Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud

by Peter Watson

Its success was helped by the fact that its growing confidence enabled it to relax a little and absorb pagan practices where this was felt to serve its interests. Besides the adoption of the feast day of Mithras, 25 December, as the date of the Nativity, the very word ‘epiphany’ was a pagan concept, used when gods or goddesses revealed themselves to worshippers, as often as not in dreams.44 The terms ‘vicar’ and ‘diocese’ were taken from the emperor’s administrative reforms. The original ‘Sunday observance’ was conceived as a day of respect not for Jesus but for the sun. In 326 Constantine gave the shrine of Helios Apollo in Nero’s circus to the Christians for the foundation of their new church of St Peter. The shaven heads of Christian priests were taken from the practices of pagan priests in Egypt and when Mary was first honoured as the Mother of God, at Ephesus in 431, the church dedicated to her was constructed on the site of the temple of Diana.45 The incense used at the dedication ceremony was the same as that used to worship Diana.