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4. Tiberius
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4 Tiberius Tiberius (42 bce–37 ce; emperor 14-37 ce) The emperor in the first century was known as the Divi Filius—God’s Son. Julius Caesar accepted many divine honors in Rome while alive, a tactical mistake that his adopted son, the first emperor, Augustus made sure not to repeat.1 Augustus was officially declared to have become a god—the process is known as apotheosis—when he died. The senate was simply repeating what it had done when Augustus’ uncle, Julius Caesar was assassinated. He also was declared to have become divine. Not all the emperors in the Principate were so fortunate; only Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Vespasian, Titus, and Nerva were deified in the first century. 13. A COIN OF TIBERIUS 2 Besides being called “god’s son,” an emperor such as Tiberius was also called “son of the divine Augustus,” since this was another way that Augustus was known after being proclaimed divine. Here we see a coin of Tiberius, perhaps similar to the coin Jesus examines in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 22:15-22 // Mark 12:13-17 // Luke 20:20-26). In that scene, when he is asked whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus asks to see a coin. The emperor whose image and inscription he considers was probably Tiberius. The inscription on the coin below is perhaps similar to the one on the coin Jesus views. Since all of the Gospels’ accounts of this incident mention the inscription, it is useful to look at a standard inscription on a coin issued by this emperor. The obverse reads: TI[BERIVS] CAESAR DIVI AVG[VSTI] F[ILIVS] AVGVSTVS, or “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, Augustus,” and the laureate head and ribbons symbolize his right to rule. On the obverse, PONTIF[EX] 1. Suetonius, Jul. 76; Res Gestae 6. 2. Permission to reproduce the images of this coin from H. D. Rauch Auktionshaus (www.hdrauch.com) is gratefully acknowledged. 51 MAXIM[VS] stands for “high priest,” another title that most emperors in the Principate assumed for themselves. Livia, widow of Augustus and biological mother of Tiberius, is portrayed here as Pax, or the Roman peace goddess. Her authority and power are shown by the way her feet rest on a footstool while she holds a scepter in her right hand and an olive branch in her left. Livia was not regarded as divine when this coin was issued, even if it were minted by Tiberius after 29 ce, when she died. Conflict with her son Tiberius resulted in the delay of her apotheosis, which was finally enacted by the emperor Claudius. Some hearers of any of the Synoptic Gospels’ account of Jesus asking about the image and inscription of the emperor on the coin would perhaps have found significance in the way that the following context includes Jesus’ counterquestion to his audience regarding David’s son, regarded in some of the psalms as divine (Matt. 22:41-46 // Mark 12:35-37a // Luke 20:41-44). Tiberius, generally regarded as the second emperor in the Principate, was the adopted son of Augustus, the biological son of Augustus’s wife Livia, whom she had borne to Tiberius Claudius Nero. Though Tiberius was not deified at his death as Augustus was, Suetonius records the supernatural evidence of his destined rule and his generosity, which all expected of emperors. 52 | Roman Imperial Texts [3.231.222.84] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 11:49 GMT) 14. TIBERIUS’S BIRTH, GENEROSITY, AND SKILL ACCORDING TO SUETONIUS 3 After describing a difficult eight years of what amounted to an exile for Tiberius on Rhodes, Suetonius describes his return to Rome and the ascent to power to which he had been destined.§14.1 He returned in the eighth year after going into isolation, with great and unshakeable hope for things ahead, which he had received from the beginning of his life by signs and predictions.§14.2 When Livia was expecting him and receptive to all variety of signs that she would bear a son, she picked an egg from under the hen roosting on it, then kept it warm by hand—she and her ladies in waiting, until a chick with a noticeable crest came out. From Tiberius’ infancy, Scribonius the astrologer made grave predictions of great things to come, and said that some day he would rule without the sign of a king; the office of the Caesars was obviously still undefined then...