The Cult of the Roman Emperor before and after Christianity

Authors

• Morten Warmind

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67213

Keywords:

Holy Roman Empire, Roman emperors, Roman religion, Hellenistic religions, Christianity, Church history, Emperor worship, Cults, Ritual, Syncretism, Politics and Christianity

Abstract

This paper is concerned with a complete set of rituals and certain connected ideas, namely the Roman emperor-cult, that had survived the change of religion from Roman religion to Christianity. The rituals endure, even while their mythological basis is perishing. The emperor-cult includes the rituals and symbols which surround the Roman emperor and clearly demonstrate that he is more than an ordinary human.