Imperial Cult
| Some Gods
of the Roman Imperial Cult (Maintaining deified status after their reigns) |
| Name |
Notes |
| Julius Caesar |
Imperator deified 44 BC. |
| Augustus |
Emperor deified 14 AD. |
| Livia |
Wife of Augustus. Deified years
after her death by Claudius in 42 AD. |
| Claudius |
Emperor deified 54 AD. |
| Vespasian |
Emperor deified 79 AD. |
| Titus |
Emperor deified 81 AD. |
| Nerva |
Emperor deified 98 AD, but little
evidence except posthumous coinage. |
| Trajan |
Emperor deified 117 AD. |
| Hadrian |
Emperor deified in 138 through
the efforts of Antoninus (hence Pius). The Senate wished to condemn his
memory. |
| Antoninus Pius |
Emperor deified in 161 AD. |
| Lucius Verus |
Emperor deified in 169 AD. |
| Marcus Aurelius |
Emperor deified in 180 AD |
| Pertinax |
Emperor deified 193 AD. |
| Septimius Severus |
Emperor deified in 211 AD. |
| Elagabalus |
Not deified, but viewed himself
as the living Sol Invictus. Was largely responsible for spreading the Syrian
god's cult throughout the western empire. |
| Severus Alexander |
Emperor deified in 235 AD. |
| Its important to
note that by this time in Roman history, nearly every emperor following
Alexander was deified by the Senate as standard practice. In reality, only
a very few were not deified up to this point (Tiberius, Caligula, Nero,
Commodus and various usurpers). The practice largely continued until the
reign of Constantine in the 4th Century AD. At this point the growth of
the Imperial cult ceased as the state religion slowly shifted to monotheism
(Mithraism, Sol Invictus and Christian). |
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Did you know? The imperial cult was an important unifying factor in the vastly undergoverned Roman empire. It was mutually beneficial for both Rome and its subjects. Most importantly, it was a focal point for loyalty to Rome and the emperor.
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