22. Not long after
he assumed divine honours, and gave himself the names of such
divinities as he thought most agreeable to his nature. For this
purpose he caused the heads of the statues of Jupiter, and some other
gods, to be struck off, and his own to be put in their places. He
frequently seated himself between Castor and Pollux, and ordered that
all who came to this temple to worship should pay their adorations
only to himself. 23. However, such was the extravagant inconsistency
of this unaccountable idiot, that he changed his divinity as often as
he changed his clothes; being at one time a male deity, at another a
female; sometimes Jupiter or Mars; and not unfrequently Venus or
Diana. 24. He even built and dedicated a temple to his own divinity,
in which his statue of gold was every day dressed in robes similar to
those which he himself wore, and worshipped by crowds of adorers.
His priests were numerous; the sacrifices made to him were of the most
exquisite delicacies that could be procured; and the dignity of the
priesthood was sought by the most opulent men of the city.
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