Gott und Gestirn als Präsenzformen des toten Kaisers

Ideengeschichtliche Ursprünge des Katasterismos im Hellenismus und seine politische Semantik und Funktion.

When, according to ancient evidence, a comet was sighted during the funeral games for Caesar in July 44 B.C., Octavian interpreted it as a sign of the deification of his adoptive father and his elevation to the stars. Thus catasterism, or immortalization as a heavenly body, found its way into the representation of rulers of the Roman emporers, and became one of the symbols for the apotheosis of deceased predecessors. Christian Bechtold examines the origins and history of this idea in Hellenism and the political semantics and function of catasterism from the Augustus period to the Severans. He also analyses the reception of the concept of placement among the stars and the horizon of understanding of the potential addressees of representation of imperial rule in order to be able to assess the relevance and success of catasterism in political communication. Besides the relevant historiographic and literary sources, the study also draws extensively on the imperial and provincial coinage as a reflection of political communication, and also tomb inscriptions and monuments as witnesses to the reception of the motif.

Autorentext
Dr. Christian Bechtold studierte von 1996 bis 2003 Geschichte und Anglistik an den Universitäten Mannheim und Oxford und war 20042008 Stipendiat des Internationalen Graduiertenkollegs »Politische Kommunikation von der Antike bis ins 20. Jahrhundert« an den Universitäten Frankfurt am Main und Innsbruck. Seit 2009 unterrichtet er am Karl-Friedrich-Gymnasium in Mannheim.