In 186 B.C. the Roman authorities unleashed so violent persecution against the followers of the cult of Bacchus that it had no precedent.

The fact is surprising if we consider that nobody was so tolerant in religious matters, as the Roman State.

The Roman religion, in fact, was characterized by a constant universalism, which made it tolerant towards other religions and sheltered from those degenerations typical of modern monotheistic religions (fanaticism and fundamentalism).

The Romans, as they conquered new territories, strove to integrate not only the peoples who lived there but also the divinities that were venerated there. For them, who did not believe in a single god, there were no false gods. Therefore, although foreign gods were not considered as powerful, all were considered true and therefore worthy of being respected and revered. This polytheistic and multi-religious conception of the ius sacrum Romanum is well summarized by Cicero when he states that “sua cuique civitati religio …est, nostra nobis”.