not just public games in
circuses, in arenas, and in amphitheaters, but also fights between athletes and
gladiators. Tertullian’s severe warning regarding different forms of scenic representa-
tions is based on the immorality and crudeness of these public shows and on their
close relationship to the cult of Roman gods. The work makes it quite clear that
Tertullian is fully aware that attendance at games and other amusements constitutes
a deeply ingrained social practice of Roman citizens. Christians from Carthage, as
Roman citizens, took part in these instances of Carthaginian urban life, where the
theater, the circus, and the arena were important spaces for meeting and commun-
icating; besides, visiting the theater conferred great social prestige (Schöllgen
1984: 58ff.). Hence Tertullian’s insistence on changing Christians’ habits and on
eradicating these social practices traditional in Roman institutions, which he bases
on links to rituals of Roman religion.
It is hard to date the writing accurately; no doubt it was written in his pre-Montanist
period, between 197 and 200, and some researchers even claim that it was
468 Cecilia Ames