Editing Religion in ancient Rome (section)

===Pagan continuity===

Christianity was introduced late in Mani, with the first Greek temples converted into churches during the 11th century. Byzantine monk [[Saint Nikon the Metanoeite|Nikon "the Metanoite"]] (Νίκων ὁ Μετανοείτε) was sent in the 10th century to convert the predominantly [[pagan]] Maniots. Although his preaching began the conversion process, it took over 200 years for the majority to accept Christianity fully by the 11th and 12th centuries. [[Patrick Leigh Fermor]] noted that the Maniots, isolated by mountains, were among the last Greeks to abandon the old religion, doing so towards the end of the 9th century:

{{quote|Sealed off from outside influences by their mountains, the semi-[[rock-cut architecture|troglodytic]] Maniots themselves were the last of the Greeks to be converted. They only abandoned the old religion of Greece towards the end of the ninth century. It is surprising to remember that this peninsula of rock, so near the heart of the Levant from which Christianity springs, should have been baptised three whole centuries after the arrival of [[Augustine of Canterbury|St. Augustine]] in far-away [[Kent, England|Kent]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Leigh Fermor|first=Patrick|title=Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese|year=1958|publisher=John Murray|page=46}}</ref>}}

According to [[Constantine VII]] in ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'', the Maniots were referred to as 'Hellenes' and only fully [[Christianization|Christianized]] in the 9th century, despite some church ruins from the 4th century indicating early Christian presence. The region's mountainous terrain allowed the Maniots to evade the Eastern Roman Empire's Christianization efforts, thus preserving pagan traditions, which coincided with significant years in the life of [[Gemistos Plethon]].

Traces of the old religion can still surface in Naples’ underground esoteric circles. The [[Osirian Egyptian Order]] claimed descent from a group of Alexandrian priests who fled to Naples around the 4th century CE, following the Christian destruction of pagan temples such as the Serapeum of Alexandria.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lo Monaco |first=Gaetano |title=The Osirian Egyptian Order and the Pythagorean Transmission |publisher=Letture S…consigliate |location=Marostica (Vicenza) |year=2000}}</ref> In 1899, after being initiated into the OOE, [[Giuliano Kremmerz|Ciro Formisano]] (Giuliano Kremmerz) founded the Brotherhood of Myriam as its direct offshoot, adapting those Egyptian and Greco–Roman rituals into a therapeutic initiation path.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Iah-Hel |title=La Pietra Angolare Miriamica. Storia documentata della Fratellanza di Miriam di Giuliano Kremmerz |publisher=Rebis |location=Viareggio |year=1989}}</ref>

The [[Reconstructionist Roman religion|modern Roman religion]], unlike other neopagan movements, is regarded as having been transmitted esoterically through families such as the Latriani, connected to the [[Medici]] and inspired by [[George Gemistus Plethon]], who contributed to the founding of the [[Neoplatonic Academy]] in Florence. This tradition also influenced the [[Roman Academy]] of [[Pomponio Leto]] in the 15th century. Leto symbolically restored the role of the [[Pontifex Maximus]] and celebrated the [[Natale di Roma|Natalis Romae]], though the academy was dissolved by [[Pope Paul II]] in [[1468]].<ref>Greenhalgh, P. A. L.; Eliopoulos, Edward (1985). Deep into Mani: Journey to the Southern Tip of Greece. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-13524-2.</ref>

Between the 19th and 20th centuries, figures such as Giacomo Boni and [[Julius Evola]] revived ancient Roman rituals for cultural and political purposes. Evola, through the [[Gruppo di Ur]] and his book Imperialismo Pagano (1928), advocated for a resurgence of Roman spirituality. During the same period, [[Leone Caetani]] asserted that Etruscan-Roman rituals had influenced historical events, including victory in [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Sandro Consolato |date=18 October 2017 |publisher=Tempi |title=La Grande Guerra degli esoteristi |url=https://www.tempi.it/la-grande-guerra-degli-esoteristi/}}<!-- auto-translated from Italian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

[[File:Celebrazione del 2777 Natale di Roma - Pietas Comunità Gentile 2.jpg|thumb|Rituals to the [[Tutelary deity|Tutelary Numen]] of Rome, for the 2777th [[Natale di Roma]]. Carried out by Pietas Comunità Gentile]]

In the 2000s, the [[Pietas Comunità Gentile|Associazione Tradizionale Pietas]] reconstructed temples such as the Temple of Minerva in Taranto<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/video/video/1415466/culto-e-cultura-nel-segno-della-dea-sorge-a-taranto-il-tempio-di-minerva.html | title=Culto e cultura nel segno della dea: Sorge a Taranto il tempio di Minerva | date=11 August 2023 }}</ref> and initiated steps for legal recognition.<ref>http://www.libertaciviliimmigrazione.dlci.interno.gov.it/it/riconoscimento-giuridico</ref> It also participated in the [[European Congress of Ethnic Religions]] (ECER), signing the Riga Declaration advocating for the acknowledgment of ethnic religions.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-05-04 |date=2023-07-04 |language=en |title=riga declaration {{!}} Search Results {{!}} ECER |url=https://ecer-org.eu/?s=riga+declaration}}<!-- auto-translated from Italian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Public celebrations like the Natalis Romae continue, thanks to groups such as the Gruppo Storico Romano.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-05-04 |language=en |title=PROGRAMMA |url=https://www.natalidiroma.it/programma |website=GRUPPO STORICO ROMANO}}<!-- auto-translated from Italian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-05-04 |date=2024-04-12 |language=it |title=Gruppo Storico Romano per il 2777esimo Natale di Roma |url=https://www.turismoroma.it/it/eventi/gruppo-storico-romano-il-2777esimo-natale-di-roma |website=Turismo Roma}}<!-- auto-translated from Italian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>