7/27/2019 306 02

1/6

Jean Du Plessis 34890963

BBA 306-A

Assignment 02

The emperor cult was continuously in the consciousness of a first-century Roman

citizen

With the accent of Augustus as emperor of the Roman Empire, and even to some

extent his uncle, Julius Caesar, the power of the mighty empire was personified in a

single man, the emperor. This led to the creation of the Imperial cult that served in

some extent as a lynch-pin for the unity of the empire. It was created to honour the

divine demi-god who held the power of the whole empire in his hand, for he was

regarded as separate from ordinary humans and seen as a manifestation of the divine

and in special relationship with the gods. The emperor was seen as a benefactor and in

return he was he was shown gratitude through worship.

Ultimately the cult served a more political role in the form of propaganda than a real

religious role. The might and power of the empire was made visible through the

imperial cult by placing the emperor as godlike, reminding the people who provided

them with all the benefits and wonders the empire offered through the political voice

of propaganda in the form of architecture, art and the economy.

We find that the emperor was honoured through a wide range of civic architecture.

The major cities in Asia Minor such as Sardis and Ephesus have beautiful examples of

civic architecture. We find that gymnasiums, fountains, statues, city gates, altars,

temples and several other prominent public structures were constructed in honour of

7/27/2019 306 02

2/6

the emperor. Ephesus had four imperial temples, a stoa basilike, four gymnasiums and

many imperial statues that was associated with the imperial cult.

What becomes clear from Ephesus is that the imperial cult was closely connected with

the community. It was part of their everyday life. Many of the statues honouring the

emperor were in public areas such as theatres, on street corners and in the city forums.

The stoa basilike or portico was a very important part of Greco-Roman society as it

was an integrate part of public life. It was built on the main squares of the city. This is

where most of the citys activities occurred such as trading and business meetings.

On the upper square at Ephesus a portico was dedicated to Artemis, Augustus and

Tiberius, clearly indicating its imperial cultic and religious connection. Being over

two hundred meters long the structure dominated the city centre. The structure ended

in a temple to the emperor Augustus. It is a clear connection of the imperial cult to

city life.

Imperial cult connections have also been found in the gymnasiums of several cities.

The gymnasium of the Greco-Roman world served as the centres of education and

point of social interaction among the citizens of the cities of the empire. It is thus no

surprise that we find imperial cult activity there. Athletic competitions, imperial

sacrifices and banquets in honour of the emperor took place here. It is believed that

these gymnasiums had special rooms where the cult activities were preformed but we

still lack enough evidence to support these claims. However we know for certain that

the gymnasiums of Asia Minor had an important connection with the imperial cult.

The focal point for the imperial cult was surely the imperial temples that served as the

physical setting for imperial rituals. The exact functions of the temples we do not

7/27/2019 306 02

3/6

know for certain but we can be sure they preformed several functions, both religious

and secular (all though the secular functions might have had religious connection in

ancient times). The temples could perform activities such as cultic rituals, festivals,

meeting of official bodies and even trading and banking. Under the collective term

one should make a distinction between sanctuaries ortemenos and asebasteion.

Sanctuaries were usually sites with several imperial statues and an altar dedicated to

the imperial cult but normally no special buildings were constructed on the site. The

sebasteion on the other hand had special buildings (naos) on the site. We have

archaeological evidence that show some sanctuaries shared by both the imperial cult

and the more traditional gods of the empire such as the many temples to the goddess

Roma and Augustus.

For a city to receive the imperial acknowledgement and the right to construct a cult

building was a great honour. The construction of cult buildings would usually go hand

in hand with a request of privileges or in the hope of receiving privileges for the show

of loyalty. The many cult buildings, such as the Sebasteion of Roma and Augustus at

Pargamum and the temple of Augustus in Ephesus clearly shows the gratitude the

people felt towards the first emperor for the Augustan peace or thepax Romana he

ushered in during his reign.

The city of Sardis had a major temple dedicated to the imperial cult. Probably in

honour of Vespasion. The temple was built in a traditional Hellenistic style which is

strange for a period where all architecture reflected new innovative architectural

techniques. It may be assumed that the temple might have been constructed in the

traditional fashion to give the imperial cult the authority of the divine. Domitians

7/27/2019 306 02

4/6

temple at Ephesus is also constructed in the conservative manner of the traditional

temples and to present him to the subjects in more familiar terms.

We find many magnificent buildings dedicated to the imperial cult in Asia Minor

during the 1st century. The reason for this might be the fact that Asia Minor flourished

under the reign of the Flavians.

Another important aspect of the promotion of the imperial cult was the relieves on

temples and altars. In these relieves we find several images depicting the empires

military power through the image of the emperor dressed in armour and other military

images. The propaganda behind these images is clear. The military power of the

empire is legitimised by religion.

The imperial cult also made its way into the realm of the arts. Imperial statues

dominated many street corners and other sites. At Rome we find a statue of the

emperor Domitian that was constructed out of costly material such as gold and silver.

The use of such costly material in the Greco-Roman world represented divinity.

Another statue of Domintian at Ephesus stood over 8 meters tall. The over seized

statues were again a symbol of divinity. Some statues of the emperor portray him as a

priest of his own cult while others portray him as a god or with attributes of gods such

as a lightning bolt or naked as in the more tradition Greek image of the gods. This

dual image of the emperor shows the complexity of the imperial cult. It was believed

that statues were embodiments of power such as mediums of the divine. These statues

represented the emperor with divine power and that he was more than human. This

again helped to justified the imperial cult.

7/27/2019 306 02

5/6

During religious processions an image of the emperor was carried at the head of the

procession. In the imperial mysteries the worshippers would gaze at an image of the

emperor connecting yet again the divine with the emperor.

The imperial cult was also connected with the economy of the empire. Many of the

imperial temples served as banking and trading sites. Hundreds of coins have been

found with images of the imperial cult on it. At Pergamum coins have been found

depicting the sacrifice of a bull in front of an imperial temple. Some coins had the

image of emperors portrayed as gods or receiving divine blessings from the gods.

Much of our information concerning the imperial cult is related to coins found on

archaeological sites. Thanks to numismatic evidence we can say that the temple of

Roma and Augustus was the provincial centre of the imperial cult. The image of the

imperial cult on coins served as propaganda. Passing through the hands of all the

citizens of the empire day by day, they are confronted with the image and reminded

who provides the economy of the empire and who was responsible for there

remuneration.

We can conclude that the citizens of the Roman Empire were constantly confronted

with the emperor cult day by day. Though architecture; the massive temples and

altars; through the art such as statues dominating public scenes and the daily use of

money, the citizens were bombarded with images of the imperial cult. The imperial

cult served as a constant reminder who held the military and economic and diplomatic

power.

7/27/2019 306 02

6/6

The well-being of the state and its people were linked with the emperor who ruled

through divine grace. The emperor served as the embodiment of the divine and thus

became the visual authority to those he ruled over.