Professor Ramsay MacMullen

Enemies of the Roman Order Professor Ramsay MacMullen

The Roman empire was a success story. The achievement of such success required a broad consensus in social norms, in ethics and aesthetics to strengthen a distinct way of life. At the same time, however, there were necessarily deviants and deviations from the norm: enemies of the Roman order. Dissidents emerged across societal groupings - from philosophers to the nobility to magicians. Their activities involved active treason, latent disaffection, brigandage, organized protest and cultural deviation. To the extent that these took on a pattern, influenced many lives and occupied the attention of the government itself, they deserve serious examination. Deviants and deviations throw into relief the Empire's success in the face of alternatives and explain how the Roman way of life slowly changed in its central manifestations. Most prominent in the empire's beginnings were the opponents of its new form of government: monarchy. In addition to persons desiring a different, less oppressive government, there were philosophers and preachers proclaiming old wisdom that would serve the purpose of disaffection, even of revolution.