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Album: Germany 2008
Image: 184 / 466
Date: 2008-05-20 14:59:26
Tags: Germany, Kalkriese

From the Annals

The annals display one of the earliest report of the roman prosecution of christians. Medieval readers were alienated that Tacitus was critical of christians and thought of them as deserving the punishment by Nero for the alleged arson of rome:

"And so first the persons were arrested that admitted to be Christians, then after their statements another large circle of persons and they were not only convicted of the crime of arson but also of their hate against humankind. And those marked for death were ridiculed: they were covered in animal skins and ripped apart by the dogs or they were nailed to the cross (to be burned) to serve as light for the night. Nero allocated a park for this spectacle." (ann. 15.44)