When looking at other religions, we Christians typically think in terms of ourselves worshipping the true God versus the heathens worshipping false gods. This is true to a large extent. However other religions often don’t just have our worldview but inverted. Most non-Christian religions don’t simply believe that their gods are real while our God isn’t. Case in point: the ancient Greek and Roman pagans. This is a little-known fact these days, but the ancient Greeks and Romans actually believed that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was really one of their own gods.
The ancient Greeks had a concept called Interpretatio graeca (Latin for “Greek translation”), in which they believed the pagan gods of foreign nations were their own gods under different names. As examples, for those familiar with pagan idols mentioned in Scripture: the Greeks believed Ba’al was Zeus, Astarte was Aphrodite, and El was Cronus. The Romans continued this practice in the form of Interpretatio romana (“Roman translation”) – they applied this process to the Greek gods, which is why the pagan Greek and Roman pantheons are more or less the same (Jupiter/Zeus, Venus/Aphrodite, Saturn/Cronus, et cetera).
This is decently well-known, at least among those who study ancient Greece and Rome. But what’s lesser-known is how this notion was applied to the religion of the Jews at the time and to the God of the Bible. The Romans, when they met the Jews, believed the Lord of Hosts to simply be one of their own gods under a different name. Here is a collection of ancient Greek and Roman writings that prove it and show what exactly they believed.
- Emperor Julian the Apostate praised Abraham’s faith.
- Tacitus said the Lord is Saturn.
- Plutarch said he is Dionysus (Bacchus).
- Valerius Maximus implied he is Jove/Jupiter.
- Macrobius said he is Zeus (Jove), Hades (Pluto), and Helios (Sol).
- Strabo said that Moses was a philosopher.
- Diodorus Siculus and Hecateus also praised Moses
- Follow-Up
Emperor Julian the Apostate praised Abraham’s faith.
Julian was the Roman emperor from A.D. 361 to 363. In those three years however he made a name for himself for one major reason; he was the last pagan Roman emperor. His uncle, St. Constantine the Great, had been the first Christian Roman emperor a few decades earlier (however Christianity wouldn’t become the official Roman religion until AD 380, after Julian’s time). Julian grew up being tutored by Eusebius of Nicomedia, a priest of the heretical Arian sect of Christianity. Julian later grew up not only to renounce Arianism but Christianity itself, hence why he’s called Julian “the Apostate”.
In the year 362, Julian wrote to a pagan priest named Theodorus to give advise. However at one point in his letter, Julian goes on a tangent to talk about Judaism and the Jews. Here is that mention:
But these Jews are in part god-fearing, seeing that they revere a god who is truly most powerful and most good and governs this world of sense, and, as I well know, is worshipped by us also under other names. They act as is right and seemly, in my opinion, if they do not transgress the laws; but in this one thing they err in that, while reserving their deepest devotion for their own god, they do not conciliate the other gods also; but the other gods they think have been allotted to us Gentiles only, to such a pitch of folly have they been brought by their barbaric conceit.
Julian. Letter 20 (to the High-priest Theodorus). Underlining by myself.
Notice that Julian praises the god that the Jews do, but also claims the Jews themselves are in error. This is because, according to Julian, their one error is only worshiping one god and not many. Note also that he says this god “is worshipped by us also under other names”, with ‘us’ meaning the pagans.
This isn’t the only time Julian said something like this; in fact he went even further at one point. At some point in his reign, he wrote an anti-Christian tract called Against the Galileans. The tract was banned by the later Christian emperors, but it survives largely in quotations by St. Cyril of Alexandria who wrote a response to it (called Contra Julianum). In one part of his polemic, Julian identifies the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as a god that was “ever gracious” to him and that he still reveres him.
I call the gods to witness, I am one of those who avoid keeping their festivals with the Jews; but nevertheless I revere always the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; who being themselves Chaldaeans, of a sacred race, skilled in theurgy, had learned the practice of circumcision while they sojourned as strangers with the Egyptians. And they revered a God who was ever gracious to me and to those who worshipped him as Abraham did, for he is a very great and powerful God, but he has nothing to do with you. For you do not imitate Abraham by erecting altars to him, or building altars of sacrifice and worshipping him as Abraham did, with sacrificial offerings.
Julian. Against the Galileans 354a-354c. Underlining by myself.
Now, for all the high praise Julian has for Abraham, other parts of his tract have him insult Moses and the creation story of Genesis. But notice that his criticism of Christians is what we (supposedly) aren’t worshipping the Lord the way Abraham did; Julian thinks Christians should return to the Old Testament system of sacrifices to be “pious” in the pagan sense.
Tacitus said the Lord is Saturn.
OK, so Julian had a (quasi-)Christian upbringing. But what about pagans who were born into paganism?
Tacitus was a Roman historian from the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD, who wrote several chronicles, five of which survive today. His Annals (covering the time from Octavian to Nero) is well-known for containing a reference to Jesus. Another work – the Histories (covering the time from Nero to Domitian) – contains a passage discussing the Jews and their religion. Here is a selection from this passage:
We are told that the rest of the seventh day was adopted, because this day brought with it a termination of their toils; after a while the charm of indolence beguiled them into giving up the seventh year also to inaction. But others say that it is an observance in honour of Saturn, either from the primitive elements of their faith having been transmitted from the Idæi, who are said to have shared the flight of that God, and to have founded the race, or from the circumstance that of the seven stars which rule the destinies of men Saturn moves in the highest orbit and with the mightiest power, and that many of the heavenly bodies complete their revolutions and courses in multiples of seven.
Tacitus. Histories 5.4. Underlining by myself.
For those unfamiliar, Saturn (who the planet is named after) was the pagan Roman god of agriculture, time, and even liberty. He was equated with the Greek god Cronus (also spelled Kronos), who was the father of their chief god Zeus (who the Romans called Jove or Jupiter). The Romans worshipped Saturn with a large and famous festival called Saturnalia (which lasted from the 17th of December to the 23rd). He was believed to rule over a Golden Age of prosperity; as the poet Virgil in his Aeneid said, “With his mild empire, peace and plenty came; And hence the golden times deriv’d their name” (Aeneid 8.324-325, trans. John Dryden; c.f. “Aurea quae perhibent illo sub rege fuere saecula. Sic placida populos in pace regebat” in the original Latin). In other words, Saturn was an important figure to the ancient Romans.
Now, Tacitus was no friend of Judaism. Indeed in the rest of the above-quoted passage, he said “Things sacred with us, with them have no sanctity, while they allow what with us is forbidden”. Yet one thing he doesn’t seem to object to is which god they worship.
As an interesting side-note, this Tacitus passage has been used by the American white nationalist Mark Brahmin to argue for an esoteric Jewish conspiracy (see his “Apollonian Transmission” blog post (20 Feb. 2020); c.f. also a critical article (22 Feb. 2019) on the anti-Alt-Right website “Pharos”). However his blog is only worth reading if you want to laugh; I wonder if Brahmin knows that an actual ancient pagan would think he’s as “impious” as a Christian.
Plutarch said he is Dionysus (Bacchus).
There are even more examples. Plutarch was another late 1st and early 2nd century historian, this time from Greece. His most famous work was the Parallel Lives, a collection of 48 biographies of ancient Greeks and Romans. However he had a lesser-known work called Quaestiones Convivales (also called Table Talk), part of a big collection called the Moralia (Morals).
The Quaestiones Convivales is effectively a Q&A book on various topics. One of the questions asked is what god the Jews worshipped. Here is his rather long answer and explanation:
When all the company requested and earnestly begged it of him; first of all (says he), the time and manner of the greatest and most holy solemnity of the Jews is exactly agreeable to the holy rites of Bacchus; for that which they call the Fast they celebrate in the midst of the vintage, furnishing their tables with all sorts of fruits, while they sit under tabernacles made of vines and ivy; and the day which immediately goes before this they call the day of Tabernacles. Within a few days after they celebrate another feast, not darkly but openly, dedicated to Bacchus, for they have a feast amongst them called Kradephoria, from carrying palm-trees, and Thyrsophoria, when they enter into the temple carrying thyrsi. What they do within I know not; but it is very probable that they perform the rites of Bacchus. First they have little trumpets, such as the Grecians used to have at their Bacchanalia to call upon their Gods withal. Others go before them playing upon harps, which they call Levites, whether so named from Lusius or Evius,—either word agrees with Bacchus. And I suppose that their Sabbaths have some relation to Bacchus; for even at this day many call the Bacchi by the name of Sabbi, and they make use of that word at the celebration of Bacchus’s orgies. And this may be made appear out of Demosthenes and Menander. Nor would it be absurd, were any one to say that the name Sabbath was imposed upon this feast from the agitation and excitement (σόβησις) which the priests of Bacchus indulged in. The Jews themselves testify no less; for when they keep the Sabbath, they invite one another to drink till they are drunk; or if they chance to be hindered by some more weighty business, it is the fashion at least to taste the wine. Some perhaps may surmise that these are mere conjectures. But there are other arguments which will clearly evince the truth of what I assert. The first may be drawn from their High-priest, who on holidays enters their temple with his mitre on, arrayed in a skin of a hind embroidered with gold, wearing buskins, and a coat hanging down to his ankles; besides, he has a great many little bells hanging at his garment which make a noise as he walks the streets. So in the nightly ceremonies of Bacchus (as the fashion is amongst us), they make use of musical instruments, and call the God’s nurses χαλκοδρυσται. High up on the wall of their temple is a representation of the thyrsus and timbrels, which surely can belong to no other God than Bacchus. Moreover they are forbidden the use of honey in their sacrifices, because they suppose that a mixture of honey corrupts and deads the wine. And honey was used for sacrificing in former days, and with it the ancients were wont to make themselves drunk, before the vine was known. And at this day barbarous people who want wine drink metheglin, allaying the sweetness of the honey by bitter roots, much of the taste of our wine. The Greeks offered to their Gods these sober offerings or honey-offerings, as they called them, because that honey was of a nature quite contrary to wine. But this is no inconsiderable argument that Bacchus was worshipped by the Jews, in that, amongst other kinds of punishment, that was most remarkably odious by which malefactors were forbid the use of wine for so long a time as the judge was pleased to prescribe.
Plutarch. Quaestiones Convivales 4.6.2 (that’s 671d onwards in Stephanus numbers). Underlining by myself.
As shown by the parts that I highlighted, Plutarch said he is Bacchus – or Dionysus in his native Greek. Bacchus/Dionysus was the Greco-Roman pagan god of wine and festivities. The Romans also gave him the name “Liber”, and under this name he was the patron of their coming-of-age festival called Liberalia (March 17).
Valerius Maximus implied he is Jove/Jupiter.
Even earlier in Roman history, in the 1st century BC, lived a writer named Valerius Maximus. He wrote a book titled Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium (Memorable Deeds and Sayings), which was a collection of anecdotes. There is a passing mention of the Jews and their religion.
Unfortunately, Valerius Maximus is a fairly obscure writer, and there are actually two different source texts for his book. One version of the text comes from someone named Julius Paris, another from someone named Januarius Nepotianus, both from the 4th or 5th century AD. Here is the original Latin text of both of their versions:
Paris: Cn. Cornelius Hispalus praetor peregrinus M. Popilio Laenate L. Calpurnio coss. edicto Chaldaeos citra decimum diem abire ex urbe atque Italia iussit, leuibus et ineptis ingeniis fallaci siderum interpretatione quaestuosam mendaciis suis caliginem inicientes. idem Iudaeos, qui Sabazi Iouis cultu Romanos inficere mores conati erant, repetere domos suas coegit.
Nepotianus: Chaldaeos igitur Cornelius Hispalus urbe expulit et intra decem dies Italia abire iussit, ne peregrinam scientiam uenditarent. Iudaeos quoque, qui Romanis tradere sacra sua conati erant, idem Hispalus urbe exterminauit arasque priuatas e publicis locis abiecit.
Valerius Maximus. Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.3.3. Underlining by myself.
Notice the word “Iudaeos“, which is Latin for “Jews” (it’s a plural of “Iudaeus” meaning “Jew”). The rest of the Latin text pretty much says that a man named Cornelius expelled the Jews for “corrupting” the worship of Jupiter. Jupiter was the chief idol of the Roman pagan pantheon and was considered the king of the gods; his symbol, the eagle, was also the symbol of the Roman Empire. Given what Julian said earlier, it’s easy to see why pagan Rome thought Jews were warping the worship of one of their deities.
I was able to find an English translation online. However, for some reason, the translation doesn’t include the mention of the Jews:
C. Cornelius Hispallus, a praetor of foreigners, in the time when M. Popilius Laenas and L. Calpurnius were consuls, by edict commanded the Chaldeans to depart out of Italy, who by their false interpretations of the stars cast a profitable mist before the eyes of shallow and foolish characters. The same person banished those who with a counterfeit worship of Jupiter Sabazius sought to corrupt Roman customs.
Valerius Maximus. Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.3.3 (S. Speed translation).
Macrobius said he is Zeus (Jove), Hades (Pluto), and Helios (Sol).
Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius was a late Roman writer from the 5th century A.D. who is fairly obscure. I actually didn’t know about him before doing research for this article. From what little we know about Macrobius in his personal life, he was more likely than not a pagan. One of his works is a book called Saturnalia, which is a dialogue taking place on the holiday it’s named after. This obscure book is remarkable since it directly references the Lord.
Here is the text in the original Latin, which contains a verse poem in Greek (supposedly an oracle of Apollo) in the middle:
Huius versus auctoritas fundatur oraculo Apollinis Clarii, in quo aliud quoque nomen soli adicitur, qui in isdem sacris versibus inter cetera vocatur Ἰαώ: nam consultus Apollo Clarius, quis deorum habendus sit qui vocatur Ἰαὼ, ita effatus est:
Ὄργια μὲν δεδαῶτας ἐχρῆν νηπευθέα κεύθειν,
εἰ δ’ ἄρα τοι παύρη σύνεσις καὶ νοῦς ἀλαπαδνός,
φράζεο τὸν πάντων ὕπατον θεὸν ἔμμεν Ἰαὼ,
χείματι μέν τ’ ἀΐδην, Δία δ’ εἴαρος ἀρχομένοιο,
Ἠέλιον δὲ θέρευς, μετοπώρου δ’ ἁβρὸν Ἰαώ.
Huius oraculi vim, numeris nominisque interpretationem, qua Liber pater et sol Ἰαὼ significatur, executus est Cornelius Labeo in libro cui titulus est: De oraculo Apollinis Clarii.
Macrobius. Saturnalia 1.18.19-21.
Now, here is a translation to English from the Loeb Classical Library (with slight formatting edits by myself), which translates both the Greek and Latin parts:
The authority of that verse is based on an oracle of Apollo of Claros, in which another name is also given to the sun, who in these same sacred verses is called (among other things) Iaô. For when Apollo of Claros was asked, concerning the god called Iaô, which of the gods he should be considered, Apollo replied as follows:
Those who know the mysteries should concealthings not to be sought.
But if your understanding is slight, your mind feeble,
say that the greatest god of all is Iaô:
Hades in winter, Zeus at the start of spring,
the sun in summer, delicate Iacchos [= Dionysos] in the fall.
Cornelius Labeo sought out this oracle’s meaning, developing an interpretation of the godhead and his name that identifies father Liber and the sun as Iaô, in his book titled On the Oracle of Apollo of Claros (fr. 18 Mast.).
Macrobius. Saturnalia 1.18.19-21. Contained in LCL:255 & 257 – webpages archived (255, 257) on 23 Nov. 2022. Edited by myself to not include the translator’s notes.
I want the reader to take note of the last three lines of the Greek text, where Macrobius uses the word “Ἰαὼ”. The usage of “Ἰαὼ” as the Greek spelling of “YHWH” can be found in other ancient Greek texts. For evidence, here are the cases I could find by looking it up:
- Diodorus Siculus (1st century AD) claims Moses called God by the name Ἰαὼ (Iao) in his Bibliotheca historica 1.94.2 (for an English translation see here on LacusCurtius; for the original Greek see here on Perseus Digital Library; see both in LCL 279:321).
- Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (2nd century AD) said gnostic sects used the name ᾿Ισώ (Iao) in his Adversus Haereses 1.4.1 (for an English translation see here (ANF 1:321) on Christian Classics Etherial Library; for the original Greek see PG 7:481a).
- Origen of Alexandria (3rd century AD) called the Lord by the name ᾿Ισώ (Iao) in his Commentary on John II.1 (for an English translation see here (ANF 9:322) on Christian Classics Etherial Library; for the original Greek see PG 14:105c).
So Macrobius directly uses the name used by the Hebrew Bible for the Lord – albiet modified and transliterated into Greek – as a title for three Greco-Roman idols.
Strabo said that Moses was a philosopher.
The last ancient writer I want to talk about is a bit more well-known than Valerius or Macrobius, so thankfully I didn’t have to dig around for the original Latin or Greek texts for him.
Strabo was a Greek geographer and historian who lived in the 1st century BC and the early 1st century AD. He wrote a comprehensive work called Geography (Geographica), which was an encyclopedia of the known world of his time.
In one section of his Geography, Strabo takes the time to discuss the live of St. Moses the Prophet. While the section is rather long, here are the relevant parts of it:
An Egyptian priest named Moses, who possessed a portion of the country called the Lower Egypt, being dissatisfied with the established institutions there, left it and came to Judæa with a large body of people who worshipped the Divinity. He declared and taught that the Egyptians and Africans entertained erroneous sentiments, in representing the Divinity under the likeness of wild beasts and cattle of the field; that the Greeks also were in error in making images of their gods after the human form. For God, said he, may be this one thing which encompasses us all, land and sea, which we call heaven, or the universe, or the nature of things. Who then of any understanding would venture to form an image of this Deity, resembling anything with which we are conversant? on the contrary, we ought not to carve any images, but to set apart some sacred ground and a shrine worthy of the Deity, and to worship Him without any similitude.
Strabo. Geography 16.2.35 with formatting edits by me. Underlining by me.
By such doctrine Moses persuaded a large body of right-minded persons to accompany him to the place where Jerusalem now stands. He easily obtained possession of it, as the spot was not such as to excite jealousy, nor for which there could be any fierce contention; for it is rocky, and, although well supplied with water, it is surrounded by a barren and waterless territory. The space within the city is 60 stadia in circumference, with rock underneath the surface.
Strabo. Geography 16.2.36. Underlining by me (but no formatting edits).
His successors continued for some time to observe the same conduct, doing justly, and worshipping God with sincerity. Afterwards superstitious persons were appointed to the priesthood, and then tyrants. From superstition arose abstinence from flesh, from the eating of which it is now the custom to refrain, circumcision, excision, and other practices which the people observe.
Strabo. Geography 16.2.37. Underlining by me (but no formatting edits).
According to Strabo, the prophet Moses was a wise and pious philosopher who preached a true doctrine. Moses worshipped a true God as well. I should note two things here: 1) Strabo deviates from typical pagan attitudes in considering the worship of images to be wrong, and 2) he affirms common pagan attitudes in seeing Judaism as superstition. How did Strabo reconcile these two views? He said that while Moses taught the true doctrine, later generations of superstitious priests came up with the regulations of the Mosaic Law.
This ties back to what Julian said, as I had quoted earlier. Both Strabo and Julian claimed the Lord God of Abraham was a great God (even if Julian looked down on Moses), but that the practices of Judaism (and for Julian, Christianity too) were impious. It’s interesting to compare the two since Julian lived after Christianity had become a major force, while Strabo passed away some time around AD 24 and therefore never lived to see Christianity in his own day. So the two can be seen as a way to contrast how much pagan views changed over the centuries.
Diodorus Siculus and Hecateus also praised Moses
[DISCLAIMER: This section was added to the article on 15 Dec. 2023, as it was only then that I learned of the passage in question.]
Almost by accident, I had stumbled across a new quote, this time from the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who appears to be quoting (paraphrasing?) an earlier historian named Hecateus of Abdera. His comment is strikingly similar to that of Strabo:
The leader of this colony was one Moses, a very wise and valiant man, who, after he had possessed himself of the country, amongst other cities, built that now most famous city, Jerusalem, and the temple there, which is so greatly revered among them. He instituted the holy rites and ceremonies with which they worship God; and made laws for the methodical government of the state. He also divided the people into twelve tribes, which he regarded as the most perfect number; because it corresponds to the twelve months within a whole year. He made no representation or image of gods, because he considered that nothing of a human shape was applicable to God; but that heaven, which surrounds the earth, was the only God, and that all things were in its power. But he so arranged the rites and ceremonies of the sacrifices, and the manner and nature of their customs, as that they should be wholly different from all other nations; for, as a result of the expulsion of his people, he introduced a most inhuman and unsociable manner of life. He also picked out the most accomplished men, who were best fitted to rule and govern the whole nation, and he appointed them to be priests, whose duty was continually to attend in the temple, and employ themselves in the public worship and service of God. He also made them judges, for the decision of the most serious cases, and committed to their care the preservation of their laws and customs. Therefore they say that the Jews have never had any king; but that the leadership of the people has always been entrusted to a priest, who excels all the rest in prudence and virtue. They call him the chief priest, and they regard him as the messenger and interpreter of the mind and commands of God. And they say that he, in all their public assemblies and other meetings, discloses what has been commanded; and the Jews are so compliant in these matters, that forthwith they prostrate themselves upon the ground, and adore him as the high priest, who has interpreted to them the will of God. At the end of the laws this is added: “This is what Moses has heard from God and proclaims to the Jews.” This lawgiver also laid down many excellent rules and instructions for military affairs, in which he trained the youth to be brave and steadfast, and to endure all miseries and hardships.
Diodorus Siculus. Bibliotheca Historica 40.3.3-6. Translation provided by Attalus.org. Underlining by me.
Notice how Diodorus (and presumably Hecateus), much like Strabo, simply says Moses worshipped “God.” Also notice how Diodorus (and presumably Hecateus) still has his criticisms of Moses, calling the Mosaic Law “a most inhuman and unsociable manner of life.“
Follow-Up
For my follow-up to this post, see “Do Pagans Worship the Lord? A Christian Perspective“.
Nikaea 325 