Four months after Caesar's death, a bright
comet appeared in the sky. Romans believed that it was a sign of Caesar's
divinity. In 42 BC, it was decided that Caesar should become a god.
The temple of Divine Julius was built in his honor in the Roman Forum and
priests were appointed to serve it. A coin was minted showing the comet
and reading DIVUS JULIUS.
Decades later, one of Rome's greatest
poets, Ovid, wrote these lines about the deification of Julius Caesar:
But you meanwhile from Caesar's murdered
corpse
Must seize the soul and make it a bright
star,
So that great Julius, a god divine,
From his high throne in heaven may ever
shine
Upon the Forum and our Capitol.
-- Ovid’s Metamorphoses
