The Deification of Emperors in the Principate
This is an essay written for my class CLA 310, Roman Religion.
Between the start of the Roman Empire under Augustus to the ascension of Diocletian in 284 CE, roughly half the Emperors of the Roman Empire were enrolled among the gods after their death. In many ways, the administration run by the Emperors was supported by and rooted in the cult of the Emperors that was created through deification. Legitimacy and security in their reigns would be secured by placing themselves among the beloved and worshipped gods of the Roman pantheon, projecting their power to the furthest borders and beyond by forcing their subjects to make sacrifices for them. It should therefore be clear that turning your predecessors of the purple into gods is not just an act of piety, of mourning, nor of appreciation; it is a political move. Central to imperial policy, deification of a predecessor is frequently the first action taken by a newly elevated Emperor.
