An Introduction to Imperial Cults: The Earliest Cults of Personality

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Earlier I wrote about what a cult of personality is: a situation in which a public figure (such as a political leader) is deliberately presented to the people of a country as a great person who should be admired and loved. These cults are what help allow authoritarians and dictators - especially those who are unpopular and/or act incredibly cruel & unkind - to remain in power. The earliest versions of these cults of personality in recorded history are imperial cults. The point of these cults is to have an emperor, king, or leader of a nation be worshipped as a demigod, deity, or someone who claims that a particular god speaks through them and wants them to control the lives of others.

These are part of some of the most powerful ancient authoritarian regimes from the pharaohs in ancient Egypt to the Roman imperial cults that had roman emperors worshipped as pagan gods. This system basically combines the authoritarianism that can be found in a religious theocracy (an authoritarian system where priests and members of the clergy rule over the lives of everybody in their community in the name of God or a god) with an absolute monarchy (a form of government where a monarchy has their power not restrained by laws or a constitution thanks to an imperial cult).

We might talk about some imperial cults and well-known cults of personality to understand how they work and how authoritarians are able to force their way into power, but this should give people a basic idea of what the original cults of personality were...