| But Augustus's desire for divinity wasn't satisfied by a title alone. He spent the next four decades taking steps which gradually tied Roman religion not just to the city of Rome, but to a single person - the Emperor. And he did it through a vigorous programme of rebuilding and religious renewal. He reinstated ancient religious festivals, rebuilt crumbling temples, filled vacant priesthoods. He claimed he was restoring Rome's ancient past to please the gods. What he was really doing was making Rome his own. Augustus subtly co-opted new powers, taking on the mantle of all the major priesthoods in Rome, culminating in 12 BC, when he declared himself Pontifex Maximus. |
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