individuals kept older ideals and practices alive. Rural areas were
particularly slow to convert to Christianity, but intellectuals did not
capitulate easily either.
o The famous rhetorician Libanius (314–394), a highly
sophisticated and learned scholar, continued to defend
traditional ways, even as he included Christians among his
students. Among his orations is a Lamentation written in
response to the destruction of pagan temples by Theodosius.
Libanius also composed a magnificent eulogy for the emperor
Julian, who had been one of his students.o As late as the 5th century, Augustine wrote The City of God
(416–422) against pagan critics who claimed that the fall of the
city of Rome was due to the abandonment of the pagan gods.• The efforts of Constantine’s successors to impose Christianity on
the populace further indicate that the transition was neither natural
nor easy.
o In 341, Constantius prohibited all pagan sacrifice, an indirect
confirmation that the practice must have persisted.
o In 346, Constantius and Constans (337–350) issued an edict
forbidding sacrifices and closed temples.o A Sicilian senator, Julius Firmicus Maternus, wrote a book
called On the Error of Profane Religions (346), arguing for the
forceful extermination of all pagan worship. But in 353–356,
the imperial edict of 346 was renewed, a clear indication of its
lack of complete success.• In short, the Christianization of the empire was an uphill battle. The
final and prime evidence for this is the reign of the emperor Julian
(361–363). Known by Christians as the Apostate, Julian was raised
Christian as part of the Constantinian dynasty, but he converted
to paganism and sought to restore the empire to its traditional
polytheistic religion.