The Imperial Cult

Question 1

who was divus Julius?

Answer 1

• deified Julius Caesar (formal decree issued by the senate; some Romans critical)
• Mark Antony become a flamen for divus Julius

Question 2

what were the 2 perspectives on Caesar’s divine honours?

Answer 2

1. Caesar’s divine honours had no precedent in Roman history
   * Cicero thought it inappropriate
   * unheard of in Rome (but already happening in Hellenistic East)
   * opens the door for others to be deified (could be problematic)
2. Caesar’s divine honours had strong roots in Roman religion
   * Roman deification was never rigidly defined
   * other humans in Roman tradition become gods (e.g. Romulus & Aeneas)
   * army commanders dressed as gods during Roman triumph

Question 3

what was the imperial cult?

Answer 3

• the practice of venerating emperors & their families as having divine attributes
• voluntary cults worked into pre-existing official structures
• for non-Romans: cults of the current living emperor
• for Romans: cults of deified deceased emperors (offerings made on their behalf)
• imperial cult happened at provincial assemblies & in individual cities/towns
• initiated by Augustus

Question 4

who was Titus Quinctius Flamininus?

Answer 4

• Roman general & statesman
• consul in 198 BCE
• won battle against Philip V of Macedon in Thessaly (197 BCE) → est. Roman hegemony over Greece
• declared the “freedom of the Greeks” at Isthmian Games in 196 BCE
• sacrifice & libations made to him after death
• given his own priesthood