Editing Church of the Nativity (section)

===Holy site before Constantine (ca. 4 BC–AD 326)===
The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the manger where [[Jesus]] was born. In 135, Emperor [[Hadrian]] had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for [[Adonis]], the mortal lover of [[Aphrodite]], the Greek goddess of beauty and desire.<ref name=Ricciotti276>{{cite book |first=Giuseppe |last=Ricciotti |author-link=Giuseppe Ricciotti |title=Vita di Gesù Cristo |publisher=Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana |year=1948 |page=276 n}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Maier |first=Paul L. |title=The First Christmas: The True and Unfamiliar Story |year=2001}}{{full citation needed|date=December 2016}}</ref> [[Jerome]] claimed in 420 that the grotto had been consecrated to the worship of Adonis, and that a sacred grove was planted there in order to completely wipe out the memory of Jesus from the world.<ref name="Ricciotti276" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Craveri |first=Marcello |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofjesus00crav |title=The Life of Jesus |publisher=Grove Press |year=1967 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lifeofjesus00crav/page/35 35–37] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Around [[Anno Domini|AD]] 248, Greek philosopher [[Origen]] of Alexandria wrote the following about the grotto:
<blockquote>In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in those places, and among foreigners of the Faith, that indeed Jesus was born in this cave who is worshiped and reverenced by the Christians.<ref>''[[Contra Celsum]]'', book I, chapter LI</ref></blockquote>