Nero’s Divine Stepfather and the Flavian Regime
Affiliation:
1. University of Minnesota
Abstract
This chapter considers the issue of continuity and rupture between Neronian
and Flavian policies in light of Vespasian’s efforts to revive official
cult honours for the deified Claudius. Re-examination of the evidence
for the status of Divus Claudius during the reign of Nero suggests that
the most salient feature of Claudius’ divinity was the glory it conferred
upon his successor’s patriline. Accounts that stress the Flavians’ rejection
of Neronian precedents thus fail to offer adequate justification for the
renewed emphasis that Claudius’ cult received under Vespasian. A better
explanation can be found in the ideological importance of the imperial
cult itself, as the new dynasty sought to build on the example of Divus
Claudius as a precedent for its own claims to charismatic authority.
Publisher
Amsterdam University Press