Mean Gods part 4 – Will The Real Atheist Please Stand Up

By Liisa Eyerly

In my previous Mean Gods blogs, we discovered the Roman gods' all-consuming and intimate role in daily life. From sunrise to sunset, people honored the gods—praying in the morning, before meals, when sealing a business deal, falling in love, having a child, setting out on a journey, or just buying food. Religious practices were deeply woven into even the smallest aspects of existence. It was your performance before the gods and society that proved your devotion.

And failing to honor the gods wasn’t just a personal risk. Divine wrath could extend to an entire city or empire.
    

Marcus Arelius © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro

This brings us back to the Roman virtue of Pietas, or piety—an unshakable duty to fulfill one’s obligations to the gods. These sacred responsibilities weren’t just personal routines but community-wide obligations carried out by temple priests, elected officials, or government leaders who also held priestly titles. Their duties included elaborate rites of prayers, rituals, sacrifices, and festivals, all meticulously performed to honor a specific god or goddess.

And precision was everything. A single mistake—a priest stumbling over an incantation, incense burning out too soon, or a sacrificial bull resisting its fate—could render the entire ritual invalid, requiring the ceremony to be repeated. Failure to properly honor the gods was no trivial matter; it was an offense that could bring famine, disease, earthquakes, or volcanic destruction.

Vesuvius volcano Pompeii 
RealCarlo, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org
/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Festivals weren’t just about ritual sacraments; they were grand spectacles meant to 

BrankaVV, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

display public devotion. Lavish feasts, music, processions, gladiatorial combat, wild animal hunts, theatrical performances, and chariot races were all offered in honor of the gods, demonstrating gratitude and pleading for continued favor. Because the gods were as fickle in their blessings as they were in their punishments.

This was the world the early Christians lived in—a world where refusing to worship the emperor-god was more than an act of personal belief. It was a public insult, a dangerous rejection of the divine protectors of Rome. To deny the gods of the empire was to endanger not only yourself but your entire community.

John Joseph Kilpin Fletcher, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons 

And so, Christians—who refused to participate in the state-mandated worship—were labeled atheists. Not because they didn’t believe in a god, but because they rejected the gods of Rome. This wasn’t just heresy—it was treason. A crime punishable by death.

The martyrdom of early Christians wasn’t simply an act of persecution; it was, in the eyes of their neighbors, a necessary defense. To Romans, Christians were seen as reckless outliers, risking divine wrath upon everyone by their defiance. Their refusal to honor the gods wasn’t just dangerous—it was unforgivable.

And so, the real atheists of the ancient world were not those who had no gods at all, but those who refused to worship Rome’s.

Mystery, murder, and mayhem aren’t your typical Christian themes—but why should secular authors have all the fun solving crimes in ancient Rome? My love of history, scripture, and whodunits led me to blend faith with intrigue, bringing the world of the early Christians to life. Writing from my home in the woods of northern Wisconsin, I also draw inspiration from my travels to Turkey, Greece, and Italy, where I’ve walked the same streets my characters once did. Through historical mysteries, I explore a time when faith was a matter of life and death—literally.

Step into the shadowy streets of 96 AD Ephesus, where danger lurks around every corner, and the line between friend and foe is razor-thin. The Secrets of Ephesus series, plunges you into a world where faith is tested, alliances are shattered, and one woman's courage could be the difference between life and death.

Sabina, a fierce young Christian widow, is thrust into a deadly game when a young scribe is murdered. With her bishop’s life hanging in the balance, Sabina must unravel a web of lies, deceit, and hidden motives. Every clue she uncovers brings her closer to the truth—and closer to becoming the next victim.

This isn't just a murder mystery. It's a gripping tale of faith, resilience, and the power of one woman standing against the darkness.

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Fortunes of Death
Obedient Unto Death
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