Summary of James J. O'Donnell's Pagans

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Roman Empire was vast, and it was a privilege to be Roman. But the empire also had many different religions, and the Romans did not care for them. They thought they were better than everyone else. #2 Christianity was successful because it was divinely engineered. The undevout are left to scramble for material explanations, and they end up accepting Christian exceptionalism. #3 When we visit Rome, we should go and sit with a cappuccino or gelato and think about how to make sense of what we’ve seen and heard. Afterward, we can walk along the Tiber River to the oldest place in the city, the cattle forum at the bend of the Tiber where the low pass between the Capitoline and Palatine hills comes out. #4 Caesar Augustus was the ruler of Rome in 17 BCE. He had been promoted to the position after the assassination of his uncle Julius Caesar in 46 BCE. He had survived several attempts on his life, and was now Augustus the ruler in the way that posterity would remember him.