Theoi Olympioi e theoi Sebastoi. Alcune considerazioni sull’associazione tra culto imperiale e culti tradizionali in Grecia

One of the most peculiar features of the cult of the Roman emperors in the Greek world was the practice of worshipping them in association with the gods of the local panthea. In addition to being very widespread, such a practice reflects in an exemplary manner the double nature, both political and religious, of the phenomenon that we call ‘imperial cult’. Through the integration of the emperors into the religious and cultural system of the poleis, this practice allowed the Greeks to depict their new ‘masters’ in a more familiar way, and at the same time involved, at least in some cases, the celebration of joint rituals.