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VI. AUGUSTAN GODS the Term "Gods" Applies in the First Instance

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VI. AUGUSTAN GODS the Term VI. AUGUSTAN GODS The term "Gods" applies in the first instance to the major deities of the Olympian circle that are styled' Augustan' on inscriptions; but with the exten­ sion of the fashion to Celtic and other regions of the empire it later includes Greek, Oriental, and astrological divinities together with an endless prolifera­ tion of local gods and godlings. Not included under the normal definition of Augustan Gods are Augustan Blessings and Virtues even though these too are certainly minor deities.' A god could be made Augustan in either of two ways: by attaching the genitive AugustilAugustorum or by applying the epithet Augustus/Augusta. That any subtle distinction was intended seems most unlikely when both forms are found with a particular deity: for example: Her­ culi Augusti (elL 3,3305); Herculi Augusto (ibid. 3390).2 The average Roman or provincial who set up an inscription was neither a semanticist nor a theologian, nor for that matter were the officials responsible for the legends on coins. Still, the use of the genitive clearly referred the deity to the emperor more directly, less equivocably, 3 and it may well be for that reason that the form was considered too outspoken or extravagant for Roman tastes. At all events what the bulk of the evidence we have suggests is that the adjectival usage was the preferred form with major deities. 4 The significance of the adjective Augustus/a has given rise to a good deal of discussion. In an occasional case, preserved under the Republic, the word seems to mean nothing more than 'august' or 'sacrosanct', 5 but in most cases the reference must be the reigning emperor;6 to label a deity' Augustan', that is, stamps that deity as profoundly associated with the emperor. Wissowa's interpretation was that to add Augustus to Hercules, for example, implied that the god was paid cult in the same way as the devout emperor worshipped I See "Augustan Blessings & Virtues", below, pp. 455ff. , For other examples of the genitive see elL 13, 1728: deo Apollini Augusti; elL 3, 10914: Spincibus Augg.; elL 3, 10975: Fortun(a)e Mercurio Silvana Augg.; perhaps also elL 12,2595; elL 3, 5531: see below, note 19. The adjectival form is commonplace. J So Otto in RE 7 (1910) 36 s.v. Fortuna. 4 ThLL 2, 1393-1402 s.v. Augustus (dil). The frequent use of abbreviations makes it often impossible to tell what was originally intended. For the genitival use with abstractions see "Augustan Blessings & Virtues", below, pp. 462-465. , Cf. [A]ug(ustis) Laribus: Betriacum, 59 B.C. (elL 5, 4087 = Degrassi, ILLRP 200). 6 Latte, RRG 324, n. 2. On the use of the name Augustus as an adjective see W. Schulze, Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen', Berlin 1966, 51Of.; J. Wackernagel, Vorlesungen fiber Syntax', Basel, 1957, 60f., 71; A. D. Nock, "Studies in the Graeco-Roman beliefs of the Empire", JHS 45 (1925), 84-101 at 92, n. 73 (= A.D. Nock led. Z. Stewart] Essays on Religion and the Ancient Wor/d, Oxford, 1972,42, n. 73), notes that the Greek equivalent cre~Q(cr't6, seems rarely to be used with deities other than abstractions. AUGUSTAN GODS 447 Hercules in his Hauskult.' Some justification for this view might be found in such formulations as Herculi domus Augusti sacrum ... (elL 6, 30901), yet even if this explanation could be partly right in origin,8 it is hardly appropriate to barbarous local divinities similarly termed' Augustan' . 9 In these cases it is impossible to believe that local dedicants thought they were following the cult paid their own pet deity by the emperor in Rome. As a rule, the more remote or outlandish a divinity, the less likelihood there is that those who set up the dedication had any real understanding of the purpose or implication of the Augustan qualification. By far the most satisfactory theory is that to apply the qualification Augustus/a is a continuation of a custom that already had a long history at Rome-one for which there is a good deal of earlier precedent. Radke, now followed by Fears, has shown that a god's epithet was a necessary means of defining the sphere of his or her peculiar powers: for example, Lucina, Sospita or Matuta applied to Juno specify the characteristic activity of the goddess. lo In other cases a suffix drawn from the name of another deity creates a link between their individual spheres-Ianus Quirinus or QUirini, for example. Of particular interest are examples where a family name was attached to that of some god or goddess: Ianus Curiatius or Lares Hostilii.11 The implication of the gentile adjective was that the deity operates within the sphere of the family, which consequently enjoys the special protection or assistance of its patron deity; hence the occasional use of such epithets as meus, suus, domesticus indicating a privileged association with the deity. So 7 RuKR' 85. Cf. M. P. Charlesworth, "Pietas and Victoria: the Emperor and the Citizen", JRS 33 (1943) 1-10 at 8. 8 But see Nock's reservations (above, note 6) ibid. , W. M. Green, "Notes on the Augustan Deities", CJ23 (1927-28) 86-93 at 87. For examples see ThLL (above, note 4) I.e. 10 G. Radke, Die Gatter Altitaliens' (Fontes et Commentationes, Schriftenreihe des Instituts fur Epigraphik an der Universitat Munster 3), Munster, 1979, 10-12,24-38; Cf. J. R. Fears, "The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology", ANR W 2, 17, 2 (1981) 827-948 at 886-889, cf. 837ff. with bib!. II W. F. Otto, "Romische 'Sondergotter''', RhM 64 (1909), 449-468; A. von Blumenthal, "Zur romischen Religion der archaischen Zeit II", RhM90 (1941), 310-334 at 317-322. For fur­ ther examples see ILS, Index viii; Nock (above, note 6) 91, n. 61 with refs. (= Essays 41, n. 61); cf. id., "Notes on Ruler Cult, I-IV", JHS 48 (1928), 21-43 at 41f. (= Essays 156f.), noting a possible Hellenistic parallel, Zeus Seleukeios; cf. "Divus Iulius", above, Vo!. I, I, p. 66, note 80; Fears "Virtues" (above, note 10) 889, n. 290 with refs. So also perhaps Zeus Philippios, Apollon Pasparios, Aphrodite Stratonikis. Chr. Habicht, Gottmensehentum und Grieehisehe Sttidte' (Zetemata 14), Munich, 1970, 14, n. 2, takes the personal epithet to imply hypostasis rather than protection; cf. 260, n. 3; id., "Die augusteische Zeit und das erste Jahrhundert nach Christi Geburt" in den Boer (ed.), Le Culte 41-99 at 52, n. 1. But see E. A. Fredricksmeyer, "Divine Honors for Philip II", TAPA 109 (1979), 51f; E. Badian, "The Deification of Alexander the Great" in Ancient Maeedonian Studies in Honor of Charles F. Edson (Pub!. Inst. Balkan Studies 158), Thessaloniki, 1982, 40f. Etienne, Culte imperial 344, nn. 4 f. notes Nock's observa­ tion that a divinity could likewise be appropriated by military and religious associations, towns and countries. .
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