HOME    ABOUT SATOR    LANDER    CONTENTS    INTRODUCTION    READ    ABOUT COVER    AVE

Page 8.

Christian Question

It’s an issue that won’t easily go away, and it has later (post-Classical) philosophical echoes.

A key question is this. If the earliest known exemplar has been found at Pompeii, is it possible that the Christians had a presence in Pompeii that early? In other words, for Christians to have possibly originated the Sator Square, they would have to have been in Pompeii before its destruction.

Jesus was crucified around 30 or 33 CE. His faith had spread at least through parts of Judea during his lifetime. We know its growth was explosive, because it offered a fresh message of individual hope and salvation for all, whose equivalent could not be found in any other religion. Classical polytheism did not offer much of an afterlife, if any. Generally, the afterworld was depicted as a gloomy, scary place of darkness and sadness (seen very graphically, for example, in Chapter VI of Virgil’s Aeneid; and centuries earlier, when Homer’s Odysseus visits the Underworld).

Many of the dead were angry for having become ghosts or shades. The idea, therefore, of an exalted afterlife for the faithful came as a revolution. It was a democratic afterlife, also, which could be achieved in equal measure by slave or emperor, man or woman, Roman or foreigner. Could it have reached Pompeii in the approximately fifty-year window between the crucifixion and the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius?

The closing theme of the Acts of the Apostles, in the Christian Testament, is the journey of St. Paul to Rome. From Acts, we learn that Christianity is first so-called at the city of Antioch, in today's Turkey, near the southern border on Syria. This happened during or just before the reign of Claudius Caesar [Acts 26-28], which would put the time frame between 41 and 54 CE. Also occurring during this time was the first council of the church, in Jerusalem, around 50. This council, which included all or most of the principal leaders of the church at that time, met to discuss issues distinguishing Jews from Gentiles within the church. Circumcision was one of the hot button topics. James said it was needed, while Paul argued that it wasn't. It seems logical to infer that the term 'Christian' then came to separate not only the Christians from the Hellenic and Roman polytheists, but the general community of both Jewish and Gentile converts from those who remained in the Jewish tradition. In the spirit of animosity that began to separate the Jerusalem church from the broadening mainstream of Christianity, Jews (perhaps traditional Jews, perhaps Jewish followers of Christ, perhaps both) accused Paul to the Roman government. They accused him of various crimes, including treason. Paul was imprisoned in Judea. He demanded trial in Rome, by his rights as a Roman citizen. Accordingly, Paul was taken in custody onto a naval vessel, which set out for Rome in 59.

The party suffered a shipwreck at Malta, where they encountered a significant Christian community. We also learn of a Christian community on Cyprus, so the faith was spreading westward on the Mediterranean. Italy is just over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Cyprus, a few days' sailing with good winds. In a new vessel, Paul's party reached Sicily. They stopped at Syracuse, and then at Rhegium (Reggio Calabria, on the southern tip of Italy). They sailed past the Bay of Naples and made landfall in 60 at Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli). This city was famous for its fine volcanic cement (pozzolano) used for concrete in the Pantheon and other premier Roman structures. Puteoli was 170 miles south of Rome, and had a fine harbor for handling both grain and cement products heading to Rome.

Puteoli was approximately 12 miles (20 km) from Neapolis (Naples), and even less distance from the great Roman naval headquarters at Misenum. From Naples it was only a few miles to Pompeii. When Paul and his party landed at Puteoli, they were greeted [Acts 28:14] by fellow Christians, who asked the party to stay with them for a week. If there was such a strong contingent of Christians in Puteoli, surely it is likely there were Christians a few miles south in Naples and Pompeii.

It is interesting that the Romans chose this city to make landfall. Puteoli was on the coastal road network leading to Rome. Whatever this naval vessel's overall mission, it bypassed Naples and the supreme naval headquarters at Misenum. This would put Paul closer to Rome. One possibility is that the delivery of Paul was in fact its principal mission. The Romans had already experienced generations of turmoil in Judea, which had been a tributary kingdom until the Romans felt forced to take direct charge of it as a province in 6. Gospel accounts hint of turmoil under Herod during the birth year of Jesus. In 66, just six years after the transport of Paul, Judea rose in open insurrection that resulted in Titus' destroying Jerusalem in 70 and the siege of Masada. Given that timing, it is quite likely that the Romans wanted to oblige Paul with a swift trial at Rome. Perhaps avoiding Neapolis (Naples) and Misenum in the Bay of Naples area was a tactical decision to avoid some popular unrest; or not. It’s speculation beyond the needs of our theory about the Sator Square. Yes, there were some Christians in Pompeii; but that does not make Sator a Christian artifact.

From Puteoli, the party made their way north.

They were greeted in two places along the way—the Forum of Appius and The Three Taverns--by throngs of 'brethren' (presumably Christian Jews) who had come from Rome in their eagerness. This means word had flown ahead, and that further suggests a rapid spread of Christianity. Paul was taken to Rome, where he met with local Jews, some of whom believed his story about Jesus, and others did not. This implies not only that there were Christians, but the doctrinal and cultural split between Jews and Christians was well underway around the empire.

For some moderns, the Puteoli story may add a shred of evidence that the Sator Square could have been either created or adopted by Christians, since Pompeii was just a few miles away.

On the issue of its origina, however, its subject matter suggests that the Sator Square is far more likely a much older farmers' aphorism, a bit of folkloric wisdom, from the farmlands of Latium.

Also, it is unlikely that a Christian artifact would be prominently posted on the wall of a major military headquarters (Dura Europos, in today's Syria) on the vital frontier with Persia.

The Christians did not create it, so is impossible that they adopted it during the imperial age. The Christians had a visceral abhorrence for all things 'pagan,' and this would have been a prime example.

However, several twists of history conspired to make it seemingly a Christian artifact after the fall of the Western Roman empire, as we'll see shortly. First, we must explore one more tantalizing issue: whether the army contained Christians, if they helped spread Christianity, and whether they had anything to do with the Sator Square.

NOW AVAILABLE: The book (article) by John T. Cullen is now available for purchase at Amazon.com and other sites or stores. Visit:

TOP