cult of personality

cult of personality, a deliberately created system of art, symbolism, and ritual centred on the institutionalized quasi-religious glorification of a specific individual. Since the 20th century, “cult of personality” has been most often used to refer to charismatic leader cults, a type of personality cult which is based on a political leader and designed to enforce their power, magnify their ideology, and legitimize the rule of the government associated with them. Due to the association of these personality cults with autocratic systems such as fascist Germany and the communist Soviet Union, they have developed a strong negative connotation.

In the ancient world personality cults were explicitly religious. Polytheistic beliefs allowed for the introduction of new deities, and claiming a close association with or descent from a god was a method of legitimizing dynastic systems. Thus, the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt after its conquest by Alexander the Great established a personality cult centred on him both to justify their rule over Egyptians and to maintain their connection to the Greek Mediterranean world. The personality cult of Alexander the Great in the ancient Greco-Roman world was so widespread that even those who did not explicitly worship him venerated him as a great hero, and the artistic depiction of him was extremely common.

The Roman imperial dynasties also maintained personality cults, and former emperors were worshiped as deities by members of the imperial cult. The cult was established by Augustus, the first Roman emperor, following the republic. As the adopted son of Julius Caesar, who was deified after his death, Augustus called himself “son of a god,” legitimizing his consolidation of power over the Roman Empire. Statues of him and his family members were erected across imperial lands, and the state-sponsored imperial cult is considered to have been an important part of the transition of Rome from a republic to a principate, which combined aspects of the republic with some of the powers of a monarchy. The cult had its own priests and temples, and there was at least an expectation that all members of Roman society would participate in rituals worshiping the deified emperors.

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Cults of personality developed all over the world, including in Mughal India, centring on Emperor Akbar. Some individuals who were not themselves rulers have been the subjects of personality cults, such as the Chinese teacher, philosopher, and political theorist Confucius. As in the cases of the Ptolemies and the Roman emperors, encouraging personality cults of past figures and making connections between past and present rulers was one way that a regime could lay claim to a right to rule.

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In the Middle Ages and early modern period, some rulers sought to deliberately construct a personality cult about themselves. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I was able to take advantage of the recently invented printing press to enhance the reach of his propaganda, including the spread of woodcut prints of his image throughout his lands. Leaders of the French Revolution also became the subjects of personality cults, and Napoleon I employed a group of official artists whose works symbolically linked him to previous generations of great rulers and kings such as the Roman emperors and Charlemagne. This was meant to convey legitimacy to Napoleon’s conquest and usurpation of the French government, despite his lack of royal blood or links to previous French monarchs.

Cults of personality were not limited to conquerors. For example, the personality cult of George Washington gained strength during the American Revolution. After American independence, the perpetuation of the cult and veneration of Washington became one of many sources of legitimacy for the new American government, and the personality cult survives to this day.

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In the 20th century the rise of mass media led to the establishment and flourishing of many personality cults. Autocratic and repressive regimes, like other governments earlier in history, sought to use these cults of personality to legitimize their power. Some cults were centred on figures who had already attained power or prestige, such as Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Others lent credence to new political ideologies, such as fascism in Germany and communism in Russia and China. Perpetuation of cults of personality became a key part of these governments’ relationships with their citizens. Ritual displays of loyalty to the personalities of the rulers and the governments they headed became mass phenomena. And personality cults were not limited to the head of government. Propaganda encouraged the quasi-worship by the populace of various figures, such as “socialist heroes” and members of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle.

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While these 20th-century personality cults were aimed at providing legitimacy to governments, the ultimate effect was to associate the entire concept of a cult of personality with the atrocities committed by these regimes. Increasingly, accusing a leader of being the subject of a cult of personality is a way to question that leader’s authority. The connotations of such an accusation are that the leader has overstepped acceptable norms in a quest to accumulate power and that those who venerate the leader are irrational or deceived.

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Nonetheless, politicized cults of personality continue to exist in the 21st century. Some subjects of these cults are still autocratic leaders of repressive regimes, such as Kim Jong-Un in North Korea and Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov in Turkmenistan. However, other cults of personality, such as that centred on the Dalai Lama, have developed for benign purposes. He is the subject of a carefully constructed personality cult that has successfully made him an internationally venerated figure and advanced the cause of his nation, Tibet, in its struggle for recognition and survival. Revered modern heads of constitutional monarchies such as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand also maintained cults of personality. Moreover, cults of personality centred on historical figures, such as Genghis Khan in Mongolia, have been promoted by contemporary governments to increase their own legitimacy.

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In addition, today there is considerable overlap between a cult of personality, “hero worship,” and cults of celebrity. Some scholars have argued that writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in the 18th century were the subjects of organized personality cults. Maintaining and controlling a public image in order to cultivate popularity is a key part of life for many modern celebrities, particularly in highly systematized public relations machines like those that promote K-Pop (Korean pop music) stars such as BTS. The purpose of such cults is not to advance political power, but their perpetrators do stand to benefit in various ways from the continued glorification of an individual or group. Thus, while not the subject of leader cults, many celebrities and influential cultural figures can be said to be at the centres of cults of personality.