Philip Harland, Assistant Professor in the Humanities Division at York University, offers a corrective to those who still think ancient pagans were amoral hedonistic party-goers concerned solely with gladiator battles and orgies.

“Despite what you may have heard about the “pagan” Greeks or Romans (a friend of mine – perhaps representative – thought they were all about wild orgies), “pagans” too were very concerned with proper behaviour as they defined it, and sometimes they defined it in similar ways. Educated philosophers, in particular, focussed their attention on questions of what behaviors were most fitting, desirable, or appropriate in particular circumstances. Such philosophers were often very concerned with “family values”, and so they spent considerable time thinking about what were the appropriate relationships among members of the household…”

As an example, Harland focuses on the ethic of reciprocity (aka “the golden rule”) and quotes the work of 2nd century Stoic philosopher Hierocles.

“The first bit of advice, therefore, is very clear, easily obtained, and common to all people. For it is a sound word which everyone will recognize as clear: Treat anybody whatsoever as though you supposed that he were you and you he.”

Hierocles the Stoic wasn’t the only pagan philosopher to endorse the ethic of reciprocity, similar statements have been made by Seneca, Aristotle, Epictetus (also a Stoic), Socrates, and his student Plato.

“May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.” – Plato

In fact the earliest known written version of the golden rule is from an ancient Egyptian piece of literature entitled “The Tale of Sinuhe”, written nearly two thousand years before the birth of Jesus.

“This is an ordinance: Act for the man who acts, to cause him to act. This is thanking him for what he does.”

This is a far cry from some evangelical commentators who have claimed that ancient pagans existed in a fatalistic world view devoid of morality. In fact, Christianity would have had a very hard time taking root in such societies. The truth is that our modern world (and its advanced “ethics” and “morals”) is more in debt to ancient paganism than many people realize. Something to remember the next time someone tells you how lost we would all be without the dominant monotheisms.

Tags: ethics, Greece, morals, Paganism, philosophy, Rome, The Golden Rule