the gods of the imperial family began to be worshipped by
other families, then by all other families, and officially by the state.
But from the very beginning the gods of each family had included also
the deified ancestors, the _Di Manes_, at first thought of _en masse_
and not as individuals, but toward the close of the republic they began
to be individualised, so that the next step in emperor-worship was when
the dead Julius, a particular ancestor therefore of Augustus, began to
be worshipped by the whole people and officially by the state. But also
from the beginning there had been still another element in family
worship, the cult paid to the Genius or divine double of the living
master of the house. There followed then correspondingly as another step
toward emperor-worship, the homage paid by the whole state to the Genius
of the living emperor. These three steps: the worship by the whole state
of the gods of the emperor's family, in its three forms, the gods of the
family in general, and in particular the deified ancestor, and the
Genius of the living representative, were all encouraged and officially
established by Augustus. Lastly there came from the Orient a habit of
thought in distinct contradiction to Roman ideas whereby not the Genius
of the living emperor but the very man himself was divine in life and in
death. Augustus fought against this concept but had to yield to it and
allow himself to be worshipped directly as a god in the Orient itself
and in certain coast towns of Italy which were under strong Oriental
influence, but he forbade it in Rome, and thus established a precedent
which was followed by all the better ones among the emperors who came
after him.

This digression was necessary in order that we might appreciate the
reasons for Augustus's preferences in emphasising certain cults.
Unquestionably he did not foresee or plan for an emperor-worship such as
eventually grew up out of his arrangements; he was however deeply
interested in emphasising the worship of the special deities of his own
family. The four gods therefore whose names he couples with that of
Juppiter in the summary of his religious activity--Apollo, Vesta, Mars
the Avenger, and the god Julius--are all intimately connected with his
family; and if we add to this the worship of his own Genius, the Genius
Augusti, we shall have the real kernel of his religious restoration. It
remains for us to see in what way these deities are connected wit