Friday, December 09, 2022

Sometimes History Rhymes

The expansion of Roman power raised big debates and paradoxes about Rome's place in the world, about what counted as 'Roman' when so much of the Mediterranean was under Roman control and about where the boundary between barbarianism and civilization now lay, and which side of that boundary Rome was on. When, for example, at the end of the third century BCE the Roman authorities welcomed the Great Mother goddess from the highlands of what is now Turkey and solemnly installed her in a temple on the Palatine, complete with her retinue of self-castrated, self-flagellating, long-haired priests - how Roman was that? - SPQR

Emphasis added because it sounded familiar. I feel for the ancient Roman because I can imagine him walking along the Palatine, seeing these "priests" trying to curry favor with the Great Mother goddess and him saying to himself, "WTF?"

I feel you my Roman brother, I feel you.

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