Editing Religion in ancient Rome (section)

==== Imperial cult ====
{{Main|Imperial cult (Ancient Rome)|l1=Imperial cult of ancient Rome}}
[[File:Maison Carree in Nimes (16).jpg|right|thumb|The [[Maison Carrée]] in [[Nîmes]], one of the best-preserved [[Roman temple]]s.  It is a mid-sized [[Augustus|Augustan]] provincial temple of the Imperial cult.]]

In the early Imperial era, the [[princeps]] ({{lit|first among citizens|foremost among citizens}}) was offered ''genius''-cult as the symbolic ''paterfamilias'' of Rome. His cult had further precedents: popular, unofficial cult offered to powerful benefactors in Rome: the kingly, god-like honours granted a Roman general on the day of his [[Roman triumph|triumph]]; and in the divine honours paid to Roman magnates in the Greek East from at least 195 BC.<ref>Gradel, 32-52.</ref><ref>Beard, 272-5.</ref>

The deification of deceased emperors had precedent in Roman domestic cult to the ''dii parentes'' (deified ancestors) and the mythic [[apotheosis]] of Rome's founders. A deceased emperor granted apotheosis by his successor and the Senate became an official State ''divus'' (divinity). Members of the Imperial family could be granted similar honours and cult; an Emperor's deceased wife, sister or daughter could be promoted to ''diva'' (female divinity).

The first and last Roman known as a living ''divus'' was [[Julius Caesar]], who seems to have aspired to divine monarchy; he was murdered soon after. Greek allies had their own traditional cults to rulers as divine benefactors, and offered similar cult to Caesar's successor, Augustus, who accepted with the cautious proviso that expatriate Roman citizens refrain from such worship; it might prove fatal.<ref>Fishwick, Vol 3, part 1, 3: citing Cassius Dio, 51, 20, 6-7</ref> By the end of his reign, Augustus had appropriated Rome's political apparatus – and most of its religious cults – within his "reformed" and thoroughly integrated system of government. Towards the end of his life, he cautiously allowed cult to his ''numen''. By then the Imperial cult apparatus was fully developed, first in the Eastern Provinces, then in the West.<ref>Fishwick, Vol 1, book 1, 77 & 126-30.</ref> Provincial Cult centres offered the amenities and opportunities of a major Roman town within a local context; bathhouses, shrines and temples to Roman and local deities, amphitheatres and festivals. In the early Imperial period, the promotion of local elites to Imperial priesthood gave them Roman citizenship.<ref>Fishwick, Vol 1, book 1, 97-149.</ref>

In an empire of great religious and cultural diversity, the Imperial cult offered a common Roman identity and dynastic stability. In Rome, the framework of government was recognisably Republican. In the Provinces, this would not have mattered; in Greece, the emperor was "not only endowed with special, super-human abilities, but... he was indeed a visible god" and the little Greek town of [[Akraiphia]] could offer official cult to "liberating Zeus Nero for all eternity".<ref>Hertz, in Rüpke (ed.), 309.</ref>

In Rome, state cult to a living emperor acknowledged his rule as divinely approved and constitutional. As [[princeps]] (first citizen) he must respect traditional Republican mores; given virtually monarchic powers, he must restrain them. He was not a living ''divus'' but father of his country (''pater patriae''), its pontifex maximus (greatest priest) and at least notionally, its leading Republican. When he died, his ascent to heaven, or his descent to join the ''dii manes'' was decided by a vote in the Senate. As a ''divus'', he could receive much the same honours as any other state deity – libations of wine, garlands, incense, hymns and sacrificial oxen at games and festivals. What he did in return for these favours is unknown, but literary hints and the later adoption of ''divus'' as a title for Christian Saints suggest him as a heavenly intercessor.<ref>Gradel, 263–8, 199.</ref> In Rome, official cult to a living emperor was directed to his ''genius''; a small number refused this honour and there is no evidence of any emperor receiving more than that. In the crises leading up to the Dominate, Imperial titles and honours multiplied, reaching a peak under Diocletian. Emperors before him had attempted to guarantee traditional cults as the core of Roman identity and well-being; refusal of cult undermined the state and was treasonous.<ref>Rees, 46–56, 73–4.</ref>