The Imperial Cult under the Flavians

Abstract

PREFACE Since the publication of Abbe Beurlier's Le Culte Imperial in 1891 our knowledge of the ruler cult has been increased by the discovery of new evidence and by the investigations of numerous scholars. In recent years a notable contribution was made by Taylor's The Divinity of the Roman Emperor, which shows the beginnings of the Roman Imperial Cult. Miss Taylor's book, however, does not extend in scope beyond Augustus. It has been the purpose of this study to give a picture of the development of the imperial cult at a later period and under an entire dynasty, that of the Flavians. It appears that much of the cult of the Flavian family was the result of shameless flattery or was dictated by political motives. This worship of the Flavians bas, however, left a deep impress upon the literature ·and art of the day, while many of its forms hark back to beliefs and conceptions centuries old. An understanding of the history of the Flavian period is impossible without some regard for the imperial cult, and it is my hope that this book will be of service to the more general historian and student of literature and art as well as to the specialist in Roman religion. ……..