Deification

In mythology, the process of bestowing upon a mortal the status of a god; also, the process a mortal goes through to transform into a god. Deification could be granted by a god, such as Zeus or Jupiter, to a worthy mortal or to a hero who was half mortal and half god, such as Heracles. It could also be granted by members of a culture, such as the Romans, who in their mythology believed that Romulus, the founder of Rome, became a god after he died. In Roman history, emperors were also deified after their deaths. People would then build temples to these new gods and worship them in formal ceremonies.