The identification of the emperor with Helios, the Sun-god, has been total.
Caligula is the “new sun,” who is physically completely removed from the sphere of
ordinary humans and has no obligation to bother herself with the sorrows of the
humans. But because of her philanthropy she showered the “superabundance of
her divine grace” (charis) on the human beings. In this context the idea of “mercy”
or charismeans that the emperor was not obliged to do anything positive at all
for humans. It was the result of his divine benevolence (indulgentia) and originated
from his divine friendliness to the poor, plagued people (philanthropia). This
concept points to an ideological development originating in Hellenistic times,
when philanthropiawas a central virtue of a ruler. As a result of such imperial acts
of grace pouring down from heaven, ordinary people were obliged to worship the
emperor in order to ensure that this dispensation of the splendor of the emperor’s
divine immortality could be guaranteed. The whole concept tended to emphasize
the inferiority of ordinary humans face to face with the power and the exalted
status of the emperor.
The Emperor and the Population of the Empire
How did the population of the empire perceive the emperor? Certainly people regarded
him as a person endowed with extraordinary (i.e. divine) abilities and powers. That
was a definition most people could embrace without difficulty. But was the emperor
a visible god (theos epiphanes)? Here we encounter difficulties. For the western parts
of the empire where the necessary religious traditions were lacking, I am skeptical.
The eastern provinces had a completely different religious tradition in dealing with
rulers and cultic honors, and for them things are completely different. Here we find
the widespread perception that the emperor was not only endowed with special, super-
human abilities, but that he was indeed a visible god.
We have a very illuminating example of this belief from the little town of
Akraiphia in central Greece (ILS 8794 =Syll.^3 814). The inscription reports the local
reaction to a declaration of liberty for the whole of Greece that had been announced
by the emperor Nero during a visit to Greece. The local population reacted to the
act by establishing an official cult dedicated to “the liberating Zeus Nero, for all
eternity.” In this case Nero represents a special aspect of the supreme god, his
ability to free people.
Most ruler cults known from the Hellenistic kingdoms represent the religious reac-
tion of the population to positive achievements by a ruler that had already become
reality. Besides the fact that these cults were limited to a city or a nation, things in
the world that was ruled by the Roman emperors were completely different. In this
world such cults were in many cases established immediately after the beginning of
the reign. This means people reacted at a time when the new emperor had achieved
nothing at all, if we disregard the fact that he had succeeded in assuming govern-
ment, which in earlier times had justified such a cult. Therefore it is legitimate to
say that these religious honors are a public recognition of the extraordinary political
position the future emperor would have in this world.Emperors 309