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The Principate

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The Principate CHAPTER THREE THE PRINCIPATE 1) Introduction The utter destruction of Carthage and Corinth in 146 BCE left no doubt that Rome exercised hegemony over the Mediterranean world. Although the Roman polis system could not efficiently handle the social, economic, ideologicaP, and cultural changes which accompa­ nied the territorial acquisitions, leading Romans could not see any reason to change the political system that brought them such grandeur. This conclusion reveals an understanding of the world as a row of singular causes and effects; and it was within this range the Romans sought solutions for their failing political system. Rome's ascent to military supremacy over the Mediterranean world upset its domestic economic and social structure, while Hellenistic influence transformed Roman traditional values. The various mores maiorum which were believed to be the cause for Rome's greatness, became largely fictional ideals existing only in rhetoric and literature. Conscious of the difference between the Hellenistic and the Roman literary heritage, Roman writers were able to produce, especially after the Social War, literature that reflected this new condition. They had successfully overcome what still plagued the political sphere; they had found new ways of expressing their cultural identity by recognizing the difference between the Hellenistic and Roman heritage2. Augustus resolved the conflict between the actual political condition and the inherited political and moral model. His genius was that he created the basis of a new political system, the Principate, by reviving the traditional Republican value system, by renewing the ancestral cults, and by revitalizing the Republic's political organiza­ tion. The use of familiar terminology lessened public anxiety and further hindered social disorder. Elements proven to be the cause for Rome's greatness gave points of reference and direction. This, on the 1 Ideology, in this case, includes besides the mos maiorum also the conceptual­ ization of the world or Weltanschauung. 2 R. MacMullen, "Hellenizing the Romans," Historia 40 (1991), 419-38. 72 CHAPTER THREE other hand, guaranteed social stability. Thus, the Roman heritage had not only been successfully integrated into a new order, it was also the most essential component in its creation. This new political and idealogical landscape required its own imagery and signs3• Its purpose was the systematic propagation of the notion of Augustus as the central social, political, and religious force of the state. This, of course, set him apart from all the other inhabitants of the empire. The process of detaching the figure 'Octavian' from the human sphere began with the deification of C. Julius Caesar. The senatorial decree to name him Augustus, the acquisition of the position of pontifex maximus, and the honorific title pater patriae sealed this metamorphosis. Imperial worship, the veneration of the emperor's genius in connection with the goddess Roma, was aimed at socially integrating and engaging affluent freedmen. While more covert, it was nothing more than an aspect of imperial propaganda. Its goal was the advancement of the emperor as the single most important force in the state4 • The internal dynamic of the emperor as an extraordinary human being, reflected in the official worship and his status as a diui filius 5, enabled each subsequent emperor to place himself with greater facility than his predecessor in the intermediate sphere between humans and gods. Ultimately, he was solely in the divine domain, and could ask for the appropriate treatment. With every successive Roman emperor the Egyptian model became more pertinent and prepared the ground for a successful integration of Isis and Sarapis into the Roman pantheon. Tiberi us' sucession proved that the Principate could outlast its creator. The second princeps tried in the beginning of his rule to get 3 Zanker (1988). 4 E. Komemann, "Zur Geschichte der antiken Herrscherkulte," Klio 1 (1901), 51-146, S.R.F. Price Rituals and Power: the Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor (Cambridge, 1983), and D. Fishwick The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire, EPRO 108, vol. 1.1 and 1.2 (Leiden, 1987) and vol. 2.1 (Leiden, 1991). 5 His immediate predecessor did not need to be a diuus. M. Hammond The Antonine Monarchy (Rome, 1959), 203-4: "From the beginning of the empire( ... ) the emperor had two distinct religious elements in his position. One was the control of the state religion through holding the office of pontifex maximus and being a member of other religious colleges( ... ). The other was the official recognition that he was, if not actually divine, at least of divine descent and possessed superhuman qualities." Also L. Ross Taylor The Divinity of The Roman Emperor (Middletown, 1931). .
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