고려대학교

초록/요약

In the Roman history, Julius Caesar was the first person who was deified in his lifetime by an official form of honours. Considering a generic character of the ruler cult, Caesar's deification is not surprising. It is because he became the foremost person violating the principle of the Roman Republic. Nevertheless, his power alone does not explain all his apotheosis. In this article, therefore, I have tried to investigate into where the idea of Caesar's deification was derived from and how that idea was embodied in his apotheosis. When Caesar met the Greek and Hellenistic world, a deification of the living rulers was already universalized in that place. Although an official deification of a living person did not appear in Rome, of course, it was only a matter of time before such a process was made. It was Julius Caesar who concluded the transformation into a deification of a living person in the Roman history. Caesar could also have carried out the creative process for synthesizing and developing the Greek and Roman traditions. The divine honours which were given to Caesar through the three stages could verify that a new synthesis was created in the deification of Caesar. However, a new synthesis of Caesar did not settle as a permanent institution owing to his sudden death. It threw the politics of the Roman Republic into turmoil where Caesar's successors went into the different actions. Antony objected to the deification of Caesar after his death. Octavian who declared the revival of the Republic could not also request a divination of the ruler. Unlike his rival Antony, however, Octavian could legitimate and exalt as a son of God through Caesar's apotheosis. Finally, Caesar was declared as Divus Julius by the senatorial decree in 42 BC. Caesar who was deified in his lifetime was deified again after his death. And this historical process may have developed a new concept that the Roman emperor was the leader on earth who went to heaven to be a God after his death. In this sense, the deification of Julius Caesar may have been a precedent of Emperor Cult.