1 Earliest Rome

(iv) Denarius of Octavian, before 31 B.C.
9.2 Emperor worship
(obv.) Victoria (rev.) Octavian in the guise of
Neptune, symbols of power in his
hands, loot on the globe. CAESAR
D1VI F(ILIUS)
9.2c Claudius as god
Jokes often feature in the comments made by the Romans - even by emperors
themselves — about the deification of rulers. (Vespasian's last words were supposed
to have been: 'Oh my goodness, I think I am becoming a god.') The
most famous and extended of these jokes to survive is a satire on the deification
of Claudius, the next ruler to be deified after Caesar and Augustus and a man
whose personal eccentricities made him a particularly unlikely god. It is probable,
though not certain, that it was written by Seneca, the famous essayist,
philosopher, dramatist and adviser to Nero, Claudius' successor. If so, the
satire comes from a man close to the heart of the regime that had honoured the
dead Claudius with divine status.
The scene is set on Mount Olympus, where the old gods debate the new
arrival. The procedure parodies that of the senate in Rome, where the decision
to deify was made. The gods turn out to be divided on the issue, but Claudius'
claim is in the end rejected on the advice of divus Augustus, who lists Claudius'
crimes.
See further: Griffin (1976) 129-33*; Eden (1984); Braund (1993); Relihan
(1993) 75-90.
Seneca (?), Pumpkinification of 'Claudius 9
It finally dawned on Jupiter that so long as strangers were loitering in the senate bouse 1
the senators were not allowed to express opinions or take part in debate. 'Conscript
Fathers,' he said, 'I gave you permission to ask questions, but all you have done is to
create mayhem. I require you to obey the rules of the senate house. What impression will
this man (whatever he is) have formed of us?' So, Claudius was sent out and the first
called to give his opinion was Father Janus. He was the consul designate, down to hold
the office for the afternoon of the following first of July, 2
and a fellow who, so long as it's
up his own street, always looks 'backwards and forwards at the same rimeV He lived in
the Forum and had much to say with an eloquence that the shorthand-writer could not
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