persons; and this according to an institution of ancient times. For from the first the
“Ludi” were regarded as of two sources, sacred and funereal, that is in honor of the
heathen deities and of the dead. (Spect.6.2–3)He also attacks Roman magistracies, since it is the different magistrates who
organize the games and he considers every act of a magistrate as such as a commit-
ment to the official religion. When referring to circus pomp, Tertullian extends the
model of the city of Rome to the rest of the provinces:
What high religious rites besides, what sacrifices precede, come between, and follow.
How many guilds, how many priesthoods, how many offices are set astir, is known to
the inhabitants of the great city in which the demon convention has its headquarters.
If these things are done in humbler style in the provinces, in accordance with their
inferior means, still all circus games must be counted as belonging to that from which
they are derived; the fountain from which they spring defiles them. The tiny streamlet
from its very spring-head, the little twig from its very budding, contains in it the essen-
tial nature of its origin. (Spect.7.3– 4)After devoting several chapters to circus games, Tertullian focuses on the topic of
theatrical representations, ludi scaenici(chapter 10), which, because of their origin,
their name, and their ceremonial, are akin to circus games. Here he also refers to
rituals in the city of Rome held in the sanctuary of Venus. Christians should reject
all forms of shows, as well as exercises in arenas (chapter 11) and combats in amphi-
theaters (chapter 12), because they are all bound to Roman religion. The second
and third parts of the work center on Christian discipline. In Tertullian’s view, Christians
should only witness one show, the final game: the next coming of the Lord.
Conclusion
Tertullian’s view of Roman religion displays special characteristics. His selection of
sources of information is not determined by the mere quantity or quality of informa-
tion on religious practices, but by his intentions, the audience, and the reception
framework. These writings are undoubtedly not a source of information on beliefs
and practices, because the references and the concrete data on Roman religion that
appear in them are taken from literary tradition, always cases and standardized
examples from philosophy, historiography, poetry, and manuals of rhetoric. There
is no doubt that the information selected has a Christian apologetic intention and
the examples given show the contradictory, inhuman, or ridiculous nature of Roman
religious practice, so that they are functional for his philosophical argument. But
this is not Tertullian’s only purpose; he also has a clear awareness of the Roman
empire’s dominance structure, of the city of Rome’s role, and of his own provincial
position, and hence his controversy is surprisingly related to Rome instead of being
related to what, for most of his readers, is his own perceptible environment.
Thus Tertullian, from his position as a provincial, approaches the theme of Roman
dominance and within this framework analyzes and ridicules Roman religious
470 Cecilia Ames