Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Cronos

That is a great reconstruction image of Pan. Where did you get it? I believe that Zvi Ma‘oz with the IAA was the early Archaelogist on it. As usual, an old Byzantine (I think) Church was built over the site by the Constantine Church in the 4th Century, and rebuilt in the 5th Century. The significance of the God Pan and the depiction of Nymphs were a symbol of combination of the physical pleasure centers in early Roman Culture related to the symbolic fertility of the Spring snow melt from Mt. Hermon, which fed the fertile valleys below, including the Bekaa.


29 posted on 05/23/2026 5:25:50 AM PDT by Eli Kopter (ED)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies ]


To: Eli Kopter

There was no such thing as “The Constantine church”

The idea that Constantine created a new “Roman Catholic Church” or invented basic Christian doctrines is a persistent historical myth.

When Constantine came to power in the early 4th century, an organized, highly structured Christian network with an established hierarchy of bishops already existed. The term “Catholic” (meaning universal) had already been used to describe this unified network since at least 110 AD, starting with the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

Constantine and his co-emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan. This document merely decriminalized Christian worship and granted religious tolerance; it did not establish a state church or make Christianity the exclusive religion.

Popular conspiracy theories claim Constantine decided the biblical canon or invented the divinity of Jesus at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. In reality, bishops debated these matters based on centuries of prior tradition, and Constantine’s primary goal was simply political and social unity across his empire.


34 posted on 05/24/2026 3:31:41 PM PDT by Cronos (Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson