Altman - Ruler Cult in Seneca

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Ruler Cult in Seneca

Author(s): Marion Altman

Source: Classical Philology, Vol. 33, No. 2, (Apr., 1938), pp. 198-204

Published by: The University of Chicago Press

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/263979

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RULER CULT IN SENECA

MARION ALTMAN

N SENECA'S works there is a considerable amount of material

from which it is possible to learn his true feelings about the ruler

cult. Many times he is inconsistent; but when the passages are

carefully studied,it is

quiteevident what his

purposewas in

usingcharacteristic words and phrases.We have, indeed, evidence enough that he was thoroughly familiar

with the customs of his day in regard to emperor-worship. Two pas-

sages clearly indicate his familiarity with divine honors paid heroes,whose statues were erected and made objects of worship. He tells us

that "the people erected statues in every street to Marius, whom they

worshiped with frankincense and wine."l Marius was hailed as third

founder of Rome, which entitled him to such honor; and, as MissTaylor suggests, there is the possibility that his genius was wor-

shiped.2Seneca also mentions that Scipio was granted the honor of having

his statue placed beside that of Jupiter; but because he scorned honors

that rivaled those of the gods, he did not allow his statue to be set in

the Capitol.3In another passage an example of proskynesisis found. Seneca tells

the story of a senator, Pompeius Pennus, who, after he had been re-leased by Gaius Caesar, prostrated himself before the emperor justas the conquered prostrate themselves before the conquerors.Caligula,in turn, extended his left foot to be kissed. Seneca denies the fact he

merely wanted to display his golden slippers studded with pearls, and

says that "the man born for the purpose of changing manners of a free

state into servitude found a way of thrusting liberty down even lower

than the knees."41

De ira iii. 18. 1. 2 Divinity of the Roman Emperor, p. 49.3 De brevitate vitae xvii. 6. For a more detailed study see Nock, "2vvvaos Oeos,"

Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, XLI (1930), 1-62.

4 De beneficiis ii. 12. 1-2. Cf. Scott, "Dio Chrysostom and Juventius Celsus,"

Class. Phil., XXIX (1934), 66, and J. Horst, Proskynein (Giitersloh, 1932).

[CLASSICALHLOLOGY,XXIII, April,1938] 198




Caligula is again mentioned in connection with the consecration of

his sister Drusilla. Seneca says, "He was never quite sure whether he

wished his sister to be lamented or worshiped, and during the whole

time he was erecting temples and shrines to her, he would inflict most

cruel punishment upon those who had not shown sufficient sorrow."5

He relates this story about Caligula and his behavior after his sister's

death with utmost scorn.

There is an example of laesa maiestasin Seneca's works. It concerns

a praetorian, Paulus, who, while dining on a festive occasion, was

wearing a ring with aconspicuous

stone on which theportrait

of

Tiberius was engraved in relief. Maro, "a notorious informer of that

time," set a plot for him that the emperor's portrait come in contact

with something foul and thereby cause him to be guilty of laesa

maiestas. Fortunately, the praetorian's faithful slave had drawn the

ring off and put it on his own hand, to save his master from being

guilty of the offense.6 To some it was indeed a serious crime to befoul

anything bearing the emperor's image.7The satire on the deification of the

emperorClaudius8affordsa hint

of Seneca's true feeling about emperor-worship. While he has pre-sented a very humorous representation of what happened in heaven,he has not failed to inject his own views, which are apparent in the

controversy among the gods. The first to give his opinion as to wheth-

er Claudius should be permitted to enter their number is Jupiter.

"Once," he said, "it was a great thing to be made a god; now you have

made it a farce. Therefore, that you may not think I am speaking

against one person instead of the general custom, I move that fromthis day no one of those who eat the fruits of the earth be made a

5De consolatione ad Polybium xvii. 5.

6 De beneficiis iii. 26. 1-2. Cf. Rogers, Criminal Trials and Criminal Legislation un-der Tiberius (1935), p. 272.

7 See Scott, Imperial Cult under the Flavians, chap. ix, and Rogers, op. cit., pp. 58 ff.

8 There has been much controversy concerning the title, which, I believe, Duffsettles convincingly. The best manuscript has: "Divi Claudii incipit Apotheosis AnneiSenece per satiram," while Dio Cassius tells us that Seneca wrote a work called Apocolo-

cyntosis.Duff

says,"The MS.

titleis

tautological, as it stands, for one does not deify adeified emperor; all, however, is intelligible if it is, as Biicheler guessed, a contaminationof an original superscription 'Divi Claudii Apocolocyntosis' with a gloss, 'Apotheosisper satiram,' to explain the parody implicit in the rare word" (Literary History of Romein the Silver Age [1927], p. 242).

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MARION ALTMAN

god." The opposing view is given by Diespiter, whose only argumentfor making Claudius a god is that he is akin to the deified Augustus

and Augusta. It is finally settled by Augustus, who says that no one

will believe in the gods if they make such a man a god.9

With this evidence I am inclined to think that Seneca was opposed

to the deification of any person who lacked the qualities of a Stoic

sage. In no place does he condemn deification as such; in fact, it is

very evident that he approved of the apotheosis of Augustus, for he

says, "We believe him to be a god and not because we were bidden."'?

Augustus was his idea of the perfect prince with all the qualities of a

Stoic sage. Therefore, it seems that his satire was meant to be an

attack not on the state religion but on the deification of unworthy

emperors. The younger Pliny, in accord with his uncle,11was of the

same opinion in regard to apotheosis for good rulers, for he says to

Trajan, "How much more worthy of heaven will you sometime be,

since you have added so many services to those on account of which

we make him [Titus] a god!"12 In contrast, as Scott points out, he

does notapprove

the motives of former emperors who deified their

predecessors;13or example, Pliny says, "Tiberius deified Augustus in

order to introduce the offense of maiestas; Nero did the same for

Claudius, to laugh at him; Titus consecrated Vespasian, Domitian

Titus, the former that he might seem to be the son of a god, the latter

that he might seem to be the brother of a god.'14

Just eight years earlier Seneca had overloaded his Consolatio ad

Polybium with unlimited flattery of the emperor. In consoling Polyb-

ius on the death of abrother,

he made use of an excellentopportunityto flatter the emperor and thereby obtain his recall from exile. In one

place he says:

Nothing s sacredand inviolable o Fortune,whohas dared o leadfunerals

fromthe householdswhenceshewas to seekgods-yet if she hasnot resolved

utterlyto destroy he humanrace,if she still lookswith favoron the nameof

Roman,maywe by publicvows andprayersobtainfromher this one conces-

9Apocolocyntosis9.

10De clementia . 10. 3. Thismay

also be considered flattery paid Nero, who enjoyed

being called a descendant of Augustus.

1 Cf. Pliny HN ii. 16 and 18. 12 Paneg. 35. 4.

13 "The Plinys on Emperor Worship," TAPA, LXIII (1932), 163 f.

14Paneg. 11. 1.

200



MARION ALTMAN

snatched away, for it is the reason in the soul brought to perfection.23

Seneca says:

It is no wonder hat man goes to the gods. God comes into men. Divine

seedsare scattered hroughoutourmortalbodies,andif a goodhusbandmanreceives hem,they springupin the likenessof their sourceandequalto thosefromwhomthey came.24

Therefore,as a person s likely to admirea beautifulface and be struck

almost dumbby its beauty, so should we admire and even worshipa goodman's soul .... not in slaughtering fattened bulls or in hanging up offeringsof goldor silver,or pouringcoins into a templetreasury,but in a will that is

reverentandupright.25

In two passages Seneca is willing to say that a wise man is superior

to the gods. He admits that "the gods will live longer, but a wise

man's life spreads out to him over as large a surface as does all

eternity to a god. There is one point in which the sage has an ad-

vantage over the god: a god is freed from terrors by the bounty of

nature, the wise man by his own bounty."26Another advantage is

that, while the wise man surveys and scorns all the possessions of

others ascalmly

as doesJupiter,

he issuperior because,

while Jupiter

is unable to make use of them, the wise man does not wish to do so.27

Seneca's treatment of Nero appears to be flattery, but in most re-

spects it seems to be dictated by a fervent desire that the young ruler

might merit such blanditiae. The emperor was only eighteen and had

ruled slightly more than a year when his tutor addressed the De

clementiato him. The fact that Nero was actually following the dic-

tates of his Stoic teacher doubtless lent a degree of sincerity to his

words:This pronouncement,Caesar,you may boldly make, that whateverhas

passedinto your trust and guardianships still kept safe, that throughyouthe state suffersno loss,eitherfrom violenceor fraud. It is the rarestpraise,hithertodeniedto all other princes,that you have coveted for yourself-innocenceof wrong.Nor has the effortbeenin vain,nor has the unparalleled

goodnessof yoursfoundmen ungratefulor grudging n their appraisement.Thanksarerendered; o humanbeinghas ever beenso dearto anotheras youare to the people of Rome, whose great and lasting blessing you are.28

In the Apocolocyntosishe has Lachesis, the disposer of lots, bestowmany years on Nero29 n the same way he had besought the gods for a

23 Ibid. xli, 8. 25Ibid. cxv. 4 f. 27 Ibid. lxxiii. 14.

24 Ibid. lxxiii. 16. 26 Ibid. liii. 11. 28 i. 1. 5. 29 Apocol. 4.

202




long life for Claudius.30 He doubtless was more sincere when he wished

Nero a long life, because he had hope of Nero's carrying out the Stoic

doctrines he had instilled in him.

While the flattery in the De clementiais quite evident, it was prob-

ably not Seneca's purpose in writing the essay. He has, no doubt,wished to give the young ruler further instructions in managing the

affairs of the state. He reminds Nero:

You are the soul of the state and the state your body.31 .... A floodof

light surroundsyou; toward it everyoneturns his eyes. Do you think youcomeforth?You reallyrise.32You cannotspeakbut that all the nationsof

the earth hearyourvoice. You cannot be angrywithoutcausingeverythingto tremble.33

And again:

Theemperors thebondbywhichthe commonwealths united,the breathof life whichthesemanythousandsdraw,whoin theirownstrengthwouldbe

only a burdento themselvesand the prey of othersif the greatmind of the

empire should be withdrawn.It is, therefore,not strangethat kings and

princesand guardiansare held more dear even than those bound to us byprivateties.34

In another passage Seneca explains to Nero what the title pater

patriae means and denies that it is flattery. He says:No one resorts to the exaction of punishmentuntil he has exhaustedall

means of correction.This is the duty of a father,and it is alsothe duty of a

princewhomnot in emptyflatterywe havebeen led to call the "fatherof his

country."Forotherdesignations ave beengrantedmerelyby way of honor.Some we have styled "the great,"35 thefortunate,"36Augustus,"37nd wehaveheapeduponpretentiousgreatnessall possible itles as a tribute to such

men;but to the fatherof hiscountrywehavegiventhe name n order hat hemayknowhehas been ntrustedwith a father'spower,whichis the most for-bearing n its carefor the interestsof his childrenandwhichsubordinates isowninterests to theirs.38

30De consolationead Polybium xii. 3-5.31I. v. 33De clementia i. 8. 5.

32The two verbs are prodeoand orior. 34Ibid. 4. 1 and 3.

35Magnus: for a discussion of this title see Sauter's Der rimische Kaiserkult beiMartial und Statius.

36Felix: see Carcopino's Sylla (1931), p. 107.37Augustus: see Scott's "Tiberius' Refusal of the Title 'Augustus,'" Class. Phil.,

XXVII (1932), 46 ff., and Hirst's "Significance of Augustus as Applied to Hercules,"AJP, XLVII (1926), 347-57.

38De clementia i. 14. 1-2. Also cf. Sauter, op. cit., p. 29.

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MARION ALTMAN

Seneca stresses the fact that to be a good ruler is to be second onlyto the gods. This, no doubt, is his true feeling about the emperor who

has the qualities of a Stoic sage which he urges Nero to acquire. He

tells the young prince that the state gazes on its ruler as men would

gaze upon the immortal gods-with veneration and worship. "But

tell me," he goes on, "he who bears himself in a godlike manner, who

is beneficent and generous and uses his power for the better end, does

he not hold a place second only to the gods?"39It is quite evident

that he does not think that merely being the ruler gives one divinityeven though the power to give and to take away life is a gift of the

gods.40

In addition to the passages concerning Nero which may be taken

as pure flattery, there is evidence that Seneca did believe the emperorhad supernatural power over the fortunes of others. In the De con-

solationead Marciam he says:

Whyshould recall o you the bereavements f the Caesars,whom fortuneseemsto me at timesdeliberately o outrage n orderthat they may benefitthe humanraceby showing hat not eventhey who are saidto be bornfrom

godsand to be destinedto give birth to godscan have the samepowerovertheirown fortunes hat they haveoverthe fortunesof others.41

A consideration of all the passages which have characteristic words

and phrases of emperor-worshipleads me to the conclusion that the

Stoic philosopher, although inconsistent in his attitude toward deifi-

cation, had a very definite principle on which he based his judgmentof a divine ruler. As has been pointed out, the emperorwas not divine

because of his position but had, as did all men, an opportunity to

become godlike through virtue. The 06eosavirpwas the man who be-

lieved and practiced the Stoic doctrine.42

GRADUATE SCHOOL

WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

39De clementia i. 19. 8.

40Ibid. 21. 2. Cf. ibid. 26. 5. "Haec divina potentia est gregatim ac publice servare."

41On descent from the gods cf. Silius Italicus Punica iii. 625.

42I am indebted to Professor K. Scott and to Professor R. S. Rogers for helpful sug-

gestions and constructive criticism.

204

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