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This thesis examines the establishment and development of the worship of the emperor and his family members in the Latin West, tracing specifically the cult of those who were officially deified at Rome and received the title of divus or diva. It seeks to answer three questions: 1. Does uniformity of cult practices and priestly titles increase or decrease over time 2. What prompted change in cult practice (reflected in priestly titles) and how was this change managed? 3. What factors influenced the choices made by communities throughout the Latin West concerning these cults? It addresses these questions through a number of specific case studies. It begins with a study of how the practice of deification (consecratio) was established and how it developed within the city of Rome. It then examines priestly titles associated with the cult of the divi/divae in three groups of provinces: the Gauls, the Spains, and the provinces of North Africa. Finally, it discusses the spread of the worship of the divi/divae throughout the empire by examining the Augustales (and other variations on this title) and the priests responsible for overseeing cult to individual divi/divae. The evidence discussed is primarily epigraphical but is supplemented with numismatic, archaeological and literary evidence where it is available. This thesis addresses a number of hypotheses concerning Rome’s role in the development of cult in the Latin West, principally, that cult was imposed on communities in the provinces by the centre, that the establishment of cult was based on a series of models and adopted in similar ways throughout the provinces, and that the coloniae were responsible for bringing Roman culture and religion to the peregrine communities. It argues that even though some provincial cults were established through direct intervention from members of the imperial family, it was still up to the communities themselves to oversee cult practice and finance the cult. In the case of civic cult, there is little to no evidence of involvement from the centre. Civic cult was established by local initiative and did not originate in the coloniae and spread to other communities. Instead, it tended to arise in peregrine communities (and municipia) from the earliest development of this cult (as well as some coloniae) as individual communities sought to forge a connection with the imperial family and find their place within, and in connection to, the Roman Empire.

Nach der Schlacht von Actium am 2. September 31 v. Chr. war alles anders. Mit seinem Aufstieg zum unumstrittenen Alleinherrscher des Imperium Romanum wurde Augustus in den östlichen Reichsteilen kultisch verehrt. In Griechenland waren aus der hellenistischen Tradition heraus die Bedingungen für eine göttergleiche Ehrung des Herrschers gut bereitet. Das Anliegen dieser Studie ist es zu untersuchen, wie sich der Kult in den römischen Provinzen Griechenlands entwickeln und festigen konnte. Dabei werden zunächst Vorläufer kultischer Ehrungen römischer Staatsmänner in republikanischer Zeit betrachtet. Spannend ist dann in frühaugusteischer Zeit vor allem der bauliche Übergang, oftmals wurde der neue Kult des Kaisers in bereits bestehende Heiligtümer integriert. Gegenstand der Untersuchung sind nicht nur die Kaiser selbst, sondern auch ihre Familienmitglieder. Für die Betrachtungen werden Kultorte, Tempel und Altäre herangezogen. Kaiserfeste und ihre Ausrichtung spielen eine Rolle, ebenso das Amt der kaiserlichen Priester und Priesterinnen sowie Stifter und Stifterinnen. Unter kultur- und religionsgeschichtlichen Aspekten werden Fragen nach den Formen des Kaiserkultes aufgeworfen: Wie wurde dieser formal dargestellt und in welche städtischen und architektonischen Kontexte wurde der Kult eingebunden? Fragen nach der Praxis kultischer Verehrung sollen im Hintergrund stehen, wenn ausgewählte Zeugnisse des Kaiserkults von iulisch-claudischer bis in flavische Zeit betrachtet werden. Dabei bildet Athen einen hervorragenden Ausgangspunkt für einen provinzübergreifenden Vergleich, der anhand selektiver Beispiele von lokalen Kaiserkultstätten in den Provinzen Achaia, Epirus und Macedonia bereichert wird. Dabei werden Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in den genannten Regionen herausgestellt, die das Phänomen Kaiserkult beleuchten. / Early Roman imperial cult in the provinces of Achaia, Epirus and Macedonia After Actium everything changed. With his rise to the sole ruler of the Imperium Romanum, Augustus began to be worshiped in the eastern Empire. Because of its Hellenic tradition Greece had been well prepared for emperor worship. The aim of this study is to investigate how emperor worship came to be established in the Roman provinces of Greece. It first considers the precursors of worshipping Roman statesmen in the Republican period. In the following early Augustan period, there is a fascinating architectural transformation in which the new cult for the emperor was often integrated into preexisting sanctuaries. The focus of this investigation is not only the emperor himself, but also his family members. It is thus necessary to consider cult sites, sanctuaries and altars. Imperial festivals also play a role, as do imperial priests and benefactors. Questions are raised about the forms of emperor worship within their cultural and religious contexts: how was imperial cult integrated into and physically represented in its urban and architectural spaces? The actual practices of cultic worship constitute the necessary background for interpreting the evidence of Julio-Claudian and Flavian emperor worship. Athens is thus an excellent starting point for a comparison between provinces, based on case studies of imperial cult sites in the provinces of Achaia, Epirus and Macedonia. By virtue of these comparisons, similarities and differences across the regions come to the fore and ultimately help illuminate the phenomenon of emperor worship.