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ationality.
They came to say that the knowledge was found in ancient revelations,
contained in texts whose authority could not be discussed and that
these truths could only be grasped through mystical ecstasy that allows
theinitiate direct contact with deity.
Thus, the civilization of this period, after the fall of centralist kingdoms and
polis, was scattered and with no points of reference left. That period was
marked by a form of religious and cultural syncretism through which
different cultures complemented each other, remodeled and molded into
different forms, all based on a hitherto unknown universalism.
New Demands
As it always happens in moments of great confusion and uncertainty, religion
turns to gods with different, very concrete intentions, much more oriented to
the satisfaction of new needs: The gods are asked to play the part of the
“savior”.
Latin evidence
During this period we find some examples, obviously pagan, referring to
this heartfelt need for peace and certain, unambiguous and definitive
salvation.
On a marble pillar, set in a Roman temple in Asia Minor, we read the
following words referred to the Emperor Caesar Augustus:
Providence has enriched our lives with the greatest of gifts [...] and in her mercy it has
provided us, and those to come, with a Savior who [...] will bring order and peace [... ].
News for the world.
At the same time, the poet Virgil, great interpreter of the period's thought, in the
Fourth Eclogue, described the birth of a child who would live in a world
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