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Decree of calendrical change on marble stelae in the Asian temples dedicated to the Roman Empire and Augustus, its first emperor. [… indicates missing text]

"Whereas Providence…has…adorned us and those who will come after us [a Savior] who has made war to cease and who shall put everything [in peaceful] order…with the result that the birthday of our God signaled the beginning of Good News for the world because of him…therefore…the Greeks in Asia Decreed that the New Year begin for all cities on September 23…and the first month shall…be observed as the Month of Caesar, beginning with 23 September, the birthday of Caesar."

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, A Tale of Two Gods, by John Dominic Crossan

 

"The cornerstone of the Empire was the worship of Octavius Caesar as the Son of God, Divus Filius. Augustus was worshipped not as a hero or a demi-god, but as a Messiah, an incarnation of the Deity, born of a Heavenly Father and an earthly mother; sent to earth in a miraculous manner, at a sacred period, and in pursuance of a heavenly design; which was to bring peace on earth, heal the wounds and inequities of the past, restore the Golden Age to Latium and fulfill the prophecies of the Cumaean Sibyl."


The Middle Ages Revisited by Alexander Del Mar, published in 1900, page 1.

 

"Augustus Caesar, by his contemporaries, was believed to be, and was actually worshipped as a god; with bell, book, candle, steeple, frankincense, rosary, cross, mitre, temples, priesthood, benefices, ritual…The witnesses are not phantoms…they do not stand unsupported by archaeology, inscriptions, coins... The witnesses are men of reputation, their writings are among the masterpieces of the world."

The Worship of Augustus Caesar by Del Mar, published in 1899, page 315.

 

"Augustus ascended to the throne and was anointed, addressed and worshipped as the Son of God…most of the ancient books were destroyed…the calendar was altered…a conclave of historians and poets were encouraged and rewarded to rewrite history which nineteen centuries of time have not yet sufficed to eradicate. These statements are not mere opinions; they are based on evidences so numerous and so convincing that they would withstand the severest scrutiny of a court of law."

The Worship of Augustus Caesar by Del Mar, published in 1899, page 316.

    

 "…he was the issue of a divine father and mortal mother…the mother was a wife-virgin…the birth happened at the end of ten solar months…the birth occurred in an obscure place that was foretold by prophecy [the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus]…accompanied by events of Nature; the divinity of the child was recognized by sages [three Magi]; the Holy One exhibited extraordinary signs of wisdom; his destruction was sought by ruling powers; he worked miracles; he exhibited profound humility; his birth would bring peace on earth and he would finally ascend to heaven to join the Father."

The Worship of Augustus Caesar by Del Mar, published in 1899, page 322.


"As the supreme pontiff of the Roman empire, Augustus lawfully exercised authority over cardinals, priests, curates, monks, nuns, flamens, augurs, vestal virgins, temples, altars, shrines, sanctuaries and monasteries as well as all religious rites, ceremonies, festivals, holidays—over all civil and ecclesiastical subjects and matters."

The Worship of Augustus Caesar by Del Mar, published in 1899, page 326.


“…of all the memorials of the distant past which the Vatican preserves with the most jealous care is the marble image of Divus Augustus.”

The Worship of Augustus Caesar by Del Mar, published in 1899, page 329.