ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an idea of the types of divination that were available throughout the Roman Empire. It demonstrates the ubiquity of divination in pagan imperial culture so as to set pagan uses of, attitudes toward, and discourse about prophets, prophecy, and oracles in its larger context. The overview concentrates on the evidence for Greco-Roman divination. Dionysius of Alexandria, the third-century bishop of Alexandria, records the first connection between persecution and divination; in 248 ce, the outbreak of violence against the Christians that took place in that city was spurred by the fiery rhetoric of an anti-Christian, pagan prophet. Then, in 303 ce, Emperor Diocletian launched a persecution against Christians. Eusebius was able to draw on a rich tradition of both pagan and Christian writings that had grown up over time, particularly in the second century. It is Church Father Lactantius in his Divine Institutes who explains how pagan oracles were involved in the persecution which began under Diocletian.
