Emperor Worship and Roman Religion

by Ittai Gradel

While Roman religion worshipped a number of gods, one kind in particular aroused the fury of early Christians and the wonder of the cult of Roman emperors alive or dead. Was the divinity of emperors a glue that held the Empire together? Were rulers such as Julius Caesar and Caligula simply mad to expect such worship of themselves? Or was it rather a phenomenon which has only been rendered incomprehensible by modern and monotheistic ideas of what religion is--or should be--all about?

This book presents the first study of emperor worship among the Romans themselves, both in Rome and in its heartland Italy. It argues that emperor worship was indeed perfectly in keeping with Roman religious tradition, which has been generally misunderstood by a posterity imbued with radically different notions of the relationship between humans and the divine.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Classics, Ancient, Ancient History

Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[AskHistorians]

Recommended as a substitute to Duncan Fishwick's book. It is a lot more reader-friendly in that it requires less knowledge of Roman religion and society, and uses an easier language. In return it isn't as thorough.

[Samir Firdovsioglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Timothy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book more than any other I have read explains how Roman religion worked and what Emperor worship was all about. It gives a new perspective on the challenges early Christians faced.