The
Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified
emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned
authority of the
Roman State. The framework for Imperial
cult was formulated during the early
Principate of
Augustus, and was rapidly established throughout the
Empire and its
provinces, with marked local variations in its reception and expression.
Augustus' reforms transformed Rome's
Republican system of government to a
de facto monarchy, couched in
traditional Roman practices and Republican values. The
princeps (later known as Emperor) was expected to balance the interests of the
Roman military,
senate and people, and to maintain peace, security and prosperity throughout an ethnically diverse empire. The official offer of cult to a living emperor acknowledged his office and rule as divinely approved and constitutional: his Principate should therefore demonstrate
pious respect for traditional Republican deities and mores.
A deceased Emperor held worthy of the honour could be voted a state divinity (
divus, plural
divi) by the
Senate and elevated as such in an act of
apotheosis. The granting of apotheosis served religious, political and moral judgment on Imperial rulers and allowed living Emperors to associate themselves with a well-regarded lineage of Imperial
divi from which unpopular or unworthy predecessors were excluded. This proved a useful instrument to
Vespasian in his establishment of the
Flavian imperial dynasty following the death of
Nero and civil...
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