| On the outskirts of Rome, a stadium once stood. Horse races were staged there to entertain emperors and citizens. But in 64 AD the imperial racetrack became the site for a mass execution. The centre of Rome had been devastated by fire. Angry Romans wanted someone to blame. So Emperor Nero offered them a new religious sect - the Christians. Some were torn to pieces by wild dogs, others set on fire as human torches, and a few were crucified. Amongst them was Peter, a leader of the Christian mission in Rome and one of the original 12 disciples. Tradition says that out of respect for Jesus, he asked to be crucified upside down. In the centre of the racetrack stood an obelisk. This is that same obelisk, and 2,000 years later, it's still in roughly the same place. It was probably the last thing that Peter saw. And this is probably the last thing that he could have imagined. St Peters, the magnificent basilica built in his honour and still towering over the city of Rome. Ultimately, Peter's execution would transform Rome. But when he died, Christianity was just one of many Eastern cults, struggling to survive, in a city dominated by pagan gods. |
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