Imperial worship

The imperial worship is a manner of accustoming the inhabitants of the Empire, if dissimilar by the culture and the beliefs to respect the capacity of Rome through a divinized emperor. Ceremonies are organized in the honor of the emperor. It is the occasion for the community to find itself in processions in front of sacrifices, banquets and all kinds of spectacles.

Auguste and the installation of the imperial worship

The function of large pontiff gets to the emperors a crowned character. Moreover in the popular beliefs, Scipion the African, Marius and Sylla were divine. César developed around him a legend of divinity claiming to go down from Venus and Enée. At the beginning of the Empire, Auguste (- 27-+14) sets up the imperial worship. It makes diviniser César and thus, as a its heir, it rises thus above humanity. He says son of Apollon. He associates also all the community with the worship as of his ancestors becoming thus the father of all, from where his title of father of the fatherland. Auguste refuses to be divinized of alive sound. It however lets build furnace bridges of the temples which are devoted to him especially in the East accustomed to regard its sovereigns as alive gods, provided that its name is associated with that of Rome divinized. To Rome, in Italy and in the military camps, one pays homage to his Genius and to his name, the numen . The imperial worship is practiced here in properly Roman forms. The movement continues after its death. Tibère (14-37), its successor, develops the worship of Auguste which was divinisé officially by receiving the Apothéose. It creates a new class of priests, the sodales augustales to make the honors divine to Auguste and the family of the Jules. This body was composed of twenty and one members chosen in the principal families of Rome. The senate plays a big role in the deification of the emperors. It is indeed him which decides if the late one is good and worthy of the Apothéose. From Caligula (37-41), all the emperors place themselves under the auspices of a god. Caligula, Néron (54-68), Domitien (81-96) is particularly mystical emperors. Very influenced by the Messianic currents come from the East, they try of their alive to be made recognize like divinities. After death they receive the Apothéose. Like Auguste, they have their specialized clergy. The sodales augustales become the Augustales Claudiales . With died of Vespasien (69-79) the sodales Flaviales are created, which become Flaviales Titiales after the death of Titus (79-81).

Evolutions of the imperial worship at the second century

The Antonins make progress the imperial religion for primarily political reasons. Pline stresses that like Jupiter, the emperor Trajan (98-117) bears the names of optimus and maximus . Dion of Prussia, a famous speaker develops the idea that Zeus deals only with the sky and that its delegate on the ground is the emperor. Hadrian (117-138) is assimilated in Greek country to Zeus Olympios. The tendency to the deification of the emperors of their alive thus continues. Their extraordinary character is accentuated by the practice of the Antonins of diviniser after their death the members of their family. Adoptive Trajan, wire of Nerva (96-98), made to diviniser his/her natural father after his death. Antonin (138-161) made in the same way after the death of its wife Faustine. The official worship is organized. To Rome, a statue of the emperors divinized by the Senate is placed in the temple of the divi . A body of priests their is reserved, the sodales Hadrianales , after Hadrian and the sodales Antoniniani , after Antonin. It is the last college of this kind created; it is then in charge of the worship of all the emperors after Antonin. One thus adds a new name to the sodales Antoniniani with each new Divus , from where the names of sodales Antoniniani Veriani , sodales Mariani Antoniniani , sodales Aureliani Antoniniani … which meet in the inscriptions. On the level of the provinces, the imperial worship is with the load of the concilium provincae , a council where each city of the province sends representatives. It can be also organized in certain subdivisions of provinces. In the Municipe S, a Flamine of Auguste is selected among the Décurion S. Of the colleges of men of humbler condition, subjects of the Empire or freed (the Seviri augustales ) are also associated with the imperial worship. It is not rare to see private individuals paying homage to the emperor in their hearths.

the imperial worship in IIIe and IVe centuries

In IIIe century, the imperial ideology evolves/moves. The emperors play, for the inhabitants of the Empire, the role of intermediary between the men and the gods. In the official ideology, it is the only one which can ensure the prosperity and the peace of the empire. The marks of devotion of the subjects are very strong: epigraphic and monumental dedications, prostration in front of its person or her statue, plays periodic in its honor… In Africa proconsulaire, the dynasty of the Sévères, originating in this province is particularly adored. But about the middle of IIIe century, the marks of devotion with respect to the imperial religion seem dropped. The empire during this time is touched by periods of war atrocious and of economic recession. More anxious of their situation and not having more confidence with the deification of the imperial person, the Africans start to openly practice other religion and more particularly the Christianisme. However the Christians and the Jews for example are refracted with the official ceremonies in the honor of Rome or the Genius of the Emperor which required to sacrifice. The capacity sees there a mark of rebellion and those which refuse to take part in it are compared to traitors. Besides even if many Christians witnessed these ceremonies, the human means not having the force of the martyr, which generated serious debates between bishops (see for example the donatism), the emperors, mainly Dèce (249-251) and Valérien (253-260), will martyrisera the opponents with these ceremonies.

In the third quarter of IIIe century, Aurélien (270-275) renovates the imperial ideology to put it at the service of an absolute capacity of divine right. He thinks that its capacity does not come from its victories or its soldiers but from God. It is the first emperor to profess a belief monotheist, though not-Christian. He organizes in Rome the sun-worship, Sol Invictus . On his currencies, one can find the inscription Deus and dominus natus. One can thus see that the imperial worship evolved/moved gradually to transform the emperor into alive god. The purpose of this is as to give to the emperor another legitimacy as that of the military victories.

Constantin (306-337) is presented in the form of a Christian after 324. But there remain large pontiff and continuous to support the imperial worship whereas Christianity is religion of state. The Roman ceremonial of the 4th century continues to require to kneel with the feet of its sovereign. The imperial worship seems always essential to express the honesty of the inhabitants of the Empire and their unit around the emperor.

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