0:00:03 > 0:00:05Rome, the Eternal City.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Today, it's a place dominated by Christianity.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Its churches rule the skyline.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Its faithful pack the streets.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21Every year, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims
0:00:21 > 0:00:25from across the world flock here to worship in the place
0:00:25 > 0:00:29that is truly the beating heart of the Catholic faith.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34For many, Rome's status as a holy city begins with Christianity.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37But in fact, its origin as a sacred site
0:00:37 > 0:00:40owes everything to its pre-Christian past.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46It was exotic pagan deities who were first credited
0:00:46 > 0:00:49with transforming a hillside village
0:00:49 > 0:00:55to the capital of the most powerful empire the world has ever known.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59These were the gods of thunder, love, war and wisdom,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03who dominated the city for a thousand years
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and held its fortune in their hands.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17The very ground Rome was built on was considered sacred,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20from its temples...to its sewers.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25You can smell putrefaction, the sweetness of waste.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30But it also stinks of history. It's a secret world lost in time.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34This is a city I've always been drawn to.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36And in this series,
0:01:36 > 0:01:41I'm going to be discovering just how it gained its tradition of holiness.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45I've come with the questions of both historian and tourist,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47to examine the fabric of a place
0:01:47 > 0:01:50where power and religion go hand in hand.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Rome has always been inspired
0:01:54 > 0:01:59and shaped by its passionate sense of sacred mission.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Popes and emperors, kings and consuls have all believed
0:02:04 > 0:02:10they served a higher purpose, to fulfil the will of the divine.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16And in this episode, I'm going right back to Rome's pagan roots,
0:02:17 > 0:02:22to a world of empires won and lost, holy ambitions fulfilled,
0:02:22 > 0:02:28a place where signs from heaven could change the course of history
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and men became gods.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I want to find out just how this once-marshy wasteland
0:02:35 > 0:02:38became one of the world's holiest cities.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Every July, Rome celebrates one of its favourite festivals.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07It's a Catholic celebration in which a statue of the Virgin Mary
0:03:07 > 0:03:10gets a tour of Rome along the River Tiber.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13And she's off.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22It's quite a bizarre sight,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25the mother of God, taking a ride on a motorboat.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28But it does sum up Rome today.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Here, religious pageantry is the city's daily theatre,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36on the streets and on the water.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Christianity rules the Holy City.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47But everywhere you look, paganism lurks just beneath the surface.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Images of Mary on street corners were once pagan shrines
0:03:56 > 0:03:59devoted to the household gods.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Ancient temples have been absorbed
0:04:03 > 0:04:05into the fabric of Christian churches.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10And the Pope has a pagan precedent.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14The ancient Romans had their own high priest, the Pontifex Maximus.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Even this procession has echoes of the pagan world.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27In 205 BC, there are stories of the Magna Mater,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30a foreign goddess, being brought into Rome by boat
0:04:30 > 0:04:32right up this river, just like this,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35except it wouldn't have been motorboats.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38It would have been wooden boats.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42It wouldn't have been balloons, it would have been incense lamps.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46But the modern, Christian Rome of today, in many ways,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48is not so far removed
0:04:48 > 0:04:53from the ancient, pagan Rome of gods and emperors.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59And there's a clue to the origins of Rome's timeless sanctity
0:04:59 > 0:05:02in its founding myth.
0:05:06 > 0:05:12Every sacred city needs a creation story, and Rome is no different.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16It's a tale that defined the ancient Romans.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21And as a tourist, it's a legend you still can't escape.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26There are glimpses of it just about everywhere.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35And here it is, two children suckling a she-wolf.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40It's a timeless vision of human dreams and nightmares -
0:05:40 > 0:05:44lupine ferocity meets maternal nurture.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49But it sums up everything the Romans wanted to believe about themselves
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and their city's destiny.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54According to myth,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Rome was founded in 753 BC
0:05:57 > 0:06:01by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Abandoned as babies, they were rescued by a she-wolf.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11And once adults, they decided to found a city.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13But it wasn't that simple.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Being brothers, they soon fell out over where to build it.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Romulus wanted to build it on the Palatine Hill.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Remus wanted to build it on neighbouring Aventine Hill.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27And to make the right decision, they decided to consult the gods.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Signs from heaven were sent to each brother in the form of vultures.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Remus saw them first, six birds over the Aventine.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45But Romulus saw more, twelve.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Each brother claimed the gods favoured him.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56It was a rivalry with fatal consequences.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Romulus started to build walls around the Palatine
0:07:01 > 0:07:03to mark the boundaries of his new city.
0:07:03 > 0:07:09Remus mocked his brother by jumping over the half-built fortifications.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14It was a challenge, and Romulus answered it by killing his brother.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17The gods had spoken.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22It's a legend that reflects the Roman conviction
0:07:22 > 0:07:26that this was a city whose fate was divinely ordained.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31So the story of Rome begins, with religious omens
0:07:31 > 0:07:34and murderous ambition, power and religion -
0:07:35 > 0:07:40the essential ingredients of a holy city then, and now.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Of course, the story is a legend.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50And the archaeology shows that Rome actually started as a patchwork
0:07:50 > 0:07:55of small farms on the seven hills overlooking the River Tiber.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57Between the hills,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01there were marshy valleys where the local people buried their dead.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Some time in the eighth century BC,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06two villages that stood on the hills,
0:08:06 > 0:08:11the Palatine and the Quirinal, merged into one settlement.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16But there is one element in the Romulus and Remus story
0:08:16 > 0:08:19that does seem to have a basis in historical fact,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22and that is that right from the beginning,
0:08:22 > 0:08:27Rome was surrounded by a boundary that was of enormous importance.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30It marked Rome out as a sacred city.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37This boundary was known as the Pomerium,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and Romans thought it originally followed
0:08:40 > 0:08:43the line ploughed by Romulus around the city.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47But it wasn't just about marking out territory.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Much more significantly,
0:08:48 > 0:08:53the Romans believed the land within it enjoyed divine protection.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59This gateway, known as the Arch of Dolabella,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01was built on the line of the Pomerium.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04And to keep the gods happy,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07there were strict rules dictating behaviour
0:09:07 > 0:09:09within Rome's sacred confines.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15So on this side of the arch was outside the city,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18where the Romans believed you could bury your dead or make war.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22But as I walk through the archway, I enter Rome.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Rome begins here, and everything is sacred.
0:09:26 > 0:09:27So if I was a soldier, for example,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I would have to leave my arms outside the gate.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Generals could not build military camps here.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37The Romans believed that to break these rules was sacrilege.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46And this idea of what is and isn't sacred space
0:09:46 > 0:09:51has influenced the way the entire city has been laid out.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56It's why one of the main thoroughfares into Rome,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00the Appian Way, is lined with tombs.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03But only up to a certain point.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07They stop the moment you enter the city itself.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13It's also why the tombs of the early Christians, the Catacombs,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16and on the outskirts and not in the centre.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21But the sacred space in Rome wasn't just what you saw around you,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25it also extended beneath your feet, right underground.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33Deep below the is one of its most secret and holy sites.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35It's a network of some sewers,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39but they weren't just to wash away the effluence of the Romans.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44Like everything else in this city, they also had a sacred purpose.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51They were said to be the brainchild of one of Rome's earliest rulers,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Tarquinius Priscus, fifth monarch of the city,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57and one of a line of kings who ruled here.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03The entrance to the sewers is in the Forum of Nerva.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It's here that I met up with Mark Bradley,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08for whom they are a personal passion.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Truly an elegant look for la dolce vita.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19The sewers are still in use today, so precautions have to be taken.
0:11:19 > 0:11:20How do I look?
0:11:20 > 0:11:25I think we're ready to face the effluvia of the ancients.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32But I quickly realised that penetrating these faecal caverns
0:11:32 > 0:11:34wasn't going to be easy.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40No way! I don't think I can go down there.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I hate to tell you this. I'm serious.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Nobody's ever fallen down it.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Don't like the look of it.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Half an hour later, after a very 21st-century panic attack
0:11:55 > 0:11:59that would have shamed the noble Romans,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I managed to face this terrifying abyss.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08And as I descended into this twilight canyon of filth,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11I could smell it before I could see it.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13What a place! Oh, my God!
0:12:13 > 0:12:16What is that?
0:12:19 > 0:12:22This is absolutely extraordinary down here.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Yes, these are terribly, terribly important.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28This is the Cloaca Maxima, the great sewer,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31which is the oldest surviving intact monument in Rome.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Forget all the temples, all the palaces,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37this is the real start of Rome.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41One of the main functions of these sewers originally was to drain
0:12:41 > 0:12:44the Forum, which was being periodically flooded by the Tiber.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47It's massive. You can sail a boat through here.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51And the Romans boasted about sailing boats through here.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Come on, let's explore.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02This extraordinary sanitation system was built
0:13:02 > 0:13:05right back in the sixth century BC.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08And its tunnels stretch for miles and miles.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16For 2,500 years, right up until the 19th century,
0:13:16 > 0:13:21this was the only sewer system serving the whole of Rome.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26And the ancient Romans believed it purified the city,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28both practically and symbolically.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33So, Mark, why are these sewers sacred?
0:13:33 > 0:13:39Well, these sewers are sacred, in part, because they flush waste
0:13:39 > 0:13:42out of the city, they cleanse the city, they make it pure.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And there are shrines marking particular points
0:13:46 > 0:13:49and junctions in the sewer.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55There is a very long-standing tradition in the history of Rome
0:13:55 > 0:13:57where unwanted elements of society -
0:13:57 > 0:14:01so criminals, deposed tyrants, even Christian martyrs - would be
0:14:03 > 0:14:06cast down here, symbolically, to be flushed out of the city.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Which emperors were actually tossed down here?
0:14:09 > 0:14:14The one emperor who is very famous for this is the Emperor Elegabalus
0:14:14 > 0:14:15in the early third century AD,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19who was a depraved young emperor who made a complete mess of Rome.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23He was eventually assassinated, his body was dragged, really foully,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27through the sewers and evacuated outside the city.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34That's all that's left of one of the last people to be here.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38The Romans believed this purging of the city
0:14:38 > 0:14:40was key to its very survival.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44If Rome was pure, the gods would be happy.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47And the city's fortunes would be secure.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52I actually didn't think I'd be able to get down here,
0:14:52 > 0:14:55but I'm so pleased I did. I love it.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00The stones themselves speak, perhaps I should say stink, of history.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03However disgusting it is down here - and it really is disgusting -
0:15:03 > 0:15:08the walls, the liquid, the stink is appalling.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10It's sweet in its horror.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14And yet I have to tell you there is real grandeur down here
0:15:14 > 0:15:18and it is the sacred grandeur of ancient Rome.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30This splendid subterranean world has shown me
0:15:30 > 0:15:35that right from its inception, Rome was regarded as a holy city,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39above and even below the surface.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Oh, my God! How lovely! Sunlight, air!
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Goodbye, ancient tunnels of Rome.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58The sewers are one of Rome's best-kept secrets.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04But they have an unexpected link to one of the city's
0:16:04 > 0:16:08most popular tourist destinations that might not please
0:16:08 > 0:16:11the thousands of people who come here.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18The famous Bocca della Verita, the mouth of truth, has been linked
0:16:18 > 0:16:20since Middle Ages to a tradition
0:16:20 > 0:16:25that if an unfaithful lover put his or her hand in the mouth,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27it would be bitten off.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32In Roman times, it wasn't a good idea to put your hand in that hole,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34whether you were faithful or not.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37This is in fact a monumental sewer cover,
0:16:37 > 0:16:42decorated with the face of Oceanus, God of the oceans.
0:16:42 > 0:16:48The risk was not so much from infidelity as from infection.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01The concept of Rome as a holy city was present from the beginning.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06And it not only shaped how the Romans designed their city,
0:17:06 > 0:17:11it also influenced every political decision its rulers made.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14The Romans were obsessed with the gods and their moods.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20And that governed how they behaved from dawn till dusk.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Every soldier, every Caesar, believed he had a religious role.
0:17:26 > 0:17:32To commemorate the greatness of Rome was to celebrate its holy destiny.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37In this city, religion and politics were inseparable bedfellows.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47Nowhere is this marriage of sacred and secular more blatant than here.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52At the Forum, the heart of pagan Rome.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59It was first built in the sixth century BC as a civic centre
0:17:59 > 0:18:02after the sewers were established and the land drained.
0:18:02 > 0:18:08And for 1,000 years, it was the centre of Roman public life.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14Here, speeches were given, criminals were tried, laws were made.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19And temple after temple was raised to the glory of the gods of Rome.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27According to legend, this was home to another king of the city,
0:18:27 > 0:18:32whose influence shaped the earliest traditions of Roman life.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34His name was Numa Pompilius.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39The Romans believed that it was Numa who created
0:18:39 > 0:18:45the religious rituals and structures that made possible the rise of Rome.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47And he did it right here.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53When you visit the Forum for the first time,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56you're both dazzled and bewildered.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04It's a mishmash of architectural fragments from different ages.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09There are traces of temples built and rebuilt.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Layer upon layer of Roman history.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Much of what stand here today belongs to the time
0:19:17 > 0:19:22of the emperors, the last leaders to make their mark.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25But the origins of this site can be dated right back to
0:19:25 > 0:19:27the period of the Roman monarchy.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33King Numa was said to have established four colleges of priests,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36with very clear responsibilities.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39They were not just religious, they were also political.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41And without their say-so,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45the entire routine of Roman politics would grind to a halt.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50All buildings in the Forum, public or private,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52were dedicated to the gods.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56And all political decisions had to be made
0:19:56 > 0:20:01on sanctified ground - from holding elections to passing laws.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05So it was a group of priests known as the augurs
0:20:05 > 0:20:09who had the final say over planning decisions.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11This was the Senate house,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14but it was also something called a "templum", a sacred space.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18The augurs would consult the heavens to approve the site
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and then map it out with holy staffs.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23It was as if the Houses of Parliament
0:20:23 > 0:20:25stood on a sacred rectangle.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29And if the space wasn't sacred, the decisions weren't valid.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35At the opposite end of the forum was the Regia.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37It was the royal residence,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39originally thought to be the Palace of King Numa
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and the seat of secular power.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46But it was also the centre of religious control.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50This was once the headquarters of the Pontifex Maximus,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54the high priest, the supreme religious authority of Rome
0:20:54 > 0:20:58and Pontifex Maximus literally means "the greatest bridge-builder".
0:20:58 > 0:21:01He was the bridge between gods and men.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06He regulated the rituals of Roman life and the divine law
0:21:06 > 0:21:09and this gave him considerable political authority.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16But he was also a master of the Vestal Virgins
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and right next door to his headquarters
0:21:20 > 0:21:22was their house and temple.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26The Virgins were priestesses of Vesta,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29the goddess of the hearth and home,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34who had a special link to the fortunes of the entire city.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37The Vestal Virgins were chosen at the age of six
0:21:37 > 0:21:40for their moral and physical perfection.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Their task was to tend the sacred flame
0:21:43 > 0:21:46of the sacred hearth of the city
0:21:46 > 0:21:49and the Romans believed that if the fire went out
0:21:49 > 0:21:51the city itself would fall.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58The whole forum was a place where religious practice
0:21:58 > 0:22:03ensured Rome's political decisions had divine backing.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13I've always been fascinated by the macabre rituals
0:22:13 > 0:22:16that really decided the destiny of Rome.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21So I asked Mark Bradley to give me an insight
0:22:21 > 0:22:24into the work of a priestly group who were involved
0:22:24 > 0:22:28in one of the gorier aspects of Roman politics -
0:22:28 > 0:22:31they were known as the haruspices,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34diviners from the Etruscan communities of northern Italy,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38skilled in interpreting signs from the gods.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42And there's a reason we're meeting in a fresh food market.
0:22:44 > 0:22:50So, Mark, what is this still-warm, almost pulsating bloody organ
0:22:50 > 0:22:52that we have here on the platter in this butcher's shop?
0:22:52 > 0:22:57Well, this is a fresh liver taken from a newly sacrificed sheep.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00What the priests would do is they'd cut open the animal
0:23:00 > 0:23:04and they'd take out the liver while it was still pulsating
0:23:04 > 0:23:08and they'd examine it to see what the future has in store.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12So the first thing we need to do is orientate it correctly.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17What the haruspices did is they used a model of the liver
0:23:17 > 0:23:21to guide them, to remind them, to prompt them about how to read it,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24so what we have here is a bronze model of a liver
0:23:24 > 0:23:29from about 100 BC and this is called the Piacenza Liver,
0:23:29 > 0:23:34and on this you can see the gall bladder, the caudal lobe,
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and the liver was divided into 16 sections
0:23:38 > 0:23:42and these 16 sections corresponded to the 16 regions of heaven
0:23:42 > 0:23:47and each region was governed over by a particular god.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51So what we'll do is we'll have a look at this liver and see what it tells us.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55So this area here, around where the gall bladder was,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58is an area governed by war gods
0:23:58 > 0:24:05and if you find a discolouration, a tumour, a blood clot,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08a bile pool or something like that in this area,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10that might mean that the war gods are not happy,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13this might not be a good time to go to war.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Another area that's very interesting is all of this area
0:24:17 > 0:24:20which is associated with the Etruscan god Tin,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23who is the equivalent of Jupiter in Roman cult.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26If he's not happy you need to make a sacrifice to him
0:24:26 > 0:24:29or you need to build a temple to him or something like that.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33OK, so if I'm an emperor, my legions are massed
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and I now want to invade Germany today and destroy the German tribes,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39can I march today? Can you read the organ?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Well, this liver is remarkably clean.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45This is absolutely unblemished, as far as I can see.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48This is a good time to do pretty much anything.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52- I'm happy, call in the centurions - we march today.- Absolutely.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59If religion was an essential part of a politician's life,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02for your ordinary Roman there was barely a beat in the day
0:25:02 > 0:25:04that wasn't overseen by a god.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Buon giorno.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10For the average Roman farmer,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13it wasn't just about sowing, ploughing and reaping.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17To get a bumper harvest they had to keep the gods happy, too.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23In April there was the Festival of Cerialia
0:25:23 > 0:25:26dedicated to the goddess of grain,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29which involved heading out to the Circus Maximus in the evening
0:25:29 > 0:25:34to watch foxes with torches tied to their tails.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39This, apparently, protected the crops from vermin.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44And then there was the Festival to the god Robigus who governed mildew.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48To avoid an outbreak, farmers had to sacrifice a dog.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51And in October, to thank Mars for the harvest,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54it was a horse that got the chop.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02And private rituals were as important as public festivals.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Families prayed daily to the household gods, the Lares,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10whose statues they kept at home in special niches.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14And they gathered for ceremonies in the fields to offer sacrifices,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17ensuring the crops would ripen.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21In fact, the Roman farmer had so many religious obligations
0:26:21 > 0:26:24it's a wonder he had any time to tend his crops.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36The religious structures and practices said to have been established by King Numa
0:26:36 > 0:26:39largely formed the basis of Roman religion
0:26:39 > 0:26:42for the entire first millennium of Rome.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45But in 509 BC a political crisis broke out.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52A group of aristocrats rebelled against the king, Tarquin the Proud.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58They overthrew him and established a new political system.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Rome would no longer be ruled by one man but by the Senate,
0:27:02 > 0:27:04an assembly of its leading citizens.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07The Roman Republic was born.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12But whatever ideas drove the change,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15religion remained at the heart of the new regime.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21Indeed, the more successful Rome became, the more sacred the city.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34The dawn of the Republic was marked by an event
0:27:34 > 0:27:37that would have seen the whole of Rome celebrating on the streets.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41It was the dedication ceremony
0:27:41 > 0:27:46of a building that once stood here on the Capitoline Hill.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50The single most important temple ever erected in Rome.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56On 13 September 509 BC,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00this spot above the forum would have been packed with people.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05And what an awesome spectacle it would have been.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09They were there for the dedication of the vast new temple of Jupiter,
0:28:09 > 0:28:15Optimus Maximus, the biggest and brightest of the Roman gods.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17There was an altar outside for sacrifices
0:28:17 > 0:28:19and the doors were always open
0:28:19 > 0:28:24so passers-by could see the huge and gaudy statues of the gods within.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27For a Roman who was there that day
0:28:27 > 0:28:31it would have been as magnificent as it was unforgettable.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38The entire ceremony was designed to remind the Roman people
0:28:38 > 0:28:41that the god Jupiter was the source of Roman glory.
0:28:43 > 0:28:44And for the new Republic,
0:28:44 > 0:28:48this building marked a dramatic moment in the city's history.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52This was the opening ceremony
0:28:52 > 0:28:56of the first pagan cathedral of republican Rome.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02The only surviving sections of the temple
0:29:02 > 0:29:06are now in the Capitoline Museum in their original position.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Matthew Nicholls believes it is a building
0:29:10 > 0:29:14that encapsulates the sacred ambitions of this new regime.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17What we're looking at here, Simon,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21is a wall that forms part of the foundations of the Temple of Jupiter.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23It's not the temple itself, it merely the foundations
0:29:23 > 0:29:26that built a huge platform on which the temple sat.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29- And how big was it? It was enormous. - It was awe-inspiringly huge.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32You've got to imagine a podium that was perhaps the size
0:29:32 > 0:29:34of two Olympic swimming pools side-by-side
0:29:34 > 0:29:36with the temple itself sitting up on top of that.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39So this dominated central Rome? This dominated the forum?
0:29:39 > 0:29:40It looked down on the forum,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43it looked out across the hills and valleys of Rome.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46It could be seen from a long way away and it was a magnificent sight.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Who built it and what was its political significance?
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Its significance is really what it tells us
0:29:51 > 0:29:54about the ambitions of the Roman state.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56It was linked right from the start to conquest
0:29:56 > 0:29:59and the divine mission of conquest the Romans felt they had.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02But even though we associate this temple very closely
0:30:02 > 0:30:04with the Roman Republic and the many rituals of the Republic,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07in fact it was planned, it was conceived,
0:30:07 > 0:30:09when Rome had kings, was ruled by Etruscan kings,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12and the last of them, Tarquinius Superbus,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15was responsible for almost bringing this temple to fruition,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18and then his rule was blown away in the revolution.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22So why did the Republic adopt this very royal enterprise?
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Romans loved the idea that their rule and their growing empire
0:30:25 > 0:30:28was sanctioned by the will of heaven, that this was a mission
0:30:28 > 0:30:30that the gods entrusted to them as a people.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34Even when the kings were gone, the Roman people could carry that mission forwards.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39The building of this temple
0:30:39 > 0:30:43marked a watershed in the history of the whole city.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45It was the moment when Rome transformed
0:30:45 > 0:30:49from being a town of small-scale temples and shrines
0:30:49 > 0:30:54to a sacred capital embellished with its own cathedral.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00The Temple of Jupiter was a declaration
0:31:00 > 0:31:05of the astonishing religious and political confidence of Rome,
0:31:05 > 0:31:10a rising power blessed and propelled on its sacred destiny
0:31:10 > 0:31:12by the forces of the gods.
0:31:16 > 0:31:22And that power was consolidated by the raising of ever-more temples.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Their remains can still be seen all over Rome.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30As the Romans conquered new territories,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32the spoils of victory poured into the city
0:31:32 > 0:31:36and since the Romans attributed their success to the gods,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40so the victors built more and more magnificent temples
0:31:40 > 0:31:43in gratitude and in celebration.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47Gradually the geography of the Holy City
0:31:47 > 0:31:52began to resemble a map of Rome's ever-increasing empire.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00And nowhere was Rome's acknowledgement of the gods clearer
0:32:00 > 0:32:04than in one of the city's most colourful military ceremonies.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08When a general returned from a victorious war,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12the Senate voted him something called a Triumph, a parade through the city.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15He rode in his chariot followed by his army,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17by wagons heaped with booty
0:32:17 > 0:32:19and by his shackled prisoners
0:32:19 > 0:32:23and he ended up right here at the Via Sacra, the Sacred Way,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26the most important street in the Roman forum.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31Imagine the excitement.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36The general wearing purple and gold, his face painted scarlet.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38He was dressed as Jupiter for a day,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41but in case the glory went to his head,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45a slave rode behind him in his chariot whispering,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48"Remember - you are only mortal."
0:32:50 > 0:32:52His procession ended, of course,
0:32:52 > 0:32:55at the Capitol and the Temple of Jupiter
0:32:55 > 0:32:59where he laid laurels at the feet of the giant statues of the gods.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06At that moment there'd be no doubt in any Roman's mind
0:33:06 > 0:33:10that the gods were responsible for the city's fortunes.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19But the success of the Republic came at a price.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22It was the purity of Rome's religion that suffered.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28The city's expansion into a vast empire
0:33:28 > 0:33:33led to an influx of foreigners from Greece to Egypt.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35And with them came their gods.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40Rome's senators could have suppressed these new divinities
0:33:40 > 0:33:43and stayed faithful to their own,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46but they took a more pragmatic approach.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Foreign gods, like Isis and Serapis,
0:33:50 > 0:33:55were absorbed into the state religion and in the third century BC
0:33:55 > 0:33:59one was even imported to try and avert disaster.
0:34:03 > 0:34:09In 205 BC, Rome faced one of its gravest crises.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13For almost a century, the city was engaged in a power struggle
0:34:13 > 0:34:15for control of the Mediterranean.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Its enemy was Carthage, led by the brilliant commander Hannibal.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27And it was a threat that led to the introduction
0:34:27 > 0:34:31of one of the most flamboyant and exotic new goddesses to the city -
0:34:31 > 0:34:33just in the nick of time.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Rome's very existence was in peril.
0:34:38 > 0:34:43Strange portents and mysterious hailstone storms threatened danger
0:34:43 > 0:34:48and in their panic the Romans decide to consult the Sibylline Books,
0:34:48 > 0:34:51sacred texts kept in the great Temple of Jupiter.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Their advice was clear -
0:34:53 > 0:34:56in order to avoid defeat by Hannibal and the Carthaginians,
0:34:56 > 0:35:01the Romans must import a foreign goddess from Asia Minor.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Her name was Magna Mater, the great mother,
0:35:05 > 0:35:07and her arrival in the city
0:35:07 > 0:35:10and her acceptance as one of its official gods -
0:35:10 > 0:35:13that alone would help save Rome.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29The Roman historian Livy wrote a vivid description
0:35:29 > 0:35:31of her arrival in the city.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36The goddess was shipped up the Tiber
0:35:36 > 0:35:40accompanied by her cult officials known as the Galli -
0:35:40 > 0:35:44self-castrated eunuch priests.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50And when she arrived at the river's bank
0:35:50 > 0:35:53she was born through the city, passed from hand to hand.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59The whole of Rome came out to meet her.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02Incense burners lined the streets
0:36:02 > 0:36:06and all the Romans prayed that she would enter the city willingly.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18It seems Rome hasn't changed as much as you might think.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21LOUDSPEAKER CHANTS
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Shortly after her arrival,
0:36:32 > 0:36:37Magna Mater was given a home at the very centre of the city -
0:36:37 > 0:36:39a temple on the Palatine Hill -
0:36:39 > 0:36:44and her rituals were incorporated into the official calendar.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Three years later, Hannibal was defeated.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58The story of Magna Mater shows how far Rome had come.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02It transformed from sacred village to a holy city
0:37:02 > 0:37:07dedicated to a multinational pantheon of deities.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17But in the first century BC, 700 years after its foundation,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20the whole city was to become a shrine
0:37:20 > 0:37:23not just to the gods, but to a man.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25And one man in particular.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29It was an innovation that had its roots
0:37:29 > 0:37:33in the rule of one of Rome's most outstanding leaders...
0:37:34 > 0:37:37..Julius Caesar.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Caesar's rise to power came at a time when violence,
0:37:42 > 0:37:47cynicism and corruption had taken hold of the Holy City.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52As the empire grew, the struggle for control became more and more vicious
0:37:52 > 0:37:55and religion was ripe for exploitation.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01Portents from heaven were interpreted to justify decisions.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06Omens and oracles were invented for political advantage.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11And in this world, one man stood out.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16Caesar was so exceptional,
0:38:16 > 0:38:20the Roman state was almost too small for him.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Nicknamed by his own soldiers "The Balding Adulterer",
0:38:24 > 0:38:26he was a gambler, a risk-taker,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29and he was an arch manipulator of religion
0:38:29 > 0:38:32for his own political ends.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36He even claimed to be descended from the goddess Venus herself.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44But his success provoked the jealousy and suspicion of the other nobles
0:38:44 > 0:38:46with deadly consequences.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55This little-known square is the closest you can get
0:38:55 > 0:38:58to the spot where Caesar was murdered.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03In the first century BC, these ruins were temples.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10And on the Ides of March 44 BC, Caesar was passing here
0:39:10 > 0:39:13when he was stabbed by a group of conspirators.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16At first he fought back,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19but when he saw among the assassins was Brutus,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23his mistress's son whom he adored, he gave up.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27His murder was meant to save the Republic,
0:39:27 > 0:39:31but in fact it just accelerated the end of the dream.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36With Caesar's successors,
0:39:36 > 0:39:40Rome would no longer be ruled by the Senate as a republic
0:39:40 > 0:39:44but by a single ruler as an autocracy.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48And with this new political order came an innovation in Roman religion
0:39:48 > 0:39:54which would once again have a huge physical impact on the Holy City
0:39:54 > 0:39:57and on the daily lives of the ordinary people who lived here.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01The Emperor wouldn't just be
0:40:01 > 0:40:04the most powerful political leader in the western world -
0:40:04 > 0:40:07he was about to become the son of a god.
0:40:15 > 0:40:21Caesar's heir was his 18-year-old nephew, and adopted son, Octavian,
0:40:21 > 0:40:25a brilliant political strategist, who combined the old and the new
0:40:27 > 0:40:29to give Roman leaders a new status.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32They were no longer just generals and priests -
0:40:32 > 0:40:34they could also be gods.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40After Caesar's death, Rome was thrown into chaos
0:40:42 > 0:40:44and a fight for power ripped the city apart.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Octavian found himself in a bitter struggle to rule the Empire
0:40:55 > 0:40:59against Caesar's right-hand man, Mark Antony.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Mark Antony allied himself with the irresistibly vampish
0:41:06 > 0:41:10and hugely ambitious Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16Together, they embraced an Eastern version of power and religion.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21But Octavian cleverly used this to turn the Romans against them.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27Antony and Cleopatra were defeated in battle and committed suicide.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29He by sword, she by snake.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33And Octavian became Rome's first emperor.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42Octavian's victory marked a crucial turning point in Rome's history.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Under his regime, it became the most magnificent
0:41:46 > 0:41:49and sacred capital of the Western world.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Romans began to call it "the eternal city".
0:41:56 > 0:42:01And Octavian had similarly grand ideas about his own status.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04When Octavian became emperor,
0:42:04 > 0:42:09he adopted a new name for his new role - Augustus Caesar.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13Augustus means "consecrated by the augurs".
0:42:13 > 0:42:15It was a name that evoked the favour of the gods
0:42:15 > 0:42:19and the auspices that marked the founding of Rome.
0:42:26 > 0:42:32The name Caesar also linked Augustus to his murdered uncle, Julius.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36And very early on, he had a temple built here, in the Forum,
0:42:36 > 0:42:38in his uncle's honour.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41It doesn't look like much now,
0:42:41 > 0:42:45but this once dominated the entire south side of the Forum.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Before it was built, this was where they brought Julius Caesar's body
0:42:49 > 0:42:51after his assassination.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55And it was here that they cremated him before huge crowds.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59The temple marks a major change in Roman religion.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03This is when they started to treat their rulers not as men,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05but as gods.
0:43:07 > 0:43:12On 1 January 42 BC, the Senate passed an unprecedented decree.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16They declared Julius Caesar divine.
0:43:17 > 0:43:23It made him the first historical Roman ever to be officially deified.
0:43:23 > 0:43:29With a temple and priests, this mere mortal had now become a god.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34And if Julius Caesar was a god, then his adopted son, Augustus,
0:43:34 > 0:43:39had a new title - Divi Filius, son of a god.
0:43:48 > 0:43:54But Augustus's desire for divinity wasn't satisfied by a title alone.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58He spent the next four decades taking steps which gradually tied
0:43:58 > 0:44:04Roman religion not just to the city of Rome, but to a single person -
0:44:04 > 0:44:05the Emperor.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10And he did it through a vigorous programme
0:44:10 > 0:44:12of rebuilding and religious renewal.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17He reinstated ancient religious festivals,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20rebuilt crumbling temples, filled vacant priesthoods.
0:44:20 > 0:44:27He claimed he was restoring Rome's ancient past to please the gods.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32What he was really doing was making Rome his own.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37Augustus subtly co-opted new powers,
0:44:37 > 0:44:42taking on the mantle of all the major priesthoods in Rome,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44culminating in 12 BC,
0:44:44 > 0:44:48when he declared himself Pontifex Maximus.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53Five years later, he divided the city into new districts.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57And on every street corner, he built a shrine.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00In his meticulous way,
0:45:00 > 0:45:05he was altering the whole focus of Roman worship.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12Very few traces of these ancient shrines remain,
0:45:12 > 0:45:14but there's one in the Vatican Museum.
0:45:14 > 0:45:19It's tucked away from public view in the Pope's own private gallery.
0:45:22 > 0:45:27And its carvings show just how the shrewd Augustus was shifting
0:45:27 > 0:45:30the object of Roman worship from the gods
0:45:30 > 0:45:32to himself and his own family.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35SPEAKS IN ITALIAN
0:45:55 > 0:45:58So, what are the images on it?
0:46:16 > 0:46:19And Augustus's family connection to the gods
0:46:19 > 0:46:22is even more explicit in another scene.
0:46:42 > 0:46:47What did Augustus want the people who saw this shrine to believe?
0:47:15 > 0:47:20By putting images of his deified ancestors on shrines all over Rome,
0:47:20 > 0:47:22and encouraging sacrifices to them,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25Augustus was making a bold statement.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Augustus was inviting all ordinary Romans
0:47:30 > 0:47:34to take part in the creation of a new imperial mythology.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38The city of Rome was being indelibly stamped
0:47:38 > 0:47:42with the divine claims of one family, one ruler.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50And Augustus set the tone for the emperors who came after him.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55During his life, he was the sole religious authority in Rome.
0:47:56 > 0:48:03And on his death, by vote of the Senate, he too was declared a god.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12The Forum is a living testament to Augustus's precedent.
0:48:12 > 0:48:17Temples to the deified emperors would soon dominate this sacred space.
0:48:19 > 0:48:24So here is the temple to the Emperor Antoninus Pius.
0:48:24 > 0:48:29And here, these columns were the temple to the emperors Vespasian and Titus.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Now, Vespasian, who was a bluff soldier,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35kept a sense of humour about divinity.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38When he lay on his deathbed, he joked,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41"I think I'm about to become a god."
0:48:41 > 0:48:45But other emperors lacked his sense of detachment.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50The demented emperor Caligula cavorted as the goddess Venus
0:48:50 > 0:48:53in a gorgeous bejewelled dress.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56The emperor Hadrian took all of it a step further
0:48:56 > 0:49:00when he deified his young gay lover.
0:49:00 > 0:49:06And as for Nero, he built a 120ft statue of himself as the sun god,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09right here in the centre of Rome.
0:49:12 > 0:49:17But it was the imperial cult and its demands that provoked a minor challenge
0:49:17 > 0:49:22to Roman religion, with world-shattering consequences.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26A new generation of foreign sects
0:49:26 > 0:49:29were starting to gain popularity in the city.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33And one in particular showed resistance
0:49:33 > 0:49:35to this worship of emperors.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40That cult was, of course, Christianity.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43And 300 years after its emergence,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47it would entirely reshape the city of Rome.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51The pagan temples would be converted into churches,
0:49:51 > 0:49:53leaving the Roman gods to crumble into dust.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01But when it first arrived in Rome, in the first century AD,
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Christianity looked less like a force to be feared
0:50:04 > 0:50:07and more like a sect of cranks with peculiar
0:50:08 > 0:50:11and preposterous beliefs, worthy of mockery.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20And there's a glimpse of just how unthreatening the pagan Romans
0:50:20 > 0:50:23initially thought the Christians were
0:50:23 > 0:50:26in a rare piece of ancient graffiti,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29uncovered by archaeologists in the 19th century.
0:50:32 > 0:50:33So here it is.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36It's very small and it's very hard to see,
0:50:36 > 0:50:39and I find it absolutely fascinating.
0:50:39 > 0:50:45What we have here is a human figure being crucified on the cross.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48What's bizarre about it is that the person being crucified
0:50:48 > 0:50:49has the head of a donkey.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57There's a figure, apparently worshipping beside the cross,
0:50:57 > 0:50:59hand raised, possibly a soldier,
0:50:59 > 0:51:05and, underneath, it says, "Alexamenos worships his God."
0:51:05 > 0:51:10Now what's remarkable about this is it's the first ever
0:51:10 > 0:51:13representation of the Crucifixion in history.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20What's interesting is that it's clearly
0:51:20 > 0:51:24not by a Christian at all, but by a pagan Roman.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33The graffiti dates from between the first and third centuries AD
0:51:33 > 0:51:36and, at that time, the symbol of the cross wasn't something
0:51:36 > 0:51:38the Christians were proud of.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44Crucifixion was a shameful death - the method of execution
0:51:44 > 0:51:47for the lowest criminals, like showing someone today with
0:51:47 > 0:51:50a noose round their neck, and, in the earliest Christian art,
0:51:50 > 0:51:58the cross doesn't appear at all, so this pagan graffiti artist
0:51:58 > 0:52:02is deliberately mocking and insulting Christian worshippers.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07To show Jesus with a donkey's head is the cruellest cut of all.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12And donkey worship wasn't the only tittle-tattle
0:52:12 > 0:52:14circulating about the Christians.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20They were also rumoured to practise magic,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22indulge in ritual cannibalism and even incest.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28It was all good gossip for the Roman on the street,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31but within 200 years, rumour had turned to concern.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39As Rome's elite realised, this new sect was persistent
0:52:39 > 0:52:41and potentially dangerous.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45The Christians were well-organised, they recruited thousands
0:52:45 > 0:52:48of new followers, but, worst of all, they refused to take part
0:52:50 > 0:52:52in the Roman state religion,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55claiming that they worshipped only one God.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58They were beginning to look less like a bunch of harmless
0:52:58 > 0:53:01and superstitious eccentrics and more like a movement
0:53:01 > 0:53:05of defiant subversives who could no longer be controlled.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12The Roman elite had in the past tolerated foreign gods,
0:53:13 > 0:53:17but they were always clear that whatever people's private beliefs,
0:53:18 > 0:53:21public loyalty to Roman religion came first.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27After all, the fortunes of the city
0:53:27 > 0:53:29were at the mercy of the pagan gods -
0:53:29 > 0:53:32snub them and the consequences could be catastrophic.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39So if a group like the Christians failed to pay due respect,
0:53:39 > 0:53:41how would the gods react?
0:53:41 > 0:53:45The fate of the city and its Empire hung in the balance.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54And in the third century, it seemed as if their fears were justified.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58The Roman Empire was beset by invasion,
0:53:58 > 0:54:01civil war and economic depression.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04It was on the verge of collapse...
0:54:05 > 0:54:08..until the reign of a new emperor - Diocletian.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14He was a superb general, who restored order by conquest,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18reform and restoration of the old gods...
0:54:21 > 0:54:22..but one sect resisted.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27And when Diocletian's palace burned down
0:54:27 > 0:54:30and the army's sacrificial portents looked bleak,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35the Christians were blamed for failing to honour the Roman gods.
0:54:36 > 0:54:42Diocletian decided to solve the problem by force. In 304 AD,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46he ordered every citizen of the Empire to sacrifice publicly
0:54:46 > 0:54:50to the Roman gods, and if the Christians refused,
0:54:50 > 0:54:51they would be executed.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58It was a strategy designed to drive the Christians into the open.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02Yet, despite the threats, they remained defiant.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07Rome's senators were baffled.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11Why would anyone risk their lives for this upstart cult
0:55:11 > 0:55:14whose founder died a criminal's death in a Roman outpost,
0:55:14 > 0:55:17when the pagan gods had delivered the riches of Empire?
0:55:20 > 0:55:23Yet, still, pagan Romans were choosing to convert,
0:55:25 > 0:55:27and here in the suburbs of Rome,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30there's a fascinating clue as to why.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39This is the Catacomb of Priscilla where Christians were buried
0:55:39 > 0:55:42in the first centuries of the church,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45and it's one of the few places in Rome
0:55:45 > 0:55:47that they left their mark -
0:55:47 > 0:55:50the walls are covered by their paintings.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56And there's one that gives an insight into just why pagan Romans
0:55:58 > 0:56:01were choosing to face execution for this new Christian God.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07So here it is.
0:56:07 > 0:56:12This is a biblical scene from the Old Testament Book of Daniel
0:56:12 > 0:56:16and it tells the story of these three Jewish characters
0:56:16 > 0:56:18who were in exile in Babylon from Israel.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20They refused to pray
0:56:20 > 0:56:25to the image of the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar and, as a result,
0:56:25 > 0:56:27they were sentenced, as you can see,
0:56:27 > 0:56:31to die horribly in this fiery furnace.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37Parallels for Christians facing persecution in Rome were clear,
0:56:37 > 0:56:41but there's a twist to the biblical story which gives this image
0:56:41 > 0:56:43another dimension.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48What's surprising about this is that if you look closely,
0:56:48 > 0:56:53these characters are praying, but they're not burning.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56The Book of Daniel says that they were able to walk
0:56:56 > 0:57:01unscathed among the flames and emerge entirely unharmed.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Their God had saved them.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09Now, for Christians, this had another layer of meaning.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13The Christian God would not only save Christians from persecution,
0:57:13 > 0:57:16he would also save them from death itself.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22Christianity offered eternal life.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29And this belief in eternity had huge appeal in this pagan city.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34For your average Roman, life expectancy was only 29
0:57:36 > 0:57:38and daily life was hard.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40For the poor, the slaves,
0:57:40 > 0:57:45the Pagan Romans at the bottom of the pile, this Christian idea of
0:57:45 > 0:57:47a new life after death offered hope
0:57:47 > 0:57:50amidst the grind of unrelenting poverty.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56The Roman gods may help you conquer an Empire,
0:57:56 > 0:57:58but they didn't offer immortality.
0:58:00 > 0:58:01It was a masterstroke.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06Rome's leaders might be worshipping its pantheon of pagan gods
0:58:06 > 0:58:09but some of its people were starting to look elsewhere.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20Ancient Rome has always been a symbol of secular power,
0:58:20 > 0:58:24but you can't understand the might of this city without also
0:58:24 > 0:58:27grasping the sacred beliefs of the Romans themselves.
0:58:29 > 0:58:31Right through its history,
0:58:31 > 0:58:35Rome's greatness was inextricably linked to its sacred mission.
0:58:37 > 0:58:43For its first thousand years, Rome's palaces and temples expressed
0:58:43 > 0:58:47one thing - this was a holy city,
0:58:47 > 0:58:49blessed by the gods to rule the world.
0:58:50 > 0:58:52But all that was to change.
0:58:53 > 0:58:55A new god was about to take Rome.
0:58:59 > 0:59:03Next time, Rome's transformation from pagan heartland
0:59:03 > 0:59:05to the capital of Christendom,
0:59:05 > 0:59:08as religious revolution hits the holy city.
0:59:24 > 0:59:26Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd