Introduction

In the ancient mythology of the greco roman world, gods and goddesses like zeus, poseidon and artemus were notoriously hard to please. The fickle deities of their pantheon were known for their mercurial plotting against mere mortals. As the early christians looked at the rampant polytheism in their culture, they simply called it idolatry. Their loyalty was to the one true god, the father of their lord, jesus christ. This nique, world changing loyalty was on full display when polycarp, a disciple of the apostle john, was martyred because he refused to swear allegiance to any one other than christ.