Coping with ancient gods, celebrating Christian emperors, proclaiming Roman eternity: rhetoric and religion in late antique Latin panegyrics

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VOLUME 20

Emperors and the Divine –

Rome and its Influence

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Published in 2016

by the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies P.O. Box 4 (Fabianinkatu 24)

FI-00014 University of Helsinki Finland

ISSN 1796-2986

ISBN 978-951-51-2024-3

COLLeGIUM: Studies across Disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Editor-in-Chief

Timo Kaartinen

Managing Editor

Maija Väätämöinen

Editorial Board

Thomas Devaney, Josephine Hoegaerts, Nora Hämäläinen, Simo Knuuttila, Klaus Laalo, Merja Polvinen, Mari Wiklund

Board of Consulting Editors

Laura Assmuth, Marghareta Carucci, Denis Casey, Douglas Davies, Charles Husband, Mika Kajava, Leena Kaunonen, Kuisma Korhonen, Dan Lloyd, Petri Luomanen, Matti Miestamo, Marianna Muravyeva, Andrew Newby, Mika Ojakangas, Tom Popkewitz, Katariina Salmela-Aro, Hanna Snellman, Koen Stapelbroek, Ian Thatcher, Kristiina Taivalkoski-Shilov, Miira Tuominen, Karen Vedel, Alan Warde

www.helsinki.fi/collegium/journal

Cover picture: Constantine. Gold multiple medallion minted in Ticinum, 313 AD. Wt. 39.79 g. Busts of Constantine with Sol Invictus. Wikimedia Commons.

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Emperors and the Divine – Rome and its Influence

Edited by Maijastina Kahlos

Introduction: Roman Emperors and the Divine: Shifts and Downshifts 1

Maijastina Kahlos

Emperors and Their Divine Honours

Rhetoric and Divine Honours: On the “Imperial Cult” in the Reigns of Augustus and Constantine 10

William van Andringa

Emperor Meets Gods: Divine Discourse in Greek Papyri from Roman Egypt 22

Janneke de Jong

Gods and Emperors at Aigeai in Cicilia 56

Mika Kajava

Emperors – Legitimation and Criticism

Gods of Cultivation and Food Supply in the Imperial Iconography of Septimius Severus 64

Jussi Rantala

Tertullian’s Criticism of the Emperors’ Cult in the Apologeticum 84

Tobias Georges

Emperors and Christians – Identity Formation

“What Harm Is There for You to Say Caesar Is Lord?” Emperors and the Imperial

Cult in Early Christian Stories of Martyrdom 96

Outi Lehtipuu

The Emperor’s New Images – How to Honour the Emperor in the Christian Empire? 119

Maijastina Kahlos

Imperial Authority and Divine Knowledge

Pontifex Maximus: from Augustus to Gratian – and Beyond 139

Alan Cameron

Ordering Divine Knowledge in Late Roman Legal Discourse 160

Caroline Humfress

Emperors – Praise and Mockery

Coping with Ancient Gods, Celebrating Christian Emperors, Proclaiming Roman Eternity:

Rhetoric and Religion in Late Antique Latin Panegyrics 177

Chiara O. Tommasi Moreschini

Satirical Apotheosis in Seneca and Beyond 210

Sari Kivistö

List of Contributors 231