Des lieux pour le « profane » dans l’Empire tardo-antique ? Les fêtes entre koinônia sociale et espaces de rivalités religieuses

In a Roman empire where a variety of religious choices abounded – some of them exclusive in character – public festivals present two images which are at first sight contradictory. Promoted by the authorities, they transcended their religious dimension to become occasions for a koinônia founded on aspects of a common identity (political, social and traditional). In this respect they belong to a “secular” aspect of antiquity. Yet this consensual image, though consistent with the religious pluralism of the period, coexists with another, much closer to the standard western perception. Quite apart from the public executions which delighted the “société du spectacle” of antiquity, festivals often resulted in the unleashing of anti-Christian movements, while simultaneously uniting the Christian Fathers in opposition to them. From the anthropological point of view, this bipolarisation of the atmosphere of the festival reflects its innate character as an occasion segregated from everyday life, which permits access to the gods / to God. Historically, it corresponds to the tensions perceptible in the religious world from the second century onwards between participation in common religious debates and practices and the affirmation of identity. Such an interpretative framework would explain why (a) in the late empire festivals offered space to the “secular”; (b) as a result, they were at first little affected by religious change; and (c) since they provided an opportunity for the expression of collective identities, they were suitable occasions for denouncing the Other, if he was felt to be - or represented as - a threat to the community. With the gradual christianisation of the imperial power in the fourth century, the definition of the “sacred” underwent a change and religious rivalries intensified. Nevertheless the authorities continued to patronise and support festivals which included the “secular” element, in view of their consensual nature and their progressive disengagement from traditional religious activities. In the fifth century, when the politics, society and religion of the empire were dominated by a new concept of sacrality, this “secular” space inevitably became the object of censure and, as a result, festivals were forced to modify their raison d’être and/or their ceremonial practices.