The Cult of the Roman Emperor before and after 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.

Keywords

• Holy Roman Empire
• Roman emperors
• Roman religion
• Hellenistic religions
• Christianity
• Church history