Paganism

====Late Antiquity and Christianization====
{{further|Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism|Hellenic philosophy and Christianity}}
The developments in the religious thought of the far-flung [[Roman Empire]] during [[Late Antiquity]] need to be addressed separately, because this is the context in which [[Early Christianity]] itself developed as one of several monotheistic cults, and it was in this period that the concept of ''pagan'' developed in the first place. As Christianity emerged from [[Second Temple Judaism]] and [[Hellenistic Judaism]], it stood in competition with other religions advocating pagan monotheism, including the cults of [[Dionysus]],<ref>E. Kessler, ''Dionysian Monotheism in Nea Paphos, Cyprus''
"two monotheistic religions, Dionysian and Christian, existed contemporaneously in Nea Paphos during the 4th century C.E. [...] the particular iconography of Hermes and Dionysos in the panel of the Epiphany of Dionysos [...] represents the culmination of a {{sic|hide=y|reason=Kessler capitalized; verified with source.|Pagan}} iconographic tradition in which an infant divinity is seated on the lap of another divine figure; this {{sic|hide=y|Pagan}} motif was appropriated by early Christian artists and developed into the standardized icon of the Virgin and Child. Thus the mosaic helps to substantiate the existence of {{sic|hide=y|Pagan}} monotheism." [https://books.google.com/books?id=y1-hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91]</ref> [[Neoplatonism]], [[Mithraism]], [[Gnosticism]], and [[Manichaeanism]].{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} [[Dionysus]] in particular exhibits significant parallels with Christ, so that numerous scholars have concluded that the recasting of [[historical Jesus|Jesus the wandering rabbi]] into the image of [[Christ the Logos]], the divine saviour, reflects the cult of Dionysus directly. They point to the symbolism of wine and the importance it held in the mythology surrounding both Dionysus and Jesus Christ;<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' 6. 26. 1–2</ref><ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''Deipnosophistae'' 2. 34a</ref> Wick argues that the use of wine [[religious symbolism|symbolism]] in the [[Gospel of John]], including the story of the [[Marriage at Cana]] at which Jesus turns water into [[wine]], was intended to show Jesus as superior to Dionysus.<ref name="Wick 2004 179–198"/> The scene in ''The Bacchae'' wherein Dionysus appears before King Pentheus on charges of claiming divinity is compared to the New Testament scene of Jesus being interrogated by [[Pontius Pilate]].<ref name="Wick 2004 179–198">{{cite journal |last=Wick |first=Peter |title=Jesus gegen Dionysos? Ein Beitrag zur Kontextualisierung des Johannesevangeliums |journal=Biblica |volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=179–98 |publisher=Pontifical Biblical Institute |location=Rome |year=2004 |url=http://www.bsw.org/?l=71851&a=Comm06.html |access-date=2007-10-10 }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0fLPOx1B-AwC&dq=%22dionysus+had+been+at+home+in+palestine+for+a+long+time%22&pg=PA331 Studies in Early Christology], by [[Martin Hengel]], 2005, p. 331 ({{ISBN|0567042804}})</ref><ref name=Powell>Powell, Barry B., ''Classical Myth'' Second ed. With new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M. Howe. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.</ref>