Abstract EN:

The christian authors of late antiquity reinterpreled the history of rome thanks to jewish and Greco-Roman heritage. The johannic tradition was taken up by Hippolytus of Rome and Commodianus, Paul's tradition by Cyprian and some ascetics. But the influence of classical conceptions of roman history was more important. The first conception, the "urban" one, praised the republican era and the conquests of the city. The second one, "Greek", gave pride of place to the imperial monarchy, which had brought about peace, prosperity and roman citizenship. The third one, "latin", exalted the republic-apart from the conquesting wars-and the princedom, which guaranted concord and well-being. The officail history was "urban" and pagan. In the third century, in spite of being christian romans, origen and eusebius of caesarea assumed a chjristian "greek" position, bringing the incarnation and the augustean government together. The Christians of Africda, from Tertullian to Lactantius, took up the "latin" conception, comparing martyrs to republican heroes. In the fourth century, Firmicus Maternus, Optatus of Milevis and Rufinus of Aquileia took up eusebius' ideas. But Jerome, ambrose and prudentius reconcilied the "greek" conceptions and the latin culture. And pope’s liberius and damasus offered a christian "urban" history of the city of the apostles, so as to refuse the ecclesiastical role of the emperor or the bishop of constantinople. In the fith century, despite the invasion orosius defended eusebius' imperial model. But Guodvultdeus and Hydatius concluded from the destruction of the roman orthodox empire that it was the end of the world. Augustine made a distinction between the futures of celestial and terrestrial cities, and was able to conceive a human destingy wihout the Roman Empire. Prosper of Aquitaine and lep the great reasserted that christian Rome followed the Rome of the Caesars, the extinction of pagnaism enabled sidonius apollinaris to take up the historical and cultural "urban" heritage.