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HEROD the GREAT and the COPPER MINES of CYPRUS In HEROD THE GREAT AND THE COPPER MINES OF CYPRUS Abstract: A famous but in some respects obscure passage in Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities (XVI 4.5) mentions an exchange of gifts between Augustus and King Herod of Judaea in 12 BC, the latter receiving «half the revenue from the copper mines of Cyprus» while being entrusted with «the management of the (other?) half». The text shows that the princeps (not the republic) was regarded as the legal owner of the mines of what was at the time a public province. According to the interpreta- tion given here, Josephus’ wording should mean that Herod was entrusted with the responsibility for (and maintenance of) all the copper mines on the island (not only those of Soloi or Tamassos), taking half the revenue extracted from them. There is not the slightest indication that Jews were particularly involved in their king’s Cypriot business. Augustus’ donation was not part of a leasing contract (supposedly in exchange for the 300 talents given by Herod) but has to be understood in the sense of a Hellenistic dôrea, implying all the characteristics of a Roman precarium. In many studies on ancient Cyprus as well as in some more elaborate tourist guides1 mention is made of an important gift by Caesar Augustus to his loyal friend Herod the Great (41/37-4 BC)2. Rendered in numerous sometimes contradictory variants, the story basically holds that at a certain moment the king of Judaea received a substantial share of the revenues from the Cypriot copper mines. The anecdotical, somewhat fairy-like nature of the donation, enhanced by the ominous notoriety of its benefi- ciary3, never fails to catch the attention of the average reader, curious 1 In a recent article I have tried to show how influential tourist guides can be in the transmission, diffusion, and even (re)shaping of historical knowledge and (mis)interpreta- tion: see H. HAUBEN, Christ versus Apollo in Early Byzantine Kourion? With a Note on the so-called ‘Panayia Aphroditissa’ in Paphos, in: Philomathestatos. Studies in Greek Patristic and Byzantine Texts presented to Jacques Noret for his Sixty-Fifth Birthday (edd. B. JANSSENS – B. ROOSEN – P. VAN DEUN) (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 137), Leuven-Paris-Dudley (MA) 2004, p. 269-284, esp. 275 with n. 37. 2 On Herod the Great, his background and policy, see the recent overviews by K. BRING- MANN, art. Herodes 1, in: Der Neue Pauly V (1998), col. 458-460, and M. SARTRE, D’Alexandre à Zénobie. Histoire du Levant antique. IVe siècle avant J.-C. – IIIe siècle après J.-C., Paris 2001, p. 530-536, with relevant bibliography p. 530-531 n. 6. 3 Several guides, when referring in this connection to Herod, remind the reader of the notorious (in fact probably legendary) massacre of the Innocents (thus K.K. KESHISHIAN, Romantic Cyprus, Nicosia 199317, p. 245; A. SCHNEIDER, Zypern. 8000 Jahre Geschichte: 176 H. HAUBEN about all kinds of royalty stories. The scholar, on his part, always hopes — in vain — to finally get a satisfactory explanation of what really hap- pened as well as a better general insight into the way in which the mines of Cyprus were managed and exploited. In fact, our information is based on a single and brief passage in the XVIth book of Flavius Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities (XVI 4.5 [1284]). Its context5, not always sufficiently taken into account, is very important. It concerns a dramatic confrontation between Herod (supported at the time by his malicious elder son Antipater) and the young princes Aristo- bulus and Alexander. The meeting took place in Aquileia, or perhaps in Rome6, in the presence of the «Saviour of all mankind»7. Showing much patience and diplomacy, the latter managed to reconcile, at least tempo- rarily8, the paranoid tyrant with his younger sons, who sought revenge for the execution of their mother Mariamme I in 29 BC. To celebrate this happy and glorious occasion, the happy suzerain and his even more glorious vassal proceeded in the next days to an exchange of lavish gifts. The date of the meeting and the subsequent exchange is not completely sure, but most scholars assign them to the year 12 BC 9, in fact Archäologische Schätze, Byzantinische Kirchen, Gotische Kathedralen [Kunst-Reiseführer in der Reihe DuMont Dokumente], Köln 1988, 19933, p. 47) or simply of the king’s biblical links (M. DUBIN – D. MORRIS, The Rough Guide to Cyprus, London-New York 20024, p. 278). 4 Or 129 in the edition of I. BEKKER – S.A. NABER, Flavii Iosephi Opera omnia, IV (Teubner), Lipsiae 1893, p. 21. 5 Ant. Iud. XVI 87-130; cf. Bell. Iud. I 452-466. 6 Aquileia: Ant. Iud. XVI 91; Rome: Ant. Iud. XVI 106, Bell. Iud. I 452. 7 Ant. Iud. XVI 105. 8 Aristobulus and Alexander were executed in 7 BC. Antipater would meet the same fate three years later. 9 See A. SCHALIT, König Herodes. Der Mann und sein Werk (Studia Judaica, 4), Berlin 1969, p. 251 n. 354-355; p. 594-595; E. SCHÜRER, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. – A.D. 135). A New English Version revised and edited by G. VERMES & F. MILLAR, I, Edinburgh 1973, p. 287-329 (‘Herod the Great’), esp. 293 with n. 16 (referring to Augustus’ distribution of money on the occasion of his election to the supreme priesthood in 12 BC, mentioned in Res Gestae 15, on which see R. RIDLEY, The Emperor’s Retrospect. Augustus’ Res Gestae in Epigraphy, Historiography and Com- mentary [Studia Hellenistica, 39], Leuven 2003, p. 118-119; cf. infra, n. 15), 318, 322; D. KIENAST, Römische Kaisertabelle. Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie, Darmstadt 19962, p. 64: «12 v.Chr.: Reise des Augustus nach Aquileia und Treffen mit Herodes?»; cf. ID., Augustus. Prinzeps und Monarch, Darmstadt 1982, p. 375. It is strange that the standard works of Schürer and Kienast fail to mention Augustus’ donation of the mines to Herod, thus revealing a certain doubt about its real significance or even some scepticism concerning its historicity? The encounter at Aquileia (or Rome) took place between Agrippa’s return from Asia Minor in 13 BC (Ant. Iud. XVI 62, 86: D. KIENAST, Augustus, p. 101; Agrippa died in March 12 BC: ibid., p. 103) and the inaugural celebrations HEROD THE GREAT AND THE COPPER MINES OF CYPRUS 177 a turning point in the lives of both protagonists as well as in their mutual relationship. For his detailed history of Herod Josephus was able to rely on Books 123 and 124 of Nicolas of Damascus’ Historiai. Having accompanied his king on the trip to Italy, the Damascene was certainly in this respect «eine Primärquelle ersten Ranges», although his general presentation at times appears clearly tendentious and panegyrical10. So, even though it is not a priori excluded that some exaggeration is involved, the information on Augustus’ gifts may be considered basically reliable. Let us now take a look at the account of Josephus: ˆEn dè ta⁄v üstéraiv ™méraiv ¨JrÉdjv mèn êdwre⁄to Kaísara triakosíoiv talántoiv, qéav te kaì dianomàv poioúmenon t¬ç ¨Rwmaíwn dßmwç, Ka⁄sar dè aût¬ç toÕ metállou toÕ Kupríwn xalkoÕ t®n ™míseian prósodon kaì t±v ™miseíav t®n êpiméleian ∂dwken, kaì tõlla zeníaiv kaì katagwga⁄v êtímjse. The English translation by R. Marcus and A. Wikgren reads as follows11: «In the following days [after the reconciliation effected by Caesar Augus- tus] Herod made a present of three hundred talents to Caesar, who was providing spectacles and doles for the people of Rome, while Caesar gave him half the revenue from the copper mines12 of Cyprus, and entrusted him with the management of the other half. In addition he honoured him with hospitality and lodging.» A recent and outstanding Dutch translation by F.J.A.M. Meijer and M.A. Wes renders the passage in basically the same way13: «De dagen daarop schonk Herodes driehonderd talenten aan Caesar, die voor het Romeinse rijk juist grote spelen gaf en graanuitdelingen at Caesarea in 10/09 BC (Ant. Iud. XVI 136-141: E. SCHÜRER, p. 306; D. KIENAST, Augustus, p. 208 n. 155 [where the lapsus «10 n.Chr.» should of course be corrected]). 10 See, e.g., Ant. Iud. XVI 184-186; K. MEISTER, art. Nikolaos 3, in: Der Neue Pauly VIII (2000), col. 920-922. 11 JOSEPHUS, with an English translation by R. MARCUS, completed and edited by A. WIK- GREN, VIII, Jewish Antiquities, Books XV-XVII (The Loeb Classical Library), London- Cambridge (MA) 1963, p. 256-257. The passage has been incorporated by K. HADJIÏOAN- NOU, ¨J ârxaía Kúprov eîv tàv ¨Elljnikàv pjgáv, I, Leukosia 19852 (1971), p. 302, no. 109.10 (also with the reading poioúmenon, on which see infra) = II, 19852 (1973), p. 396 no. 173.2. 12 It is clear that métallon has the value of a collective noun here. 13 FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. De Oude Geschiedenis van de Joden [Antiquitates Judaicae]. Deel III – Boek XIV-XX. Vertaald, ingeleid en van aantekeningen voorzien door F.J.A.M. MEIJER en M.A. WES, Amsterdam-Leuven 1998, p. 228. Only the xeniai are understood in a somewhat different way. 178 H. HAUBEN organiseerde. Caesar op zijn beurt gaf hem de helft van de opbrengsten van de kopermijnen op Cyprus en vertrouwde hem het beheer over de andere helft toe. Bovendien eerde hij hem met andere gastgeschenken en bood hij hem een gastvrij onderkomen aan.» Both translations speak explicitly of two different halves, a problem to which we will return anon. But there is another difficulty, which con- cerns the transmission of the Greek text.
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