07-30-2007, 09:21 PM
Quote:I know only one other example of a member of the imperial family who is worshipped by private individuals (a statue of Marcus Aurelius in a late second-century tomb). I have a feeling that it is extremely rare. Thoughts about this, anyone?I think you are right to draw a distinction between emperor-worship and the private dedication that you have found, Jona.
Arthur Darby Nock, that great scholar of ancient religion, summed it up well (in a discussion about worshipping military signa):
"If the emperor was called deus, this was an honorary predication, ascribing to him a status with no more than the metaphorical and temporary equivalent of the active attributes of deity. Neither standards [i.e. signa] nor emperors were thought to hear your prayers, as were Juppiter or Aesculapius or even the little local Celtic and Germanic deities or the sacred stones of the Semitic world. The standards were symbols, not divine entities." (Harvard Theological Review 45, 1952, p. 240)
One of the few exceptions known to him is ILS 233, which is a vow undertaken and paid to a selection of deities which includes Divus Augustus. In other words, the dedicator actually believed that Augustus (and the other named deities) had heard and answered his prayer. All other examples (in his opinion) are simply paying homage out of respect.
