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DEVELOPMENTS in CUL TIC TRADITIONS the Provincial Cult Of CHAPTER THREE DEVELOPMENTS IN CULTIC TRADITIONS The provincial Cult of the Sebastoi in Ephesus provides us with an example of a Graeco-Roman cult whose inauguration in a given location can be dated precisely. This chapter examines the ways in which religious traditions were appropriated in the creation of this new cult. The use of the traditions in the media of inscriptions, architecture, and sculpture illuminates the religious significance of the cult for the city of Ephesus and for the province of Asia. Ephesus, Neokoros of the Emperors The term '' neokoros'' has become a standard part of the modern interpretation of provincial cults for the emperors. It is sometimes used adjectivally, as in "neokorate temple," to specify provincial cults. Very few interpreters have noted, however, that the term neokoros was not used as a city title related to imperial cults until the establishment of the Sebastoi cult in Ephesus. 1 Why was this particular title chosen? What religious significance did it have? The word neokoros was the title for certain officials associated with many different cults. The official, as suggested by the presence of the word VEffi<; in the title, was always associated with temple cults. In contrast to offices like the VEffi1tOiot, 2 there was rarely more than one neokoros at a temple. Also, there was a tendency for god­ desses to have a female neokoros, while male deities usually had a male neokoros. 3 1 Burrell ("Neokoroi: Greek Cities of the Roman East" [Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 1980]204, 253-54) noted that the term does not appear in relationship to cities until the late first century CE, but she still used the term to refer to earlier provincial cults. S. R. F. Price (Rituals and Power [Cambridge: Cambridge Univer­ sity Press, 1984]64-65, esp. n. 47) clearly recognized that the cult in Ephesus was a turning point in the use of the term, but did not analyze the significance of the imagery. He continued to use "neokorate" as a label for provincial cults prior to the one founded in Ephesus. 2 See above, chapter one. 3 E.g., Pausanias recorded that a small temple of Aphrodite at Sikyon near Corinth could be entered only by the celibate female neokoros and the annually DEVELOPMENTS IN CULTIC TRADITIONS 51 The responsibilities of a neokoros were seen as complementary to those of priests and priestesses. In Plato's recounting, Sokrates re­ quired two types of officials to care for the temple cults in his ideal state: priests or priestesses, and neokoroi. 4 This connection of priestly officials and neokoroi can be seen in the epigraphic evidence as well. For example, an inscription on a marble stele from Skepsis lists the various exemptions (tax, military, etc.) for the priest of Dionysos Bambyleios, and then notes that they apply also to the neokoros. 5 It is not surprising, therefore, that the neokoros often seems to be an official who assists in the performance of priestly duties. An in­ scription from Pergamum describing how the proceeds of sacrifices to Athena Nikephoros are to be distributed includes the neokoros among the other cultic officials: the annually elected iEpoVOJ.I.Ol received the skins of the sheep and lambs, while the neokoros, the flute player, and the oA.oA.UK'tpta (crier) were all entitled to a small amount of money (two obols or a half obol, depending on the kind of sacrifice). 6 In Delphi, the neokoros was often included with the priests and others as a witness in manumission decrees. 7 Philo also used the term in a way which implies both cultic involvement and a distinction from priestly office when he described the tribe of Levites as being comprised of priests and neokoroi, 8 and when he called the Levitical cities of refuge "cities of neokoroi" ( 1t6A.w; VEOOK6prov). g On some occasions, the neokoros functioned as a guard for a precinct or for the possessions of the deity. A fourth century BCE inscription from Arkesine on Amorgos indicates that the neokoros of the local Heraion was ordered to ensure that no strangers (~evm) elected parthenos; Pausanias 2.10.4. Ephesian Artemis, however, had a male neokoros, and Pausanias also mentioned (12.5) that a sibyl named Herophile served as the neokoros of Apollo Smintheus in Alexandria in the Troad. 4 Plato, Laws 6. 759. Sokrates mentioned later that exegetes and treasurers should also be appointed, but these are clearly of secondary importance. 5 Z. Tasliklioglu and P. Frisch, "New Inscriptions from the Troad," ZPE 17 (1975) 106-9. The inscription probably comes from the second century BCE. It is now in the museum of <;anakkale. 6 AvP 8,2.255. 7 G. Colin (ed.), Epigraphie, vol. 3,2 of Fouilles de Delphes (Paris: Fontemoing, 1909) e.g., 128; 215; 223. 8 Dejuga 93. 9 Defuga 94. .
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