The Case of Aphrodisias

Memory, Commemoration & Identity in an Ancient City: The Case of Aphrodisias Angelos Chaniotis Abstract: The ancient Greek city of Aphrodisias in Asia Minor presents abundant source material–in- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/145/2/88/1830941/daed_a_00379.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 scriptions and images–for the study of memory and identity from the late second century BCE to the seventh century CE. These sources permit the study of overlapping civic, social, and religious identities, the expression of changing identities through name changes, the significance of memories of war and foun- dation legends for the transmission of collective and cultural memory, the agency of elite benefactors and intellectuals, the role played by inscriptions in the construction and transmission of memory, and the ad- aptation of identity to changing contexts, including emerging contacts with Rome, competition with other cities, an elevated position as provincial capital, and the spread of Christianity. In late antiquity–when the importance of religious conflicts increased–personal names, religious symbols, and acclamations became an important medium for the expression of the identity of competing religious groups. New impulses in the study of Greek and Roman history come from various sources: the discovery of new and important documents in the forms of inscriptions and papyri; the dialogue with other his torical disciplines and with the social sciences; and ANGELOS CHANIOTIS is Ancient both new theoretical models and modern experi History and Classics Professor in ences and challenges. In the last six decades, new the School of Historical Studies at epigraphic finds have significantly changed our un the Institute for Advanced Study. derstanding of ancient religion. Papyri, such as the He is the author of War in the Helle- nistic World: A Social and Cultural His- Qumran texts and the Judas evangelium, have revo tory (2005) and is Senior Editor of lutionized the study of early Christianity. Quanti the Supplementum Epigraphicum Grae- tative methods in the social sciences have contrib cum (with Thomas Corsten, Niko- uted to the study of ancient demography, and the laos Papazarkadas, and R. A. Ty- study of ancient democracy has profited from input bout). He is also the ed itor of Un- from the political sciences, anthropology, and so veiling Emotions II. Emotions in Greece ciology. Performance theories and theories on ritu and Rome: Texts, Images, Material Cul- ture (with Pierre Ducrey, 2013) and als have inspired new research of the political cul Unveiling Emotions: Sources and Meth- ture of Greece and Rome. The feminist movement ods for the Study of Emotions in the gave new directions to the study of gender and soci Greek World (2012). ety; dialogues with the neurosciences, psychology, © 2016 by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00379 88 and modern history have generated vivid At the time of their original use, these Angelos interest in the study of emotions and so monuments were truly memorials. But Chaniotis cial memory in classical antiquity. a semiotician should forbear saying that The study of some of the subjects men the Aphrodisians fortified their city with tioned above, including religion, memory, stones preserving memory. The inscribed demography, and democracy, has a long stones were used as building blocks be tradition in ancient history; but in recent cause they had become irrelevant and ob years, research has been exploring new her solete as memorials; the families who meneutic paths. Subjects such as gender would have cared for the memory of the and sexuality were novelties in the 1970s ancestors had gone extinct, or had left the and 1980s, but now belong to the thematic city, or were indifferent to such memory. Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/145/2/88/1830941/daed_a_00379.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 canon of ancient history. Other subjects, Aphrodisias is not the only city in the such as theatricality, performativity, and Roman East that recycled old monuments emotion, have only been introduced into and carefully selected what was to be pre the field in the last decades. Identity, the served in order to reshape its public mem subject discussed in this essay, belongs to ory and identity. It is an ideal case study the latter category. It has emerged as an because of the abundance of artifacts, in important research object in the last de scriptions, and other sources from the late cades in part through dialogue with the so second century bce to the seventh century cial sciences, and partially because of the ce. These sources allow for a study of trans significance of identity in communities formations of identity, their agents, and facing the challenges of globalization and their historical contexts, over the course multiculturalism. of a millennium. This study addresses sub jects that have been at the forefront of con Around 360 ce, a fortification wall was temporary ancient studies.2 completed at Aphrodisias. Old material was recycled for its construction: parts of We can define identity as the response older buildings, blocks of funerary mon to the question who are you? or to whom do uments, and statue bases, many of them you belong? When Herakleides, a traveler inscribed. Most of the texts honor mem from the third century bce, visited Plataia, bers of the elite, mentioning their services the place of the Greeks’ decisive victory to the city, the offices they had occupied, over the Persians in 478 bce, he described the honors bestowed upon them, and the its citizens as having “nothing to say except a chieve ments of their ancestors. A post that they are colonists of the Athenians and humous honorific inscription for a wom that the battle between the Greeks and the an, from the first or second century ce, is Persians took place in their territory.”3 This a good example: was the Plataians’ answer to the question The council and the people buried and hon- who are you? Such an answer involves a his ored Apphia, the daughter of Menestheus, torical narrative, real or imaginary–“we son of Eumachos, wife of Hermias Glykon, are colonists of the Athenians,” or “the Per son of Hermias, who belonged to one of the sians were defeated in our land”–and an first and most prominent families, one of association or affinity with another group those who together built the city, a woman (“we are Athenians”). What defines iden who also herself excelled in prudence and tity is the context in which the question is modesty, lived a life worthy of her ancestors asked: Who wants to know? What consequenc- and her husband, and was honored many es will the answer have? The context of com times through decrees.1 munication leads to different–sometimes 145 (2) Spring 2016 89 The Case of overlapping, sometimes contradictory– the celebration of festivals; the gymna Aphrodisias expressions of identity. sium, an exclusive place of athletic train ing where bonds of friendship were made; The elementary identity of a member the council of elders; age classes for boys of an ancient community was his civ and girls; the clubs, including profession ic identity, the identity of a man as a citi al and cult associations; and (in late antiq zen of Athens or Ephesos, for instance. In uity) the circus factions.5 In certain his Aphrodisias, even this simple civic iden torical periods, especially in late antiqui tity evolved: when the city first acquired ty, religious identity could become more the status of an independent polis circa important than any other form of allegi 188 bce; when it joined the neighboring ance.6 Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/145/2/88/1830941/daed_a_00379.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 community of Plarasa in a sympolity, like Various media were drawn upon for ly around the midsecond century bce; the expression of identity. They includ when the city absorbed all neighboring ed ethnic, civic, or geographical designa communities under the name Aphrodisias tions (such as “Greek,” “Aphrodisian,” in the late first century bce; when it could or “Karian”), personal names, commem proudly declare that it was “the most glo orative anni versaries, peculiar rituals and rious city of the most distinguished People cults, symbols, attire, comportment, lin of the Aphrodisians, allies of the Romans, guistic choice, and even culinary prefer friends of the emperor, free and autono ences. Which identity was displayed and mous”; and when it became the provin how it was expressed depended on the cial capital, “mothercity of Karia.”4 con text of its manifestation: a festival, a Civic identity was occasionally overlaid commemorative anniversary, a meeting by other forms of consciousness, solidari of the assembly, a religious celebration, ty, and loyalty. Since the earliest times, the an internal conflict, an external threat, or Greeks held the feeling of belonging to a perhaps a diplomatic mission. group broader than that of their civic com munity. The three most widespread forms Regarding memory, we should take care of such identity were the culturally defined to distinguish between things remembered Hellenic identity, based on language, cus because they have been collectively ex tom, and common cultural memory; the perienced, also known as collective memo- regional identity, as in the case of the Cre ry, and things transmitted orally, in writ tans; and kinship with another group of ing, or through rituals and monuments, cities, as illustrated by the Dorians, or with known as cultural memory.7 Inscriptions settlements claiming to have had the same were the most important media for the founder. construction and transmission of collec Within the community, civic identity tive and cultural memory in Aphrodisias, could be overlaid, and at times under and in most cities during the Hellenistic mined, by social identity, loyalty to a politi and imperial periods.8 Public inscriptions cal group, or adherence to a religion that re referring to the past are based on an exist quired initiation or the acceptance of a set ing version of the past, which is selective of principles.

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