David Hulme- Men As Gods: Part 2

                                                                                         

Roman emperor worship, or the celebration of the imperial cult, had its beginnings with Julius Caesar (46–44 B.C.E.), who had learned it from the Greeks. The Greeks in turn had absorbed the idea from the Egyptians and the Babylonians. Caesar sought legitimacy for his ambition of lifetime rulership by claiming a divine origin for himself. His mistake was to suggest that while he was still alive, people should worship him as divine, a descendant of the goddess Venus. Such display of hubris clashed with Roman aristocratic ambition and led to his assassination at the hand of a group led by Brutus and Cassius, members of the Senate.

But it was not long before Julius Caesar’s desire for divinity was rewarded. His nephew and adopted son Octavian, who eventually became Caesar Augustus (27 B.C.E.–14 C.E.), proclaimed his father Divus Iulius (divine Julius), built a temple to him, and placed his statue among the Roman gods of antiquity in the Pantheon of Agrippa. Augustus, however, denied Roman Italy the right to accord himself the divine honors that he bestowed on his father, openly saying that he was not a god. On the other hand, he allowed his Egyptian subjects to recognize him as such and permitted the construction of temples in his name in the Eastern empire. In these areas remote from Italy, he became known as “savior” and “benefactor,” worthy of worship.

Augustus’s successor, Tiberius (14–37), was reluctant to accept deification for himself, though he readily granted it to his predecessor, referring to him as “the divine Augustus.” But again, during his rule Tiberius appeared as divus on some coins and was declared “son of the god” in a document written in 37.

It was the next emperor, Gaius (37–41), also known as Caligula, who would take the ultimate step and demand to be worshiped in Rome. An illness during the early days of his rule seems to have upset Caligula’s mental balance. Believing himself to be the incarnation of Jupiter, the father of the gods, he proclaimed himself the embodiment of all previous Roman gods and goddesses and habitually dressed in their garb.

Angered that the Jews in Alexandria would not set up and worship his statue in their synagogues, Caligula instructed his legate in Syria to install his bronze image in the temple in Jerusalem. Though the emperor later rescinded the order, in his megalomania and egocentricity he was not dissimilar to the later Nero. These traits showed themselves in both men in egregious self-promotion and delusions of grandeur.

Men who delight in playing god until they become a god have long been part of human society, and often at the leadership level. Politicians who use the power of religion to sway and enslave others are not uncommon. What happened in the Roman Empire once the imperial cult was established (see “Inventing Deities”) provided an example for subsequent rulers in other social and political orders.

About the author:
David Hulme holds a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Southern California with an emphasis on the Middle East. He's the author of "Identity, Ideology and the Jerusalem Question" and the blog, Causes of Conflict. He is president of Vision Media Productions and chairman of Vision.org Foundation. Please email at dhulme@vision.org.

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