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New gods for a New World: observations on an epigraphic interplay between Greeks and Romans (Part 2)

Jenny Wallensten Swedish Institute at Athens; Athens, Greece; e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

In this paper is considered a certain type of close association between mortals and gods that developed during the late Hellenistic and Imperial era. The phenomenon can be traced in the epigraphic and in some numismatic sources, and features members of royal or Imperial houses honoured literally as New Gods, i.e.: Nero New (Neos) Apollo, Sabina New (Nea) Hera or Caracalla Neos Helios, etc. Why and when was an old god chosen for the creation and celebration of a new one? These titles are not just honorific and these combinations of mortal- gods are not random. They are a part of the constant, albeit not always direct, dialogue between rulers and subjects, between Roman emperors and Greek local communities. This particular conversation used traditional religion and civic display as its medium and was expressed through the language of mythology.

Keywords: Dedications; Ancient Greek Religion; Greek Epigraphy; Cult Epithets, Neos Theos

The Severans

Septimius Severus is twice presented as Neos Helios, as is his son Caracalla.1 The names of Geta and Heliogabalus have moreover been proposed for a Neos Helios inscription with a rasura where the honorand’s name should have been (MAMA 7 107).2 Caracalla is also known as Neos Dionysos, in Philippopolis and perhaps in Pergamon (IGBulg III,1 1074; IGRom IV 468). Among the Severan empresses, Julia Domna appears twice as Nea Hera.3

The character of the epigraphic documents mentioning New Gods seems to have changed anew, if we can allow an interpretation from this limited material of 9 inscriptions. No dedication to a Severan New God has been found, but the titles start to appear in prayers of victory, luck and well-being for the members of the Imperial house (IGRom IV 881; IGBulg III,1 1074; MAMA 7

1 Septimius Severus: IEphesos 294 + Add. p. 8 (PHI Ephesos 1053) and MAMA 6 list 149.161a (=Ramsey 1883: 422, 34=Ramsey 1895–1897: 660 no. 615=IGRom IV 664. Caracalla: Iplikçioglu 1987: 111-13 (=PHI Ephesos 1061*5=SEG 37 886). The stone was found in the forecourt of the Serapieion; IEphesos 291 (PHI Ephesos 993). For the identification of this emperor as Caracalla, Iplikçioglu 1987, accepted by SEG 37 886.

2 Tyriaion. The editors propose Geta or Heliogabalus, due to the lettering and a rasura. The title is Neos Helios tou holou. The editors proposes that this equals tou kosmou. We can note that Geta and Caracalla also are called New Gods on coins: three Neos Helios titles of Geta and Caracalla are featured on Ephesian coins, and it is noteworthy that the brothers are called Neoi Helioi in the plural: CCBM 16, p. 89 no. 292; Head 1911: 577. On coins of the Pisidian city of Amblada, Geta and Caracalla are however both New Ares, each on his own: Head 1911: 892; von Aulock 1977: no 141 & 142; SNG Aulock 4904; SNG France 3 1037. 3 Julia Domna: Smith & Ramsey 1887: 231, no. 12 (=Ramsay 1895–97: 329, 138=IGRom IV 881) (Takina); Duchesne 1883: 232, no. 1 (IGRom III 856) (Korykos). Plautilla is featured as Nea Hera on coins: Head 1911: 625. Perhaps there is a general increase in the numismatic Neoi evidence? 37

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107). A priest connected to the cult of Caracalla New Dionysos has been identified in Pergamon. It is noteworthy that this holder of the priesthood of Neos Dionysos simultaneously was the priest of Dionysos Kathegemon, a prominent god in the Pergamene pantheon (IGRom IV 468; von Prott 1902: 182).4

It is furthermore significant that in IGBulg III.1 1074, an inscription hyper Septimius Severus, Julia Domna and Caracalla, only Caracalla receives a New God title (Neos Dionysos), whereas in the Pisidian IGRom IV 881, hyper Septimius Severus, Julia Domna Caracalla and Geta, only Julia Domna is designated Nea Hera. The Neos designation was thus not bestowed indiscriminately.

Later New God emperors and unidentified New Gods

The identified post-Severan New Gods are very few: Gordian III and Marcus Julius Severus Philippus II as New Helioi and Gordians’ wife Furia Sabinia Tranquillina as Nea Hera. Two bases that once carried the statue of Gordian Neos Helios have been found in Ephesos, one (and very possibly the damaged second) of which was erected by this same city.5 The statue of Marcus Julius Severus Philippus Neos Helios was erected in Thrace, by the city Philippopolis (IGBulg III.1 1511=IGRom I 1480). Another city of Thrace, Ainos, has yielded the possible occurrence of Sabinia Traquillina Nea Hera; the boule and the demos offered her statue (Moretti 1984, 267, no. 3; Dumont–Homolle 1892: 438, no. 105c).

Unidentified New Gods

The collected New God dossier finally includes three New God inscriptions whose mortal component has not been securely identified, including one Neos Helios (MAMA 7 107, the editors propose Geta or Heliogabalus) and two New Dionysos, one from Aigina and one from Pergamon. In the Aiginetan inscription, datable to the 2nd or 3rd century AD, no emperor or other human is specified in the text, which appears to be complete (SEG 11 4B; Welter 1938: 22–23).6 The second unidentified Neos Dionysos is found in an Imperial Pergamene dedication to this deity, presented by the Demos (IPergamon 375). This damaged inscription did however very likely originally include the proper name of a human hailed as a New Dionysos.

Non-imperial Neos titles

31 inscriptions that make mention of non-Imperial “New” personages have been identified and included in the study, i.e., mentions of humans named New Heroes (e.g., New Herakles), New Mythological Character (e.g., New Penelope) or New Historical Character (e.g., New Themistokles). Five such inscriptions refer to women, and 27 concern men.7

4.Is it for this reason, the proximity of the old important deity, or perhaps the clear cult context as opposed to an honorary setting, that the title New Dionysos this time is preceeded by the definite article, i.e., The, not a, Neos Dionysos? The New Gods titles are rarely given a definite article.

5 Gordian: IEphesos 302 (PHI Ephesos 1066=Engelmann & Knibbe 1978 – 80: 32, no. 33; L’Année Epigraphique 1982: 883) & 304 (PHI Ephesos 1065; see also Robert 1970: 14–15).

6 Again perhaps significantly, the unspecified New Dionysos is presented with the definite article, The New Dionysos. This Dionysos is also referred to as af’Heliou, of Helios. Welter dates the inscription to the time of Caracalla. Robert believes this alternative Dionysian genealogy to be due to Helios’ popularity and influence during this period (Robert 1980: 400). 7 SEG 16 259 mentions a man and a woman. 38

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For women honorands, only mythological names appear: Penelope (IG V.1 540, 598, 599, 607), Hypermestra (SEG 16, 259 & SEG 17, 149; Charneux 1956: 612; Oliver 1958: 481, no. 3) and Laodameia (IG V.1 598).8 Penelope is the only reoccurring name. Four different women, all from Sparta, are called Nea Penelope, or, in one case, Alle Penelope. Interestingly, this Ἄλλη Penelope, Herakleia, was probably the daughter of Aurelia Oppia Nea Penelope (IG V.1 598 & 599).9 Aurelia Oppia was also honoured as New Laodameia (in the same inscription, IG V.1 598; cf Peek 1955: 727). The Nea Hypermestra has also been identified in the Peloponnese, in an Argive honorary inscription (see above and Spawforth 2011: 176–177; Robert 1981: 356). The context of these denominations is clearly honorific. The poleis of Sparta and Argos honoured citizen women by giving them Nea titles and probably by dedicating their statues.10 The men present in Group 2 were given Neos-titles recalling both mythological and historical characters. The historical characters are mostly very famous: Homer, Themistokles, Platon and Epaminondas;11 Theophanes of Mytilene is less well-known today (and would probably have been so during antiquity as well in spite of his local importance in Mytilene and friendship with Pompey the Great).12 Among the mythological titles, Neos Herakles is tied to two different men and a Neos Danaos has been proposed as a restoration next to Nea Hypermestra in the above mentioned Argive inscription.13 Interestingly and exceptionally, an ephebe named Damokrates is called Neos Hermes (IG V.1 493). This is the only case of a non-Imperial receiving a divine Neos-title. The exception is probably linked to the athletic context of the dedication (Damokrates’ image was placed in the palaistra he frequented), but I also propose that the god Hermes, moving freely and frequently between the world of humans and that of the gods, is a deity most suitable for an ordinary person honored as a new god. The remaining mythological names are mostly, on the contrary, chosen among locally known and worshipped characters: Neos Akamas in Phrygian Dorylaion, Neos Athamas in Teos and Neos Sagareites in an inscription now in Smyrna.14

8 Also, a Nea Lesbos appears on on Lesbian coins: Imhoof-Blumer 1909: 235-237; Robert OMS II: 826, see also Robert 1981: 355–356). The coins have been dated, on account of the hairstyles, to the reign of Titus or Domitian, 79–96 AD (Imhoof-Blumer 1897: 286–288). Lesbos was the wife of the island’s heros-founder, Roscher, Lex, sv Lesbos, 2: ἡ Λέσβος (Stoll); Schol. Il. 24.544. 9 The inscriptions thus belong together and should be understood in relation to each other. Perhaps the choice of the expression alle Penelope indicates that the daughter does not surpass the mother in wifely duties, but is on a par with her. 10 IG V.1 599 and 607 are referred to as bases, 540 as a herm. IG V.1 598 comes from a fragment of a marble column. 11 Homer: Bean 1965: 18–19, no. 107; SEG 26 166; IG II2 1069; IG II2 3786; IG II2 3787; IG II2 3788; IG II2 3789 (see also Merkelbach 1979: 178-179). Themistokles: SEG 26 166; IG II2 1069; IG II2 3786; IG II2 3787; IG II2 3788; IG II2 3789. Platon: SEG 54 469, see also L’Année Epigraphique 2004 [2007]: 1349. The inscription is dated to the second c. AD by L’Année Epigraphique. Epaminondas: Olympia V, no. 447; SEG 58 381 & 382 (=L’Année Epigraphique 2007: 1303 & 1304). 12 IG XII.2 235 & IG XII.2 236 (=SEG 29 740,1); see Hodot 1979; Robert 1981: 353. M. Pompeius Macrinus is, and calls himself, Neos Theophanes (Hodot 1979), recalling his relative the poet and historian Theophanes. The ‘old’ Theophanes was a friend of Pompey the Great and managed to re-establish Mytilene’s independent status (lost when the island chose the side of Mithradates), Hodot 1979: 230 It is however not clear whether Macrinus himself took the byname, cf. Schumacher 1973: 259. For a discussion of the Old and the New Theophanes, see Buraselis 2001. 13 Herakles: IG IX 12 141 (=Dyggve, Poulsen & Rhomaios 1934: 65ff, no. 2, abb 60ff; Bulletin Epigraphique 1936: p. 367), 142 (= Dyggve, Poulsen & Rhomaios 1934: 62ff, no. 1; Bulletin Epigraphique 1936: p. 367); Dyggve, Poulsen & Rhomaios 1934: 67, no. 3 ( = Bulletin Epigraphique 1936: p. 367); Peek 1955: 1247 ( = E. Bernand 1969: no. 82); MAMA 4 49c ( =Legrand & Chamonard: 286, no. 89). Danaos: SEG 16 259; SEG 17 149; Charneux 1956: 612; Oliver 1958: 481, no. 3. Contra: Robert 1981: 356. 14 Akamas: IGRom IV 527, see also Robert 1981: 356; Koerte 1895: 16. Akamas was a son of Theseus, founder of Akamantion. Athamas was the founder of Teos, Stephanos of Byzantion, s. v. Teos ; Pausanias 7.3.3 ; Strabon 14.1.3 (= 633); Neos Athamas: IGRom IV 1570 (=PHI Teos 38). Possibly the damaged PHI Ionia, Teos 121 makes mention of another Neos Athamas. Sagareites: ISmyrna 771. The editors suggest that the Neos Sagareites is the 39

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Broad chronological and geographical patterns

We can thus establish quite a clear chronological pattern. As regards Group 1 (Imperial honorands), the use of the Neos-/Nea- title appears during the Hellenistic period. Then, accompanied by the switch in initiative discussed above, it becomes established during the early Imperial period with peaks during the Julio-Claudians and the Antonines (specifically during the reign of Hadrian), after which the Neos-gods seem to fade.15 Interestingly enough, the inscriptions of Group 2, presenting ‘ordinary mortals’ as Neoi, mainly seem to follow the pattern of the imperial New Gods. One could have imagined a back-lag, with the phenomenon seeping down from the highest echelons of the Imperial elite, honoured on an international level, to elites with Greek cities honoured on a local level. But if we can judge by the 31 inscriptions (28 of them dated), from a chronological perspective the distribution of Neos-titles to members of the local elite rather mirrors the main category of imperial Neoi. The earliest dated occurrences are those tied to Julius Nikanor. The dates of his lifetime are disputed, but are dated by most to the Augustan or the Neronian period. His titles Neos Homeros and Neos Themistokles thus coincide with the Julio-Claudian Neos inscriptions. On the contrary, there is no coherence to be found between the two groups regarding the geographical pattern. The use of the New God-title for members of the imperial house (Group 1) is most frequent in Asia Minor, with 49 occurrences against 19 in comparison with the area that ranks second in terms of these inscriptions: Attica and the Megarid. This dominance possibly becomes even more evident if we examine the inscriptions stemming from the Aegean islands. With the exception of Aigina, and Cyprus (and a total of three inscriptions), all of the Aegean islands inscriptions come from islands that lie close to the Asia Minor coast (Kos, Chios, Samos, Lesbos). Asia Minor is well-represented in Group 2 as well, and Lesbos has yielded mention of a Neos Theophanes, but the mortal Neoi seem more frequent on the Greek mainland (Athens, six inscriptions and the Peloponnese, nine inscriptions).

The gods

If we sum up the gods present in the dossier, we find 13 gods, and four divine epithets used for a Neos/Nea title.16 Traditional major gods dominate: Neos Dionysos is represented 35 times and Neos Helios 16. The goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Demeter are used as Nea goddesses 14, ten and five times respectively. Neos Apollo has been identified seven times and Neos Ares three. Two inscriptions talk of a New Asklepios,17 two of a New Hermes. Neoi Dioskouroi are represented in two inscriptions and finally, single instances of Isis, Zeus and Charis have been collected.

incarnation (“neue Verkärperung”) of a previous important person, in the manner of the Neos Theophanes. Another possible interpretation would be that of an ethnikon, in which case the inscription is not relevant to this study. The Neos Sagareites is the Stephanephoros magistrate in a dating formula. It thus appears that this honorary title was not momentary, carved on a single honorary monument, but a recurrent part of his name. Coins minted in Mytilene, Lesbos, presented a Neos Makar, or Makareus side by side with the Nea Lesbos previously mentioned, Robert OMS II: 826. 15 At this time, a possible increase in the numismatic evidence is detectable. Has the medium changed? 16 I have counted Herakles as a heros. This is of course a matter that has been debated since antiquity. The Dioskouroi are explicitly called Theoi olympioi in one of two inscriptions (IG V.1 447). 17 Glykon claims to be New Asklepios in gold letters carved in the house of Sacerdos de Tieion (Luc. Alex. 43. Robert 1980: 400, distinguises this New Asklepios from the imperial titles, which he refers to as ”identifications civico-religieuses”. 40

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Among the epithets used as title (without a deity specified), we find Nikephoros three times, Pythios once, and likewise single occurrences of Boulaia and Pythia.18 As noted above, the dossier furthermore includes 31 instances of historical characters, or mythological characters besides gods, creating “New-composits”. Most popular for mythological Neos combinations is Herakles, identified in five inscriptions. The sources have also preserved four Nea Penelope and single occurances of Neos Danaos, Nea Hypermestra and Nea Laodameia. Less well-known mythological characters also appear once: Neos Akamas, Neos Athamas, Neos Erythros and Neos Sagareitos. The historical characters include Homer, Themistokles, Plato, Epaminondas and Theophanes of Mytilene. The name of New Homer was bestowed upon an Aelios Paion of Side (Bean 1965: 18-19, no. 107, l. 11).19 The well-known character C. Julius Nikanor of Syrian Hierapolis was referred to (in Athens) as a New Homer and New Themistokles (IG II2 1069, 1723, 3786–3789; Merkelbach 1979: 178–179).20 Aristocrats from Messene are called New Epaminondas in honorary inscriptions erected in Olympia and Messene.21 A philosopher of the 2nd century AD was called a New Plato (SEG 54 469) and we encounter the Neos Theophanes in Mytilenean inscriptions of the same century (IG XII.2 235 & 236; Hodot 1979).

What is a New God? Definitions and subsequent problems

Within the religious framework of the late Hellenistic and Imperial periods, it was of course since long conceivable to divinize mortals in their own right, to approach them by their proper names in cult. Lysander was perhaps the first Greek to be receive public recognition with divine honours while still alive (Jones 2010, 69), and many examples can be mentioned of men and women of the Hellenistic courts, whose actions and positions of power made it possible for them to be called gods, instances where need for the added prestige of the name of a traditional and already established divinity apparently was not felt. But in the cases examined for this paper, the person or political body behind an inscribed gift or an honorific decree, chose to refer to the recipient deity or honorand specifically as a New god. Not as a divine emperor/empress (i.e., Thea Livia), nor as an emperor or empress associated or assimilated to a god (i.e., Livia Aphrodite).22 I now wish to discuss how a New God is to be understood. The concept certainly warrants a closer examination. As mentioned initially, the Neoi Theoi have not been accorded a lot of attention. But when discussed, two explanations are usually given: either that of the designation as an honorary title, or that of the imperial person as an incarnation of a certain god, i.e., a god that has ventured down from Olympus and taken residence in a human body (IAnkara 158; ISmyrna 771; Nock 1928: 31). That the designation New God is nothing but an honorary title is a default explanation and it can be refuted immediately. There are certainly connotations of honour in being called by the name of a god, and the title sometimes occurs in honorific decrees and in inscriptions accompanying honorary statues. But a closer examination of the evidence clearly shows that the title New God is not simply a celebratory byname. The dossier presented above include inscriptions of many

18 Antinoos receives the epithet Pythios on coins from Tarsos: Head 1911: 733. 19 Bean also gives references for other comparisons with Homer (without Neos): IG XIV 1074 & TAM II 910. 20 For Julius Nikanor, see Bowersock 1965: 96; Graindor 1927: 8; Raubitscheck 1954. Nikanor’s titles were erased from inscriptions IG II2 3786, 3787 & 3789. 21 Olympia V, no. 447; SEG 58 381 & 382. 22 A distinction between, e.g., Livia Aphrodite and Livia New Aphrodite has not always been made, and some scholars assume that the two designations carry the same meaning. See for example Nock 1928: 34, 37; Hahn 1994. But these composite characters are not merely associations between a god and a human, since the mortal in question is in fact called by the name of the god. Neither are they assimilations created by the fusion of a mortal and an immortal; due to the term New inserted between the human’s and the god’s name. 41

42 CAES Vol. 4, № 1 (March 2018) kinds and show that the New Gods received dedications, that they had altars and temples and that priests were attached to their cults.23 We thus have traces of actual worship and the designation can therefore not be regarded as purely honorary. Neither, I believe, should we understand the Neoi as examples of incarnation. (The term incarnation is mainly used in Christian teology, and is problematic for the historic context of the present article. However, since it has been used by previous scholars in regard to pagan neoi theoi, I have chosen to treat it albeit briefly here.) The incarnation of a god can be defined as “the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form” (Merriam-Webster), or, even more literally: “le movement de “venir dedans” (in latin=dans, en) “la chair” (caro, carnis)” (Poupard, Dictionnaire des Religions, s.v. Incarnation). This definition does not agree with the designation “New God”, since in the case of incarnation, an already existing, ‘old’ god takes his or her place in a ‘new’ (human) body. Thus, the vessel is new, not the content; Apollo incarnated is still the old, original, Apollo, not another, new, Apollo. Incarnation does thus not agree with the New Gods, where the term Neos undoubtedly belongs to the god, and not the designated human.24 Another problem with the idea of New Gods as incarnations becomes visible when examining the material even more closely. In Ephesos, the numismatic evidence introduces Caracalla and Geta as Neoi Helioi in the plural.25 How should we understand this in terms of incarnation: two simultaneous incarnations of the single Sun God? Furthermore, one and the same person can be called by several, different, New God-titles. Would the body of the same mortal then host the incarnations of various gods? Admittedly, this would be possible if the incarnations are separated in time and space. But what of a case such as Livia Hestia Nea Demeter (ILampsakos 11), Drusilla Nea Hera and Nea Aphrodite (Peek, Asklepieion 255, if the restoration is correct), or (albeit not deities) Julius Nikanor New Homer and New Themistokles (IG II2 1069, 1723, 3786–3789; Merkelbach 1979: 178–179)? Perhaps Therese Fuhrer comes closer to the mark in referring to manifestations of a god and his power (Fuhrer 2011: 376). However, in my opinion it is more fruitful to initially consider these deities to be what they are called, new gods, in order to continue with a closer examination of the concept, i.e., the name of a human being, in combination with the term Neos and the name of a deity.

Νέος

The word Neos has as its basic meaning young, youthful, new, fresh (LSJ, s.v. ”Νέος”). A.D. Nock is, as mentioned above, one of the few scholars who have discussed the New terminology, if mainly in relation to the Hellenistic examples. He believed that Neos coupled with a proper name could be applied to anyone who seemed to reproduce the characteristics of a specific earlier person and that Neos conjoined with the name of a god described a man that reproduced his qualities and achievements (Nock 1928, 35). I surely agree with this, especially so as when the Neos-title is used for the individuals of Group 2, ‘ordinary mortals’. These cases appear to look backwards, i.e., they refer to actions already performed, on account of which the honorands earned their New title. It is said that Julius Nikanor bought back Salamis for the Athenians and

23 Dedications: Altars: Nero Neos Apollon SEG 32 252: Temple: Neos Herakles: MAMA 4 49c (=Legrand & Chamonard 1893: 286 no 89, who states that the inscription is carved on an altar). Priests: Livia Nea Demeter, Drusilla Nea Afrodite och Drusilla (or Livilla?) Nea Nikeforos: IPergamon 497 & 498. Neos Dionysos. See also Caneva 2014. For the large amount of dedications and honorary inscriptions to Hadrian set up in the Greek world, see Boatwright 2000: 31. 24 With the possible exception of Isager & Pedersen 2012, which appears to name a Zeus Olympios Neos Hadrianos. 25 CCBM 16: p. 89 no. 292; Head 1911: 57. 42

43 CAES Vol. 4, № 1 (March 2018) that this rendered him the title New Themistokles.26 The women called Nea Penelope most probably earned this name through previous exemplary wifely behaviour.27 The denomination New Herakles also provides clear examples illustrating this. Firstly, the title is given to individuals who have already passed away, presumably from the toils of this life.28 Secondly, in at least one case it clearly refers to bodily feats worthy of Herakles. The deceased Dioskourion, Neos Herakles, was pictured on the grave stele with a pronounced muscular body.29 But when we meet the New terminology in connection with the imperial family (Group 1), the perspective is not exclusively one of previous merits or specific already performed actions. In this group of inscriptions, the title New God often seem to look to the present or forwards; it refers to present looks, behaviour and possible future actions. For example, only “ruling” empresses are called Nea Hera. This is surely because of their status at the time of the inscription of the title, as wives of the current emperor. The Neai Aphroditai on the contrary include female members of the imperial family of different status. These women were probably thus called in reference to their beauty and as potential new ancestresses of future generations of Romans; not because of any previous Aphrodite-like behaviour. Likewise referring to the future, the New Helios could be connected to high-set hopes of a shining future under a new ruler. I propose that fundamentally the element New of a New God title in fact infers a replacement, a surpassing, of the now ‘old’ deity.30 The characterisation Neos could be used for men at least as old as 30 (LSJ, s.v. νέος): it thus refers to men in the prime of their strength and correspondingly this would mean women in the prime of their beauty and child-bearing age. The meaning of a New God-title is thus not to indicate the appearance of a new version of the old one, instead, it designates the appearance of a new god, who surpasses and can replace an old god in his or her domain. Drusillla New Aphrodite is more beautiful than Aphrodite, Nero New Apollo is a musician more skilled than Apollo himself. The meaning of New is that of leaving behind and surpassing the Old. But to truly show the excellence of a new god such as Nero, a reference to the old is needed. This reference was expressed through the Neos or Nea inserted between the divine and the mortal name. But the addition of Neos/Nea also brings a further consequence. It transforms the name of the god into a defining epithet for the honoured mortal (Cf. Chaniotis 2003). Just like an epithet, the title points towards something specific about the mortal component, a characteristic or a function (while of course simultaneously celebrating the emperor or empress). Just as a god can be invoked without his or her epithets, if the New God title is be taken away, the honorand will

26 Strabon 394; Bowersock 1965: 96; Robert STELE: 15, with notes 45 &46, see also Bulletin Epigraphique 1955: 79, which refutes the idea that Nikanor gained the title Neos Themistokles having won a reconstruction of the battle of Salamis organised by Augustus (as proposed by Raubitschek 1954). 27 Cf. Antologia Palatina 7. 691, an anonymous funerary epigram of Kallikrateia, New Alkestis, who died for her husband. At least one (IG V.1 607) and possibly two (IG V.1 598) of the Nea Penelope inscriptions were found in the Eleusinion (Cook & Nicholls 1950: 263). A significant amount of inscriptions from this sanctuary praise the virtues of a good wife: Marchetti 2001: 469). 28 Three inscriptions come from a funerary complex known as the Leonteion, where cultic honours were offered a certain Leon, probably mainly by his family. The respective dates of the inscriptions have been disputed, but it appears that the deceased Leon, Heros and Neos Herakles, was honoured from Hellenistic (perhaps even as early as the 2nd century BC?) to Imperial times (Strauch 1996: 298; Antonetti 1990: 266–268; Zschietzschmann 1935; Dyggve, Poulsen & Rhomaios 1934: 62ff.) A fourth funerary inscription, dated around the reign of Constantine (”à la pointe de l’époque Constantinienne”, Neurotsos-Bey 1887: 201, no. 4), was carved on a stele found in Egypt (E. Bernand 1969: no. 82, Peek 1955: 1247, the stone is now lost). 29 The editor believes that Herakles is evoked because of his function as god of gymnasia: E. Bernand 1969: no. 82. Bernand also notes the expression Ὁ καινὸς Ἄτλας in Antologia Palatina 7, 692 and mentions a reference to a Second Herakles, references in Lumbroso 1921: 10–11. Lattimore translates as “the young Heracles”, Lattimore 1942: 286. 30 Cf Robert 1981: 117, with mention of an epigram celebrating a proconsul (not named Neos) who is hailed as superior to the first founder of Ephesos, Androklos. I do not mean to argue that the ‘old’ god disappears, but he or she does not automatically take centre stage. 43

44 CAES Vol. 4, № 1 (March 2018) still be there, simply less specified or nuanced. In the context of cultic calendars, one and the same god can appear designated by several different epithets, as if they were somehow separate gods: in the same way do we sometimes find the old and the New deity side by side. Athena Nikephoros is mentioned next to Nea Nikephoros and New Dionysos next to Old Dionysos.31 In the same way as an epithet can create a new (aspect of) a god, does the Neos-title create a new (aspect of a) god.

(Will be continued.)

List of Abbreviations

CCBM Head B.V. 1892. Catalogue of Coins in the British Museum, vol. 16, Ionia. Woodfall and Kinder,London

IAnkara Bosch, E. 1967. Quellen zur Geschichte der Stadt Ankara im Altertum (Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlarindan Ser. 7, no. 46). Ankara

IEphesos Wankel, H. et al. 1979–1984. Die Inschriften von Ephesos (Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien 11,1 – 17,4). Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn

IGBulg Mihailov G. 1958 – 1997 Inscriptiones graecae in Bulgaria repertae. Academiae Litterarum Bulgaricae, Sofia

IGRom Cagnat,R. et al., 1911–1927 Inscriptiones graecae ad res romanas pertinentes, Paris

IPergamon Fränkel, M. 1890–1895. Die Inschriften von Pergamon (Altertümer von Pergamon 8,1 – 2. Spemann, Berlin

ISmyrna Petzl G. 1982–1990. Die Inschriften von Smyrna (Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien 23 & 24,1–2). Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn

LSJ Liddel H.G., Scott R., Jones H.S. 1996. A Greek-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford

MAMA 4 Buckler W.H., Calder W.M., Chambers Guthrie W.K. 1933. Monuments and Documents from Eastern Asia and Western Galatia (Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua 4). Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, Manchester

MAMA 6 Buckler, W.H. and Calder, W.M. 1939. Monuments and Documents from Phrygia and Caria (Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua 6). Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, Manchester

MAMA 7 Calder, W.M. 1956. Monuments from Eastern Phrygia (Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua 7). Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, Manchester

31 Nikephoros next to Nea Nikephoros: IPergamon 403 [1], 497, 498. ‘Old’ Dionysos and Neos Dionysos: IGRom IV 468, see also von Prott 1902:182.

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Olympia V Dittenberger W., Purgold K. 1896. Die Inschriften von Olympia (Olympia 5). Verlag von Asher & Co, Berlin

Peek Asklepieion Peek W. 1969. Inschriften aus dem Asklepieion von Epidauros (Abhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch – Historische Klasse, Band 60, Heft 2). Akademie-Verl., Berlin

PHI Ephesos McCabe D.F. 1991. Ephesos Inscriptions. Texts and List (The Princeton Project on the Inscriptions of Anatolia, The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, Packard Humanities Institute CD #6,). Princeton

PHI Teos McCabe D.F. 1991. Teos Inscriptions. Texts and List (The Princeton Project on the Inscriptions of Anatolia, The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton 1985, Packard Humanities Institute CD #6,). Princeton

Robert, STELE Robert L. 1980. Deux poètes grecs à l’époque imperiale, ΣΤΗΛΗ. Τόμος εις μνήμην Νικολάου Κοντολέοντος. Σωματείο φίλων του Νικολάου Κοντολέοντος, Athens; pp.: 1–20

SNG Aulock von Aulock H. 1964. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, III 1. Sammlung von Aulock 12. Pisidien, Lykaonien, Isaurien. Gebr. Mann, Berlin

SNG France 3 Levante P.,Weiss P. 1994. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum. France 3. Cabinet des Médailles. Pamphylie, Pisidie, Lycaonie, Galatie. Numismatica ars classica/Bibliothèque nationale de France, Zürich

TAM II Kalinka E. 1920–1944. Tituli Asiae Minoris, II. Tituli Lyciae linguis Graeca et Latina conscripti. Academia litterarum Vindobonensis, Vienna

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