Jacob Burckhardt ( Age of Constantine the Great ) describes the temple of Isis at Hieropolis: “Its Ionic colonnades resting upon masonry terraces with huge propylaea, upon a hill which towered over the city, made a brilliant and conspicuous spectacle. It is remarkable that this temple precinct, with its wild scenes, also supplied a model for the later stylites; from the propylaea there towered two enormous stone pillars representing phalluses, such as were found in Asia Minor wherever similar cults obtained, and upon these annually a man would climb, to pray for seven days and sleepless nights; those who wished his intercession brought an appropriate gift to the foot of the pillar. Could such an obscene cult better be atoned for in the Christian period than by a saintly penitent ascending the pillar to serve God after his own manner, not for weeks, but for decades on end?”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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