1. Find someone who You have to complete the boxes below by finding someone who believes in it. When you find someone, write their names down in the box. Women’s place is in the home, they should be a mother and wife first. NAME: People are innocent until proven guilty NAME: Some people are just born unlucky. NAME: I believe there is definitely no such thing as God. NAME: I believe there is life after death (i.e. Heaven or something similar) NAME: I believe in ghosts NAME: Woman who live alone, have a scar, wear black clothes and have a cat are witches. NAME: The earth is flat NAME: If I get very sick, its because I have done something bad and God is punishing me. NAME: The hardest working people are the richest people. NAME: I believe in the death penalty NAME: Everyone should have a say on who runs the country (Democracy) NAME: If I don’t live a good life I will end up in Hell when I die. NAME: I believe that if I break a mirror then I get 7 years bad luck NAME:

2. Lesson Aims To think about where beliefs come from. To consider how religious beliefs affected Ancient Rome. To understand why Rome became Christian.

3. Beliefs are ideas that we have to try and make sense of the world. We know that things happen, but we don’t always know why. The most common belief in the world is a belief in God or Gods. People who believe in God(s) believe that He is a force which created the Universe and continues to have power over it. God is, therefore, a belief for explaining things that we find difficult to explain. For example, people who did not understand what caused a disease like Cancer, could quite easily say that God was punishing that person for being a bad person. We say that people BELIEVE in God because there is no proof either that He exists or that he does not. If we KNOW something to be true, it is not a belief. For example, we don’t believe that 2+2=4 – it just is a fact. But things we believe in are things that may or may not be true. People have different beliefs about these things, but it is impossible to say which belief is right and which is wrong.

4. What people or things influence what you believe? 1.Brainstorm this in pairs first, then with the whole class. 2.Make a copy in your book 3.Choose two things which influence your beliefs and explain HOW they influence your beliefs. My parents help me decide what to believe.

5. What kind of Gods did the Romans worship? At first, Romans believed in many different gods and goddesses. This is called Polytheism. These gods were like people, but with magical powers. The Roman gods were part of a family. People told stories or myths about them. Each god or goddess looked after different people or things. Watch the Horrible Histories Clip

6. Romans were Polytheists. This means that they…… NameWhat was he/she the God of?Key facts & important information. Jupiter Saturn Juno Neptune Minerva Mars Venus You have 10 minutes to complete your table. The information that you need is hidden around the room.

7. Roman Temples People worshipped the gods in special buildings called temples. Inside the temple was a statue of a god. Priests looked after the temple. People went there to make sacrifices or offerings of food, flowers or money. Sometimes the priest killed an animal, such as a bull, as part of the sacrifice ceremony. Some Emperors said they were gods too, so everyone had to make a sacrifice to the Emperor. THINK 1.If you were an Emperor why might you want your people to think you were a God? 2. Why did people bother to worship all these different Gods for? What was the point do you think?

8. As the Roman Empire grew into other countries, it came across new Gods which local people worshipped. Rather, than trying to replace these Gods, Roman simply added Gods to their religion. Jesus Christ was born in Palestine which was then part of the Roman Empire. In 26 AD Jesus began to preach, telling people he was the son of God. The Roman leaders did not like his teachings and had him put to death by crucifixion for stirring up trouble. The followers of Jesus were called Christians. They said that there was only one God and that people should stop worshipping the Roman Gods. The Roman leaders did not like this. This was a direct threat to Roman ideas. Who was right then the Christians or Romans? Put the title: Why did Rome become Christian? 1. Why did Romans think Christians were a threat to Rome?

9. There was another problem. Roman Gods symbolised power and strength, whereas the Christian God preached peace and forgiveness. They preached that you should love thy enemy and show your enemy mercy. Roman leaders were worried that this would make their empire weak. Christians were persecuted for their religion. If Christians refused to worship Roman Gods they were fed to wild animals in front of crowds at the coliseum. Many were crucified/ The Roman Emperor Nero, even set fire to 600 Christians in the Coliseum to act as floodlights for the nights entertainment! 2. What happened to the early Christians? Play Clip – Christians Fed to Lions.

10. Despite this persecution, Christianity spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire for three main reasons. Firstly Roman roads, meant that ideas could spread quickly from place to place. Secondly, most people in the Empire spoke Latin and Greek which meant that ideas could be spread from person to person quickly. Lastly, some soldiers in the Roman Army became Christians. When they were sent to other countries in the Empire, they took their ideas with them. The Roman Empire was the perfect place to spread new ideas! Just before a crucial battle in AD 312, Emperor Constantine said that he had a dream where he was told to paint the Christian symbol on the shields of his soldiers. He did this and won the battle! He late in AD 337 decided that in thanks he would allow the whole Empire to worship any religion freely, including Christianity. The future of Christianity was guaranteed when Constantine himself became a Christian. The old religions did not disappear at once, but Christianity gradually became more popular. Without Ancient Rome, Christianity would probably have never caught on. Today the head of the Catholic Church lives in Rome and is called the Pope. Some Catholics continue to attend mass in the old Roman language, Latin. 3. How did Christianity spread so easily in the Roman Empire? 4. Why was Emperor Constantine important?

11. Read through the hand-out and answer these questions: 1.Why did Romans think Christians were a threat to Rome? 2.What happened to the early Christians? 3.How did Christianity spread so easily in the Roman Empire? 4.Why was Emperor Constantine important?

12. Plenary - ODD ONE OUT 1.Venus, Jesus, Mars, Jupiter 2. Constantine, Jesus, Nero. 3. Beliefs, Opinions, Facts, Superstitions. 4.Christianity, Roman Religion, Islam and Judaism. For each of the four sets decide in your groups which you think the odd one out is and why. You will need to think very carefully as some are harder than others.

14. As the Roman Empire grew into other countries, it came across new Gods which local people worshipped. Rather, than trying to replace these Gods, Roman simply added Gods to their religion. Jesus Christ was born in Palestine which was then part of the Roman Empire. In 26 AD Jesus began to preach, telling people he was the son of God. The Roman leaders did not like his teachings and had him put to death by crucifixion for stirring up trouble. The followers of Jesus were called Christians. They said that there was only one God and that people should stop worshipping the Roman Gods. The Roman leaders did not like this. This was a direct threat to Roman ideas. Who was right then the Christians or Romans? There was another problem. Roman Gods symbolised power and strength, whereas the Christian God preached peace and forgiveness. They preached that you should love thy enemy and show your enemy mercy. Roman leaders were worried that this would make their empire weak. Christians were persecuted for their religion. If Christians refused to worship Roman Gods they were fed to wild animals in front of crowds at the coliseum. Many were crucified/ The Roman Emperor Nero, even set fire to 600 Christians in the Coliseum to act as floodlights for the nights entertainment! Despite this persecution, Christianity spread quickly throughout the Roman Empire for three main reasons. Firstly Roman roads, meant that ideas could spread quickly from place to place. Secondly, most people in the Empire spoke Latin and Greek which meant that ideas could be spread from person to person quickly. Lastly, some soldiers in the Roman Army became Christians. When they were sent to other countries in the Empire, they took their ideas with them. The Roman Empire was the perfect place to spread new ideas! Just before a crucial battle in AD 312, Emperor Constantine said that he had a dream where he was told to paint the Christian symbol on the shields of his soldiers. He did this and won the battle! He late in AD 337 decided that in thanks he would allow the whole Empire to worship any religion freely, including Christianity. The future of Christianity was guaranteed when Constantine himself became a Christian. The old religions did not disappear at once, but Christianity gradually became more popular. Without Ancient Rome, Christianity would probably have never caught on. Today the head of the Catholic Church lives in Rome and is called the Pope. Some Catholics continue to attend mass in the old Roman language, Latin. QUESTIONS 1.Why was Emperor Constantine important? 2.Why did Romans think Christians were a threat to Rome? 3.What happened to the early Christians? 4.How did Christianity spread so easily in the Roman Empire?

15. Romans were Polytheists. This means that they…… NameWhat was he/she the God of? Key facts & important information. Jupiter Saturn Juno Neptune Minerva Mars Venus

16. Find someone who You have to complete the boxes below by finding someone who believes in it. When you find someone, write their names down in the box. Women’s place is in the home, they should be a mother and wife first. NAME: People are innocent until proven guilty NAME: Some people are just born unlucky. NAME: I believe there is definitely no such thing as God. NAME: I believe there is life after death (i.e. Heaven or something similar) NAME: I believe in ghosts NAME: Woman who live alone, have a scar, wear black clothes and have a cat are witches. NAME: The earth is flat NAME: If I get very sick, its because I have done something bad and God is punishing me. NAME: The hardest working people are the richest people. NAME: I believe in the death penalty NAME: Everyone should have a say on who runs the country (Democracy) NAME: If I don’t live a good life I will end up in Hell when I die. NAME: I believe that if I break a mirror then I get 7 years bad luck NAME: Find someone who You have to complete the boxes below by finding someone who believes in it. When you find someone, write their names down in the box. Women’s place is in the home, they should be a mother and wife first. NAME: People are innocent until proven guilty NAME: Some people are just born unlucky. NAME: I believe there is definitely no such thing as God. NAME: I believe there is life after death (i.e. Heaven or something similar) NAME: I believe in ghosts NAME: Woman who live alone, have a scar, wear black clothes and have a cat are witches. NAME: The earth is flat NAME: If I get very sick, its because I have done something bad and God is punishing me. NAME: The hardest working people are the richest people. NAME: I believe in the death penalty NAME: Everyone should have a say on who runs the country (Democracy) NAME: If I don’t live a good life I will end up in Hell when I die. NAME: I believe that if I break a mirror then I get 7 years bad luck NAME:

17. Saturn Once king of the gods, his place was taken by his son (Jupiter). Saturn was the god of seed- sowing. A Roman festival, the Saturnalia, was named after him.

18. Jupiter God of the sky. He was the King of the gods which meant that he was the most important god. The most important temple in the Empire was dedicated to him.

19. Juno Juno was Jupiter's wife and the daughter of Saturn. She was also the mother of Mars and Vulcan. She was the Goddess of fertility and women. Her symbols were a pomegranate and a peacock

20. Neptune He was Jupiter's brother and the powerful god of the sea. His symbol was the trident.

21. Minerva She was the goddess of wisdom, learning, art crafts and industry. For example cloth weaving. Her symbol was the owl.

22. Mars He was the god of war, though originally god of farming. He was the strongest and most fearsome God after Jupiter.

23. Venus The goddess of love and beauty. She was also the lover of Mars.