DOCSLIB.ORG

The Sociolinguistic Research of the Cult of Jupiter Dolichenus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Sociolinguistic Research of the Cult of Jupiter Dolichenus Acta Ant. Hung. 59, 2019, 537–546 DOI: 10.1556/068.2019.59.1–4.47 TÜNDE VÁGÁSI THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH OF THE CULT OF JUPITER DOLICHENUS Summary: Jupiter Dolichenus was a Roman god, a so-called ‘Oriental deity’ whose mystery cult gained popularity in the 2nd century AD, reached a peak under the Severi in the early 3rd century AD, and died out shortly after. As for Jupiter Dolichenus, he is sometimes referred to by scholars as ‘Baal of Doliche’ or ‘Dolichenian Baal’.1 The name Baal is derived from the term Ba’al, meaning ‘owner’ or ‘lord’, and the word must have been used as a title for gods in general. Over six hundreds monuments – mainly inscriptions – of the Dolichenian cult have come to light from the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire. The name Jupiter with the epithet Dolichenus – from the original name of Doliche – appears in inscriptions in many incorrect forms including Dolichenius, Dolychenus, Dolochenus, Dolicenus, Dolcenus, Dulcenus, Dolucens. Which of the above epithets reflects the original Syrian form and tradition? Is it possible that Dul- cenus is the original and correct form of the deity’s name, or is it just another vulgar change which ap- peared separately in time and space? This paper tries to prove the latter with the help of the LLDB. The Dolichenian cult is thought to have first been introduced by Syrian merchants and auxiliary soldiers, in- cluding troops from Commagene (the province that includes Doliche). In the light of the names of the priests of Jupiter Dolichenus, Speidel2 states that the Jupiter Dolichenian cult in the army was largely supported by Syrians and other Orientals. Key words: Jupiter Dolichenus, Dulcenus, Syrian traders, Syri negotiatores, Vulgar Latin, inscriptions 1. INTRODUCTION The main deity of the town of Doliche in Syria, known as Jupiter Dolichenus, was widely worshipped in the area of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the 2nd * The present paper was prepared within the framework of the project NKFIH (National Research, Development and Innovation Office, former OTKA Hungarian Scientific Research Fund) No. K 124170 entitled ‘Computerized Historical Linguistic Database of Latin Inscriptions of the Imperial Age’ (accord- ingly abbreviated as Database or LLDB hereafter; see: http://lldb.elte.hu/) and of the project entitled ‘Len- dület (Momentum) Research Group for Computational Latin Dialectology’ (Research Institute for Lin- guistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). 1 TURCAN, R.: The Cults of the Roman Empire. Oxford 1997, 161. 2 SPEIDEL, M. P.: The Religion of Iuppiter Dolichenus in the Roman Army. Leiden 1978, 9. 0044-5975 © 2019 The Author(s) Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/29/21 05:33 AM UTC 538 TÜNDE VÁGÁSI century AD until the middle of the 3rd century. His popularity peaked under the Severi along the northern frontiers of the Roman Empire. Jupiter Dolichenus had several different names in antiquity, but his full name is Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Doli- chenus: he borrowed his general epithets from the Capitoline Jupiter through the interpretatio Romana. Most of our data about divine names come from dedicatory in- scriptions, which are by far the most common type of inscriptions concerning reli- gious life throughout the Empire. The name is most often abbreviated on the inscrip- tions in the form I.O.M.D.3 The Dolichenus epithet is often referred to in a different way, however, for example: Dolichenius, Dolychenus, Dolochenus, Dolicenus, Dol- cenus, Dulcenus, Dolucens. To date, more than 450 inscriptions of the cult have been found in five prov- inces along the northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire: in the Rhine-Danube frontier, Italy, Britain and Northern Africa as well as in the Balkan region. They are distributed in the border areas of the Roman Empire, with most of the evidence for this cult found close to military settlements. At the same time, the traces of the cult are missing from Gaul and Hispania, Asia Minor, Aegyptus, and areas outside the territory of Commagene in Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia.4 Answering the question of what effects and processes created the form Dul- cenus requires complex investigation; we also have to examine whether regional varia- tions influenced the Dolichenian cult. Firstly, we must look at relevant Latin inscrip- tions displaying the name of the god from the eastern area, especially Syria. Secondly, we must examine inscriptions mentioning the name of the town of Doliche. Thirdly, we must examine inscriptions erected by individuals of Syrian descent who contrib- uted greatly to the spreading of the Dolichenus cult, such as the Syrian merchants and cult priests. At the same time, we should also take a look at the inscriptions that appear first in western provinces, as they are the ones we can expect to best reflect the normative form of the name of the god. While doing so, we should establish whether variants developed in the everyday life of local populations or in the whole empire at the same time, and whether they existed from the beginning or appeared only with the emergence of new settlements. This is a complex task.5 2. SYRIA, DOLICHE (Δολίχῃ) Doliche,6 the town the god in question was named after is now located in southeast- ern Turkey. The sanctuary of Dolichenus, which served as the centre of the cult in 3 BEARD, M. – NORTH, J. – PRICE, S.: The Religions of Rome. Vol. I. Cambridge 1998, 281. 4 For the possible causes, see TÓTH, I.: Iuppiter Dolichenus-tanulmányok. [Iuppiter Dolichenus- Studien.] Budapest 1976, 9. 5 FEHÉR, B.: Bujkáló adatok Aquincumból a nem szabályos nyelvhasználatra [Hidden data illus- trating non-normative linguistic usage from Aquincum] [FIRKÁK II]. Győr 2012, 173 – 179, here 173. 6 Doliche was located between the Euphrates River and the Taurus Mountains, in the Kingdom of Commagene, and was situated close to the intersections of important trade routes and military roads that connected it with Edessa, Carrhae, Samosata, Antioch, and other destinations well beyond the Near East. Acta Ant. Hung. 59, 2019 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/29/21 05:33 AM UTC THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH OF THE CULT OF JUPITER DOLICHENUS 539 Roman times,7 lies on the top of the mountain Dülük Baba Tepesi. On this hill stood a former shrine, and it was an important place of worship before the Roman area. The god Hadad or Zeus Hadados was honoured here.8 The name of Jupiter was only added when the settlement became the centre of the Roman cult.9 This fact excludes the possibility of the Dulcenus form on Latin inscriptions having been created because of substrate/adstrate effects.10 József Herman11 dealt with this type of transcriptional uncertainty, and said that the phenomenon can be seen as a striving for a better re- flection of the original pronunciation. With the Roman conquest, the cult underwent a major transformation, and the Dolichenus epithet appearing after makes it clear that the cult comes from Doliche, as opposed to the other Syrian gods who were also identified with Jupiter.12 The name of the settlement appears only in the Hellenistic era in literary sources, and even there it has various forms, so it is uncertain whether Dolicha or Doliche was the origi- nal name.13 This uncertainty of form is also reflected in ancient itineraria. Ptolemy is the first who mentioned Doliche in Commagene, and then it is mentioned in the Itinerarium Antonini as one of the stations of the road from Cyrrhus to Samosate.14 In addition, we also have evidence of an ethnic denomination in the form of Δόλιχος.15 Most of the inscriptions found in Syria are in Greek (CCID 2, 3, 30, 33, 34), where the god is invoked as Θεῷ Δολιχηνῷ.̣ 16 Inscriptions from the cult centre Doliche and its immediate vicinity appeared from 57–58 AD. Their language is uniformly Greek, and the god is mentioned as Δολιχηνῷ̣ (CCID 2–15). Among the dedicators we can find a certain Βαράδαδος bearing theophoric name (CCID 2) – that is, Hadad’s son – and this name appears in two more inscriptions related to the Dolichenian cult from 17 BLÖMER, M. – WINTER, E.: Commagene: The Land of the Gods between the Taurus and the Euphrates. An Archaeological Guide. Istanbul 2011. 18 In the Syrian inscriptions the deity is called several names, like Theos Epekoos, the ‘listening god’. Other popular epithets of the same god in this area included ‘Great-sighted god’, ‘holy god’ Theos Dolichenus, Zeus Magistos, etc. COLLAR, A.: Religious Networks in the Roman Empire. The Spread of New Ideas, Cambridge 2015, 84. 19 The relationship between Jupiter Dolichenus and the former deity was last discussed by BUN- NENS, G.: The Storm-God in Northern Syria and Southern Anatolia from Hadad of Aleppo to Jupiter Dolichenus. In HUTTER, M. – HUTTER-BRAUNSAR, S.: Offizielle Religion, lokale Kulte und individuelle Religiosität [Alter Orient und Altes Testament 318]. Münster 2004, 57 – 82. 10 There is no interaction between Semitic and Latin in the name of Hadad and Dolichenus. 11 HERMAN, J.: Latinitas Pannonica. Filológiai Közlöny 14 (1968) 364–376, here 371. 12 Jupiter Heliopolitanus, Jupiter Hieropolitanus, Jupiter Turmazgades, Jupiter Tavianus, etc. DUNAND, F. – LÉVÊQUE, P.: Les Syncrétismes dans les religions de l’antiquité: colloque de Besançon, 22–23 octobre 1973. Leiden 1975. 13 The name of the settlement in literary sources may also refer to Doliche of Thessaly. Ptolemy, Geogr. V 14.8. On Greek inscriptions, however, it typically appears as Δολίχη. For a review of the city’s variants see MERLAT, P.: Jupiter Dolichenus. Essai d’interpretation et de synthése. Paris 1960, 2. 14 Tabula Peutingeriana, segmt. X, A, 2 and Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, Asia, 184, 1–4: ‘Dolicha is 10 miles from Sicos Bassilisses, 14 miles from Zeugma, 20 miles from Gerbedisso and 25 miles from Hanuea’.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Calendar of Roman Events
    Introduction Steve Worboys and I began this calendar in 1980 or 1981 when we discovered that the exact dates of many events survive from Roman antiquity, the most famous being the ides of March murder of Caesar. Flipping through a few books on Roman history revealed a handful of dates, and we believed that to fill every day of the year would certainly be impossible. From 1981 until 1989 I kept the calendar, adding dates as I ran across them. In 1989 I typed the list into the computer and we began again to plunder books and journals for dates, this time recording sources. Since then I have worked and reworked the Calendar, revising old entries and adding many, many more. The Roman Calendar The calendar was reformed twice, once by Caesar in 46 BC and later by Augustus in 8 BC. Each of these reforms is described in A. K. Michels’ book The Calendar of the Roman Republic. In an ordinary pre-Julian year, the number of days in each month was as follows: 29 January 31 May 29 September 28 February 29 June 31 October 31 March 31 Quintilis (July) 29 November 29 April 29 Sextilis (August) 29 December. The Romans did not number the days of the months consecutively. They reckoned backwards from three fixed points: The kalends, the nones, and the ides. The kalends is the first day of the month. For months with 31 days the nones fall on the 7th and the ides the 15th. For other months the nones fall on the 5th and the ides on the 13th.
    [Show full text]
  • Instruments of Divine Power Divine Intervention Through Use of Weather Phenomena in Representations and Religious Practice in the Roman Empire
    Instruments of divine power divine intervention through use of weather phenomena in representations and religious practice in the Roman empire Pieter van Loevezijn, s0934054 M.A. Thesis Ancient History Thesis supervisor: dr. F. G. Naerebout Leiden University, 29 March 2018 Table of contents Introduction 3 a Roman system-of-belief? 5 1. Jupiter’s divine instrument: lightning and 14 the case of the miracle scenes on the column of Marcus Aurelius 2. Divine power in the epic storm 32 3. Warding of clouds, invoking divine help against bad weather 44 4. Connecting previous chapters: the imagined and portrayed 53 instruments of divine intervention Conclusion 61 Bibliography and Sources 64 Appendix 69 Cover illustration: The conversion of St. Paul, by Michelangelo (frescoe in the Pauline Chapel at the Vatican). This painting appears to depict a bolt of lightning arising from Jesus’ (god’s?) right arm, directed at St. Paul. (from J. Bullock, ‘Was Saint Paul struck blind and converted by lightning?’, History of ophthalmology 39. 2. (1994) 151 – 160, 158. 1 Introduction In Rome on the Piazza Colonna stands the famous victory column of Marcus Aurelius. On this column a lightning bolt can be seen to strike a siege tower. In another scene on that same column a rain-god can be seen providing solace to thirsty Roman soldiers. Marcus Aurelius’ column is not the only source testifying of instances where the weather appears to be ascribed to divine intervention. What place did divine intervention through the use of weather phenomena have in ancient Roman religious society? The main reason for studying this aspect of Roman religion is to contribute to a better understanding of the Roman world.
    [Show full text]
  • Cults and Religious Integration in the Roman Cities of the Drava Valley (Southern Pannonia)
    CULTS AND RELIGIOUS INTEGRATION IN THE ROMAN CITIES OF THE DRAVA VALLEY (SOUTHERN PANNONIA) BY BLANKA MIŠIĆ A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS AND PHILOSOPHY ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON JANUARY 2013 1 DECLARATION OF AUTORSHIP I, Blanka Mišić, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Signed: ______________________ Dated: _______________________ 2 For my dearest parents. 3 ABSTRACT This work is a detailed examination of pagan cults and deities in three settlements along the Pannonian section of the Drava river (Aquae Iasae – modern Varaždinske Toplice; Iovia- Botivo – modern Ludbreg; and Mursa – modern Osijek) situated within the present-day territory of Croatia. The evidence examined consists primarily of inscribed votive dedications in stone, dating from the Roman conquest of Pannonia to the late third century A.D. Evidence is examined within the theoretical framework of cultural change, taking into account recent theoretical developments in the concepts of “Romanisation”, acculturation, identity- expression and syncretisation in order to determine the extent of cultural and religious integration along the Drava. A thorough examination of evidence reveals the emergence of differing and flexible religious identities specific to each settlement although united by the larger prevailing trend of nature-divinity worship. Our Drava evidence also reveals that economic, social, political and geographic factors all produced an impact on the process and extent of cultural and religious integration, thus helping to form local, regional, provincial and imperial expressions of identity(ies). 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS………………………………………......07 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded 09/23/21 02:31 PM UTC
    Acta Ant. Hung. 59, 2019, 537–546 DOI: 10.1556/068.2019.59.1–4.47 TÜNDE VÁGÁSI THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH OF THE CULT OF JUPITER DOLICHENUS Summary: Jupiter Dolichenus was a Roman god, a so-called ‘Oriental deity’ whose mystery cult gained popularity in the 2nd century AD, reached a peak under the Severi in the early 3rd century AD, and died out shortly after. As for Jupiter Dolichenus, he is sometimes referred to by scholars as ‘Baal of Doliche’ or ‘Dolichenian Baal’.1 The name Baal is derived from the term Ba’al, meaning ‘owner’ or ‘lord’, and the word must have been used as a title for gods in general. Over six hundreds monuments – mainly inscriptions – of the Dolichenian cult have come to light from the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire. The name Jupiter with the epithet Dolichenus – from the original name of Doliche – appears in inscriptions in many incorrect forms including Dolichenius, Dolychenus, Dolochenus, Dolicenus, Dolcenus, Dulcenus, Dolucens. Which of the above epithets reflects the original Syrian form and tradition? Is it possible that Dul- cenus is the original and correct form of the deity’s name, or is it just another vulgar change which ap- peared separately in time and space? This paper tries to prove the latter with the help of the LLDB. The Dolichenian cult is thought to have first been introduced by Syrian merchants and auxiliary soldiers, in- cluding troops from Commagene (the province that includes Doliche). In the light of the names of the priests of Jupiter Dolichenus, Speidel2 states that the Jupiter Dolichenian cult in the army was largely supported by Syrians and other Orientals.
    [Show full text]
  • EASTERN CULTS Introduction Despite the Roman Attitude of Religious Tolerance, Assimilation, and Syncretism, Eastern Cults Were N
    CHAPTER TWO EASTERN CULTS Introduction Despite the Roman attitude of religious tolerance, assimilation, and syncretism, Eastern cults were not widely embraced by Rome on an administrative level. Augustus officially discouraged cults from the near East, especially the Egyptian cult of Apis, though he tolerated some ancient cults (Suetonius Augustus 93). Tiberius upheld this policy (Tacitus Annals 2.85), as did Claudius (Tacitus Annals 11.15). Despite the fact that the Flavians favored Isis, Eastern cults were cat­ egorically restricted from the official military worship at least through the middle of the third century: they were not included in the camp shrine, excepting a few votivcs to Serapis and .Jupiter Dolichcnus, nor were monuments to Eastern deities erected in the courtyards of the praetorium, the centers of official army religion; and temples were built outside the camp walls. 1 No Eastern ritual is mentioned in the Feriale Duranum,2 despite the fact that some cults, especially that of Jupiter Dolichenus, most popular under Severus and Caracalla, had enjoyed wide acceptance prior to the issuance of this military festi­ val list, and, furthermore, that a fresco from Dura shows Roman military units venerating local gods. 1 1 Hoey, "Official Policy," 458. The exception is Dura, a camp which was built around a pre-existing city, an unusual circumstance. Found within the camp walls are the .\Iithrat'um, the joint temple to l\Tithras and Dolichenus and the temple to Artemis Azzanathcona, all of which were standing before the camp was built: RostovtzefT, Dura-A'uropus and its Art, 51-2. ' Fink, Roman ;v/ilitary Records, 421-22.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius by Ghislaine
    A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/79956 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius By Ghislaine Elisabeth van der Ploeg A thesis submitted for the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics and Ancient History University of Warwick, Department of Classics and Ancient History April 2016 Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Abstract 4 List of Abbreviations 5 List of Figures and Tables 11 Chapter One: Introduction: Mobility and Connectivity in the Cult of Asclepius 17 1.0 Introduction 17 1.1 Asclepius as Paradigm 19 1.1.1 Globalism and Regionalism in Antiquity 21 1.1.2 Identity and Regionalism 27 1.1.3 Competition and Connectivity 29 1.1.4 Conquest and Regionalism 31 1.1.5 Connectivity and the Mediterranean 33 1.1.6 Impact of Empire 36 1.1.7 Dissemination 38 1.1.8 Religious Change in the Provinces 39 1.1.9 Asclepieian Scholarship 44 1.2 The Impact of Rome on Asclepius 47 Chapter Two: Asclepius Before the Imperial Period 50 2.0 Introduction: The Pre-Imperial Cult 50 2.1 Homeric Origins 52 2.2 Dissemination
    [Show full text]
  • Religious Confluences Between East and West in the Roman Empire
    Orientalische Religionen in der Antike Ägypten, Israel, Alter Orient Oriental Religions in Antiquity Egypt, Israel, Ancient Near East (ORA) Herausgegeben von / Edited by Angelika Berlejung (Leipzig) Joachim Friedrich Quack (Heidelberg) Annette Zgoll (Göttingen) 22 Entangled Worlds: Religious Confluences between East and West in the Roman Empire The Cults of Isis, Mithras, and Jupiter Dolichenus Edited by Svenja Nagel, Joachim Friedrich Quack, and Christian Witschel Mohr Siebeck SVENJA NAGEL, born 1984; studied Egyptology and Classical Archaeology; 2015 PhD; since 2016 Research Associate at the Institutes of Egyptology of Wuerzburg University and Heidelberg University. JOACHIM FRIEDRICH QUACK, born 1966; studied Egyptology, Semitics and Biblical Archaeology; 1993 PhD; 2003 Habilitation; since 2005 Full Professor of Egyptology at Heidelberg University. CHRISTIAN WITSCHEL, born 1966; studied Ancient and Modern History, Prehistoric and Classical Archaeo- logy; 1998 PhD; 2004 Habilitation; since 2005 Full Professor of Ancient History at Heidelberg University. Published with financial support from the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context”. ISBN 978-3-16-154730-0 / eISBN 978-3-16-154731-7 ISSN 1869-0513 (Orientalische Religionen in der Antike) Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2017 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. www.mohr.de This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed by Gulde Druck in Tübingen on non-aging paper and bound by Buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sociolinguistic Research of the Cult of Jupiter Dolichenus
    Acta Ant. Hung. 59, 2019, 537–546 DOI: 10.1556/068.2019.59.1–4.47 TÜNDE VÁGÁSI THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH OF THE CULT OF JUPITER DOLICHENUS Summary: Jupiter Dolichenus was a Roman god, a so-called ‘Oriental deity’ whose mystery cult gained popularity in the 2nd century AD, reached a peak under the Severi in the early 3rd century AD, and died out shortly after. As for Jupiter Dolichenus, he is sometimes referred to by scholars as ‘Baal of Doliche’ or ‘Dolichenian Baal’.1 The name Baal is derived from the term Ba’al, meaning ‘owner’ or ‘lord’, and the word must have been used as a title for gods in general. Over six hundreds monuments – mainly inscriptions – of the Dolichenian cult have come to light from the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire. The name Jupiter with the epithet Dolichenus – from the original name of Doliche – appears in inscriptions in many incorrect forms including Dolichenius, Dolychenus, Dolochenus, Dolicenus, Dolcenus, Dulcenus, Dolucens. Which of the above epithets reflects the original Syrian form and tradition? Is it possible that Dul- cenus is the original and correct form of the deity’s name, or is it just another vulgar change which ap- peared separately in time and space? This paper tries to prove the latter with the help of the LLDB. The Dolichenian cult is thought to have first been introduced by Syrian merchants and auxiliary soldiers, in- cluding troops from Commagene (the province that includes Doliche). In the light of the names of the priests of Jupiter Dolichenus, Speidel2 states that the Jupiter Dolichenian cult in the army was largely supported by Syrians and other Orientals.
    [Show full text]
  • Stele-En.Pdf
    THE DEPICTION OF VAHAGN ON A BAZALT STELE IN THE CONTEXT OF WORLDVIEW OF ASKANAZ AND TORGOM Professor Vahanyan G., Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University; PhD in Art History Vahanyan V., Member of the Union of Designers of Armenia Abstract: The article reveals the research findings of the conceptual cognitive comparison of the works by Ancient Greek and Medieval Armenian historians in relation to Armenian rock art, linguistic and archeological data. A new approach is presented on genesis and knowledge dissemination, fundamentals of writing, ideology and worldview of the ancestors. The authors identify the unified structure of the object of study through explication of semantic and situational, logical and visual-figurative information in relation to cultural and linguistic, mythological, historical and worldview data. Key words: pictorial archetype, chronological analysis, birth of the first man, fighting a dragon, prototype transformation, universal scientific paradigm Exult the country of thousand vishaps - Armenia, You saw your sun of salvation - Vahagn. (Hovhannisyan I., “The Birth of Vahagn”) Introduction According to the German archeologists, the basalt stele relief (Fig. 1), excavated in the sacred site of Jupiter Dolichenus, on the territory of the historical Armenian Kingdom of Commagene1 (Fig. 2, 3), depicts an unknown god [1]. The cult of Jupiter Dolichenus was widely spread in the Roman Empire in II century AC and the archeologists consider the stele Roman. “One and a half meter basalt stele depicts a bearded deity, growing from a chalice of leaves. From the sides of one of the sources grows a long horn and a tree, which the deity clasps with his right hand.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Ten a New Relief of Antiochus I of Commagene and Other Stone
    . chapter ten . A New Relief of Antiochus I of Commagene and Other Stone Sculpture from Zeugma Charles Brian Rose There are probably several other classical sites with the ever before and to diagram the king’s evolving relationship archaeological potential of Zeugma, but very few of them with a range of Greek and Persian deities. have been subjected to the kind of systematic interdisciplin- The finds in question concern two stones discovered ary analysis that has characterized the Zeugma excavations during the emergency excavations at Zeugma in 2000: one, during the last few years — an examination made possible found in Trench 15, is a basalt stele with a dexiosis relief on largely through the generosity of The Packard Humani- one side and a long Greek inscription on the other; the sec- ties Institute.1 As a consequence, we know more about the ond, unearthed in Trench 9, is a limestone wall block with a domestic, commercial, and military activities there than is fragmentary Greek inscription that appears to be contem- the case at almost any other site in Roman Turkey, even porary with the first one.6 The two inscriptions have been those with more substantial and better preserved domes- published by C. Crowther, who was able to show that both tic remains, such as Ephesos and Antioch.2 Although the majority of the material uncovered at the site spans only three hundred years, its liminal position between the bor- ders of Parthia and the Roman Empire makes it a site criti- cally important to our understanding of the cultural and commercial interaction between East and West.3 It is, in a sense, a counterpart to Troy, the discoveries from which have highlighted Trojan interaction with both Mycenaeans and Hittites, as well as Greek and Persians.4 In terms of religion, and especially the ruler cult, the sal- vage excavations at Zeugma have been particularly impor- tant in that the trenches have yielded epigraphic and sculp- tural evidence from a temenos for Antiochus I of Comma- gene.
    [Show full text]
  • 470, Lxxxv, Vii. Isbn 978-3-16-154730-0
    BOOK REVIEW NAGEL, SVENJA; QUACK, JOACHIM FRIEDRICH; WITSCHEL, CHRISTIAN (EDS) ENTANGLED WORLDS: RELIGIOUS CONFLUENCES BETWEEN EAST AND WEST IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. THE CULTS OF ISIS, MITHRAS, AND JUPITER DOLICHENUS. TÜBINGEN: MOHR SIEBECK, 2017 (ORIENTALISCHE RELIGIONEN IN DER ANTIKE 22). PP. X, 470, LXXXV, VII. ISBN 978-3-16-154730-0. Giuseppe Santangelo1 This volume is the collection of a series of contributions to a conference held at the Internationales Wissenschaftsforum Heidelberg in 2009, which involved a great number of scholars from different fields, such as archaeologists, philologists and historians. The most relevant feature of this work is to have finally managed to deal with the topic of the so-called “oriental cults” from different perspectives through a multidisciplinary approach.2 The editors have arranged the essays into five sections plus a short introduction at the beginning, in which Joachim Friedrich Quack and Christian Witschel explain the methodology and the purposes of the whole work. The first section, “The Concept of ‘Oriental Cults’ in Recent Debates”, includes two contributions with contrasting ideas, which represent the two main trends of the current research on this theme. In “The ‘Romanization’ of ‘Oriental Cults’”, Jaime Alvar tries to build a new theory about the “oriental religions” on 1 Graduate student in Classical Archaeology at the University of Pisa. 2 “Oriental cults” is an old historiographical category, highly criticised in the second half of the 20th century and hardly examined by scholars through the system of teamwork, which is typical of the current research. Authors who aim at writing a general work about this topic run the risk of relying on a vast secondary bibliography about specific aspects of the cults, as proven by Alvar, Jaime.
    [Show full text]
  • Funerary Monument Dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus and Dea Syria from Glamija
    UDC: 904:255.6/.8"652"(398) https://doi.org/10.2298/STa1969231G 904:726.825"652"(497.11) Original research article naDEŽDa M. GaVriLoVić ViTaS, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade SYRIAN PRIESTHOOD IN THE TERRITORY OF DANUBE LIMES OF MOESIA SUPERIOR: FUNERARY MONUMENT DEDICATED TO JUPITER DOLICHENUS AND DEA SYRIA FROM GLAMIJA e­mail: [email protected] Abstract – In 1982, during archaeological excavations in the Danube Limes, a funerary stela was found in the locality of Glamija I (in the village of Rtkovo), inside the Roman fortress, dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus and Dea Syria. The dedicant is the priest of the divine couple. The monument from Glamija I represents one of only a few monuments dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus and Dea Syria, particularly since the dedication is made by the priest of the gods. This paper discusses the question and role of Syrian priesthood in the territory of the Danube Limes and the Central Balkan Roman provinces, in the context of the cults of Jupiter Dolichenus and Dea Syria, along with the hypotheses regarding the possible sanctuaries of the deities, their worshippers and the period when their cults existed in the aforementioned territories. Key words – Danube Limes, Dea Syria, Jupiter Dolichenus, priesthood, sanctuaries uring archaeological excavations in the The monument is dedicated to the Manes (the Danu be Limes locality of Glamija I (in the spirit­gods, the spirits of the dead) in memory of Ju li­ D village of Rtkovo), in 1982, inside the late us Apollinaris, the priest of the gods Jupiter Dolichenus antique smaller Roman fortification (burgum), a lime­ and Dea Syria.
    [Show full text]