as a child, "a halo surrounded his head" and that Venus had blessed him as a young man with good looks, which "marked him as a man of destiny." In B.C. 46, he erected the Temple Venus Genetrix in Rome to emphasize his divine ancestry. In B.C. 63, he was appointed chief religious magistrate, Pontifex Maximus, for life.
Caesar's deification began in the East after his victory at Pharsalus. In B.C. 48 he began to build (in Alexandria) the first of several basilica (Caesaria) used to promote his cult of worship. According to Weinstock, "this was done at once, in accordance with the Greek tradition, in temples and public places, and he was often styled a god on the inscriptions." Various attempts were made in Rome at the initiation of his devoted Master of the Horse Mark Antony or the Senate to elevate him to superhuman status during the years B.C. 48-44.
Caesar accepted some honors and rejected others. For example, at the peak of this adulation in January 44, when Caesar was acclaimed king by the people of Ro
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