1. Religions 16: Religion and Empire

2. Ch. 5: first part expands on dynamic interaction between ‘particularization’ and ‘generalization’ in Roman Empire: mobilization of worshippers and gods, syncretism, interpretatio romana/graeca etc.
We shall concentrate here mainly on the imperial cult

3. Imperial cult
‘Emperor was the Empire’: symbol of Roman Empire (augustus), commander of army (imperator), center of bureaucracy, top of hierarchical pyramid
embeddedness: central role of emperor in religious life of Empire > imperial cult
Yet not a coherent system: different strategies (god, mortal or both; central, local, or interaction between the two)

4. Origins
Both in Hellenistic ruler cult and associations of Roman statesmen and generals with deities in late Republic
After death of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, Augustus institutes:
Cult of deified (divus) Julius (temple on Forum); from death of Augustus in 14 CE onwards: Senate decides if emperor is deified
Regular imperial feast days in calendar (birthday, victories etc.)

5. Distinction between living (human) and deified emperor (god), as appears e.g. from oaths, offerings and dedications: ‘on behalf of the well-being of’, to the genius or numen of the present emperor
In some cases, emperors are treated in same way as gods, in other cases (Pliny, p. 152) distinction clear
Imperial cult:
- imperial cult in provincial capitals, e.g. Tres Galliae in Lyon: regulated by local elite and brought prestige
Civic cults: non-regulated, but could also bring prestige
Voluntary associations
Other expressions:
Coins
statues

6. How could emperors be both human and divine?

7. distinction between human and divine was not as marked as in modern society, cf. e.g. genius, numen, daemon; hence step to see emperor as human, divine or both was not that big a deal for Romans
intermediary between gods and men (‘emperor is the last of the other gods, but the first of men’, see p. 155 Rives)
3. because of ambiguity it was possible to be accommodated in all diverse religious traditions of Empire (even Jews and Christians: sacrifice ‘on behalf of emperor’ in Temple in Jerusalem)