Performers and Partisans at Aphrodisias in the Roman and Late Roman Periods : A Study Based on Inscriptions from the Current Excavations at Aphrodisias in Caria 0907764177

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PERFORMERS AND PARTISANS AT APHRODISIAS IN THE ROMAN AND LATE ROMAN PERIODS CHARL O TTE RO UECHE WITH APPENDIX IV BY NATHALIE DE CHAISEMARTIN A STUDY BASED ON INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE CURRENT EXCAVATIONS AT APHRODISIAS IN CARIA

SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF ROMAN STUDIES JOURNAL OF ROMAN STUDIES MONOGRAPH NO. 6

1993

The Society is the leading organization in the United Kingdom for those interested in the study of Rome and the Roman Empire . Its scope is wide, covering Roman history , archaeology, literature and art down to about A.D. 700 . It has a broadly based membership, drawn from over twentyfive countries and from all ages and walks of life. For further details of the Society a nd its other publications write to: The Secretary, The Roman Society, 31-34 Gordon Square , London WC1H OPP (Tel. 071-387 8157).

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PERFORMERS AND PARTISANS AT APHRODISIAS

PERFORMERS AND PARTISANS AT APHRODISIAS IN THE ROMAN AND LATE ROMAN PERIODS

CHARLOTTEROUECHE with Appendix IV by NATHALIE DE CHAISEMARTIN

A STUDY BASED ON INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE CURRENT EXCAVATIONS AT APHRODISIAS IN CARIA

SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF ROMAN STUDIES JOURNAL OF ROMAN STUDIES MONOGRAPHS NO. 6 1993

First published in 1993 by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies 31-34 Gordon Square, London WClH OPP © The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

All rights reserved

British Library Catalogue in Publication Data. A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 0-907764-17-7

Printed in Great Britain by W. S. Maney and Son Ltd. Hudson Road, Leeds LS9 7DL

CONTENTS vii

Preface Abbreviations

IX

Chapter I. Providing entertainments

1

PART ONE: THE PERFORMERS Chapter II. Mimes and pantomimes Text 1

15

Chapter Ill. Stage performers and the 'factions' Texts 2-12

31

Chapter IV. The organization of performers

49

Chapter V. Gladiators and wild-beast fighters Texts 13-44

61

PART Two: THE AuDIENCE Chapter VI. The spectators Texts 45-47

83

Chapter VII. The partisans

129

CoNCLUSION Chapter VIII. The 'factions' of the later empire

143

APPENDICES I. Contests and shows at Aphrodisias Texts 48-65

161

II. Victors and competitors Texts 66--87

191

Ill. The activities of the synods Texts 88-93

223

IV. Agonistic images on Aphrodisian sarcophagi Texts 94-95

239

V. Gameboards and pavement designs

249

CONTENTS

Vl

Bibliography

253

Concordance of previously published texts

257

Greek Indices I. Personal names 11. Divinities Ill. Emperors IV. Geographical terms V. Contests VI. Index verborum

263 266 267 268 269 270

Subject Index

279

Plans Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

283 284 285

Plates

The Stadium The Theatre The Odeon

PREFACE This book has taken a long time to emerge, from what was originally an idea for an article. But the logic behind its development derives from the plan for the publication of the inscriptions of Aphrodisias which Joyce Reynolds and I evolved several years ago. After the publication of the group of documents which had a public, empire-wide significance (J. M. Reynolds, Aphrodisias and Rome, Journal of Roman Studies Monograph 1(London, 1982)) we decided to publish the late antique material (that is, the inscriptions which could be dated after A.D. 250) as a separate entity (C. M. Roueche, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity, Journal of Roman Studies Monograph 5 (London, 1989)). We are now actively engaged in preparing the final volume- the corpus of all the Greek inscriptions from Aphrodisias, dating from the middle Hellenistic period to the mid-third century A.D. There are, however, several areas where the simple division of material as inscribed before and after A.D. 250 is unreliable. I am particularly unsure about the division of many of the funerary inscriptions; but another group of texts whose division seemed either impossible or unhelpful was that of the inscriptions in the auditoria. These are exceptionally abundant at Aphrodisias, and, for the most part, cannot be dated at all closely; but it is clear that this body of material continued to grow throughout the late antique period, and is far more informative if it is considered as a whole. The focus of this publication, therefore, is to illustrate a phenomenon which was both continuous and changing over several centuries - the world of public entertainments at Aphrodisias. This account illustrates our particular debt to the Society for the Promotion for Roman Studies. Since the 1960s, the Journal of Roman Studies has published a series of articles presenting new material from the excavations at Aphrodisias, and· it is the Society's monograph series, launched with the help of a bequest by Kathleen Atkinson, which has enabled the publication of the two volumes mentioned above, and the present publication. We are very grateful to the Society and to its publications committee, under the chairmanship of Professor Fergus Millar (for the first two volumes) and of Professor Malcolm Todd (for the current one), and to Professor Averil Cameron, Editor of the JRS Monograph series. All of us who work at Aphrodisias are indebted to New York University, and to the many generous donors who have made our work there possible; in the case of the Theatre, from which so much of the material here is drawn, we are particularly grateful to the National Geographic Society. I would also like to thank various bodies for practical and financial support for my work at Aphrodisias; in particular the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, King's College London and the University of London (Hayter Fund) for help with travel expenses, and the British Academy for help with photographic costs. I am especially grateful for generous contributions from the Marc Pitch Fund towards the costs of illustrating this volume, and the M. Aylwin Cotton Foundation towards the costs of its publication. I owe thanks to several bodies and individuals for access to material, in particular to Mme J. Robert for the gift of Deering 's original copies of Aphrodisian ipscriptions; to The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies for permission _to -consult the copies of inscriptions made by R. Wood in 1750; to Professor A. Laronde for access to the squeezes made by Paul Gaudin; and to Dr Ulrike Outschar for examining material in Vienna on my behalf. Professor P. Herrmann very kindly allowed me to see the inscriptions from the

viii

PREFACE

Theatre seats at Miletus in advance of publication. The photographs are all taken by Mossman Roueche, except for nos 6.2, ll.A, E and F, 12, 19, 20,21 and 43 which are by Mehmet Ali Dogen9i. I owe a great deal to friends who have read and commented on all or part of the manuscript: Ewen Bowie, Averil Cameron (who has also been extensively involved in its editing and production), Peter Herrrnann and Frank Kolb (both for Chapter vr), Barbara Levick (editor), Fergus Millar, Stephen Mitchell, and Lynn Pitts (sub-editor). Over the last few years I have benefited from various discussions of aspects of this material, both at seminars in the Centre for Byzantine Studies at Birmingham University and at the Centre Gustave Glotz in the Sorbonne, but also with many individuals; I should mention in particular Glen Bowersock, Peter Brown, Alan Cameron, Waiter Cockle, Robin Cormack, Denis Feissel, Bemard Gredley, Christopher Jones, and John Martindale. This book is a collaborative effort, and as always it is not easy to disentangle my own work from that of other colleagues atAphrodisias- in particular Joyce Reynolds, whose share in readings and interpretations is especially great in the Appendices. Without her encouragement, and the support of Mossman Roueche, this book would not have been completed. But it is a source of great sorrow that my greatest debts incurred in the preparation of this publication are not to the living, but to the dead. The references on almost every page make clear the extent of my dependance on the work of Louis Robert: without his fundamental work in this field, this book would not have been possible, and I very much regret that I was not able to discuss this material with him before his death in 1985. In working on the seating arrangements in the auditoria I had many very helpful discussions with my friend and teacher Elizabeth Rawson - a dialogue which was brutally interrupted by her death in 1988. The manuscript was largely complete by 1990, and in September of that year I was discussing the title with Kenan Erim, the man whose vision and energy enabled and sustained the excavations at Aphrodisias for thirty years. It is to his endeavours that we owe the large quantity of new material in this book: and his generous support and understanding provided the opportunity to work on both new and old material with exceptional freedom. It is perhaps only since his sudden death in November 1990 that we have come to appreciate fully the extent of his work on our behalf; and this publication, together with many others which will follow, should demonstrate the extent to which his work has contributed to our understanding of antiquity. King's College London Spring 1992

ABBREVIATIONS

I.

PREVIOUS PUBLICATIONS OF INSCRIPTIONS FROM APHRODISIAS

For a fuller account of earlier copies and editions of inscriptions found at Aphrodisias, see ALA xvi-xviii.

ALA A&R Bailie Fellows FranckeFranz

Henzen

Kubitschek and Reichel

Leake

Liermann Paris and Holleaux Reinach

Sestini

Sherard Wood

C. M. Roueche, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity (London, 1989). J. M. Reynolds, Aphrodisias and Rome (London, 1982). J. K. Bailie, Fasciculus Inscriptionum Graecarum (London and Dublin, 1846). C. Fellows, An Account of Discoveries in Lycia (London, 1841). J. V. Francke, Griechische und lateinische Inschriften, gesammelt von Otto Fr.Richter (Berlin, 1830). J. Franz, publishing copies made by H. Loew, 'Inscriptiones Graecae', Annali del Instituto (1847), 10531. W. Henzen, publishing copies made by E. Falkener, 'Inscriptiones Graecae', Annali del Instituto (1852), 11537. W. Kubitschek and W. Reichel; references are to their unpublished notebooks ('K' and 'R'), and to their publication of some of the inscriptions they copied at Aphrodisias, Anzeiger der kaiserlicher Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Wien (1893), 100-3. W. Leake, from copies made by J. P. Deering, 'Inscriptions from Aphrodisias', Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature (1843), 232--45, 288-303. 0. Liermann, Analecta epigraphica et agonistica, Dissertationes Philologicae Halenses x (Halle, 1889). P. Paris and M. Holleaux, 'Inscriptions de Carie. I. Aphrodisias', BCH 9 (1885), 324--48. T. Reinach, from copies and squeezes made by P. Gaudin, 'Inscriptions d'Aphrodisias', REG 19 (1906), 79-150, 205-98. Domenico Sestini, Viaggi e opusculi diversi di Domenico Sestini (1807), including inscriptions copied at Aphrodisias. William Sherard, manuscript copies of inscriptions at Aphrodisias, in BM Add. 10101. Copies of inscriptions made by R. Wood in 1750, now in the possession of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, London.

X

ABBREVIATIONS

Il. GENERAL ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviations for ancient sources follow the forms used in LSJ, or, for later material not included there, A. H. M. Jones, Later Roman Empire (Oxford, 1964), sometimes expanded. For secondary literature the abbreviations are those in L'Annee philologique (sometimes expanded), and Jahrbuch der osterreichischen Byzantinistik, with the following additions:

Aphrodisias Papers 1 Aphrodisias Papers 2 BMC Caria BMT

BullEp CIG CIL

Cl Colloquium Lille CTh Hell. I.Cret. I.Didyma I.Eph. IG /GC IGLS IGR IGSK IGUR I./as os ILS

C. Roueche and K. T. Erim (eds),Aphrodisias Papers (Ann Arbor, 1990). R. R. R. Smith and tK. T. Erim (eds), Aphrodisias Papers 2 (Ann Arbor, 1991). Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum, Caria (London, 1897). R. C. Bell and C. M. Roueche, 'Pavement signs and gameboards in the Greek and Roman periods: a British Museum typology', in I. Finkel (ed.), British Museum Colloquium on Ancient Games (London, forthcoming). J. and L. Robert, Bulletin Epigraphique, annually in REG (1938-84). A. Boeckh et al., Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum (Berlin, 1825-77). Th. Mommsen et al., Corpus lnscriptionum Latinarum (Berlin, 1863-). P. Krueger (ed.), Codex Justinianus (Berlin, 1895). J. de la Geniere and K. T. Erim (eds),Aphrodisias de Carie, Colloque de l'Universite de Lille m (Paris, 1987). Th. Mommsen (ed.), Codex Theodosianus (Berlin, 1905). L. Robert, Hellenica I-XIII (Paris, 1940-65). M. Guarducci, lnscriptiones Creticae (Rome, 1935-50). A. Rehm, Didyma 11, Die Inschriften (Berlin, 1958). H. Wankel, R. Merkelbach et al., Die Inschriften von Ephesos (IGSK 11-17) (Cologne, 1979-81). Inscriptiones Graecae I-XIV (Berlin, 1873- ). H. Gregoire, Recueil des inscriptions grecqueschretiennes d'Asie Mineure (Paris, 1922). L. Jalabert, R. Mouterde et al., Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie (Paris, 1929- ). R. Cagnat et al., lnscriptiones Graecae ad Res Romanas Pertinentes (Paris, 1906-27). Inschriften griechische Stiidte aus Kleinasien (Cologne, 1968- ). L. Moretti, lnscriptiones Graecae Urbis Romae (Rome, 1968- ). W. Bltimel, Die lnschriften von Iasos I (/GSK 28. 1) (Cologne, 1985). H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae (Berlin, 18921914).

ABBREVIATIONS l.Magn. l.Pergamon l.Smyrna I.Tralles

Lampe LBW LSJ MAMA Milet

Mionnet

OGIS OMS PO RE SEG SNG SIG TAM

Xl

O.Kem, Die lnschriften van Magnesia am Maeander (Berlin, 1900). M. Frlinkel, Die lnschriften von Pergamon, Pergamon vm.2 (Berlin, 1890-5). G. Petzl, Die lnschriften von Smyrna (IGSK 23-4) (Cologne, 1982-90). F. G. Poljakov, lnschriften van Tralles und Nysa I (IGSK 36.1) (Cologne, 1989). G. W.H.Lampe,APatristicGreekLexicon(Oxford, 1961). P. Le Bas and W. H. Waddington, Inscriptions grecques et latines (Paris, 1870). H. G. Liddell, R. Scott and H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon9 (Oxford, 1940). Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua (Manchester/London, 1928- ). T. Wiegand et al., Milet. Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen seit dem Jahr 1899, I- (Berlin, 1906- ). T.-E. Mionnet, Description des medailles antiques, grecques et romaines (Paris, 1806-8), with Supplement (Paris, 1819-37). W. Dittenberger, Orientis Graecae lnscriptiones Selectae (Leipzig, 1903-5). L. Robert, Opera Minora Selecta I-VI (Amsterdam, 1969- ). Patrologia Orientalis (Paris, 1903- ). G. Wissowa et al., Paulys Real-Enzyklopiidie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (Berlin, 1893- ). J. J. E. Hondius et al., Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (Leiden, 1923- ). Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum (Copenhagen 1942- , Fitzwilliam, 1931-, von Aulock, 1957- ). W. Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum 3 (Leipzig, 1915-24). Tituli Asiae Minoris (Vienna, 1901- ).

EPIGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS The epigraphic conventions used in this volume are those set out in SEG.

•

CHAPTER I. PROVIDING ENTERTAINMENTS ENTERTAINMENTS AT APHRODISIAS

Three places of public entertainment have so far been excavated at Aphrodisias: the Stadium, the Theatre, and the Odeon. The buildings of the Theatre hg~ several formal, public, building inscriptions, 1 and so, probably, did those of the Odeon and the Stadium; each of these buildings also displayed statues of prominent figures, with formal, public inscriptions describing them. 2 The primary purpose of this volume is to publish the remaining inscriptions found in those structures- the private or informal inscriptionsalong with other texts which inform us, not about the building history of those structures, or the distinctions of citizens who were honoured in them, but about the actual use which was made of them. In order to explain these texts, it has been necessary to examine the provision of public entertainments in the Roman world, and the changes which took place in the late Roman period, for all of which Aphrodisias provides uniquely important evidence. The Stadium (Fig. 1)- constructed for foot-racing and other athletic sports, but also used for gladiatorial combats- has always remained above ground, and was seen by all the early visitors to the site. The current excavators undertook a survey, and clearing work, and conducted a sondage at the southern side. The survey showed that at the eastern end a smaller arena had been created; this must have taken place after the Stadium had ceased to be used for athletic contests, but it is not possible to establish a firmer date, nor to determine the exact purpose of such an enclosure. 3 The Theatre (Fig. 2) was the main focus for stage and musical performances, and came to be used for gladiatorial combats; it probably also served for assemblies of the People of the city. It has been described by Professor K. T. Erim, 4 and is currently the subject of study by N. de Chaisemartin and D. Theodorescu. 5 It was built in the second half of the first century B.c., the freedman of Augustus, C. Iulius Zoilos, being one of the chief benefactors. It was substantially repaired on several occasions, and eventually remodelled to permit the use of the orchestra for wild-beast spectacles. The stage is dominated by a frieze, supported on fourteen Doric half-columns; the frieze bears the dedicatory inscription of Zoilos, 6 and Texts 2-3 were painted on the back of it. Further texts were inscribed on the back of these columns (6). The colonnade masks the front of the stage-building, which had six windowless rooms built into it; the inscriptions from the entrances to those rooms are published here as 1. Further texts were cut on the wall of the stage-building (7). Subsequently, perhaps in the third century, a series of brick walls was constructed between each of the columns along the back of the Stage, plastered over, and painted with a trellis decoration. Only three of the fourteen intercolumniations were left open. This had the effect of creating a permanent back-stage corridor between the 1

See J. M. Reynolds, Aphrodisias Papers 2, 15-28, for the texts and a discussion. Such statues continued to be erected well into the fifth century A.D.; see ALA 65. 3 SeeK. T. Erim, Aphrodisias (London/New York, 1986), 67-70. For a similar development in the Stadium at Ephesus, J. Keil,Fiihrer durch Ephesos 5 (Vienna, 1964), 61-3, F. Miltner, Ephesos, Stadt der Artemis und des Johannes (Vienna, 1958), 32-4. 4 'Il Teatro di Afrodisias', in D. de Bernardi Ferrero, Teatri Classici in Asia Minore IV (Rome, 1974), 162-6; idem, Aphrodisias, 79-88. 5 See their preliminary report, Aphrodisias Papers 2, 29-66. 6 A & R, Doe. 36. 2

2

CHAPTER I

columns and the stage-front, and two semi-chambers at either end; one of these was plastered and decorated in the sixth century (9)_7 In the auditorium, a raised podium for a 'seat of honour' was rather roughly inserted in the central block of seating, most probably for use by an imperial governor. It will certainly have been so used after Aphrodisias became a provincial capital (as she was perhaps of Caria-Phrygia in the midthird century, certainly of Caria in the early fourth). 8 The Odeon (Fig. 3) is a small concert-hall, used for small-scale stage performances and also for lectures and recitals; it may well also have been used as the meeting-place of the Council. It lies to the south of the Temple, and survives probably to half its original height; the building, which appears at one stage to have been roofed, was probably constructed in the late first or early second century A.D. 9 There are three doorways onto the stage, behind which runs a narrow corridor, on the plastered walls of which were graffiti (11). It was repaired on several occasions (one of which is recorded in 12) and perhaps remodelled in the middle or late fifth century; the inscription recording that work refers to the building as a 'palaestra', perhaps a reference to its use for educational purposes; 10 but it seems likely that it was used both for entertainments, competitive or otherwise, and for lectures or public discussions.

ENTERTAINMENTS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

These buildings at Aphrodisias are excellent examples of their different types, but in no way unique; each of them is paralleled in many other cities of the eastern Roman Empire, by similar buildings constructed, or extensively embellished, during the first, second, or early third centuries A. D. They reflect the lavish programmes of public building of all kinds undertaken by the provincial cities in that period of peace and prosperity; but they also indicate the wide range of public spectacles and entertainments which had always been a central element in the life of the Greek city, and which became more and more widely available, and increased steadily in scale and importance, under the Empire. Such entertainments were presented in one of two ways. They could be put on as shows - E1tl3Et~El~, 8Eropt!Xl, ch:pOclf.la't!l- presented by individuals or by cities; 11 thus a lady atAphrodisiaspaid for 'the best recitals (aKpoa~ata) in Asia' ,12 and anAphrodisian poet is honoured for his recitals (88.ii). But by far the most important occasions for public spectacles were the contests - ayrovE~ - which were part of the festivals in honour of particular divinities. The essential elements of a festival were a procession - no~n~, a sacrifice- 8ucria, and a contest. Appendix I sets out all the evidence which we have for such festivals at Aphrodisias. Our present understanding of the importance and significance of such contests in the life of the Greek cities from classical times and throughout the Roman period is chiefly 7

R. Corrnack, Aphrodisias Papers 2, 109-22. C. Roueche, Aphrodisias Papers 2, 99-102. 9 SeeK. T. Erim, Illustrated London News (20 February 1965), 23; idem, Aphrodisias, 62-7. 10 ALA 43, where see discussion. 11 L. Robert, ''ApxawA6yoc;', REG (1936), 235-54, 244 f.(= OMS 1, 671-90, 680 f.); 'Inscriptions grecques de Phenicie et d' Arabie', Melanges syriens offerts a Rene Dussaud (1939), 729-38,737-8 (= OMS 1, 601-10, 609-10). 12 Most recently published as MAMA vm, 492b; on the term see L. Robert, 'Cours 1973-1974, College de France', Ann. Coli. France (1973-74), 533-46, 536-7 (=OMS v, 51--64, 54-5) with references there. Cf. Appendix I.xiv. 8

PROVIDING ENTERTAINMENTS

3

due to the work of Louis Robert; as well as many studies on aspects of the subject throughout his life, he gave a most lucid overall description in one of the last of his works, the opening address to the VIIIth International Epigraphic Congress in 1982. 13 Every Greek city had its local cult, and would hold at least one festival in honour of the local deity, celebrated by a procession, a sacrifice, and a contest, at regular intervals. Such contests normally consisted of athletic competitions- Y\>JlVlKU- or competitions in the performing arts - JlOuona - , or a combination of the two; and many included horseracing competitions - btmKa. In the classical period, four of these festivals had an exceptional status: the contests held at Olympia, Delphi (the Pythia), the Isthmus, and Nemea were of a different order from all other such contests; they made up the 'Circuit' -1tEpio5o~- and a victor in all four could describe himself as a 'Circuit victor' -1tEpw5ovilCll~ 14 or 1tepio8o~. 15 They were 'sacred' - iepoi - and victory in them was rewarded not by a money prize, but by a crown; they were therefore also called cr'tecpavi'tat, 'crowned'. The material reward for the contestant was not provided by the organizers of the contest, but by the city from which he came. In acknowledgement of the glory that a city obtained when their citizen was victorious, they would reward him with local privileges: 16 typically the entitlement to free maintenance by the city, and the right to drive in- dcreA.auvetv- to the city in a triumphant return; contests where victory was rewarded with such a right were described as dcreA.acr'ttKoL 17 The international recognition of a contest as deserving reward with such privileges was denoted by the title 'worldwide'- oiKOUJlEVlKO~. A further source of reward for such a victor would be that he could demand a higher fee to appear in shows - emEi~El~. 18 In some cases a very distinguished victor could expect a payment to ensure his appearance at an international contest. Most competitors would expect to maintain their income by competing in local festivals, which, not having such international status, had to attract competitors by money prizes - 8£Jla'ta- and so were known as SeJla'that or 'taA.avnatot- such as the Lysimacheia at Aphrodisias. 19 But it is a useful reminder of the workings of the ancient world that the privileges of the victors at international contests were apparently never rendered superfluous by the competing attraction of financial rewards. The continuing importance of such privileges is indicated by a document of the third century A. D. from Oxyrhynchus in which a victor offers proof of his victories in order to obtain what by then had become the most valuable of all such awards-