rom the 350s, new laws prescribed the death penalty for those who perform or attended Pagan sacrifices, and for the worshiping of"idols"; temples were shut down, and the traditional Altar of Victory was removed from the Senate. There were also frequent episodes of ordinary Christians destroying, pillaging, desecrating, vandalizing many of the ancient Pagan temples, tombs and monuments.
The harsh imperial edicts had to face the vast following of paganism among the population, and the passive resistance of governors and magistrates. The anti-Pagan legislation, beginning with Constantius, would in time have an unfavourable influence on the Middle Ages and become the basis of the much-abused Inquisition.
Restoration and tolerance from Julian till Valens (361-375)
Under the sole rule of Julian the Apostate from 361-363, Paganism saw an attempt at restoration; while from 363 till 375, during the reigns of Jovian, Valens and Valentinian I, it was relatively tolerated.
Saint Ambrose's influence
Saint Ambrose lobbying against paganism
Under the influence of Ambrose, emperors Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius I carried on a persecution of Paganism. Under Ambrose's zealous pressure, Theodosius issued the infamous 391 "Theodosian decrees," a declaration of war on paganism, and the Altar of Victory was removed by Gratian. Ambrose, Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius rejected requests to restore the Altar.
Gratian: Seizing of Pagans' wealth and privileges
Gratian, under the influence of his chief advisor the Bishop of Milan Ambrose, took active steps to repress Pagan worship. In 382, Gratian appropriated the income of the Pagan priests and Vestal Virgins, confiscated the possessions of the priestly colleges and ordered the Altar of Victory removed again. The colleges of Pagan priests also lost all their privileges and immunities. Gratian declared that all of the Pagan temples and shrines were to be confiscated by the government and that their revenues were to be joined to the property of the royal treasury.
In 388 Valentinian II assumed the office of Emperor in the Western Roman Empire.
Valentinian II, advised by Ambrose, and in spite of pleas from the Pagans, refused to restore the Altar of Victory to the Senate House, or their income to the priests and Vestal Virgins. In the year 391, Valentinian II issued a law that not only prohibited sacrifices but also forbade anyone from visiting the temples. This again caused turbulence in the West. Valentinian II quickly followed this law with a second one, which declared that Pagan temples were to be closed, a law that was viewed as practically outlawing Paganism.
War on paganism by Theodosius (381-395)
The Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I began in 381, after the first couple of years his reign in the Eastern Roman Empire. In the 380s, Theodosius I reiterated Constantine's ban on Pagan sacrifice, prohibited haruspicy on pain of death, pioneered the criminalization of Magistrates who did not enforce anti-Pagan laws, broke up some pagan associations and destroyed Pagan temples.
Between 389-391 he emanated the infamous "Theodosian decrees," which established a practical ban on paganism; visits to the temples were forbidden, remaining Pagan holidays abolished, the eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum extinguished, the Vestal Virgins disbanded, auspices and witchcraft punished. Theodosian refused to restore the Altar of Victory in the Senate House when asked to do so by Pagan Senators.
In 392 he became emperor of the whole empire. From this moment till the end of his reign in 395, while Pagans remained outspoken in their demands for toleration, he authorized or participated in the killing of pagan priests, destruction of many temples, holy sites, images and objects of reverence throughout the empire and participated in actions by Christians against major Pagan sites. He likely suppressed the Ancient Olympic Games; the last record of the Olympics being celebrated in ancient Rome is from 393.
Persecution after Theodosius I till the Empire fall
Christian pe