The Cult of the Emperor in the Roman Empire

Did you know that Rome's imperial cult never claimed the living emperor was a god? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about the imperial cult or the cult of the emperor of ancient Rome, what it meant and how it worked. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. So first the phrase imperial cult is a modern day designation which was never used by ancient Roman writers and second there was never a Roman religious cult that officially encouraged the as a god. The imperial cult was more of a political social construct than a religious belief system. The word cult should be understood like sect, not how it's usually used today. The cult of an ancient god or goddess simply meant the organized group who worshiped that deity through established rituals. The imperial cult of ancient Rome was a state religion that and sometimes members of his family after his death and encouraged cultural and political unity. The emperor himself was not regarded as an immortal and all-powerful god but while he held that title he represented the divine authority of the Roman state. So the imperial cult actually encouraged worship of the state as embodied in the emperor not the individual person though some emperors would claim otherwise. The concept developed out of the Roman belief in spirits and specifically the genius of the head of the family known as the Pater Familias. The genius spirit enabled the head of the household to maintain his authority and do what needed to be done for the good of all. This concept developed into the Pater Patriae, father of the country, because the Roman government was modeled on the Roman family. The genius of the Pater Familias and Pater Patriae was the divine aspect that worked through the individual for the greater good. This concept went back to at least the second Punic war dating between 218 and 201 BCE or probably earlier through the figure of Dea Roma, the goddess of Rome who personified the state. This deity was understood as a genius who protected nurtured and helped direct Rome and so it wasn't a very large step from her to the Pater Patriae to the deified emperor. Even earlier though the mythical king Romulus the founder of Rome was understood to have become the god Quirinus later known as a state god and so the idea of a king later an emperor as a god went back as far as the kingdom of Rome between 753 and 509 BCE and continued through the Roman Republic from 509 to 27 BCE before the imperial cult was established during the reign of Augustus Caesar. Did you know that only a small fraction of viewers are subscribers? Be sure to hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on any of our new videos and to help us create more great The concept of Dea Roma and the genius of the state was already recognized by the time Augustus came to power in 27 BCE but when he was approached by a delegation from the eastern provinces asking permission to establish a cult in his honor he felt uneasy about it because he didn't want to wind up like his adopted dad Julius Caesar. Caesar had been deified as Divus Julius by 44 BCE and was called Pater Patriae and given all honors on par with state gods just before he was assassinated on the 15th of March 44 BCE by the senators who feared he was becoming too powerful and would return Rome to a monarchy. Augustus as his adopted son could already claim to be a son of god and had accepted the honorific of Augustus from the senate the august or majestic one but didn't want to push his luck by accepting the godlike status of a cult at the same time as a clever politician he saw the benefits of a cult clearly it would encourage support of his reign and lessen the chances of disputes over succession and as the cult would be established outside of Rome in the eastern provinces it seemed it would do more good than harm so he granted the delegation their request to honor his genius not his person and the imperial cult was officially born. An emperor did not automatically become deified upon taking power Augustus himself even with cults established in his honor was not deified until after his death in 14 CE. An emperor had to be nominated by someone and then the senate would vote on deifying him posthumously. That emperor was now understood to be living among the gods and could be appealed to for assistance like any other deity. Living emperors had cults established to their genius or their newman divine power but were not considered gods themselves. The deified emperor had a temple built in his honor where sacrifices were made to him in asking for help or in giving thanks. A statue of the emperor was raised in the temple complex just as with any other god and his cult had its own clergy and organized public events in his honor like games in the arena and also presided over public rituals supervised building projects and maintained the calendar of the temple which would have included celebrations of the deified emperor's birthday and sometimes of his wife and children. Common people would bring sacrifices to the temple make their requests or give thanks and go on their way. The act of paying homage to the emperor was the focus of the cult whether one actually believed the emperor was now among the gods was irrelevant. The imperial cult was an established aspect of roman life until the crisis of the third century between 235 and 284 CE when rampant inflation economic depression and a succession of over 20 emperors in almost 50 years amidst civil unrest and breakaway territories made the former rituals impossible to maintain. On the most basic level the temples just couldn't afford the games statues and festivals they had hosted before while the people were more concerned with surviving than sacrificing to a dead emperor. There is no record of any temples built for the imperial cult after the reign of Marcus Aurelius from 161 to 180 CE because his successor Commodus encouraged the instability that would be furthered by the Severan dynasty and lead to the crisis of the third century. Christianity also played a part in the decline of the cult as many Christians though not all regarded it as a form of idolatry and refused to pay homage. Many ancient and modern writers have pointed to Christianity's role in the overall decline and fall of the roman empire in that by refusing to participate in the communal act of homage to the imperial cult as well as those of the other state-sponsored gods Rome lost the kind of social cohesion such cults encouraged. When Constantine the Great legitimized Christianity after 312 CE the imperial cult gradually lost more and more significance. It was never abolished people just didn't pay attention to it anymore and it more or less faded away. What do you think of Rome's imperial cult? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos published every single week. 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