For the Living, the Dead, and the Divine Private Associations in Roman Macedonia

For the Living the Dead and the Divine

Private Associations in Roman Macedonia

ReMa-Thesis

Alexandros Tsouris

s2531593

11115

Research Master in Classical Medieval and Renaissance Studies

University of Groningen ndash Faculty of Arts

First Supervisor prof dr Onno M van Nijf (University of Groningen)

Second Supervisor prof dr Vincent Gabrielsen (University of Copenhagen)

1

Contents 1

Preface - Acknowledgments helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

Abbreviationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3-4

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5-11

Chapter I Macedoniahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12-15

Chapter II Fenomeno Associativo in Macedoniahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip16-36

Chapter III Funerary Practiceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37-55

Chapter IV Honorary Practiceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip56-80

Chapter V Religious Practiceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip81-102

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip103-106

Appendix I Private Associations in Macedonia Primary Evidencehelliphellip107-110

Appendix II Mapshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip111-112

Appendix III Phd Proposalhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip113-116

Bibliographyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip117-128

1 Cover Illustration photograph of the Roman Forum at Philippi Picture taken by Alexandros Tsouris

April 2015

2

Preface - Acknowledgments

Two years ago Fanourakis Foundation accepted my application for a scholarship and

funded the first year of my research master in the University of Groningen I owe to

this institution my utmost gratitude and respect I am more than morally obliged

Without their generous funding this dream would not have been accomplished To

start thanking friends here would be a long list I am grateful to them all both in the

Netherlands and Greece for their constant support The financial and most

importantly emotional support of my parents and family has been the most valuable

help in this journey I am indebted to them My gratitude and respect goes as well to

Vasilis Linardos for everything and mostly for his friendship Special thanks to dr

Ioanna Papadopoulou (University of Democritus) for improving so much my written

English I am also grateful to dr Paschalis Paschidis (National Hellenic Research

Institute) for letting me consult and cite his forthcoming article Our discussions have

moreover extended my viewpoint on this field I am more than grateful to my

supervisor prof dr Onno van Nijf He took my abstract and general standpoint over

history and transformed it into a committed passion Any research skills developed

these past two years are a product of his persistence on my frustrating attitude In this

thesis he has been the most precious help Finally my gratitude goes as well to prof

dr Vincent Gabrielsen for his valuable contribution in this work His input comments

and help were priceless Any mistakes or omissions remain my own

To an inspiring archaeologist and his Litsaki

Μακάρι η Ιθάκη να βρίσκεται ακόμα μακριά

3

Abbreviations

ΑΑΑ Αρχαιολογικά Ανάλεκτα εξ Αθηνών Αthens

AE Ἀρχαιολογικὴ Ἐφημερὶς Athens

ΑΕΜΘ Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη Θράκη Τhessaloniki

Agora XVII Bradeen Donald W Inscriptions The Funerary Monuments laquoThe

Athenian Agoraraquo 17 Princeton 1974

BCH Bulletin de Correspondance Helleacutenique

BE Bulletin Eacutepigraphique Paris

CIG Boeckh G Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum Berlin 1828-1877

Demitsas Demitsas M G Ἡ Μακεδονία ἐν Λίθοις Φθενγομένοις καὶ μνεμείοις

σῳζομένοις Athens 1896

ΕΑΜ Rizakes T and Touratsoglou G Επιγραφές Άνω Μακεδονίας

(Ελιμεία Εορδαία Νότια Λυνγκιστίς Ορεστίς) Τόμος Α΄ Κατάλογος

Επιγραφών Athens 1985

ΕΚΜ Gounaropoulou L and Hatzopoulos M B Επιγραφές Κάτω

Μακεδονίας (μεταξύ του Βερμίου Όρους και του Αξιού Ποταμού)

Τεύχος Α΄ Επιγραφές Βέροιας Athens 1998

Macedonian Hatzopoulous M B Macedonian Institutions under the Kings II

Institutions Epigraphic Appendix Athens 1996

I Aeg Thrace Loukopoulou L D Parissaki M G Psoma S and Zournatzi A

with the assistance of Diamanti T and others Επιγραφές της Θράκης

του Αιγαίου μεταξύ των ποταμών Νέστου και Έβρου (νομοί Ξάνθης

Ροδόπης και Έβρου) Athens 2005

ID Durrbach F Roussel P Launey M Plassart A and Coupry J

Inscriptions de Deacutelos Paris 1926-1973

IG Inscriptiones Graecae Berlin 1877---

ILGR Inscriptiones latinae in Graecia repertae Faenza 1979

4

ILeukopetra Petsas P M Hatzopoulos M B Gounaropoulou L and Paschidis

P Inscriptions du sanctuaire de la Megravere des Dieux autochthone de

Leukopeacutetra (Maceacutedoine) Athens 2000

IOropos Petrakos B C Oἱ ἐπιγραφὲς τοῦ Ὠρωποῦ Athens 1997

ISmyrna Petzl G Die Inschriften von Smyrna Bonn 1982-1990

IEph Wankel H and Engelmann H Die Inschriften von Ephesos Bonn

1979ndash84

LSJ Liddell HG and Scott R A Greek-English Lexicon 9th Edition

Oxford 1996

Meletemata 11 Hatzopoulos M B and Loukopoulou L Recherches sur les

marches orientales des Temenides (Anthemonte - Kalindoia) 2

vols Athens 1992-1996

Nigdelis ldquoVoluntary Associations in Roman Thessalonikerdquo In From Roman

to Early Christian Thessalonike Harvard 2010

OCD Hornblower S and Spawforth A The Oxford Classical Dictionary

4th ed Oxford 2012

Philippi II Pilhofer P Philippi Band II Katalog der Inschriften von Philippi

Tuumlbingen 2000

P Mich V EM HusselmanAER Boak and WF Edgerton Papyri from

Tebtunis Part II Ann Arbor 1944

SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum Leiden and Amsterdam

1923--

SIG3 Syll

3 Dittenberger W Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum Leipzig 1915-

1924

Spomenik Srpska kraljevska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti Belgrade

5

Introduction

One of the well attested phenomena of the Greco-Roman world is its wide range of

private groups Connected under certain common characteristics various people quite

often gathered together and participated in communal activities forming in this way

group of some cohesiveness Such groups are labeled by modern scholars with a

variety of terms including collegia guilds clubs societies and private voluntary

associations2

Although scholars approached the issue from multiple viewpoints and examined

the way it appeared in most corners of the Empire3 northern Greece and more

specifically Macedonia is still terra incognita Hitherto private groups of this area

have been mostly subjected to a comparative analysis pertaining to early Christianity

or by focusing on specific cities and themes Hence a comprehensive examination of

the whole area is still unavailable In my master thesis I am going to investigate the

activities of private associations in the cities of Macedonia

Apart from the gap in the literature there is also a variety of reasons making

Macedonia a case study that may provide a new insight in our understanding of these

groups and of Greco-Roman society Macedonia comprises an area with certain

peculiarities such as a cultural entity and an ethnic identity Such peculiarities which

Paschalis Paschidis has so aptly termed as ldquoMacedonian mentalitiesrdquo4 are not often

easily spotted elsewhere The private associations of this area moreover present a

visible difference as opposed to other parts of the Greco-Roman world Namely they

seem to have been primarily focused on religion on which they also built their public

representation Setting this observation within the distinctive cultural features of this

region raises the question as to whether private associations in Macedonia served

different purposes compared to other places Therefore the main research question

posed in this master thesis will be ldquoWhat was the role and function of private

associations in Macedoniardquo

How then were the associative activities of other regions perceived so far Briefly

observing at this point the ways scholars have touched on the topic of associations in

2 Wilson (1996) 1

3 It was already noticeable from the early lsquo80s that associations of the West had received much more

attention than their Greek counterparts see Ausbuumlttel (1982) 12 n 5 The Greek East has also

received fair attention Indicatively Poland (1909) focus on the Greek mainland van Nijf (1997) and

Harland (2003) mainly on the Greek East (Asia Minor) Arnaoutoglou (2003) on Athens Gabrielsen

(1997) (2001) on Rhodes Gibbs (2011) Muhs (2001) and Arnaoutoglou (2005) on Egypt 4 Paschidis (2012) 12 n 55

6

general and specifically in Macedonia will provide a general background and locate

the present work within the debate

General Historiography on Private Associations

Despite the fact that these groups played a vivid role in their cities ancient

historiography did not really commit itself with these groups In 1932 when Marcus

Tod gave his three lectures on Sidelights on Greek History he spoke of concerning

the ancient literature references to clubs an ldquoalmost unbroken silence on the

subjectrdquo5 A lesser interest in the study of associations does not go unnoticed in

modern literature for the greater part of the 20th century It was noted almost twenty

years ago that the specific subject was somehow neglected6 yet the interest in

associations studies has significantly increased since then

Before the mid 19th century associations did not really attract the interest of

scholars7 The second half of the 19

th as well as the greater part of the 20

th century

saw works that examined these groups in a formalistic way as well as some scrutiny

from theologians8 Concerning the latter half of the 19

th century the works of Theodor

Mommsen and Jean Pierrew Waltzing stand out as studies that set the terms of the

debate for more than half of the previous century9 Namely associations were

approached from a legalistic perspective and attention was given mainly to the

relationship with the state and whether their creational purpose was sociability or

necessity10

From the mid 20th century onwards it seems that the social examination of collegia

was more favored The contribution of the Italian scholar Francesco Maria De

Robertis in that direction is valuable11

A theme emerging from his works is the study

of the workerrsquos position within the economy and his interaction within the stratified

society12

5 Tod (1932) 71 6 Van Nijf (1997) 5 7 See Arnaoutoglou (2003) 25 who cites only two examples as exemptions to this observation See

moreover Ascough (2003) 3 n 1 for the few works from the 16th till the 19th century 8 For the first steps of the comparison between associations and early Christian communities see Kloppenborg (1993) McLean (1993) and Perry (2006) 41-60 9 Mommsen (1843) Waltzing (1895-1900) 10 For an analysis of Mommsen and Waltzingrsquos works see Perry (2006) 23-88 11 For a collection of all of his articles see De Robertis (1987) 12 For an analysis of De Robertisrsquo works see again Perry (2006) In his book Jonathan Perry provides

in general a good understanding of the historiography on Roman collegia from Mommsen till the lsquo90s

7

A shift towards focusing more on the social implications of associative life started

coming into being in the early lsquo70s Studies appeared professing that associations

pursued honor and status and social prestige rather than economic advantages They

also argued against the idea that their creational purpose was a pure need for social

interaction13

Upon this path the lsquo90s seem to have established the civic importance

of associations14

The past twenty five years have witnessed a boom in studies analyzing

associations from every possible perspective Following the global approaches of the

previous century and a half what is currently noticeable is works examining

associations within their geographical and historical context as well as on a limited

thematic scope In this way they focus on unexplored issues or re-evaluate previous

debates15

A common feature of these works is that they all view private associations

as fundamental elements of the cityrsquos life functioning and interacting with its various

parts and having their own distinguished yet fully integrated place in the cityrsquos social

order

It seems thus that the old tradition of approaching these groups in the monolithic

way dictating hostile relations with the state is not so much favored anymore16

Nowadays scholars investigate associations as crucial constituents of our general

understanding of the Greco-Roman world Yet as already noticed the works focusing

on the northern part of the Greek world and more precisely on Macedonia are

substantially fewer Let us take a look at the ways these studies have approached

private associations of this region

13 MacMullen (1974) 76-80 See moreover Hopkins (1983) who stressed the social needs that were

fulfilled by associative burials Hasley Royden (1988) focused on the social status of collegiarsquos magistrates Sandra Joshel (1992) 98-122 argued that being a collegiatus and especially holding an

office was a prestige symbol The focus on collegial sociability as the binding reason has led to a

lasting debate concerning the comparison between Roman collegia and medieval guilds In that

direction De Ste Croix (1983) 273 argued that collegia were convivial bodies and not organized

guilds that promoted their financial interests For this discussion see Finley (1999) 137-8 Epstein

(1991) 10-49 van Nijf (1997) 11-18 and now Liu (2008) 11-24 14 See Patterson (1993) and (1994) who effectively challenged the conception of hominess tenuiores

and argued towards the elevation of the prestige of collegia in towns See moreover van Nijf (1997)

who examined the associative activities of Asia Minor and suggested that collegia functioned as

sources of identity for those socially below the local governing elites 15 It is especially the debate regarding governmental interference that has been extensively revised

with scholars mostly arguing that there is no universal ban on collegia no morbid fear but rather temporary and of limited scope interferences Characteristic examples are Cotter (1996) de Ligt (2000)

and (2001) Arnaoutoglou (2002) and (2005) Liu (2005) and Bendlin (2011) 16 However see Bendlin (2011) who doubts associationsrsquo accepted place in the cityrsquos social structures

that is next to the elite by processes of imitation and adaptation and he rather suggests that collegia

provided an alternative space of political social and religious networking

8

Historiography of Private Associations in Macedonia

Various works have dealt so far with private associations of this region Yet they have

mostly been analyses of different issues such as the religion and the cults of the

province For such themes associations were part of their sources17

Publications that

have specifically focused on Macedonian associations are noticeably few

Franz Poland included some evidence from Macedonia in his study yet there is no

special treatment of the area as his book lacks a geographical distribution in

general18

Almost half a century later a recognized leading expert on Macedonian

studies Dimitris Kanatsoulis had a few pages of his thorough analysis of the

Macedonian polis dedicated to associations In his investigation however he

basically observes and describes issues of nomenclature organization and religious

characteristics19

It can hardly be seen as an attempt of a historical interpretation

After Kanatsoulisrsquo brief description of Macedonian associations it is only recently

that the interest in this area has been revived again Yet most works deal with specific

issues such as certain types of associations like the Roman merchants or Dionysiac

groups Studies concentrating only on the latter provide useful insight into our

understanding of the regionrsquos associative phenomenon but due to their limited scope

they are incomplete20

Moreover a fair amount of attention has focused on the cities of Thessaloniki and

Philippi though mainly compared with early Christianity21

Such comparative

analyses indeed contribute a lot to the field since they examine various social

implications of associative life in depth22

However their initial purpose is to utilize

collegia as a model to further understand the first Christian groups hence they cast

out important aspects of the associations In addition they are not complete

collections of the available sources On the other hand Pantelis Nigdelis has quite

recently conducted an excellent study of the associations of Thessaloniki His

17 Edson (1948) examining the cults of Roman Thessaloniki presented some information about a few

religious associations of the city regarding mainly their organization and membership Similarly see

Tsochos (2012) Steimle (2008) Jaccottet (2003) and Mitrev (2003) 18

Poland (1909) His study is a characteristic example of a work reflecting the tradition of a formalistic

perspective predominant in his period He dealt with the Greek East describing associationsrsquo historical

origins nomenclature organization regulations and finances 19 Kanatsoulis (1955) 269-279 20 Roman merchants Rizakis (1986) Belenis (1996) Dionysiac thiasoi Mitrev (2002) 21 Very representative examples of such comparisons are the works of Richard Ascough See Ascough

(2000) (2003) and (2010) 22 For instance see Ascough (2003) 47-59 who attempts to identify the social location as well as the

gender of the membership of Macedonian private associations

9

approach is characteristic of the recent consensus He examines the civic activities of

collegia religious and identity issues considering associations as an integral part of

the cityrsquos networks23

Yet his focus is restricted only on one place

The only work at least to my knowledge that addresses solely and almost

completely the associative phenomenon of the region is Paschalis Paschidisrsquo latest

article (forthcoming) Paschidis examines the nature of difference between religious

associations and what is traditionally deemed as civic cults ldquoin terms of mentality

patterns and religious and social experiencesrdquo24

In fact he illustrates the lack of

substantial differences between religious associations and other cultic structures in

Macedonia and advises against clear cut distinctions

Moreover he makes some very important suggestions explaining the fact that the

majority of religious associations are found in the eastern part of the province

Accordingly this can be understood as a result of the different religious traditions

between western and eastern Macedonia with the river Axios being the boarder He

argues that western of Axios the need of collective identities was fulfilled via cults

that were successful due to their appearance as historically attached to the local

communities The absence of such cults eastern of Axios opened the way for the

creation of different religious structures such as religious associations25

However while his approach indeed broadens the discussion his focus is

exclusively fixed upon religious associations thus excluding a crucial portion of the

available evidence of the region whilst his questions are of a limited scope Other

associations that do not seem to have been explicitly involved in religious practices

are dismissed with other activities like funerary or honorific being left aside On that

account it is not an exhaustive work in regard to the overall function of these groups

in the region

It should be clear by now that what the literature concerning Macedonian

associations is lacking in is a study incorporating all of the evidence and investigating

their general engagement in their cities It is worth wondering whether the analysis of

private associations of this region co-aligns with the recent academic consensus

regarding the role of these groups in their cities Therefore a firm appreciation of

23 Nigdelis (2010) 24 Paschidis (2012) 1 25 See ibid 14-17

10

their overall existence will hopefully contribute to our understanding of the function

and structure of the Greco-Roman city

For this inquiry I am going to study the activities of these groups namely

funerary honorary and religious ones Associations buried and commemorated

people they honored them and they were involved in various ways with religion

There are some hints regarding other activities for instance economically oriented

ones yet I have chosen to study these activities due to the fact that they are the best

documented ones26

These practices are depicted on sources that are their own

products inscriptions

Ever since the early lsquo80s scholarship investigates this type of evidence not only as

sources of information but as indicators of a culture This ldquosense of audiencerdquo in

which MacMullen saw a possible explanatory factor for the inscriptional explosion27

means that individuals made certain statements when inscribing something on stone

and setting it in public view Inscriptions were used to build identity and to assert a

personrsquos status or claim for one within society28

From this perspective examining

the inscriptions that these groups left behind I will be attempting to reconstruct and

understand stories motivations experiences as well as self and collective

representation in other words identities

Bearing the above in mind Chapter I will set out to briefly explain the afore-

mentioned idiosyncrasy of Macedonia In Chapter II I will provide a framework

describing what a private association is and proceed with an account of my primary

sources and of the information they provide I am going to introduce the evidence

from a comparative perspective laying out results and interpretations from other

regions in order to discover similarities and most importantly differences Pointing

out especially the associative differences is going to demonstrate the necessity of this

research since it can be used as test case for the present academic consensus Having

done so I will begin my analysis

26 It also be noted that there is a certain overlap between these three categories For instance the

performance of mortuary ritual can be seen as funerary activity as well as a religious one Hence this categorization is used as a tool for the investigation of the role of private associations 27 MacMullen (1982) 246 28 There is by now a plethora of works dealing with the function of epigraphy as a tool for the

construction of identities An excellent one is Woolf (1996) He argues that ldquocivic epigraphy was an

important medium for those individuals who defined their identity at least in part in relation to a

public usually a civic settingrdquo See ibid 39

11

The breakdown of the following chapters lies in accordance with the types of

associative activities funerary (Chapter III) honorific (Chapter IV) and religious

(Chapter V) In these three chapters a core of questions will be addressed each time in

order to answer the above set research question Namely I will try to understand the

crucial why Why did they bury and commemorate people why did they honor them

and why did they devote to the specific deities and performed certain religious

practices The second most crucial question underlying the whole study is that of

identity In other words I will try to understand how these colleagues and fellows

perceived their practices and how the city looked upon them Comprehending the

reasons and motives behind their practices and how they communicated these

activities will provide a comprehensive appreciation of their role and function in

society

12

Chapter I Macedonia

In the Introduction I showed that a systematic and complete treatment of the northern

Greek fenomeno associativo in contemporary research is rather deficient29

Yet my

intention is to focus on Macedonia since certain reasons render the area a separate

case study of northern Greece In the paragraphs to follow I will elaborate on the

latter

Why Macedonia

It is fair to ask why should we treat this region separately from its surroundings Ever

since its early history Macedonia has been a peculiar case Whilst the integration of

the region in the Hellenic world undeniably started coming into being as of the early

5th

century BC30

at the same time there are features indicating a distinctive and

differentiated culture For instance Greece in general witnessed the rise of city-states

from the 5th

century BC onwards whereas the Macedonian region functioned as a

kingdom exhibiting very different administrative social and political characteristics

The sociopolitical structure of Macedonia was quite different from the model of

the polis which was quite common in the rest of the Greek world This kingdom was

dominated by an aristocracy that possessed the wealth desire and freedom to invest in

familial rather than civic monuments31

as the famous monumental tombs of Pella and

Vergina indicate Such monuments stood for aristocratic values and ideas as opposed

for instance to Athens the funerary monuments of which -it has been argued- were

products of isonomic ideals32

Moreover this kingdom included multiple ethnic

groups who were gradually incorporated into the larger polity33

All the more in the late Classical and Hellenistic period and even in the Roman

era Macedonia continues to show some distinctive features that make the region a

cultural entity to the point of treating it separately from the rest of northern Greece

This shared culture is portrayed in a variety of characteristics In presenting the latter

I will mainly pay attention to the Roman period which is the main focus of this work

29 The term fenomeno associativo was introduced by De Robertis (1955) 30 See Hatzopoulos (2011) who lays out the necessary evidence in a recent article Studying archaeological literary and epigraphic evidence and focusing among other features on onomastics and

funerary culture he proves that even in Upper Macedonia that is the less Greek part of the areas that

Phillip II incorporated in his kingdom we can talk about Greek civilization and culture 31 Christesen-Murray (2010) 437 32 Meyer (1993) 33 For a comprehensive study of Macedonian history analyzing all the above see Hammond (1989)

13

A typical example is the Macedonian Koinon the political confederacy between

cities during the Hellenistic times that was transformed in the Roman era into an

institution dealing with the imperial cult and organizing games and festivals34

Although the geographical spread of this confederacy cannot be clearly confirmed the

absence of its officials from the Illyrian territory of the Roman province strongly

suggests that its activities were confined to the traditional area of Macedonia that is

to say the Macedonian kingdom as created by Philip II35

One indication that the region had a strong sense of identity was that this

institution produced coins with ethnic symbols and themes36

In addition the

Macedonian Koinon was not the only remnant-institution of the Hellenistic past that

was allowed to function under Roman rule There is evidence that the Senate

permitted other koina to exist such as those of Upper Macedonia Their function in

the imperial era seems to bear a close resemblance to the one of the Macedonian

Koinon37

The survival of these institutions is a clear attestation that the Roman

authorities recognized the political and cultural idiosyncrasy of the area

Shifting our attention back to the issue of coinage it has shown that both local

identities and an ethic Macedonian one persisted during the Roman rule38

Moreover

there was an increase in the use of the ethnic Μακεδών (Macedon) in the period 2nd

-

3rd

centuries AD The illustrative examples derive from the cities of Thessaloniki and

Beroea39

This can be interpreted as an increased emphasis on Macedonian identity It

is beyond doubt that ethnic names refer to an historical consciousness and serve the

construction of identities40

34 Kanatsoulis (1956) is the most standard work but see now Hatzopoulos (1996) 127-65 which has a

comprehensive bibliography Herz (2008) discusses only the 3rd century AD 35 See Nigdelis III Roman Macedonia at wwwmacedonian-heritagegr Mitrev (2003) 320 argues

that under Hadrian initial boundaries -Lower Macedonia- were extended to Upper and Eastern

Macedonia 36 Kremydi-Sisilianou (2005) 102 37 For the functions of the Koina in Roman Macedonia see Sverkos (1997) 55-60 38 For an excellent analysis of the variety of depiction on coins of cities the differences with colonies

and the developments over time see Kremydi-Sisilianou (2005) 39 Ibid 102 n 91 40 See van Nijf (2010) for a similar argument He maintains that the exhibition of historically prominent family names in the tomb monuments of the Pisidian city Termessos served as a tool for the

construction of identities for the elevation of status within the community that would essentially lead

to the safe-keeping of a hierarchically significant socio-political position See especially ibid 171-4

for a short description of this habit around the Greek East In a different context Aceto (2002) shows

that ethnic names should be understood within their socio-cultural world and situation in which they

occur

14

Religion poses yet another sign of cultural uniformity There is evidence of

religious practices ldquoin which Macedonians diverged from their fellow Greeksrdquo41

It

has been suggested that common religious beliefs during the reign of Temenid and

Antigonid Kings was one of the contributing factors that molded Macedonia into a

distinct entity42

Specifically there are certain deities including Zeus Herakles

Dionysus Artemis Asclepius or the Egyptian gods Isis and Sarapis that although

they were widely worshipped around the Greek world they were of particular

importance for the Macedonians The cults of these deities in the region seem to keep

existing within the Roman era43

This persistence of common cults may be regarded

as the survival of a shared religious mentality among Macedonians during the Roman

period Further details upon this matter will be given in the final chapter of this study

The features described thus far are sufficient enough to indicate a common culture

and identity something that Epirus Illyria and Thrace did not share neither before

nor after the Roman intrusion

Hence referring henceforth to

Macedonia and more

specifically to Roman

Macedonia I will not imply

the Roman province in its

exact boundaries which at

various points included the

above-mentioned regions44

but the

Macedonian region in Roman times with an identifiable Macedonian culture Map created by E Tsouris GEOPSIS

41 Christesen and Murray (2010) 429 42 See Mari (2011) who discusses traditional cults and beliefs of Macedonia 43 For a relevant discussion see Christesen and Murray (2010) 44 The exact definition of its borders the dates of the creation of the province as well as its status and

administration are still debated For such issues see Gruen (1984) 359-436 Papazoglou (1988) 81-9

Kallet-Marx (1995) 11-41 and Vanderspoel (2010) 255-271 The reference above to Epirus Illyria

and Thrace was made since at several stages they were part of the Macedonian province

15

traditional Macedonian core that entails the afore described distinct ethnic and

cultural distinctiveness as depicted on the map above45

To sum up in this short chapter I have argued that Macedonia should be treated

separately of northern Greece due its cultural distinctiveness It is within such an

environment particularly different from other parts of the Greco-Roman world where

I want to discover the role of private associations Yet a definition of the groups

under scrutiny as well as a description of their main features is first required

45 The four demarcated parts represent the four meridai that is the four administrative units as divided

by Rome That is simply another way of stating that my analysis will leave out Lissus Apollonia

Dyrrhachium and Aulon namely Illyria regarding the West and setting the river Nestos as the eastern

border In essence from Dion to the south Stobi to the North Filippi to the East and Lychnidos to the

West The maps in this paper were created by GEOPSIS [wwwgeopsiscom]

16

Chapter II Fenomeno Associativo in Macedonia

Introduction

In the previous chapter I presented the reasons that make Macedonia a distinct case

study from the rest of northern Greece Let us now focus on the associations What

kind of groups has scholarship perceived as private associations so far Ilias

Arnaoutoglou has noted that most scholars avoid providing a definition of

associations in relevant studies46

I have no intention here to offer a new definition I

will rather summarize the discussion and provide a practical working framework to

proceed further Having done so I will provide a detailed account of the key social

characteristics of Macedonian private associations

Main Part - Private Associations

1) Private Associations Description

Thus far scholars have identified as associations groups of voluntary and private

nature47

These two fundamental criteria draw a distinguishing line between

associations and groups that were created by the state and were either manned by it or

at least served its agenda Examples of such official associations are the sacerdotal

collegia and sodalities established by the Roman state for religious functions48

Moreover some scholars have added a temporal and organizational criterion meaning

that associations were viewed as groups of permanency in time of a strictly defined

organization and of specific planning49

What scholars have therefore generally examined as associations are groups that

present some sort of structure and organization assemblies possession of premises

and some financial power In addition to this groups that actively participated in civic

life parades processions public commensalities mortuary honorific and religious

practices and the list could go on These groups do not seem to have had a connection

with the state in terms of being shaped by the latter or serving its purposes50

and

46 Arnaoutoglou (2003) 22 47 See De Robertis (1938) 7 who defined his subject as voluntary organizations of people in reciprocal

relations who pursued a permanent common goal 48 See Kloppenborg (1996) 16-17 49 Arnaoutoglou (2003) 23-24 for a short presentation of relevant works he argues that what these

approaches have shown is that a single interpretative model is insufficient 50 However see Jones (1999) who includes in his analysis of Classical Athenian associations a wide

range of groups such as the constitutional ones (demes tribes trittyes) that sprang out of Cleisthenisrsquo

reformation the voluntary and private nature of which are questionable Both Arnaoutoglou (2003) 23

17

participation was not mandatory nor was it imposed by ties of kinships or some other

compulsory reasons However the voluntary nature should not be overstressed since

participation in some collective forms such as a family trade group could have been

obligatory for various reasons These characteristics are more or less applicable in

plenty of groups in Macedonia

Yet it is not always easy to distinguish organizations of private and voluntary

nature in this part of the northern Greek world As Paschidis has effectively shown

the non-associative cults in this region in other words the ones traditionally perceived

as official shared many similarities with those groups that were also traditionally

considered as private religious associations51

Moreover the criterion of endurance in

time would limit our sample It is rather difficult to discover whether these groups had

plans or expectations to last for an extended period of time The existence of

clubhouses and sanctuaries built by associations would be such an indication yet we

do not possess such evidence for every group

Bearing all the above in mind in the subsequent analysis I will follow the middle

ground instead of applying rigid border lines between the afore-stated categories

Moreover instead of addressing issues of permanency and endurance over time or

whether there is a strictly delineated structure and organization the criterion to be

adopted here is an attempt for identification via the epigraphic medium

To sum up focus will be drawn to groups who ascribe a certain title to their

collectivity52

and for whom at least some of the above mentioned features are

applicable I will examine groups that do not appear to have been created or regulated

by the state and were not affiliated with functions that were assigned by the

municipal elites although they may have been of their concern What will be left

aside are ldquoofficial associationsrdquo like the koina of Macedonia ephebic groups and

cultic structures or certain collectivities traditionally reckoned to be associated with

the state and composed by individuals of the higher social strata53

Finally any

and Paschidis (2012) 1 n 3 stand very critical towards Jonesrsquo viewpoint See Gabrielsen (2011) 179

who argues about their public nature 51 Paschidis (2012) The most important clues that he stresses out is the lack of structural differences between the two categories the fact that both shared a voluntary character and the lack of exact

determination between religious activities of the private spectrum and official ones sanctioned by the

state 52 For the great variety of nomenclature adopted by these groups see Poland (1909) 5-172 53 An example of these official cults and groups in Macedonia is the cult (or club) of Herakles

Kynagidas [in the Hellenistic era it was a royal formation with extensive jurisdictions and under

18

random catalogue of names lacking any information on the nature of this group will

be omitted as well except for cases that -although questionable- present strong

similarities with identified private associations54

2) Fenomeno Associativo in Macedonia

So far I have briefly described the types of groups that I will focus on Bearing the

above considerations in mind and searching within the borders of the Macedonian

core the database compiled contains 120 inscriptions that provide implicit or explicit

information on the associative existence and activities Most of them were created by

the associations themselves Below I will present a broad overview of the

characteristic of these groups Where and when do we find them Who composed

them Can we categorize these associations How were they organized These

questions will be set in a comparative perspective on what we know regarding these

groups from elsewhere

Distribution in Space

Most of the inscriptions are found in or at least close to significant cities yet

unequally distributed Thessaloniki holds the absolute majority of the evidence (49)

Philippi is second (28) and Beroea follows third (10) All the rest are to be found

scattered in a variety of urban sites such as Dion and Pydna in the South Stobi

Edessa and Herakleia Lyngistis in the North Amphipolis Kassandreia and Akanthos

in the East and more How should we interpret this unequal distribution The graphs

below are quite useful

Roman rule the cult were composed by priests of the Asclepius cult see EKM 134 with commentary

and bibliography as well as EAM 6 20 96 97 115] 54 For instance EKM 388 which is a catalogue of names and every name is accompanied by an

occupation is most probably an association devoted to Zeus Hypsistos A reaffirming clue is that the

monument entails a relief with an eagle a frequent pattern in similar associations of the area (Beroea) An example of a group which is highly unlikely to have formed a collectivity connected under a same

interest and purpose is -although they bare a title- the case of IG X 22 403 an unidentified number of

freedmen probably burying their former master calling themselves κληρονόμοι that is the heirs of

some possession Apart from the uncertain reconstruction of the broken inscription a number of people

pursuing as heirs a possession do not suffice as an indication to assume that they actually formed a

cohesive group that performed some communal activities

19

Quantitative distribution of associations in Macedonia Map created by E Tsouris GEOPSIS

Quantitative distribution of associations in Macedonia cities

In the map55

the red dots represent major settlements in terms of the cityrsquos size

and of the general administrative cultural and economic significance for the entire

province56

It is evident that in the north-west region that is Upper Macedonia

55 Certain clarifications regarding the map are required Certain inscriptions were found around specific

cities built sometimes in modern houses or in places that prevent us to identify the original location I

have included these inscriptions in the closest cityFor instance Spomenik 71 75176 was found build

in a house in Čakovec in the region of Resava (modern Macedonia-FYROM) discovering its original

place is impossible thus I have included it in Stobi which is the closest city The same applies with

plenty of inscriptions of Philippi Moreover there are quite a few inscriptions that have been found in various sites like Neapoli which I have included as well in Philippi since administratively they belong

to Philippirsquos territorium Finally the city of Thasos is also depicted on the map as a major settlement

and includes several associations Yet it was not examined in this paper since it was not part of the

traditional Macedonian kingdom and did not share any element of this argued Macedonian mentality

and culture 56 For such information Papazoglou (1988) remains essential

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20

associations were fewer Its cities followed a different and slower urbanization level

than the rest of Macedonia57

which could explain the observable small number of

associations found there (for instance Herakleia Lyngistis Lychnidos Styberra) as

opposed to other well developed urban centers such as Thessaloniki Philippi and

Beroea

Moreover our attention is drawn to cities and colonies alike Philippi Dion

Kassandreia and Stobi were colonies with the remaining ones being cities58

The

difference lies on attributing to preexisting urban establishments the status of a

colony with every implication that colonization bears For instance while both

Thessaloniki and Philippi existed from the Hellenistic times and while both received

Roman population only Philippi was deemed a colony Philippi received far larger

numbers of Roman-Italic settlers than Thessaloniki Simply put colonies received

more people which could explain as well the existence of more associations than in

less populated settlements

All of the above provide a possible explanation in regard to the question set above

Namely associations in Macedonia seem to have been mainly -yet not exclusively- an

urban phenomenon59

Yet it is very important here to state that caution is needed My

implication is that since some places such as Thessaloniki and Philippi have been

more densely excavated and researched than others the above picture could

substantially change in time

Another point should be stressed before I proceed further As already written we

find associations both in cities and colonies The latter included foreigners that is

Italians It is reasonable to assume that populations of different ethnic origins had

different cultures An obvious indication is the lingual instrument Particularly in

Philippi which holds the majority of documented inscriptions from the five colonies

of the province the epigraphic habit appears mainly in Latin Yet associations used

both Greek and Latin in their epigraphic production The same observation applies in

Dion On the contrary in ldquomorerdquo Greek cities such as Thessaloniki or Beroea there

are hardly any Latin inscriptions It is thus quite interesting to investigate whether

associations had different roles in the two categories This question will be addressed

along the way

57 Rizakis-Tourasoglou (2000) 239 58 Pella was also a colony yet since no associations was found there I did not mention it here 59 See Kloppenborg and Ascough (2011) 3 arguing likewise concerning associations in general

21

Distribution in Time

With regard to the chronological spectrum of the Macedonian associative life the

absolute majority of the inscriptions belong as implied by now to the Roman era

counting here as Roman period the years after 168 BC namely after the battle of

Pydna that led to the subjugation of the Hellenistic Macedonian kingdom to Rome It

is worth wondering how can we explain this time difference in associative life The

following charts prove quite useful60

Time distribution of associationrsquos inscriptions in Macedonia

Time distribution of inscriptions in Macedonia

The rise of associations during the imperial years poses the question as to whether

associations in Macedonia can be seen mainly as a Roman phenomenon It is true that

the epigraphic production of associations in Macedonia lies in accordance with what

60 Again some clarifications are required there are plenty of inscriptions that cannot be dated with

precision rather the editors provide dates such as 2nd3rd AD early 3rd 1st half of 2nd AD and so on

Thus the above graph is to a certain extent summarizing for instance inscriptions with dates as the

above three examples I have included them in the category 2nd3rd AD Moreover 19 inscriptions are

completely undated hence they are excluded from this graph However it is almost certain that these

19 originate from the Roman period

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2nd BC 1st BC 1st AD 2nd3rd AD 4th AD later

The rise of private associations in Macedonia

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

6th5th BC 4th3rd BC 2nd1st BC 1st AD 2nd3rd AD 4th AD later

Epigraphic habit in Macedonia

22

is known from other parts of the Greek world where associations rose in Roman

times61

as well as the general rise of the epigraphic habit62

Moreover as the second

chart depicts it corresponds as well to the rise of the Macedonian epigraphic habit

which also exploded in the Roman period63

An assumption however whereby

associations in Macedonian soil was solely a Roman import cannot be supported

thanks to the slight indication of associative activities dating back to the early 2nd

century BC64

This scarcity of associations in the pre 1st century BC period presents a marked

contrast with the Greek world where associations are attested from the late 4th

century

BC long before the Roman settlers inhabited the Greek cities65

How then can we

explain this lack of associations in the Hellenistic era A plausible hypothesis is that

perhaps in the regal period the associative life could have been more detained or at

least not greatly encouraged Athens and Rhodes for instance that witnessed

associations from the late 4th century BC were states with different political traditions

than Macedonia Both of them had polities that allowed and even more encouraged

the participation of their inhabitants in communal life In direct contrast Macedonia

was a monarchical kingdom

Therefore the safest conclusion at this point is that the rise of the Macedonian

associative phenomenon in the Roman imperial period can be seen in the light of the

61 See for instance the case of Asia Minor van Nijf (1997) examined about 1000 inscriptions dating

more or less from Roman times Or see for Egypt Arnaoutoglou (2005) 213-216 only 9 pieces of

evidence for associations on the late 1st century BC while 46 from the 1st century AD I chose these

two regions as examples since they are very well documented 62 See MacMullen (1982) and Meyer (1990) 63 Tataki (1996) 106 notes that in Macedonia approximately 6000 inscriptions are estimated to have been found 80 of which date after the Roman occupation Concerning the chart some clarifications

are required from this approximation of 6000 inscriptions I have counted the dates of nearly half of

them (3356) checking the main epigraphic corpora of the region thus constructing a quite

representative picture (IG X 21 22 Philippi II EAM EKM I Leukopetra Meletemata 11)

However the graph shows the timeline of 2772 inscriptions since 584 appear undated hence they

were not included what should be noted with regard to the latter is that around frac34 of them are surely of

Roman times 471 of these undated come from Philippi and more than half of these 471 are of Roman

times since they are constructed either in Latin or in Greek yet with Latin names in Greek Finally as

with the previous chart this one is to a certain extent summarizing for the same reasons written above 64 Makedonian Institutions n 80 SEG 49 697 There is moreover another inscription from Aigai SEG

43 472 It is a dedication of a vase to the Mother of the Gods and the synteleia There is a discussion

whether this word refers to an association or not see Paschidis (2012) 2 n 6 Due to the lack of more substantial evidence I did not include it in my database 65 Gabrielsen (2009) 180 More specifically in Athens plenty of private associations dated in the mid

and late 4th century BC see Arnaoutoglou (2003) 171-185 Appendix 1 In Rhodes they are dated in

the period 3rd BC-2nd AD centuries with the last two centuries BC holding the majority see Gabrielsen

(2001) 216 See Gibbs (2011) in regard to Egypt who notes that ldquoBy the time Egypt was annexed by

Rome collective life in the new province already had a significant historyrdquo

23

general epigraphic trend of the first three imperial centuries As far as the pre-Roman

period is concerned we could only construct hypotheses

Typology

So far scholarship has been strictly fitting private associations into corresponding

categories Professional and religious are the most common types66

In Macedonia in

terms of classification eighty-one inscriptions of a hundred-twenty refer to religious

associations twenty-eight cite professional groups of which nine mention

associations of Roman merchants and six allude to those groups that could be

designated as convivial clubs namely with no apparent religious or professional

binding constituent As for the remaining six they are too fragmentary or providing

insufficient information67

Once these results are compared with other parts of the Greek world and even

more with the Empire the Macedonian picture is somehow different since elsewhere

professional groups are more noticeable68

As far as the Greek East is concerned

particularly Asia Minor van Nijf has studied nearly 1000 inscriptions produced by or

mentioning professional groups Although categorizing is a useful research tool

casting doubt upon such clear cut distinction becomes more and more popular among

scholars69

Thus the question to be addressed here is to what extent can we apply

such rigid categorizations

I) Categorizing Associations An Outdated Practice

Franz Poland attempted an exegesis of titles linking them to certain functions70

Yet

the variety of titles that these groups settle upon their public image which is

connected with different content in several cases makes it somewhat problematic to

66 More types have been suggested For instance neighborhood ethnic household and more

Indicatively see Meeks (1983) 75-84 Kloppenborg (1996) 18-26 Ascough (2003) 20-24 Harland

(2003) 28-52 67 Examples of what I describe here as convivial associations are group with titles such as The Friends

or The Freedwomen For a list with all the associations examined here and their titles see Appendix I 68 Indicatively see for the West Waltzing (1895-1900) and the East van Nijf (1997) 69 See Kloppenborg (1996) 18 who points out the problem of clear cut distinctions between religious

and professional associations since ldquooften the boundaries are blurred and the nomenclature misleadingrdquo Moreover see Arnaoutoglou (2011a) who has effectively shown that there is no

distinction between ldquoprofessionalrdquo and ldquosocialrdquo association Gabrielsen (2001) who showed the

inadequacy of the typology of ldquoprofessionalrdquo association as the basic criterion for the investigation of

associative economic activities Steinhauer (2014) 16-18 stressed the weakness and limitations of any

given modern terminology to describe the complex and multifaceted associative phenomenon 70 Poland (1909) 1-172

24

determine whether the raison drsquoecirctre of a group that is the purpose of existence the

binding element was religious motives social professional some other multiple

ones or even developing and changing over time An example is the terms thiasos

and thiasotai which as Arnaoutoglou have noticed were thought to be always

associated with collectivities dedicated to the Dionysiac cult However he has

recently shown that the wide range of possible meanings of these two terms may

highlight different patterns of communal life71

Names of groups that performed

similar functions may have varied depending on the geographical location72

All the more whatever their titles the majority of Greco-Roman private

associations were involved in some kind of religious activities73

In fact the term

ldquoreligious activitiesrdquo is a problematic concept Religion in the Greco-Roman antiquity

was not an autonomous sphere Its close affiliation with the state was evident instead

Religion was fostered by the state and it may have been used as a mechanism for the

integration of the people into the civic community and at the same time as an

instrument by the governing classes to legitimize their authority74

From this

perspective occupation with the religious spectrum might be perceived not only as

evidence of spiritual and existential needs but as a socio-political activity Simply

put although many associations would have performed religious activities it cannot

be assumed that religion was their primary purpose of existence In this way

classifying a group as religious might imply solely a religious creational purpose

which could be misleading Plenty of examples from Macedonia illustrate the latter

Naming a group of people designating themselves as the collegium of the Hero

God a religious association would be reasonable Likewise there is no hesitation in

terming an association that identifies itself as the synetheia of donkey drivers as

professional or occupational75

Yet how should we label the doumos of Aphrodite

Epiteuxidia whose existence is attested on a funerary monument the club raised for

one of its members The title suggests a group of people for whom the unifying

element of their community is the worship of Aphrodite76

However the epitaph described the deceased as having died abroad and the

monument carries a relief portraying a ship and a man at the helm which indicates

71 Arnaoutoglou (2003) 60-4 72 Ausbuumlttel (1982) 33 73 See Poland (1909) 5-6 who stressed out that in essence every club is a religious one 74 There are many works dealing with such issues An excellent analysis is Sourvinou-Inwood (1990) 75

In the same respect of order to the above EKM 1 122 CIG II 2007f EKM 1 372 76 SEG 42 625

25

that he did not just die abroad or during a sea travel as a passenger but most likely his

profession was that of the captain or of the ship owner Hence it could be a case of a

professional group of sea merchants or ship owners77

or simply that only the

deceased had this profession during life while the rest of the members held different

occupations The possibility that the composition of this group included people of

different professions cannot be excluded What matters though is that his occupation

did not prevent him from participating in a collectivity advertising itself as one of

worshippers of some deity78

A similar pattern is observable with the synetheia of Hero Aulonites a religious -

according to the title- group that buried a fellow member decorating his grave with a

relief depicting a man driving a horse-wagon implying most probably that this was

the occupation of the deceased79

The specific deity was the protector of those who

crossed narrow passages80

A binding force (among other motives like sociability and

funerary provisions) uniting this group could have been the improvement of their

business conditions Yet the public face of this association was chosen to be a

religious one

The same applies to a few groups titled synetheia or synetheis It has been

suggested that this term indicates professional groups81

The synetheia of purple-dyers

reaffirms this assumption However applying the meaning of the word συνήθεια

namely a habit a custom to the group entitled synetheis of Herakles does not provide

implications of professional concerns The synetheis of Herakles can be simply

understood as people committed to the worship of Herakles Even more the synetheia

filopaiktoron does not provide clear hints of religious or professional interests It may

have been a group of sports-fans or a group of gladiators82

Yet even with the purely

professional group of the purple-dyers mentioned above doubts may rise This

Thessaloniki-based group buried a member and decorated the tomb-monument with a

relief depicting the deceased as heroic horseman83

implying the Thracian horseman a

77 Voutiras (1992) suggests that this group is at the same time a professional and a religious

association 78 See Gabrielsen (1997) 124 ldquoPreoccupation with the worship of often a multiplicity of deities and

the use of cult names are certainly distinctive features but that does not make necessarily religion the sole or even primary concern of all associationsrdquo 79 Nigdelis no 27 For the depiction see Petsas (1969) 311γ a man driving a wagon with two donkeys 80 Kloppenborg-Ascough (2011) 304 81 Poland (1909) 51-52 Kanatsoulis (1955-1960) 271 82 In the same respect of order to the above IG X 21 291 IG X 21 288 SEG 56 768 83 Pandermalis (1983) 162-3

26

widely found motive in Macedonia84

Was it only a stylistic preference or a statement

of religious concerns

The preceding discussion sufficed to demonstrate that clear cut distinctions cannot

always be maintained Contemporary terms as well as the ones used in antiquity are

inadequate to describe collective phenomena85

Of course it is extremely convenient

to use terms such as professional and religious association Nonetheless I will try to

avoid them using instead phrases as professional or religious identity cover blanket

face At some point I might as well make use of the traditional terminology Having

though clarified all the above I will not imply some specific and rigid raison drsquoecirctre

strictly connected with the name of the group The only type of group I differentiate

more clearly from all the rest is the one of Roman merchants

II) Roman Businessmen

We can see the associations of Roman businessmen merchants as a separate type of

group from the rest due to a variety of reasons86

First of all they were a foreign unit

part of the general influx of Roman-Italian immigrants in Greek lands which can be

traced in the late 3rd

century BC yet is only after the 2nd

century BC and the gradual

subjugation of the Greek East to Rome that some increase is detected87

Shifting focus

on Macedonian cities the first and rather hesitating phase of Italian immigration to

this region commenced in the 2nd

century BC88

The city of Abdera is a useful yet

exceptional testimony Some high profile Roman families are attested to be residing

there in this century89

The numbers though increased in the late Republican era90

For what is more after the 2nd

century AD they disappear from our sources91

thus

attesting a very distinguished picture than other associations The title of their

associations testifies as well to their distinctiveness They wished to advertise

84 Pandermalis (1983) 162-3 85 Woolf (2014) 66-7 points out the inadequacy and awkwardness of the terms that Roman authorities

used to refer to associations 86 There is a discussion whether these groups were private associations or official collectivities

instituted by the civil authorities See van Nijf (2009) 13-15 87 Wilson (1966) 85-93 88 Rizakis (1998) 131 89 See I Aeg Thrace E8-10 with commentary While Abdera falls out of the scope of this study since it was not a city representative of this Macedonian culture it was still within the Macedonian kingdom 90 Papazoglou (1983) 196 n 23-24 91 From the eight inscriptions of Roman merchants examined here seven are dated in the 1st BC-1st

AD while only one CIG II Add 1997d is dated in the period 2nd3rd centuries AD I would dear to

limit down the date to the period before the 212 AD since after that point Roman citizenship was not a

privilege to demonstrate

27

themselves as Romans that is to say ethnically distinguished yet the sole fact of

composing inscriptions in Greek suggests that they accepted as well their Greek

environment Regarding the implications for their status more will be discussed in

Chapter IV

Moreover their appearance comes quite different comparing to other associations

These Romans never present in their inscriptions any details regarding their

organization or membership but they always appear as the Roman merchants

revealing no further information On the contrary all of the other groups examined

here present officers organization hierarchy details about their members and so on

It is the same title that signifies further their being a separate type of group They

never presented themselves with any religious identity but solely with a professional

one as συμπραγματευόμενοι (sympragmateuomenoi) that is to say the ones who dealt

with business transactions92

The professional orientation of their associations is

testified from more clues Specifically concerning generally the Greek world it is

identifiable that they settled in such places that provided opportunities for commerce

with the most famous example being the island of Delos93

The epigraphic material of

these places bears witness to the fact that these Western foreigners were mainly

occupied with business activities94

They were usually traders salesmen even

representatives of Roman ldquotax-farming companiesrdquo95

An interesting point of the Romano-Italian emigration to Macedonia is what

Athanasios Rizakis has observed Studying the epigraphic production of the province

Rizakis has argued that many of the Roman-Italian settlers attested in the area may

have actually descended apart from Italy from Greek soil as well96

He maintained

that after the economic decay of Delos Roman merchants could have found shelter in

the provinces of Achaia Asia Minor and Macedonia resting his argument on Roman

name similarities between Delos and these areas and in the time sequences of the

disappearance of Roman names from Delos and the appearance of the same ones in

the afore-mentioned regions97

92 Only one of these inscriptions terms them as ἐνκεκτημένοι (enkektemenoi) which can be translated as

landowners without excluding the possibility that they were traders as well EKM 159 The verb ἐγκτάομαι (ἐγκέκτημαι is its past perfect) translates as obtain land in a foreign country (LSJ) 93 Wilson (1966) 94-126 94 Ibid 95 Errington (1988) 142 96 Rizakis (1986) 97 Ibid 512-7

28

Looking also at their distribution in Macedonian cities provides more clues They

were located in urban centers of commercial significance or at least of some civic

vitality such as Thessaloniki Beroea and Edessa They were even located at Styberra

Idomene and Acanthus A possible explanation for the choice of such smaller cities

which were not really prominent for their role in the provincersquos economy may be

explained by the fact that they were found in relatively close proximity to Via

Egnatia the main artery connecting peoples and goods from the Adriatic to the East

Moreover the hypothesis drawn is that the presence of such communities could be

assumed for other cities on the basis of numerous persons bearing the Roman tria

nomina98

Whether this hypothesis can be proven exceeds the concerns of this paper

The evidence shows that Roman immigrants were organized in distinguishable

collectivities either in places of commercial and general economic importance or in

places linked with the main ldquointernationalrdquo road of the region that could provide

opportunities for commerce All the above suffice to illustrate that Romaioi

sympragmateuomenoi in Macedonia were almost certainly associations with strong

professional interests What is more they never involved themselves at least

according to our evidence with any funerary or religious activities Instead we find

them only honoring prominent individuals

The latter does not mean that they could not have had more interests as

collectivities such as religious ones or burial provisions for their members Yet the

fact that they left behind a public image only as groups occupied with honorary

activities ethnically demarcated from their Greek environment is a sufficient

criterion to treat them separately from the rest of the Macedonian private associations

To conclude here I suggested that strict categorization does not come of use Yet

there is one type of association Roman businessmen that needs to be examined as a

separate category Apart from the latter the main observation is that broadly

speaking cultic concerns were of such significance for the Macedonian population

that collectivities preferred to build their identities as initiates of deities rather than as

groups of professionals even if they were actually the latter This comes in contrast to

other places where professional identities are more prevalent Does the composition as

98 Loukopoulou (1996) 143

29

well of the Macedonian associations set them apart from the overall picture we hold

of the rest of the Greek world

Membership

With regard to the rest of the Greek East and the Empire in general scholars

nowadays seem to agree that members of associations descended from the classes

below the elite yet not necessarily from the socially and economically weakest strata

These private organizations included in their ranks individuals of every kind of legal

status free freed and slave who represented as well various financial levels99

Let us

observe to what extent the Macedonian picture corresponds with this consensus

I) Ethnicity and Gender

The study of the two pieces of evidence from the early 2nd

century BC indicates an

exclusive membership including only men and most probably of free status The

former group consists of dedicants to the Egyptian Gods Isis and Sarapis probably

soldiers of the Macedonian army while the latter is an association called Mousaistai

that honored king Perseus100

Whether this picture can be used as a representative one

for more associations of that period the existence of which has yet to be confirmed by

archaeology is rather difficult to decide Associations in Macedonia increase in

numbers progressively in time

Once we approach the 1st century BC and later the Imperial years the associative

composition becomes more variable To begin with the Roman presence becomes

evident What is interesting is that it is not in isolation but it blends in with its Greek

99 There seem to be a general consensus that members of private associations around the Empire

originated from the upper echelons of the urban plebs [contra to Finley (1999) 138 or Kloppenborg

(1996) 23] See indicatively Ausbuumlttel (1982) 44 who considers collegia as coalitions of employers

and not employees moreover see Patterson (2006) 254-55 who considers collegiati slaves and

freedmen with the latter being the majority and generally representing the plebs media which is

implied ldquoby the costs involved in belonging to a collegiumhelliprdquo [this is largely the summary of Patterson

(1992) and (1993)] van Nijf (1997) representing generally the Greek East is in accordance with this

view see ibid 18-23 likewise Kloppenborg-Ascough (2011) 7-8 Bollmann (1998) 27-31 Tran

(2006) 46-7 100 The dedicants to Sarapis and Isis is a list of names in the form name and patronymic it has been

argued that they were soldiers by Hatzopoulos (1996) 457-8 For more associations composed from

soldiers of Hellenistic states specifically Rhodes see Gabrielsen (1997) 123-9 Regarding the Mousaistai due to honors towards the king Paschidis (2012) 2 n 6 doubts the private nature of the

association however there are parallels from the Hellenistic world that contradict this opinion Only

the terminological parallels suffice plenty of synodoi or koina of associations with theophoric names

(Apolloniastai Posidoniastai Ermaistai and so on) are to be found in a variety of cities see for

instance IG XII 1 680 which is another koinon of Mousaistai from Hellenistic Rhodes for more

examples see ibid

30

surrounding The obvious linguistic interplay constitutes a solid proof as associations

of Roman merchants constructed inscriptions in Greek and other groups carried the

title thiasus -the Latinized version of the Greek θίασος- or Greeks carrying both

Greek and Roman names and Romans inscribing their names in Greek

As far as the gender is concerned there are also associations including or even

being exclusively composed by women However such groups appear to be a

minority Out of hundred-twenty inscriptions only ten present associations that

included women and one reveal a group composed solely of them101

There are

moreover plenty of instances where we observe associations honoring or burying

women yet it is not discernible whether they were members or not102

Thus private

associations of this region can be mainly seen as a male occupation with some

exceptions of female participation With regard to the gender the picture of private

associations in Macedonia corresponds to the general picture throughout the Greco-

Roman world103

II) Legal-Social Status

Men or women what were the legal-social origins of these people Trying to identify

the legal-social status of a person who lived two millennia ago is not a comfortable

task The study of names is a valuable aid yet absolute assertions based on an

onomatological analysis are difficult to make Scholars do not seem to have reached a

consensus regarding this issue To begin with the identification of slaves while

almost fifteen years ago there were opinions supporting the concept of typical slave

names in the Roman Empire104

scholars now seem more cautious with such

approaches105

101 Including women SEG 46 744 IG X 21 65 IG X 21 208 IG X 21 255 IG X 21 260 IG X

21 480 SEG 49 814 SEG 56 753 SEG 56 765 SEG 46 800 Exclusive female composition

Philippi II 340 102 For instance EKM 1 122 IG X 21 70 IG X 21 299 Philippi II 029 103 There are many instances of private associations including women in their ranks all around the

Greco-Roman world One of the most renowned examples is the Agrippinilla inscription the product

of a large Dionysiac association including numerous women For its analysis and plenty of similar

evidence from various places see McLean (1993) 104 See the discussion at Wilson (1998) 25-30 reflecting on previous scholarship 105 The authors of the Oxford Classical Dictionary warn us that the concept of the typical slave name

seems now outdated See OCD (2012) sv ldquonames personal Greekrdquo ldquoThe naming and renaming of

slaves hellip on enslavement or at birth into slavery in the household or at manumission and the passing

of manumitted slaves into the local population are all factors tending to loosen the concept of a lsquoslave-

namersquo Servile status can never be deduced from the name alone without supporting circumstantial

evidencerdquo

31

Taking as a possible guideline to suggest that some individuals in the examined

sources were of servile status could be the fact that they carry only one name no

patronymic as free Greeks neither the Roman tria nomina106

or the fact that their

names indicate professional or some other status An example is the case of a group of

gladiators who buried a fellow with the name Θουρίνος (Thourinos) which denotes

aggressiveness in the field107

However we cannot exclude the possibility that he

wanted to be remembered as an efficient fighter Yet even if some individuals carried

a second name in genitive according to the Greek tradition it is hard to determine

whether the second name in genitive indicates an owner or a parent108

Furthermore

as Heikki Solin has stressed Roman citizens appear frequently in Greek context with

only one name influenced by the Greek naming traditions109

It thus becomes in

some cases quite difficult to determine peoplersquos status

Similarly perplexed is any attempt to assert freed status Those bearing only the

Roman tria nomina like Gaius Cornelius Severus110

can be surely considered to be

people of free status originating also from the Italian peninsula Those on the other

hand having only a Roman praenomen and nomen with their cognomen being Greek

such as Lucius Livurnius Chrysippos111

could be identified as freedmen on the basis

that they kept their former masterrsquos credentials after their manumission

At the same time however it cannot be determined whether people with similar

names were not sons of mixed marriages between Italian immigrants with Greek

women or simply provincials of free status who were granted Roman citizenship and

adopted the nomenclature of the sponsor to whom they owed their civil rights For

instance what was the status of the donkey driver Ailius Orestis who was buried by

his colleagues112

Was he a freedman manumitted by someone from the family of

Ailii was he a provincial who acquired citizenship or the product of an Italic-Greek

marriage

Moreover what can be concluded of Claudius Lycos member of a Dionysiac

association and at the same time quite probably also a local councilor113

He might as

106 See Salway (2013) for a very simple yet adequate introduction to the meaning of the tria nomina 107 EKM 1 377 108 For instance IG X 21 69 and SEG 46 744 109 Solin (2001) 189-90 110 IG X 22 75 111 SEG 46 744 112 EKM 1 372 113 See IG X 21 244 Kubiacutenska (2001) makes this assertion concerning Claudius Lycos discussing

relevant inscriptions confirming the civil status of Claudius Lycos

32

well have been a freedman who reached the point of participating in the lowest ranks

of civil administration or any of the above cases who simply kept the gentilicium

Claudius to assert more prestige

All the more Emperor Caracallarsquos move to award citizenship to almost all the free

inhabitants of the empire (Constitutio Antoniana) makes it even more complicated to

discern between the above after 212 AD It is a thorny issue in our case since the

majority of the inscriptions is vaguely dated during the period 2nd

-3rd

centuries AD

Hence when we meet Aurelius Zipyron114

who adopted the gentilicium of the

Emperor to proclaim his citizenship it proves rather dubious whether he had achieved

free status before 212 AD or he was freed later on

Having all the above in mind attempting a statistical analysis to identify the legal

status dominating these groups would be to a certain extent speculative115

Instead

every case should be addressed separately taking into account internal details and

scholarly interpretations116

The safest conclusion though we can come to at this

point is that private associations of Macedonia seem to have been all inclusive groups

which were composed by people of servile freed and free status117

Let us now

examine their financial status

III) Economic Status

There is a variety of information to help us reconstruct to a certain extent the

economic standpoint of the Macedonian collegiati The crucial question regarding this

issue is whether they represent the urban poor according the tradition created by

Mommsen or something more than that

To begin with since it appears that associations enlisted members from every

social-legal class their economic background should be expected to be a mixture as

well118

Another indicator is the fact that as described so far many of these people

114 Philippi II 133 115 See Nigdelis (2010) 24 regarding the legal status of associative members of Thessaloniki who

considers that ldquoany effort at a statistical approach to the evidence from the late second and third

centuries CE based on onomastics is in vainrdquo 116 See for example EKM 1 27 and SEG 46 800 both are dedications to Zeus Hypsistos in the form of

a membership list among the variety of names (members with name and patronymic with Roman tria nomina and more) we encounter single Greek names accompanied by professional titles this has led

the editors of EKM to argue that in both inscriptions the ones with a single Greek name and the

professional title are slaves It seems like a convincing interpretation 117 For instance SEG 46 800 SEG 46 744 IG X 21 58 IG X 22 75 118 For instance it is well known that many freemen-depending on the general financial status of the

place- could have reached considerable amounts of wealth and power A rather indicative case are the

33

exercised some sort of occupations It has been argued that craftsmen traders and

artisans generally represented a class above the very poor yet below the wealthy

elites with cases of increased wealth119

Furthermore there are some cases where

certain civil status is revealed concerning some members For instance among the

associative ranks lies a local councilor most probably ldquoa modest civic official a

curialisrdquo120

and a treasurer of the city121

There are even several cases where associations seem to have forged ties with

prominent citizens such as a member of the provincial assembly a Macedoniarch

the treasurer of the city the head of the gymnasion or a honorary consul who held

more offices Unfortunately we cannot tell whether these citizens were members of

the group or not122

Overall it seems that these groups occasionally included or

networked with individuals of the municipal aristocracies or at least their lowest

components We can hardly therefore visualize them as people of the weakest

economic level of the Greco-Roman city

Additionally there are more indications suggesting the latter Precisely there is

some information revealing certain financial status The first clue is the fact that quite

a few of these groups seem to have possessed their own premises either meeting

places or establishments of professional groups (perhaps for business purposes) or

buildings for religious activities such as temples123

This fact implies that these

people could afford analogous contributions to build and maintain such possessions

For what is more apart from property holding there is a variety of evidence

concerning economic activities The first and most apparent indication is that a great

number of these groups had their own treasurer In addition quite a few associations

were the recipients of endowments either in the form of money or land to be

exploited for burial and ritual purposes or regulating funerary expenses to be shared

freedmen of Puteoli and Ostia see Drsquo Arms (1981) 121-148 More generally see Garnsey and Saller

(1987) 44-5 119 A relevant discussion can be found at van Nijf (1997) 18-23 120 Ascough (2003) 52 121 In the same respect of order to the above IG X 21 506 CIL 633 See moreover IG X 21 244

which is a list of dedicants to Dionysos Gongylos The local councilor must have been a member Claudius Lykos see above n 113 Additionally see SEG 49 814 for which Nigdelis (2006) 128

considers that there is strong possibility that this association included elite members 122 Examples IG X 21 16 IG X 21 192 SEG 24 496 Philippi II 095 Philippi II 252 Philippi II

311 Philippi II 350 SEG 49 697 123 See IG X 21 58 IG X 21 255 IG X 21 259 IG X 21 261 IG X 21 291 SEG 49 814 SEG

56 746 SEG 56 753 SEG 56 763 BCH 56 (1932) 291 Philippi II 133 164

34

by the family and the club Additionally there are cases where associations accepted

donations by their leaders or even shared the expenses of raising their premises124

All the above demonstrate that at least a substantial portion of these groups had

some mediocre financial power Whether this description applies to all the groups of

the area or whether the people below the subsidy levels were excluded is rather

difficult to determine since our evidence is fragmentary and enigmatic125

Nonetheless it would be reasonable to argue that in general we could understand

Macedonian associations not as a matter of the urban poor rather as organizations

representative of the cross-section between the destitute of the cities and the upper

social strata126

Hence it seems that the composition of private associations of

Macedonia in terms of legal-social and financial status as well as gender

corresponds to the picture we have from the rest of the Empire The final feature of

associations to be examined in this chapter is the ways they organized and structured

their groups

Organization

Were these groups organized and structured at some manner Property holding

constitutes a solid proof of some form of organization There are some more evidence

regarding the organization and structure of these groups Specifically in numerous

inscriptions we can detect titles of officers Apart from the omnipresent

archisynagogos that is the leader of the group there are also secretaries treasurers

curators and so on Although we are far from fully grasping the duties every office

was accompanied with since relevant information are pretty sketchy the title of the

treasurer clearly implies the existence of a communal funds In addition it is easy to

conceptualize that titles denoting a chain of command were actually translated into a

hierarchical structure Such organization can be seen in the official civil

administration127

124 See IG X 21 259 IG X 21 260 SEG 56 746 BCH 56 (1932) 291 Philippi II 029 133 164

410 524 525 529 597 SEG 53 596 125 See Liu (2009) 161-212 who argues -regarding the West- that collegati came from a wide range of

social and financial status 126 For similar conclusions regarding the general location of private associations of Macedonia see

Ascough 50-54 and Nigdelis 22-24 though only for Thessaloniki 127 See Gabrielsen (2009) 180 who notes that associations and public institutions became ldquoin effect

terminologically indistinguishablerdquo

35

The organization of these groups is also suggested by the existence of laws and

regulations Another indication is a very particular lingual formula Specifically there

are handful inscriptions showing that associations duplicated the dating formula of

official decrees A typical pattern is the following this happened when secretary (or

any other officer) was this person128

As everywhere in the Greco-Roman world here

as well associations adopted the official civil structure129

This imitation could be

understood as a very convenient system to keep records yet it can also be viewed as I

will argue in the following chapter as a clue of the general acceptance of the civil

organization model

Conclusion

In this chapter I have constructed a general framework describing the kinds of groups

that fall into the scope of this research In addition I presented the features of these

groups in Macedonia comparing them with what we know from other regions to

provide a first step in our understanding of them

The fenomeno associativo of Macedonia exploded during the imperial years while

its Hellenistic origins are identifiable I suggested that we should understand this rise

within the general rise of the epigraphic habit while a hypothesis was offered for the

absence of these groups in Hellenistic times Private associations in Roman

Macedonia are to be found in urban centers mainly in the two most important ones of

the province The above plainly demonstrates that associations in Macedonia were an

urban phenomenon Furthermore they were composed by both sexes yet male

presence was predominant Slaves freedmen and freeborn can be traced among them

They must have generally originated from classes the economic standpoint of which

was certainly above the urban poor and below the wealthy municipal elites without

excluding cases of financial weaker or better off members It is moreover

identifiable at many cases that these groups retained their own premises and it is

possible that some of them could have their own temples sanctuaries and generally

structures for cultic purposes They were additionally organized with offices and

internal hierarchies imitating the model of the state All these features -apart from the

128 For instance IG X 21 288 IG X 21 289 IG X 21 309 SEG 56 763 SEG 56 796 SEG 56 766

SEG 43 462 SEG 42 625 129 See for instance the example of Rome Joshel (1992) 116 That associations in general duplicated

the titles of the city for their officers is not a new observation rather it has pointed out from the very

beginning of associative studies see for instance Foucart (1893) 50-1 Waltzing (1895-1900) II 184

Poland (1909) 330-423

36

lack of associations in the Hellenistic era- generally correspond to what we know

regarding private associations in most parts of the Greco-Roman world However

there is an observable difference Namely Macedonian private associations mainly

represented themselves under the banners of deities even though professionals were

among their ranks Groups with identities based on professions were also found yet

they are the minority

Concerning the typology of associations I proposed that clear cut distinctions such

as ldquoreligiousrdquo and ldquoprofessionalrdquo can be misleading and do not always come of use

Hence further down I will not use such categorization and if I do it will not imply

specific creational purposes Finally I only distinguish as a separate category the

associations of Roman businessmen since there are sufficient indications to do so

Let us now see what these associations did in the cities of this region the cultural

identity of which was considerably distinctive in comparison with other parts of the

Greco-Roman world While as already written the majority of the evidence is

concentrated primarily in Thessaloniki and Philippi and while every city regarding its

associations features certain distinguishable traits130

at the same time similar patterns

and characteristics are shared by the cities of the province In this way it becomes

somewhat safer to argue about their role and function for the whole area of

Macedonia and avoid extensive generalizations Of course cases in which local

features provide signs of differentiated functions than elsewhere it will be stressed

out Concerning these common activities funerary ones seem to have been a crucial

part of associative expressions More or less half of the inscriptions studied here

embody mortuary content131

Thus my analysis will begin with them

130 For instance in Beroea we find many groups of gladiators or at Philippi the festival of rosalia were

at its picks 131 See Appendix I

37

Chapter III Funerary Practices

Introduction

Throughout the Roman Empire involvement in burials has been one of the most well

attested activities of private associations132

Similarly in Macedonia nearly half of the

examined inscriptions reveal some activities concerning the world of the dead (forty-

six out of hundred-twenty) After Mommsen literature was fixed on studying these

activities as proof of low class membership and as evidence marking the distinction

between legal and illegal collegia It was often assumed that there were funerary

associations only for the poorest strata the homines tenuiores133

This tradition

suffered strong criticism mainly after the lsquo80s134

with recent approaches having

shifted their focus on the social implications of such activities Accordingly burial

and commemoration rites carried out by an association are better understood more as

a choice and a strategy meaning to serve social identification purposes elevation of

status and civic integration rather than as a necessity and a point of exclusion135

What are though the implications of the Macedonian evidence regarding the

associative funerary activities The main question to be answered in this chapter is

ldquoWhat was the overall role of funerary practices of private associationsrdquo Before I

proceed with laying out sub-questions that will provide an answer to the above it

would be appropriate to first examine the meaning of mortuary practices performed in

the Greco-Roman world In this way the associative funerary activities can be

understood within a broader framework

Main Part - The Role of Associative Funerary Practices

1) Mortuary Practices in the Greco-Roman World

The importance of these practices for the inhabitants of the Greco-Roman world is

suggested by the fact that half of the total epigraphic production generally in the

132 Indicatively Ausbuumlttel (1982) 59 estimates that one fifth of all Italian collegia performed funerary

activities van Nijf (1997) 31 n 2 mentions that from about thousand inscriptions three hundred had

a mortuary content 133 Mommsen (1843) Schiess (1888) Hopkins (1983) 211-217 The concept of hominess tenuiores

was first suggested by Mommsen who argued over a distinction between legal and illegal collegia The

lawful ones were permitted to exist on the basis that their services were not harmful to the state These services were burials for rather ldquothinrdquo men tenuiores socially and financially inferior population that

could not otherwise afford funerals 134 Ausbuumlttel (1982) 59-71 Patterson (1992) 19-24 van Nijf (1996) 38-69 Cotter (1996) de Ligt

(2000) and (2001) Liu (2005) Arnaoutoglou (2002) and (2005) Perry (2006) 33-35 135 Patterson (1992) 19-24 van Nijf (1996) 38-69 Rebillard (2009) 37-41 following the previous

two

38

Empire is epitaphs136

It is commonly accepted by now that funerary activities in

general served as a field of social advertisement and cultural or even political self

definition137

People did not simply bury their dead but made statements in regard to

personal status and identity The depiction of these identities was not linear in time

since certain developments are detectable

In particular the transit from the Classical polis to the Hellenistic kingdoms and

later on to the Roman Empire brought about considerable changes not only in the

political arena but in every social aspect The isolated Classical city state experienced

the collapse of local barriers coming up against a developing globalized world

witnessing unprecedented mobility of populations multiculturalism various trans-

local networks oligarchization processes the diffusion of patronage in social

relationships and of euergetism in society

All of the above had a tremendous impact on the ways individuals built their post-

mortem social identification While in the Classical polis people identified themselves

as participants of an isonomic political organization138

in the subsequent centuries

this organization even though it did not decay rather it survived and even more

revived139

it did not function as a source of identification On the contrary the

Hellenistic era witnessed a progressive competition for status The latter can be traced

in the ways local elites constructed their mortuary monuments from the later 4th

century BC onwards Namely apart from the increased expenditure attention was

brought to worshipping heroized ancestors ascribing therefore a powerful status

within their given social orders140

The whole process can be viewed as an attempt to

legitimize their claim as the predominant class

This attitude was further expanded in the Roman era It is finely manifested in the

renowned ldquotomb suburbsrdquo where the municipal elites displayed the extravagant

architectural and monumentalizing style that one would expect to find further into the

city and for which Nicholas Purcell has maintained that they are ldquoreflections of the

136 Meyer (1990) 74 137 Indicatively see Morris (1992) and (1994) Pearson (1982) and Alcock (1991) 138 See for instance Meyer (1993) who noticed that the high frequency of use of the demotic in Classical-Athenian epitaphs identified individuals primarily as Athenian citizens in other words as

members of a political organization For countless such inscriptions from Athens see Agora XVII 139 There are various examples of this revitalizing Woolf (1997) Millar (2006) Mikalson (2006)

Salmeri (2011) Alston (2011) Wiemer (2013) 140 Alcock (1991) For similar developments in 2nd century BC Rome see von Hesberg and Zanker

(1987)

39

pursuit of statusrdquo141

All the more this struggle for the status acquisition was largely

adopted by all social strata142

It is within such an interpretation of funerary practices

that I am going to study the associative ones

2) Burials and Commemoration by Private Associations

The above interpretation of mortuary activities does not necessarily imply that

everybody had the means to construct their tombs and inscribe epitaphs In other

words we should not exclude without any scrutiny the case whereby such practices

were a important reason for people who could not afford them on their own to

participate in these clubs Especially since individuals of lesser means could have

been members as suggested in the previous chapter Hence it is worth wondering

whether the funerary practices of the Macedonian private associations correspond to

the Mommsenian tradition or to the recent consensus Simply put to what extent

people joined these clubs to secure a proper burial and to what extent they did out of a

choice To provide an answer in the following pages I will be occupied with two

questions 1) Why were people buried by private associations 2) What was the

meaning of these practices for the whole group Let us begin with a few examples

In a peripheral settlement of a town by the name of Meneis almost 7 kilometers

north-east of Edessa an unidentified number of people created during the 3rd

century

AD an association most probably for the worship of Dionysus It was a dedicatory

inscription used as a base for something -maybe a statue of Dionysus- constructed by

the priest and his initiates (mystai) that brought the existence of the group to our

knowledge143

The excavations on the spot unearthed as well a small sanctuary and

twenty three graves144

The discovery of a boundary stone nearby145

suggests that the

specific burial site was the private burial plot of this group146

Moreover the whole

site is to be found in a profound locus in regard to the settlement On the west side of

the small temple lie four graves most probably of a family (found in the graves a

man a woman a young girl and a boy) and on the south nineteen more The fact that

141 Purcell (1987) 142 See van Nijf (1997) 37-8 ldquoThe funerary styles of the plebs in Rome as in the provinces are remarkable for their cultural dependence upon elite categoriesrdquo 143SEG 50 599 Μάκκις ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ οἱ μύσται ἐκ προπόσις ἀνέθηκαν ἔτους β[ ] 144All of the details regarding this site can be found at Chrysostomou (2000) 145 Chrysostomou (2003) 195-8 146 For the use of boundary stone see Harris (2013) The most typical associative burial plots can be

found at the islands of Rhodes and Kos see Fraser (1977) 60-3

40

the graves containing the woman and the two children were constructed earlier than

that of the man their position in regard to the temple and the manrsquos grave as well as

the grave findings made Paulos Chrysostomou argue that the buried male was the

priest-leader of this group who founded this association after the loss of his family147

Furthermore the rich findings of these graves as opposed to the findings or the

absence of findings of the other nineteen ones which quite plausible were of the other

mystai indicate that those buried in these nineteen graves could have been financially

weaker members All in all the children that were found buried in the latter were

located around adults indicating that they were families Chrysostomou counts two

families148

The afore-mentioned dedicatory inscription as well as the surrounding material

furnishes an idea of a group of people that could afford relevant contributions It is

reasonable to claim that some of these people could afford a burial without the

assistance of their associates The graves with the rich findings support the latter Yet

at the same time the numerous graves with poor findings or with no findings at all

make the 19th

century tradition attractive Could some of these people have

participated for burialrsquos sake There are quite a few examples in Macedonia

indicating that these groups provided adequate burial provisions thus supporting

further Mommsenrsquos tradition

An inscription from Thessaloniki shows the existence of a funerary law of an

association149

Despite being quite fragmentary the text clearly suggests that the

group regulated upon the management of funerary expenses between relatives of the

deceased members and the association150

Another example is a collegium urbanorum

from the colony of Kassandreia most probably a group of merchants151

which paid

fifty denarii for the burial expenses of one of its members Similarly the funerary

costs for a gladiator in Stobi were shared between himself and his association152

and

in another instance the priest of the group paid for the sarcophagus of the deceased153

147 Chrysostomou (2000) 463-4 148 Ibid 465 149 SEG 56 746 150 See moreover Patterson (1992) who argued that collegia worked together with the family as a safety

net of securing a burial 151 SEG 39 597 κολλήγιον Οὐρβανῶν Πλωτιανῷ Μάρκῳ ἔδωκαν ἰς κηδείαν νʹ For the assumption

that collegia urbanorum are professional groups see Pavis DrsquoEscurac (1988) 152 SEG 47 954 Αὐρήλιος Σεβῆρος σεκουνδαρούδης προστάτης τοῦ κολληγίου Καυκάσῳ τῷ πρὶν

Στρατηγῷ ἐκ τοῦ κολληγίου καὶ τ[ῶ]ν ἑαυτοῦ μνείας χάριν χαίραιται 153 Nigdelis no 27

41

There are also cases where a member would die abroad but his colleges would at least

carve a funerary inscription for his memory154

Additionally the case of funerary

endowments and bequests implies as it will be argued below that associations were

considered trustworthy organizations capable of safekeeping grave monuments and

performing relevant rituals

There are more examples of associative funerary provisions yet these ones are

enough to demonstrate that private associations of the region took enough measures to

secure burials for their members Do these examples though suffice to resurrect the

ldquoghostrdquo of collegia funeraticia namely that people joined these clubs for burialrsquos sake

and that they were composed by people of lesser finances and status

In the previous chapter I showed that private associations of Macedonia represent

various financial strata hence we can safely exclude the latter question However

they could also have included in their ranks poor members as the case of Meneis may

indicate for whom we cannot exclude the possibility that they could have enlisted

themselves in the club for burial purposes155

This conclusion partly answers the first

question set at the beginning of this section as to why people were buried by private

associations To fully answer this question we need now to understand why would

those people who could otherwise secure a burial prefer to be buried and

remembered as part of some group156

21 Buried with Status

To begin with the action of collegial burial can be interpreted as an expression of

feelings of belonging and solidarity Such a motive should not be easily

underestimated However can that be the reason for everybody The evidence of

Meneis indicates otherwise First of all the burial territory was founded as written

above on a prominent location reserved -as the boundary stone suggests- only for the

associates and as it seems for their families as well Such an arrangement seen within

the framework outlined above -regarding the meaning of mortuary practices in

general- could be understood as a tool for status enhancement

154 See SEG 42 625 SEG 56 763 155 Jinyu Liursquos claim appears to be quite to the point whereby associative burials may not have meant

the same thing to all collegiati since they may have originated from diverse legal-social and financial

classes something that could have also varied by association to association region to region and

member to member see Liu (2009) 271 156 The conscious choice of any type of funerary facets can be explained by the lack of rules in Rome or

Greece compelling the construction of mortuary monuments and inscriptions see van Nijf (1997) 32

42

More precisely a private association distinguished itself in society or at least

attempted to by constructing its own burial grounds in a noticeable place Although it

seems like a tactics of exclusion it can be interpreted as a claim for inclusion within a

stratified society As the elite retained elaborate funerary monuments sometimes

including gardens or evolving in whole complexes157

advertising in this way their

prominent place in society this association made a relevant statement it proclaimed

its acceptance of the specific social values aiming for a recognizable position within

the given social orders

At a second level the spatial distribution of the graves shows that the established

hierarchy of the group -during life- (leader-priest and then initiates) was also applied

in their funerary arrangements The drawing of the site is more than helpful

Plan of the archaeological site near Meneis Paulos Chrysostomou (2000) 459

The graves on the west side (TA TB ΤΓ ΤΔ) were of the leader and of his family

The others on the east side (Τ1-19) belonged most probably to the rest of the

members The fact that the hierarchical figure of the group along with his family

were buried separately from the rest of the members can be understood as an attempt

to negotiate status within the group158

The priest-leader utilized the mortuary

157 There are countless examples of such monuments all around the Greco-Roman world and throughout an extensive time spectrum Characteristic examples can be found at Purcell (1987) Fedak

(1990) and van Nijf (2010) 167-171 regarding only a specific city in Asia Minor Termessos

specifically for funerary garden complexes see Toynbee (1971) 94-100 158 See van Nijf (1996) 43-49 arguing likewise The most useful parallel plainly illustrating these

suggestions is the island of Rhodes where numerous associative burial plots have been found see

Fraser (1977) 58-70

43

spectrum to ascribe more status and prestige following the established hierarchical

model He wanted to be remembered as a distinguished figure of this group For what

is more the construction of this private cemetery around a sanctuary -the rectangular

building in the middle- gave a strong religious identity to the whole group

The marked cemetery though of this religious association is rather a rare case in

Macedonia No similar case was possible to be identified The rest are funerary

epitaphs While the general context of any inscription provides a better understanding

of its function than simply the text159

the original provenance of these inscriptions

remain hazy and sometimes is completely dismissed160

Therefore henceforward I

will be mainly analyzing the information given by the inscriptions

211 Burials of Members

What these epitaphs depict is repetitive patterns burying and commemorating

members and their leaders quite rarely socially prominent individuals participating in

funerary rituals and receiving endowments to perform the latter A problem though is

that in some cases it is rather difficult to determine whether the deceased was a

member or an outsider The most dubious ones are the cases of endowments Apart

from these instances it is almost certain -with a few questionable cases- that the

majority of the evidence refers to funerary activities concerning members Observing

what associations offered with their mortuary activities will provide an answer to the

question as to why did people choose to be buried by them

A very representative example of a funerary inscription set up by private

associations in Macedonia is one engraved at some point during the 2nd

century AD

by a group in the capital of the province Thessaloniki161

The synetheis sports-fans around Lucius Rusticilious Agathopous for Titus

Eioulius Prophetes also known as Secundus

The information extracted from this text is limited Except for the mistakes made by

the inscriber162

we only know that a group buried a member and it was enough for

159 Cooley (2000) and van Nijf (2000) are good explanatory analyses illustrating that the importance

role and meaning of an inscription do not lie solely in the text but in its monumental and topographical context as well 160 While some inscriptions may have been found in what can be perceived as a necropolis and others

in random locations making thus their original location debatable others were just discovered in

museum storerooms without any relevant information regarding their provenance 161 SEG 56 768 Οἱ περὶ Λ(ούκιον) ουστ εικείλιον Ἀγαθόποδαν συν ήθεις φ ι λ [ο]πα ικτόρων Τ(ίτῳ)

Εἰουλίῳ Π ροφή τ ῃτῷ κὲ Σεκούνδῳ

44

them to just mention the title of the group refer to the group-leader and of course the

name of the deceased Plenty more groups both with religious and professional cover

memorialized the death of their members as simple as the above example163

Sometimes apart from the name of the deceased only the title of the group would do

Another very repetitive feature is the reference to the groupsrsquo authorities not only

to the leader but also to a variety of officers164

In the previous chapter I showed that

such nomenclature is taken directly from the state This onomastics exactly like the

original official one declared a hierarchical structure We could thus understand this

imitating process as an attempt to build an image of organizations similar to the

supreme one that is the state hence ascribing an official sense

Furthermore another pattern emerging from the sources examined is the one of the

trustworthy organization Some groups buried their members in cooperation mainly

with their families or certain relatives and in rare cases with another association An

example is a certain Baibius Antonius from the colony of Kassandreia the tombstone

of whom was raised by an association with a religious public face yet the relief on the

monument was paid and set by his son or brother in law165

Similarly another group

from Thessaloniki commemorated a member who died abroad stating that it was

done on behalf of the deceasedrsquos mother166

Whether she paid for the expenses of the

funerary stele herself or it was in collaboration with the group or even it was

completely covered by the group we cannot tell The important element is that the

cooperation feature was emphasized by the association167

Likewise more than one association could have joined forces to bury and

commemorate someone A quite fragmentary inscription provides an indication168

Namely two groups buried a musician for whom it is not discernible whether he was

162 The name Εἰούλιος probably refers to Ἰούλιος that is Julius 163 For instance CIG II 2007f IG X 21 860 IG X 21 299 SEG 35 751 IG X 21 291 EKM 1 372

EKM 1 377 SEG 56 797 IG X 21 299 SEG 35 751 SEG 56 784 164 For instance SEG 42 625 SEG 43 462 SEG 56 765 SEG 56 796 EKM 1 383 SEG 47 954 165 CIG II 2007f Αἰλιανὸς Νείκων ὁ ἀρχισυνάγωγος θεοῦ ἥρωος καὶ τὸ κοltλgtλήγιον Βαιβίῳ Ἀντωνίῳ ἀνέστησεν τὸν βωμόν τὸν δὲ πίνακα ἀνέστησε γαμβρὸς αὐτοῦ Ἀξιδάρης 166 SEG 56 763 Οἱ περὶ Φλαούϊον [- - - - - - -]ἀρχισυνάγωγον καὶ Ι [- - - - - -]φύλακα []

ουρασίας [Ἀ]ρτέμιδ [ος]συνήθεις τῆς πρὸς τῇ Ἀχέρδῳ Κρήσκεντι τε⟨λε⟩υτήσαντι ἐπὶ ξένης

γραμματεύοντος Μάγνου ὑπὲρ τῆς μητρὸς ἑαυτοῦ Πρείσκας ἐξεταστοῦ Μουντανοῦ More groups

buried their fellows or at least commemorated them even if they had died abroad SEG 42 625 SEG

56 766 167 See for relevant examples EKM 1 371 IG X 21 821 SEG 43 462 SEG 56 770 168 IG X 21 480 [Θ]ρησκία τ ῶν Ἀσκληπιαστ ῶν κ αὶ β [ακ][χ(ε)]ίου Ἀσιανῶν Βειέντορος

Μέμν[ονι][τῷ] κ αλαμαύλῃ μνίας χάριν Κασσία Ἀντιγόνα Μέμ νον ι [ἔτου]ς επτ΄ [according to the reading

of Nigdelis (2006) 138-146]

45

a member or not or even a member to both groups The interesting feature though is

the reference to one more person Nigdelis suggests that the latter person must be a

relative 169

While the identity of that person cannot be determined due to the broken

inscription what remains essential for the current interpretation is the motive of

cooperation In addition the case of endowments as I will argue further down can be

understood as another tool that associations used to present themselves in close

cooperation with various components of the local societies

All the above features introduced private associations as trustworthy and reliable

organizations It is arguable that this picture gave a considerable boost to their

collective social status and made associative burials an appealing scenario in a

society where competition for status was predominant in all levels

The other important feature is the emphasis on personal status of the deceased

based on distinction elements either upon the hierarchical structure of the group or

based on the professional spectrum The one built on the first type that is the official

nomenclature applied mainly to the leading personas of associations While we find a

number of groups commemorating the deceased as the leader of the group170

there

was only one that branded the departed member as a second class officer namely as a

treasurer171

As for the professional one it can be found in the form of titles or depictions

(reliefs) demonstrating the distinction of the deceased as a professional A

representative example is the doumos of Aphrodite Epiteuxidia that buried a member

who had died abroad172

As already noted the relief had the deceased depicted as the

captain of the ship In a similar way many associations of gladiators when burying

their collegues they made sure to stress either in words or images or even both that

he was a prestigious and recognized fighter

A typical case is Puplius a gladiator from Beroea who is called summarudes

meaning an experienced first class gladiator173

Moreover in the relief of the

monument there is a standing man holding a stick (rudis) The latter was given to

169 For the relevant discussion see Nigdelis (2006) 138-146 Nigdelis constructed the hypothesis for this case that one of the two groups was acting on an endowment and that the relative was making sure

that the ldquocontractrdquo was executed Although speculative we cannot exclude it as a possible scenario 170 Spomenik 75 2555 BE 52 (1939) 169 SEG 56 778 171 Philippi II 410 172 SEG 42 625 173 EKM 1 383

46

gladiators at the end of their careers as a symbol of their distinction174

Another

example is a relief portraying the deceased gladiator on a dinning bed (motive of

funerary dinner) while at a second level a helmet and a coat of arms are observable

along with fourteen wreaths most probably symbols of his numerous victories175

A brief synopsis should be drawn at this point Upon the occasion of death private

associations immortalized the memory of the deceased associates by stressing their

membership in collectivities who posed as trustworthy and accepted the socio-civic

order thus claiming their own distinct yet integrated place Moreover they exploited

processes for the internal negotiation of status and prestige by focusing on

characteristics of distinction either in terms of organization or occupational

supremacy Therefore it would be reasonable to assume that people who could not

easily claim their place in society would have been interested to partake in this

process

I specifically stressed above that being buried by an association would have been

attractive to people that could not have easily made their claim for status and prestige

on their own While socially prominent individuals are listed among the ranks of

private associations of Macedonia as shown in the previous chapter it seems that

being buried by their associates was insufficient for their post-mortem identification

The last case to be examined here is the sole indication we have from private

associations of Macedonia burying an individual of some social significance

This unique case refers to a councilor who is titled as the priest of two groups

therefore a member176

Artemein daughter of Marcus his wife and Isidoros son of Isidoros and Iounia

daughter of Isidoros to Isidoros the father son of Sabinus having lived well who

was a councilor and a priest of thiasoi of Dionysus (burying) him from his own

(money) for the sake of his memory and goodwill during the 357th

year fare well

good soul

This inscription plainly demonstrates that private associations were not composed

only by socially inferior population177

A member of the local council was buried by

174 Robert (1940) 27-28 175 EKM 1 377 See similar cases SEG 47 954 Nigdelis no 44 176 IG X 21 506 Ἀρτέμειν Μάρκου ἡ γυνὴ καὶ Ἰσίδωρος Ἰσιδώρου καὶ∙ Ἰουνία Ἰσιδώρου Ἰσιδώρῳ

Σαβείνου τῷ πατρὶ ζήσαντι καλῶς βουλεύσαντι∙ ἱερασαμένῳ θιάσων Διονύσου ἐκ τῶν ἐκείνου ἐκείνῳ

μνείας καὶ εὐνοίας χάριν ἐν τῷ ∙ ζντ ∙ ἔτει χαῖρε ψυχὴ καλή 177 The private nature of the thiasoi mentioned here is debated Edson (1948) 177 Steimle (2008)

177 and Nigdelis (2010) 15 n 7 they all think that these two are public association Paschidis (2012)

47

his family and he was commemorated via his political status but as an officer as

well namely priest of more than one associations Contrary to individuals of low

social ranking who could not easily engage solely by themselves in the competitive

arena of displaying and increasing prestige and status a councilor would have been

ldquoable to lay claim to any form of public recognitionrdquo178

He demonstrated his

separation from the socially inferior and manifestation of a significant civic role that

contributed to legitimating his authority Such a status would have sufficed for

recognition in the hierarchical social orders of the Roman Empire Why should he

combine it with representation as a priest of cultic groups179

A possible interpretation

may lie in the reciprocal benefit from such an action

Considering the religious history of Thessaloniki where this inscription comes

from provides some insight To be precise the cult of Dionysus held as elsewhere in

Macedonia a prominent position in the religious life of the city180

From this

perspective being a high-profile official of not just one but of more groups that were

dedicated to a widespread religious activity would only elevate a local councilorrsquos

status Not only was he buried by his family but he actively participated in the

religious life of his hometown and not just of a minor cult but of a conspicuous one

It seems that it was a cultural identity based on the local religious traditions that

attracted the socially superior councilor to include it in the immortalization of his

name and not any other for instance a professional one

On the other hand the two or more associations of which Isidoros was a priest

equally benefited They were represented as closely associated with the local elite and

not as any marginal groups Rather as collectivities significant enough to have among

its peers a councilor who desired to be remembered as one of them Yet there is no

evidence as to whether the mentioned groups participated in the construction of the

7 on the other hand follows an agnostic position while Jaccottet (2003) II no 21 refrains from the

argument of official thiasoi I perceive them as private on the basis of the countless private thiasoi to be

found in the Greek East and similar examples of prominent local individuals who were connected

participated or buried by private groups for a characteristic example see van Nijf (1997) 67-8 178 See van Nijf (1997) 59 who uses this phrase to describe a different case namely a self

commemorator who contrary to councilors and high-ranking people could not lay claim to any form

of public recognition 179 According to Edson (1948) 160 the fact the Isidorosrsquo mortuary monument was a bomos and not a sarcophagus suggests that his family was of poor economic means For the monument see ibid 158

figures 2 and 3 In any case it is reasonable to maintain that a councilor was probably of better

economic means that other associative members 180 For the importance of the Dionysiac cult in Macedonia see Chapter V The prominence of the cult

for the city is suggested by an inscription showing the city itself dedicating to the specific deity IG X

21 28

48

monument Even so they were parts in the construction of the mortuary social

identity of a person descending from the local governing elite181

Therefore being

mentioned in his funerary inscription could also be an attempt for status enhancement

and civic integration

Hitherto I have examined burials undertaken by groups of religious and

professional identities It should be noted that from forty seven inscriptions only

twelve show burials undertaken by groups with a professional image four show those

that I deemed as convivial or unidentified whilst the remaining thirty one present

funerary commemoration under the religious associative identity Moreover personal

identification based on profession does not seem to have been frequent Apart from

the cases presented above of the musician the captain and the gladiators all in all

five I found moreover a perfume seller a fisherman a muleteer and a dubious case

of a muleteer or charioteer182

Nine cases out of forty seven is a minority For what is

more not all of them were set under the umbrella of associations with professional

identities183

It is hard not to flirt with the idea that more professionals were hiding

under these religious banners

All of the above suggest that professions or the professional associative identity

were not deemed as a significant source for social identification in the mortuary field

This comes in direct contrast with generally the Greek East where during the imperial

period a general upward trend in mortuary social identities under the umbrella of

professional associative identity is evident184

What we see instead in this region is

that associative mortuary social identification was built more within a religious

identity In fact the deities we find constructing that latter were the ones that were

traditionally worshipped in Macedonia185

My implication is that the collegiati in

Roman Macedonia communicated their attachment to their traditional religious life

181 The punctuation adopted here and subsequently the translation is the one of the editors Should we

follow different versions the meaning could change For instance the phrase from his own could refer

to his own people his family meaning that he was buried by his family or that he took the priesthood

on his own means in terms of finances instead of the tomb monument being paid on his own costs

The above interpretation though is not affected by the translating possibilities 182 In the same respect of order to the above IG X 21 480 SEG 56 767 SEG 56 766 (occupation

depicted in the relief) Nigdelis no 27 SEG 56 778 183 See the previous chapter where I presented cases where collegiati presented themselves as professionals yet as members of associations with religious identities SEG 42 625 SEG 56 766

Nigdelis no 27 184 See van Nijf (1996) 38-69 generally for the East See moreover Roueche (1993) 128 who noted

that after the mid 3rd century AD an increased commemorative style referring to professions is

observable referring to representative examples namely the cemeteries of Corycus and Tyre 185 See Chapter V

49

through the funerary activities of their clubs A peculiar case may be that of Philippi

where this blanket religious identity of mortuary expressions included Greek

Thracian and Roman deities or even a combination This will be analyzed further

down

The available evidence has so far suggested that private associations in Macedonia

were more interested or simply less successful in burying members than outsiders

and socially prominent figures from within their ranks Associations offered to their

members commemoration that is the construction of social identities as participants

in hierarchical organizations within which status enhancement was possible that

highlighted as well their affiliation with the Macedonian religious traditions In the

next section I will examine the case of endowments which provides more solid hints

on the possibility of burying outsiders and at the same time comprises a testimony of

the picture of trustworthiness that these groups communicated to raise their stakes in

the competition of status augment

212 Endowments

Endowments were another way for associations to be involved in funerary practices

as well as to engage in economic activities and increase their financial resources

These issues have received plenty of scholarly attention186

Their social implications

are equally important Although they are more strictly and legally defined in

contemporary terms it seems wiser to be less rigid in describing an endowment with

regard to ancient associations Therefore what I will study as endowments

concerning Macedonian associations are donations of money and properties to these

groups for specific purposes

Whilst in other areas of the Empire endowments were destined for a variety of

activities such as birthday celebrations of benefactors building maintenances and

other187

it appears that in Macedonia they were mostly bequests regarding funerary

activities and more precisely they were intended for certain rituals188

They were

mainly small sums of money to carry out rites and in some cases somewhat more

elaborate like a plot of land to be exploited again for the execution of mortuary

186 For an excellent and latest analysis of endowment regarding collegia of the Western Empire see Liu

(2008) who reflects as well on previous scholarship 187 See Liu (2008) 240 Table 4 though concerning only the West 188 I found only one inscription that shows an endowment set for the performance of tri-annual religious

rituals not connected with the mortuary spectrum see IG X 21 259 [it will be analyzed in Chapter V]

50

ceremonies In the previous section I asked why people choose to be commemorated

by associations Likewise here I will try to comprehend the reasons whereby people

bequeathed endowments to these groups for mortuary purposes and the meaning of

these endowments for the groups There are only eight inscriptions regarding funerary

endowments Quite representative is the case of an endowment bequeathed to a group

of Dionysiac mystai at Philippi189

Zeipas for himself and his own [life-partner] Cleudis and all of his own children

(constructed) I bequeath to the mystai of Dionysus 120 denarii so that they

would light a fire beside this tomb during the festival of rosalia every yearhellip

A variety of interesting clues worthy of discussion emerge from this text What

was the personal legal and social status of Zeipas Was he a member of the group

Why did he confer to the group the specific amount of money for the ritual of rosalia

and what are the subsequent implications

With regard to the first question we could argue that Zeipas was of humble or at

least medium social origins A plethora of examples from the Greco-Roman world

suggest that people holding some sort of higher social and civic status of public status

mentioned it in their epitaphs as well as in any other form of public demonstration A

typical example from this region is the case of the councilor examined above who

was involved with the Dionysiac thiasoi in Thessaloniki190

The absence of a relevant

statement could imply that Zeipas did not hold a prominent status Even more

comparing his endowment with other ones of higher monetary value it is certain that

he was not a person of some financial preponderance191

Furthermore it is hard to determine whether Zeipas was a member of this cultic

group or not However in the great majority of the inscription examined here

membership was indicated In addition Zeipas constructed a collective tomb for

himself and his family while still alive without strictly denoting whether he was a

member of this group Therefore in the light of these two observations we could

assume not with absolute certainty of course that he was not a collegiatus

189 Philippi II 597 Ζείπας ἑαυτῷ καὶ τῇ ἰδίᾳ [συνβίῳ] Κλεῦδι καὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις τέκνοις πᾶσι [ἐποίησε]

καταλινπάν[ω] δὲ μύσltτgtαις [Δι]ονύσου ρκʹ παρακαύσουσίν μοι ῥό|δοις κα[τrsquo ἔτος mdashʹ] ΟΝ[mdash mdash

mdash mdash] Ο[mdash mdash mdash mdash mdash] Μ[mdash mdash mdash mdash mdash] ΠΕ[mdash mdash mdash mdash] 190 IG X 21 506 191 For examples of higher endowment see Liu (2008) regarding the West examples from the East IG

XII 7 515 SEG 33 946 IG XII 3 330 Syll3 577

51

Why then did he set a bestowal on a group for a specific mortuary ritual

Presumably this association (and others like it) must have been renowned for its

capability of performing such deeds The larger picture implied from this case is that

it was common practice for people to assign these groups as the recipients of

foundations for funerary activities

What has been discussed so far An inhabitant of the city of Philippi possibly of

lesser means and status than a councilor of the lowest ranking chose to bestow a sum

of money to a specific collectivity in order to ensure the performance of a funerary

ritual This whole process should be understood once more in the context of

reciprocity A self-commemorator entrusts -by monetary means- to a group his

ldquospiritualrdquo needs and the group appears as a recipient of such desires trustworthy

enough to accomplish these socially significant practices192

Yet were such agreements binding for associations The question rises from an

example again from Philippi that indicates the donorrsquos anxiety and insecurity

concerning the actualization of his bequest a woman burying her husband warns for

a 1000 denarii fine payable to the city in case of the tombrsquos violation and bestows

150 denarii to a group for the performance of rosalia193

Interestingly enough she

also states that in case of negligence the specific association would have to pay in

double the amount of the donation to another association To what extent though was

such a will enforceable In other words what would the legal procedures according

to which a second recipient would claim the fee from the first one have been An

answer in legal terms is complicated194

An example however from Thessaloniki

offers some useful insight

A priestess of a cultic group endowed a sizeable piece of land with grapevines to

be exploited in order for the fellow members of the group to bring rose crowns at her

tomb195

Failure on the part of some members to participate in the funerary festivity

192 Almost identical to the examined inscription are Philippi II 524 (yet bestowing more money)

similarly see Philippi II 545 Philippi II 529 moreover both professional and religious groups seems to have been recipients of endowments for a professional one see Philippi II 029 193 Philippi II 133 194 For a relevant discussion see Liu (2008) 249-255 195 IG X 21 260 Ε ὐ φρ ο [σύ]ν η Διοσκο[υ]ϹΦ ΙΔΙϹ Α Ϲ ΙϹΙ ἱέρεια οὖσα Εὐεία Πρινοφόρου καταλίπω

εἰς μνίας χάριν αἰωνίας ἀνπέλων πλέθρα δύω σὺν τε ς τάφροις ὅπως ἀποκέηταί μοι ἀπὸ ἀγορᾶς μὴ

ἔλατον εʹ ltφερέτωσαν δὲgt καὶ οἱ μύστε μικρὸς μέγας ἕκαστος στέφανον ῥόδινον ὁ δὲ μὴ ἐνένκας μὴ

μετεχέτω μου τῆς δωρεᾶς αἰὰν δὲ μὴ ποιήσωσιν εἶνε αὐτὰ τοῦ Δροιοφόρων θειάσου ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς

προστίμοις εἰ δὲ μηδὲ ὁ ἕτερος θίασος ποιῇ εἶναι αὐτὰ τῆς πόλεως The inscription mentions two

plethra According to Kubińska (2001) 157 two plethra of land is about 176 km2 Another

52

would mean failure to claim their share from the revenue In case of a collective

negligence the property would end up to a different association and finally in the

case that the second group would also neglect her bequest then the city would take

possession of the property

Such a carefully constructed testament has various implications On the one hand

the associations involved may end up with a profit-generating asset that could have

their finances augmented increasing in this way their general status and involvement

within the cityrsquos networks Hence the specific association(s) could potentially attract

the interest of more people who would like to ensure that they receive certain

posthumous ceremonies

Moreover in case that the group failed to meet its obligations then the ldquocontractrdquo

authorized another group to intervene As it has been argued ldquothe use of an alternate

group as a check can be understood as the benefactorrsquos self-interested manipulation of

the competition between various potential beneficiariesrdquo196

This notion of

competition between associations should be understood as an indication of associative

vitality and integration More precisely the possibility of profiting would have surely

activated the state of alarm of the second association This whole process may have

resulted in associations competing in attracting resources and status via promoting

their ldquocommemorative functionrdquo197

Furthermore the final sanction was actually an appeal to the law The

administration of the city would have most probably taken all necessary action to

profit from such instances We can imagine that some form of legal procedures would

have existed to manage relevant occasions Copies of such contracts held at the

archives of the city might have been an example198

The possible interference of the

law may be understood to have attached more official status to the recipient of the

endowments

endowment for funerary rituals namely banquets set as a condition that they member would profit from the endowment as long as they are united (ἕως ἂν συνιστῶ νται) see IG X 21 259 196 Liu (2008) 254-55 197 Paschidis (2012) 18 n 79 198 SEG 54 1056 is a relevant example the epitaph mentions that in case of violation of the tomb fine

will be paid to the city and that a record of the specific inscriptions is kept within city archives see for

more examples van Nijf (1997) 55-59

53

This suggestion is supported by the following analysis of funerary fines payable to

associations in case of tomb violations199

Accordingly the pattern was borrowed by

much higher fines to be levied by the city set by socially and financially prominent

individuals usually among the ranks of local elites As it has been put ldquoprivate

associations found themselves mentioned in the same contexts and entrusted with the

same responsibilities as the fundamental institutions of civic life in a Roman cityrdquo200

Bequeathing endowments to associations borrowed from the same context Private

groups were made responsible to guarantee the perpetuation of memory via mortuary

rituals as the city was bestowed with the same function via guarding the grave Hence

these practices could be viewed as attempts for the development of status

At a second level the priestess highlighted her significant position in the group by

referring to her title-function as well as by the size of the donation and even more by

exercising her authority within the group in case of disobedience to the stipulations a

second party would step in and in a case of a second neglect the city would always

be on the waiting list Thus funerary endowments served to underline inner

distinctions

Therefore to summarize such documents may have been used for ldquointernal and

external consumptionrdquo201

For the associations themselves it was used for status

negotiation processes and for a reminder that in case of untrustworthiness potential

loss of profit and subsequent prestige are lurking In the case of public view202

it re-

affirmed the status of the group as an organization capable of safekeeping wills and

performing commemorative rituals thus as an integrated part of urban life

Moreover adopting yet again patterns used by official civic structures was also a

practice meant to claim more status

Finally it is time to elaborate on what was left unfinished above namely the

peculiar religious identity observed in Philippi The specific city has the majority of

the evidence regarding endowments In Thessaloniki there was only one inscription

and a second for which Pantelis Nigdelis consider that it may have been an

199 The anxiety and fear for tomb violation was not ungrounded since relevant incidents are

identifiable See Romiopoulou (1973) 438-9 for a tomb at Beroea that was closed by six funerary steles in second use one of which is EKM 1371 200 For the whole analysis see van Nijf (1997) 55-59 for the quote see ibid 60 201 See ibid 53 202 It is unfortunate that we do not know the location where the inscription was initially set whether it

was an epitaph in a funerary area or a lex situated in the associationrsquos premises Its location would

suggest a lot for the purposes of its construction

54

endowment203

Should we take a closer look at Philippi we see that endowments were

destined for the performance of rosalia This ritual has its origins in Italy204

The

performance of a Roman tradition in Roman colony (Colonia Julia Augusta

Philippensis) where a substantial section of the population descended from Italy and

another part was local205

should be seen a cultural statement These people declared

with these rituals their Italic-Roman identity206

However of the six inscriptions from Philippi that mentioned endowments three

were written in Greek The cultural implications of this choice should not go

unnoticed More precisely these three monuments can be taken as a statement of a

dual identity a negotiation between Roman and Greek culture

In addition the associations that received these endowments communicated Greek

as well as ldquoforeignrdquo religious identities Deities such as Liber Pater Bacchus

Dionysus and Thracian deities such as the God Souregethes and the Thracian

Horseman are observed The first three divinities represent exactly this argued

cultural mix Bacchus was the Romanized version of Dionysus while Liber Pater was

also assimilated with him207

We see thus the performance of an Italian tradition in a

culturally blended way Hence contrary to the associative funerary celebration of

local religious traditions discussed above the colony of Philippi appears to be more of

a mixture than a statement of a monolithic culture Concerning the other colonies of

the province despite their scarce evidence some similar hints can be detected Both at

Stobi and Kassandreia we see associations constructing a culturally mixed picture In

Stobi the gladiatorial group examined above refers to itself as collegium in Greek

(κολλήγιον) In Kassandreia both a merchant group and one dedicated to the Hero

God acted likewise208

Thus in all colonies a cultural interplay is observable

Conclusion

In this chapter I set out to discover the role of associative mortuary practices in

Macedonia My purpose was to understand the meaning of these practices for the

individual and the collectivity namely why people were buried by associations and

what the meaning for the whole group was With regard to the first question I

203 Nigdelis (2006) 138-146 204 Perdrizet (1900) 205 Papazoglou (1988) 405-413 206 See van Nijf (1997) 63-4 arguing likewise 207 OCD (2012) sv ldquoLiber Paterrdquo 208 In the same respect to the above SEG 47 954 SEG 39 597 CIG II 2007f

55

proposed that the many and multifaceted provisions of these groups upon the occasion

of death could have made them attractive to people originating from the financially

and socially weakest strata As a result associations could have provided some people

with a solution to the problem of burial Yet for a significant number of collegiati

who might have descended from a class of a mediocre economic status burial and

commemoration by their peers was probably a preference Why then would they

choose it since they could otherwise secure a decent place in the cemetery

First of all being buried by colleges and associates implied a sense of belonging

and of solidarity observable as well in their funeral words However instances

betraying this notion of brotherhood are rather a minority A closer look at the

sepulchral identities that associations communicated showed that they posed as

reliable organizations adherents of the established stratified sociopolitical model

Such a model provided ample room for individuals to vindicate elevation of status

based on two elements participation in a group that claimed status recognition and

integration as a collectivity and personal distinctions Funerary commemoration was

used by collegiati to negotiate internal status and prestige

In terms of a collective identity the assertion for civic integration was paired with

the one for religious tradition I showed that contrary to other regions associative

funerary social identities built on professions were not that significant while people

clearly choose to be remembered as participants of groups that advertised themselves

adherents of the local religious life

Addressing the question raised in Chapter II as to what extent there was a

difference in the associative phenomenon of cities and colonies funerary activities

provided a stepping stone to begin approaching this question Namely private

associations of the Roman colony of Philippi communicated religious identities that

cannot be described as Greek or Roman as they signified a cultural mix Two more

colonies Stobi and Kassandreia provide similar hints

In sum private associations built with their funerary practices certain identities

Yet they did not only bury and commemorate the dead but they also dealt with the

living In the following chapter I am going to examine this part of their expressions

that is honorary practices

56

Chapter IV Honorary Practices

Introduction

In the previous chapter I attempted to demonstrate that private associations of

Macedonia used their funerary activities to negotiate a collective identity that called

for civic integration mixed with a religiosity rooted in the Macedonian tradition The

associative vigor despite being mainly concentrated in the world of the dead did not

end there but expanded in the world of the living in the form of honors and

dedications209

This chapter will focus on these two

Van Nijf argued that with such practices private associations of the Greek East

(mainly Asia Minor) pursued status as well as tangible benefits with regard to their

professional purposes210

Could this have been the case in Macedonia as well The

answer cannot be simple especially since professional issues do not seem to have

been of primary concern for all associations This part of the Greek world lacks any

inscriptions demonstrating associations attempting explicitly to improve their business

conditions such as the salt dealers of the Egyptian town of Tebtunis who set

minimum prices for their products and fines for those colleges that sold lower than

that211

There are no groups going on labor strikes to press down their demands like

the backers of Ephesus or the builders of Sardeis212

In this territory our evidence provides a varied picture I found Roman

businessmen honoring patrons and prominent local individuals as well as a mix of

groups with a professional and religious identification honoring their benefactors and

patrons who could have been members or outsiders in multiple ways They also

honored their leaders important citizens or even high ranking magistrates including

the provincial governor and even the Emperor What were their motives Was it the

same for all groups Was it the same behind every type of honor Simply put what

was the overall meaning of honorific practices for private associations To approach

properly this question it would be expedient to first examine a broader background of

209 Apart from living or deceased individuals associations performed honors and dedications for

deities These will be examined in the next chapter 210 Van Nijf (1997) 73-128 211 P Mich V 245 All across the Empire there are many instances showing that at least some

associations were eager in securing and promoting their business conditions Gibbs (2013) includes a

good collection of sources regarding similar associative economic activities 212 IEph 215 CIG 3467 for a collection of the known evidence for strikes during the Roman period

(including late antiquity) see MacMullen (1963)

57

social relationships and sociopolitical realities of the Greco-Roman world In this

way associative honorific practices would fall easier into place

Main Part - The Role of Associative Honorific Practices

11 The Greco-Roman City - The Symbolic Landscape

The Hellenistic and later Greco-Roman society was one where the ideology of the

predominant governing elite determined and forged social relations Quoting Yonder

Gilihanrsquos use of the term civic ideology seems appropriate it ldquodesignates a

comprehensive system of claims about the nature of a state and its relationship to its

subjects as articulated by both the state and its subjectsrdquo213

The social experiences of

patronage benefactions and euergetism are quite appropriate examples to comprehend

the application of this ideology

Plenty of scholars have worked so far to interpret the above phenomena To begin

with patronage this social model can be described in the words of Ernest Gellner as

ldquounsymmetrical involving inequality of power it tends to form an extended system to

be long term or at least not restricted to a single isolated transactionrdquo214

Gellner

though was a social anthropologist and the above quote comes from an analysis of

the patron-client relationship in Mediterranean societies in general

Roman historians do not really oppose this approach Richard Saller has defined

patronage as a relation of some duration based on the connection of two or more

unequal partners a system that was run by reciprocity in other words the exchange

of goods and services215

These reciprocal relations were central in Roman society216

Yet the cities of Macedonia where we find associations honoring their patrons

existed long before the intrusion of Rome exactly like the rest of the Greek world

Are we talking then about a Greek a Roman or an intermingled tradition and culture

While in the past scholars would claim that patronage had been introduced as

something foreign in the Greek East217

it seems that such opinions have now been

refuted Paul Millett has shown that although in different terms and diverse forms

213 Gilihan (2012) 75 214 Gellner (1977) 4 215 Saller (1982) 1 216 See Wallace-Hadrill (1989) 72-85 who plainly demonstrates the centrality and importance of

patronage in Roman society Moreover the collection of articles in Wallace-Hadrill (1989) is a quite

useful analysis of the phenomenon of patronage 217 Clemente (1972) 156-8

58

patronage relations were part of the Archaic and even Classical Greek world218

What

Rome initiated was a whole social system under which patronage can be identified ldquoas

a system of such relations constituting a social mechanism which functions

strategically in the reproduction of the major social institutions of powerrdquo219

Thus

while the Hellenistic world started distance itself from the isonomic ideals of the

Classical poleis and unequal relations were developing between various social

components Roman domination further expanded and developed what was already

there

Patronage moreover was not restricted to personal ties but it can be detected at a

collective level as well As the Emperors grew to become the patrons of senators and

provincial governors likewise the latter became the patrons of cities and various

social subdivisions Their relation is reflected on the provision of urban benefactions

State regional and municipal nobility all showered the cities with gifts ranging from

public banquets or festivities to public buildings such as temples and aqueducts220

The above can be described with the word euergetism namely the various forms of

beneficiary donating activities More precisely euergetism can be claimed to have

constituted a voluntary form of patronage221

Yet patronage implied an exchanging

affiliation What did these notables then receive in return for their euergetic actions to

their cities

12 The Function of Public Honor

The social actors that were the recipients of these gifts showered the donors with

symbolic exchanges An example is statues standing on inscribed bases a

phenomenon that drew its origins from the early Hellenistic era222

Such honorific

inscriptions memorialized and praised them not only for the specific benefactions but

on their general morality as well By describing the honorand these inscriptions

ldquocontextualized and assigned social meanings to the honorific images and hence

218 Millett (1989) Moses Finley had already argued that if there was a relation of exchanges in

Classical Greece we can talk about patronage even if there was analogous vocabulary for it as in the

Roman case Finley (1983) 83 See moreover Veyne (1990) 70-200 who examines the Greek

euergetism which can be seen as a social variant of patronage 219 Johnson and Dandeker (1989) 220-1 220 For a general presentation of the beneficiary actions of patrons on Greek cities see Eilers (2002) 84-

108 221 Veyne (1990) 5-35 See van Nijf (1997) 81 who argues that ldquothere is not a fixed point in the continuum between individual patronage and civic euergetism but of a broad central band of social

relations marked by unequal exchange and commemorated in the same languagerdquo 222 Ma (2007) 203

59

determined the workings of the whole monument223

As it has been quite aptly

written224

ldquoThe honorific statues were characterized by iconicity created by their frontal

pose conventionality immobility the inscription shifted the meaning of the

monument away from iconicity to the narrative of social transaction and relation The

subject of the monument is not the person represented by the work of art but the

relationrdquo

The same author namely John Ma provided another interesting description of the

function of statues Accordingly these statues in their lifelikeness said look at me the

name caption said look at him and ldquothe honorific formula in its determination to

speak of civic culture says look around yourdquo225

The omnipresence of statues

moreover was spread along colonnaded streets with illustrious monuments of public

utility such as baths amphitheaters gymnasia and nymphaea celebrating the cityrsquos

wealth and prominence in reality stressing the benefactorsrsquo wealth and

prominence226

Their largesse benefited the city their buildings memorialized their

prestige and the city with all its public and private institutions responded with

symbolic gratitude honorific monuments in profound locations

All of the above resulted in monumentalized urban landscapes227

which were

ultimately used to legitimize the local elitersquos authority Alcock Suzan and Ruth van

Dyke introducing an analysis of the social value of memory have described this

phenomenon quite aptly ldquoAs humans create modify and move through a spatial

milieu the mediation between spatial experience and perception reflexively creates

legitimates and reinforces social relationships and ideasrdquo228

In other words imposing

monuments nourished the idea of superiority of their constructors and the inferior

223 Ma (2007) 205 224 Ibid 213-4 225 Ibid 220 226 See Macready and Thomson (1987) for a collection of articles demonstrating the social importance

of public monuments that Rome brought to the East 227 Probably the most famous example of such an urban landscape is Ephesus Yet smaller ones also

exist see for instance the site of Termessos in Pisidia (Asia Minor) see the maps at van Nijf (2011)

240-2 Concerning Macedonia the most well excavated urban sites Thessaloniki and Philippi provide

more or less a picture similar to the one described so far 228 Van Dyke and Alcock (2003) 5 Moreover see Alcock (2002) for an excellent analysis of this

argument

60

social strata declared their acceptance of the social hierarchies with their honorary

activities Ideology thus was transformed into social reality

It is within this framework that we ought to seek interpretation for the honorific

activities of private associations Honoring by itself can therefore be seen as an action

of civic integration Yet this is only a general and plausible assertion As it has been

laid out ldquothose who set up a monument were in a concrete mannerhellip attempting to

preserve symbolically a particular set of relations within societyrdquo229

What kind of

relations did associations wish to advertise apart from recognition as civic

participants What other implications lie behind in these practices Can we detect for

instance an effort to attract professional benefits Can we find other claims These

and the afore-mentioned questions I will attempt to answer in the pages to come

2 Private Associations Constructing Honors

21 Roman Businessmen

My analysis will first touch on the only type of association that I distinguished from

the rest namely Roman businessmen In the first chapter I argued that these Romaioi

were groups of strong professional interests The importance of asserting their

professional nature lies on the interpretation of their honorific activities Business

groups honoring for instance the governor of the province may have had different

motives as opposed to a cultic group honoring their leader-priest Let us see whom

they honored and how

The first observation is that of the eight inscriptions mentioning them230

it is

certain that four of them were used as bases for statues As for the rest although it is

highly plausible we cannot be absolutely certain231

Quite interesting is the

provenance of three of them They originate from Thessaloniki where they were all

found in central places two close to the Sarapeion and one in the agora232

229 Harland (2003) 158 230 EKM 1 59 SEG 1 282 SEG 46 812 SEG 19 438 IG X 21 32 IG X 21 33 CIG II Add 1997d IG X 22 330 231 Inscribed bases for statues EKM 1 59 SEG 1 282 SEG 46 812 SEG 19 438 the fragmentary

condition of the rest as well as the lack of relevant information makes it impossible to discover whether

they were also bases for statues or another type of monument such as an honorary stele or bomos

(altar) 232 Sarapeion IG X 21 32 and 33 agora SEG 46 812

61

The Sarapeion of Thessaloniki was a prominent religious center dating back in the

3rd

century BC located in close proximity to the center of the city233

Its elaborate

architecture the fact that it progressively transformed into a whole complex as well

as the plethora of inscriptions found there illustrate its significance to the local

society It was also a source of significant wealth234

Additionally it is suggested by

the same evidence that the region surrounding the Sarapeion gradually became the

religious center of Thessaloniki during the Hellenistic and Roman period alike235

We

can imagine that it was a very profound locus for an association to position their

honorific statues there

Looking at the agora of Thessaloniki (the rectangular area in the center of the map

below) it included various buildings of public utility and more There are several

stoas possibly with shops (n 61 63 65) an odeion (n 66) a library nearby (n 67)

while there was -most probably- a monumental entrance with reliefs depicting deities

such as Dionysus Mainas and Nike near its south east corner (n 64) All the more

the center of the city surrounding the agora enclosed baths (n 69) and houses (n 60

70 72 74 80) While the

majority of these monuments

are of later times than our

inscriptions the sole fact that

all this constructive activity

took place in that area

suggests that it was of civic

importance from earlier times

There are indications as well

of Hellenistic constructions

beneath the Roman layers236

Map of Thessalonikirsquos agora 4th century AD Vitti (1996) Maps

Specifically regarding the function of the agora of the Greco-Roman cities it has

been recently argued that it remained a venue for the exercise of politics well within

233 Although it is named the Sarapeion it is not clear to which of the Egyptian gods the temple was

dedicated [Koester (2010) 47] 234 In 187 BC Phillip V sent a letter to officials in Thessaloniki forbidding the use of its revenues for

non-cultic purposes and spelling out penalties for any attempt to do so (IG X 21 3) 235 Vitti (1996) 88-90 and 174-5 236 See ibid 180-201

62

the Hellenistic and especially Roman times contrary to the past consensus that

considered generally the Greco-Roman city as a non-political unit237

The agora was

the forum where power and prestige were exhibited

From this viewpoint the monument situated in the Thessalonikian agora is not

simply a statement of civic integration but it can also be reckoned as a statement and

even more as the exercise of political power Roman businessmen did not simply

influence the elite in constructing an honorific monument in which they appear as co-

authors but they also had the power to demonstrate this political relationship in the

most prestigious location of the city

Unfortunately all the rest were not found in their original places238

Yet the ones

from Thessaloniki239

along with the fact that half of them were bearing statues

provide useful insight and reaffirm the above reconstruction concerning the meaning

of honorific practices in general That is to say they were a tool for the elevation of

status and for civic integration In this demonstration though of civic and political

significance there were delicate and thin lines that could not be surpassed

More precisely all of the instances in Macedonia where a group of Roman

businessmen is honoring someone are always performed with the city In other

words all eight inscriptions preserve the formula The city and the Romans are

honoringhellip The highest civil institution is always mentioned first From the

standpoint of the association it can be interpreted as an acceptance of the social

hierarchies as well as an achievement They accomplished to influence a decision of

the governing institutions but not to overcome its superiority in the process of

monumentalizing this relationship From the standpoint of the city it shows an

acceptance of the importance of Romaioi as an integrated group yet distinguished

from others and at the same time it declares the domination of the civil local

authorities

237 See Dickenson (2011a) and (2011b) 238 SEG 19 438 (Idomene) it was built in the wall of a house SEG 1 282 (Acanthus) found in an

open space near the highest point of the modern village Hierissos EKM 1 59 (Beroea) first seen in

1855 in the entrance of a mosque and is lost since then CIG II Add 1997d (Edessa) it is known from

a drawing of 1835 and cannot be found since then IG X 22 330 (Styberra) it was built in the wall of a churchrsquos portico 239 There is sufficient evidence showing that in Thessaloniki there was a temple for the deified Julius

Caesar constructed during the reign of Augustus It is quite likely that this temple was used for the

imperial cult [there are plenty of epigraphic evidence indicating the latter Vitti (1996) 58-9] There is

thus the scenario that these statues of the emperors constructed by these Romaioi could have been

located inside the temple of the imperial cult

63

Apart from the above this textual style entails more implications In particular it

comprises a stiff formulaic official and bureaucratic language For instance the verb

is actually always omitted John Ma has produced some interesting thoughts

concerning this kind of language Accordingly the reference of the dedicator in

nominative -the people the city along with the Romaioi the absence of the verb

τιμάω (honor) and the reference to the recipient of the dedication in accusative

declared that it was the final step in the process of the publication of official act

Moreover this formula closely resembles the proclamation of honors to be brought to

the benefactors at festivals240

Seen from this perspective this specific honorific

language gave the impression of official politics fused with the type of culture the

one of festivals via which the community identified itself and advertised this identity

to strangers241

From this angle these inscriptions became the vehicle for the

announcement and continuity of civic culture

Furthermore in regard to the ethnicity of the language all of these eight

inscriptions were composed in Greek Rizakis has maintained -studying though only

Thessaloniki- that since all their inscriptions (both of the Romaioi

sympragmateuomenoi and most of the inscriptions of individual Romans) were

composed in Greek these Romans did not portray a distinct and differentiated

identity242

It seems plausible that since they used Greek to advertise their status and

to display their involvement in the decision making processes (since they are co-

founders of monuments with the city) they were fully integrated in the city and its

culture

However the sole fact that they called themselves as Romans may be perceived as

an effort to demarcate their groups from the rest of the cityrsquos private and public

organizations and institutions They were integrated in the city yet in this image of

civic involvement they presented themselves as separate social units based on an

ethnic distinction

Besides the fact that they managed to present themselves next to the highest civic

institution the city itself should be seen as a claim for differentiation Not every

association and institution could accomplish the latter Although there are some

honorific inscriptions revealing associations in connection with the higher social

240 Ma (2007) 211-3 241 For such an interpretation of festivals see van Nijf (1997) 131-7 242 Rizakis (1986) 520-1

64

strata there is however only one more case depicting an association in a joined decree

with the city243

They provided thus a picture of themselves as significant

organizations partaking in the official politics distinct and separate from the rest of

the population and its formations yet incorporated into civic life As a group of

foreigners ldquoby adopting the discourse of public praise the Romaioi now showed that

they had effectively internalized the core values of their host communitiesrdquo244

Once we look at the recipients of their honors we find patrons benefactors

prominent local individuals and families and even the Emperor Touching on the last

case the city of Acanthus in the peninsula of Chalcidice honored along with the

sympragmateuomenoi Romaioi and the paroikountes the Emperor Augustus245

The

first observation that should be noted alludes to the word παροικοῦντες More than

one translation is possible The verb παροικέω can be translated as dwell beside live

near or live in a city with the status of the foreigner as a ξένος Both could possibly

refer to foreigners living in the city If that was the case then this inscription is the

only one in the examined territory that illustrates a further degree of integration of

these Romaioi They were in collaboration not only with the city but with more of its

components Apart from partaking in the symbolic game could they have actually

expected to gain something more by this action

Honoring the Emperor appears to have been a habit that Roman businessmen

shared around the Greek East246

It was a habit that cities individuals private and

public institutions exercised so frequently that relevant inscriptions are innumerable

Dedications to the Emperor have been suggested to be best compared with dedications

to the gods We can perceive them as demonstrations of loyalty rather as the

indicators of some sort of connection247

There are though some clues suggesting

that a group of merchants could have retained personal ties with the Emperor

An association from Smyrna demonstrates the actual possibility of contact between

a private association and the Emperor A group of Dionysiac initiates maintained a

connection with Marcus Aurelius248

Although this association is an exception to the

rule it is still an indication Moreover it could also be possible that the news of a

243 IG X 21 192 244 Van Nijf (2009) 16 245 SEG 1 282 Similarly IG X 21 33 is possibly (the inscription is quite fragmentary) a dedication to

the Emperor 246 See for instance IEph 409 and 3019 247 Van Nijf (1997) 75 248 ISmyrna 600 and 601

65

corporation honoring the Emperor especially in collaboration with an institution such

as the city could actually reach the Emperor through regular means of diplomacy

Travelling diplomats could have been the proper carriers of such messages249

An example from the city of Idomene around sixty five kilometers to the north of

Thessaloniki supports this suggestion More precisely the city and the Romaioi are

pledging their loyalty to Rome by honoring an ambassador of the Emperor

Tiberius250

The scenario whereby both the local elite and the Romaioi were expecting

a request to be forwarded to the Emperor should not be cast out Nonetheless private

connections with the Emperor remain a hypothesis It may be more plausible that

Romaioi could have cherished actual relationships with other officials rather than the

Emperor himself

For instance we could construct potential scenarios with the Romaioi

enkektemenoi of Beroea This group along with the people of Beroea honored

Leucius Calpurnius Piso Caisoninus the proconsul of provincia Macedonia during

the years 57-55 BC against whom Cicero wrote fiercely251

In the inscription he is

mentioned as their own patron252

Whether he was also the patron of the city of

Beroea and not solely of the Roman group it is difficult to determine only based on

the inscription There are more inscriptions honoring Calpurnius Piso as a patron or

honoring his relatives (daughter) They have been found at Oropos Samos and

perhaps Samothrace253

Was it thus solely a demonstration of loyalty to the supreme

authority of the province and thus to the Roman rule by the Greek local elites Or

indeed had Piso benefited these places in some way It is rather difficult to argue

My interest though lies more in the ties with the group rather than the city Was

there a tangible relationship between the two constituents Was there some sort of

exchange behind the dedication Let us examine the possibilities

249 There are plenty of cases of communication between emperors and cities or civic subdivisions For

some examples see Millar (1977) 410-447 250 SEG 19 438 ἡ πόλις κα[ὶ] οἱ συμπραγμ[α]τευόμενοι ωμαῖοι Π(όπλιον) Μέμμιον ῆγλον

πρεσβευτὴν Τι(βερίου) Κλαυδίου [Κ]αίσαρος Σεβαστοῦ ερμανικοῦ ἀντ[ι]στράτηγον 251 Cicero In Pisonem 252 EKM 1 59 Λεύκιον Καλπόρνιον Πίσωνα ἀνθύπατον Βεροιαῖοι καὶ οἱ ἐνκεκτημένοι ωμαῖοι τὸν ἑατῶν πάτρωνα 253 Oropos I Oropos 447 and 448 honoring Piso and his wife Samos IG XII 6 388 honoring Pisorsquos

daughter (she is also referred as Julius Caesarrsquos wife) Samothrace IG XII 8 242 honoring Piso as a

patron [however the reconstruction of the fragmentary inscription provided by Fraser is quite uncertain

see Fraser (1960) II n 18] See moreover at Delos an association that constructed its temple referring

to the Piso in the dating fornula (ID 1737)

66

Whether the Romaioi enkektemenoi of Beroea expanded their business activities in

more sectors than land-ownership we cannot know However they were certainly of

some general status since they could appear as co-dedicators with the city It is

possible that such an association needed special economic favors ranging from

special prices or favorable taxation conditions to generally bending the law It is quite

likely that they could have found in the face of a famously corrupted provincial

governor the man they needed254

It would be also reasonable to assume that apart from honorific exchange they

could have offered monetary exchanges The specific monument therefore might

have been an elaborate and colorful disguise of relations of extortion corruption

bribing and fear or simply the product of a profitable exchange for both parties If we

are to trust Cicero then it was probably a relationship of extortion and fear255

However we should also entertain the case that there was no particular relationship

and that these Romans were simply trying to earn themselves future favors and

special treatment Multiple scenarios are possible however our text is quite

economical and to continue hypothesizing would be unsafe

The same interpretation is applicable to the case of Romaioi sympragmateuomenoi

at Styberra who coupled with the city honored their benefactor256

A vague

relationship is transformed with honorific language into an acceptable one Whether

there was indeed a concrete benefaction behind this faccedilade it is difficult to discover

What is arguable though is that this action had both components pinned on the

symbolic map The benefactor is praised thus enhancing his status within the local

society and the group is setting a claim for its own civic position and possibly paving

the way for future exchanges and benefactions The other three the inscriptions of

Romaioi are more or less repeating the same pattern The city and the Romans are

praising local celebrated individuals

One example is quite representative During the years 27 BC-14 AD the city of

Thessaloniki and the Romaioi sympragmateuomenoi dedicated a bronze statue with an

254 Cicero had severely accused Calpurnius Piso for his abuses during his governorship of provincia

Macedonia See Cicero In Pisonem 255 Ibid 27 64 where he is accusing Piso for depriving Roman businessmen of his lands and

possessions 256 IG X 22 330 Στυβερραίων ἡ πόλις καὶ οἱ συνπραγματευόμενοι ωμαῖοι Ἀρχέπολιν Ἀπολλοδώρου

τὸν εὐεργέτην

67

inscribed marble base to a fellow citizen named Marcus Papius Maximus257

The sole

fact that the city with the group of Romans decided to pay tribute to him testifies to

the fact that he was a persona of some prominence There is more evidence for the

specific individual

While Papius Maximus is unknown to us from other epigraphic material of the

city258

other people with his family name Papii are known to us from other

inscriptions of Thessaloniki In one case an Aulus Papius Cheilon is honored by his

association for building their oikos while in the second case a certain Papia

Presvytero is mentioned in an epitaph erected by her sons259

The exact relation

between these three people cannot be determined especially since the other

inscriptions are of later times260

Yet the continuance of his family name supports the

suggestion that he could have been a socially distinguished individual

We should also take under consideration an interesting hypothesis constructed by

Georgios Belenis who studied this inscription Belenis entertains the possibility that

Marcus Papius Maximus could have been a relative or a freedman of a replacing

consul (consul suffectus) of the year 9 AD named M Papius Mutilus The Papius of

Thessaloniki he suggests could have represented the financial interests of the

temporary consul from Rome261

It is very well attested that wealthy Romans and

Italians including Senators exploited financially the provincial lands via entrusted

people such as their freedmen262

The proximity of the dates of our two inscriptions

makes this scenario quite plausible There are indeed cases where Romans of

Macedonia are argued to have been serving the financial interests of wealthy families

from Italy Abdera is a useful example once more The Apustii father and son

honored by the city of Abdera were probably bankers and it has been argued that

they were relatives of an important senatorial family263

Hence once again historical details support the reconstruction presented so far

Roman businessmen could have associated themselves with officials and significant

individuals anticipating to benefit and improve their financial conditions They could

257 SEG 46 812 [ἡ πόλις καὶ οἱ συμπρ]α γματευόμε[νοι ωμαῖ]ο ι Μᾶρκον Πάπιον Μάρ[κου υἱ]ὸ ν

Μάξιμον ἐπὶ ἱερέως [κ]α ὶ ἀγωνοθέτου Καίσαρος θεοῦ υἱοῦ Σεβαστοῦ Νικολάου τοῦ Δημητρίου τοῦ καὶ

Κλιτομάχου 258 Belenis (1996) 11 259 IG X 21 58 IG X 21 452 260 See Belenis (1996) 11-13 for the relevant discussion 261 Ibid 12-13 262 For examples see Brunt (1971) 209-14 263 I Aeg Thrace E9-10 Regarding their -possible- prominent status see Rizakis (1998) 114 n 13

68

have attempted to establish connections with magistrates ldquowho could guarantee the

security of personnel and property and intervene when transactions went wrongrdquo264

Such magistrates were not necessarily only of high ranking such as the provincial

governor but could have also been officers stationed in key posts like the treasurer of

the city or a market overseer whose public status was not necessarily mentioned in

the honorific inscriptions Honoring them could have been a way of gaining access to

the men who made decisions265

The other two inscriptions present similar cases266

So far we have seen that Roman businessmen used their honorific practices to

bestow themselves an identity distinct and at the same integrated They surely

attempted to find a place of their own within the social hierarchies of the civic

environment Moreover we have every reason to believe that their honors were

utilized to have their financial activities developed and strengthened267

These

Romaioi however seem totally unconcerned with the traditional Macedonian past

Their degree of integration was within the Greek or Greco-Roman city Neither did

they present any religious picture of themselves as collectivities

22 Other Private Associations

How did the rest of the private associations of Macedonian cities use their honorific

activities Was it only a symbolic action And if so did it refer only to the civic

world or do we detect again some reflection of the Macedonian religious tradition as

with their funerary activities Did they also strive to improve any occupational

conditions and promote any professional interests I will divide the subsequent

analysis in Hellenistic and Roman times in order to show that associations in

Macedonia exercised honors before the Roman period when the practice substantially

increased

264 Van Nijf (2009) 5 265 Van Nijf (1997) 92 266

CIG II Add 1997d (Edessa) honoring the daughter of a Roman citizen for their piety to the gods

IG X 21 32 (Thessaloniki) honoring someone (fragmentary inscription) mentioning (perhaps) the

priest of the imperial cult as well as a politarch (title of a magistrate from the royal period) 267 Many scholars are now leaving behind the old consensus according to which collegia were not so

active in this direction [Finley (1999) 137-8] see for instance van Nijf (1997) 12-18 Verboven

(2011) and Gibbs (2011) moreover Monson (2005) who argues that Ptolemaic religious associations

drew up regulations to decrease transactions costs Broekaert (2011) for a plausible analysis regarding

the potential professional advantages of being a collegiatus Gabrielsen (2001) who illustrates the

potentials of Rhodian associations the statesrsquo financial importance during the Hellenistic period

69

221 The Hellenistic Period

The older attestation of an association attributing honors in Macedonia is the one of

Mousaistai from Dion At some point during the years 179-168 BC the group of

initiates of the Mousai decided to honor the Macedonian king Perseus268

The stone

bearing the inscription was later cut and shaped into a capital in approximately 50x50

cm269

This actually means that the initial size of the stone which was most probably

holding a statue of the king was quite considerable We could thus imagine a sizable

statue as well Unfortunately there is no relevant information regarding its original

location

However it is reasonable to assume that it could have been positioned in a close

proximity to the cultrsquos sanctuary especially since another statue of one of the Mousai

has been found nearby The excavator of the site Demetris Pandermalis has assumed

that the sanctuary must have been close to the theater270

Therefore the monument in

question could have been in a central position within the city The implications thus

are the same with those extracted from the statues of the Roman businessmen

examined above

Looking at the text the king is praised as a benefactor of the synodos and for

exhibiting virtue (ἀρετὴ) as well as piety towards the gods the Mousai and Dionysus

The same interpretation given above in regard to honoring the Emperor could apply

here as well Honoring the king was an act of pledging loyalty Moreover according

to the text Perseus most probably benefited in some way the Mousaistai271

Thus

honoring him after a benefaction could have stood a good reason for future

benefactions

Another important implication to examine at this point is the prominence of Dion

for the Macedonians To begin with it was the most significant religious center of the

region carrying a relevant culture since it was ldquothe spiritual center of the Macedonian

kingdomrdquo272

It was not only the cult of the Mousai that was significant at Dion 273

but it was the major worship center for Zeus the most significant deity for the

268 SEG 49 697 [β]ασιλέα Περ [σέα] βασιλέως Φιλίπ[που] οἱ Μουσαϊσταὶ ἀρετῆς ἕν[εκεν] καὶ

εὐεργεσίας τῆς εἰς τὴ[ν] σύνοδον καὶ εὐσεβεία[ς] τῆς πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς Μούσαις καὶ Διονύσω[ι] 269 Pandermalis (1999) 415-6 270 Ibid 416 271 The phrase ἀρετῆς ἕν[εκεν] καὶ εὐεργεσίας τῆς εἰς τὴ[ν] σύνοδον translates as due to the virtue and

benefaction towards the synod the key word is ἕν[εκεν] = because due tohellip which could refer to past

actions 272 Christesen and Murray (2010) 430 273 Pandermalis (1999) 416

70

Macedonians274

It also retained a tradition of hosting festivals musical and athletic

games even from the late Classical period275

It was this loaded religiosity and vitality

of the city that attracted the royal attention

Philipp II held there a festival to celebrate his victorious campaign against

Olynthus276

Perseusrsquos presence at Dion was quite frequent277

Macedonian royalty

moreover used the urban landscape of this significant for them city to demonstrate

their power via monumentalizing processes Alexander had dedicated there a

monument for the fallen at the battle of Granicus Furthermore the city was adorned

with the statues of the Macedonian kings278

We can imagine that the public space of

Dion was a lieu de meacutemoire of the Macedonian past and traditions279

Hence the inscription of the Mousaistai has multiple connotations Its importance

first of all lies on the fact that it is a testimony It confirms the utilization by private

associations in Hellenistic Macedonia of urban space for the establishment of

identities and the development of status Additionally it shows that at the time

Macedonian traditionalism expressed in the form of religion was equally important

to the civic environment The group of Mousiastai could have been craftsmen traders

or even descending from the possessing classes Despite though their legal-social and

financial background they opted for a religious identity attached to the Macedonian

traditions to make their claim for status in civic space

The Mousaistai though were active in a time when the Macedonian state was still

alive Let us see the honorific activities of associations in the Roman era I will start

with some cases suggesting that not only Roman businessmen could have used their

honorific activities to promote their professional interests

322 The Roman Period

I) Honoring for Business and Status

A case of Dionysiac artists namely associations of professional performers at

festivals280

reveals such a pattern The evidence for the specific group originates

274 For the importance of Zeus for the Macedonians see Chapter V 275 Diodorus Siculus 17 16 3-4 276 Ibid 16 55 1 277 Pandermalis (1999) 417 278 Ibid 419 279 The concept of lieux de meacutemoire namely sites material locations of memory was introduced and

developed by Pierre Nora in a series of studies from 1984 onwards Indicatively see Nora (1989) 280 For an excellent introduction on Dionysiac artists see Aneziri (2009) and for a more comprehensive

analysis Aneziri (2003)

71

from Amphipolis The koinon ton techniton honored the priests of the goddess Athena

with two inscribed stele in the early 1st century BC

281 There is some discussion

whether these technitai were craftsmen or Dionysiac performers282

There are though

some strong indications suggesting that this was indeed an association of Dionysiac

artists First of all there are inscriptions testifying to the existence and function of

such an organization in Macedonia the center of which was probably in Dion283

Amphipolis was yet another city where civic festivals and games are attested since

the Classical period and during the Hellenistic and early Roman years284

It is quite

reasonable to have attracted professional artists to perform in its festivities

The final and perhaps most important indication that we are dealing here with

performers is that one of these two inscriptions in its lower part entails another text

fragmentary and unpublished so far which is most probably an agonistic

inscription285

It mentions names of victors youth and adult in athletic games with

the names being set among wreaths286

We could assume that the whole monument is

a dedication following some festival This does not mean that an occupational group

could not honor the priests of a prevalent cult appearing as co-authors in the same

stele of the athletic victors It would make more sense though for professional

performers of festivals to join forces in the construction of a monument of such

relevance

The priests therefore may have been honored by an association of artists which

could have been in the city only for its festival for their provisions in regard to the

organization of the celebrations It was quite common for the Dionysiac technitai to

281 Koukouli-Chrysanthaki (2011) 235-248 Ἔτους Δ και Ξ Τὸ κοινὸν τῶν Τεχνιτῶν ἐστεφάνωσεν τοὺς ἱερεῖς τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς Μάρκον Καικέλιον Σωτᾶν Πόμπλιον Κορνήλιον Σωτήριχον Ὀλυμπιόδωρον

Πυθοδώρου [ca 7-8] Καικέλιον [ca9-10]Μένανδρον [ca 9-10] ρος SEG 48 716ter Ἔτους θ ʹ

καὶ νʹ τὸ κοινὸν τῶν τεχνιτῶν ἐστεφανωσε τοὺς ἱερεῖς τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς Φιλόξενον Περιγένου Εὐφρόσυνον

Νικάνορος Μᾶρκον Ἄμπιον Ἀλέξανδρον Μαίνιον [ - - - ][- -] οἱ συνιερεῖς στεφανοῦσιν Εὐφρόσυνον

Νικάνορος Φιλόξενον Περιγένου 282 Koukouli-Chrysanthaki (2011) 238-245 One of the priests of Athena Marcus Caicelius Sotas is

known as a coppersmith who probably belonged in a relevant association (SIG3 1140) However

discovering a similar occupational status for the rest of the priests is impossible For what is more the

specific artisanrsquos status as priest of Athena might be random since he is also involved in other cults In

SIG3 1140 we read that he is making a dedication to the Great Gods residing in Samothrace Μ(ᾶρκος) ∙

Καικέλιος Σῶτας ὁ χαλκεὺς ἀπὸ τῆς τέχνης Θεοῖς Μεγάλοις τοῖς ἐν Σαμοθράκηι 283 See IG XI 4 1059 (and its correction at SEG 28 667) and IG VII 2486 which testify the existence from the mid 3rd century BC of a trans-regional Dionysiac association of technitai from Nemea

Isthmos and Pieria while it is not clear whether Pieria refers to a city or not it is more likely that it

refers to the region around Dion see Aneziri (2003) 57 arguing likewise 284 Koukouli-Chrysanthaki (2011) 243 see n 58-60 for the primary evidence 285 SEG 48 716ter 286 Koukouli-Chrysanthaki (2011) 236 n 3

72

travel around cities and participate in their festivals and subsequently honor local

magistrates benefactors and political institutions287

Honoring the people responsible

for these festivals which was the target of this associationrsquos professional interest may

have built the groundwork for future cooperation Simply put these specific honors

could have been a useful tool of promoting the business interests of these performers

There is moreover another important implication to be noted here namely the cult

that the honored priests were serving that is the one of Athena The specific cult was

quite prominent in this Athenian colony since its early days As it seems the tradition

was kept alive in Roman times too288

Hence the public image that this association

constructed for itself was one of civic involvement focusing on local religious

traditions Amphipolis despite being part of the Macedonian kingdom it kept an

idiosyncratic culture not completely embracing the Macedonian culture since it was a

former Athenian colony Therefore this case demonstrates that a ldquotravellingrdquo

association could contribute to the advertisement of local identities and cultures

To return to the exercise of honors for the promotion of business there is an issue

that requires some attention Namely there are some cases mentioning the office of

agoranomos289

These inscriptions show honors of the groups to the agoranomos and

the opposite It is reasonable to argue that this office belonged to the mentioned

associations yet at the same it is not absolutely certain just from the texts since it is

actually translated as a market overseer It is hard to imagine the duties of such an

officer for a private association A rather plausible hypothesis has been drawn

regarding one of these cases

Accordingly a Beroean Dionysiac thiasos who honored their an agoranomos

could have had their own market place during a festival290

In this way the

287 For relevant examples see Aneziri (2003) D8 D9 B16 288 For the evidence and bibliography in regard to the cult of Athena in Amphipolis see Koukouli-

Chrysanthaki (2011) 237 289 EKM 1 22 AE 1948-49 (1951) 36 no 4 quite possible the latin aedilis is the equivalent of

agoranomos ILGR 183-6 Philippi II 164 290 EKM 1 22 ἔτους ∙ αʹ ∙ καὶ ∙ μʹ ∙ καὶ ∙ ρʹ ∙ ἈρτεμισίουΠαράμονος Θεογένους ἀγορανομήσας τοῦ

θιάσου ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου Διονύσωι τὸ κοινὸν τῶν θιασ[ω]τῶν Παράμονον Θεογένου Concerning the nature

of the group there is a debate as to whether it was an association of Dionysiac artists or simply some

group dedicated to Dionysus The relief curved on the stele depicts two male figures The first one is

offering a libation at an altar Opposite him lies the second one holding a scepter in his left hand and in his right a libation cup Comparing details of this depiction with a funerary bomos of Thessaloniki

bearing a relief of an actor (see Trakosopoulou-Salakidou (1993) 1562-9 figure 9-10) the editors of

the inscription argued that we are dealing with an association of Dionysiac artists See EKM 1 22

commentary It is however debated see Allamani-Souri (2001) 34-8 Jaccottet (2003) II 48-9 and

Ascough-Kloppenborg (2011) 300-2 I will retain an agnostic position regarding this matter since it

does not seriously affect the current interpretation

73

agoranomos could be understood as a member of the group who was responsible for

their involvement in the market during the festival291

Moreover we should also

consider the scenario whereby the agoranomos was a city officer elected only for

festivals292

Such an official of specific duration member or not could have received

honors possibly for assisting their involvement in festivities where they could deploy

business activities

In addition a unique case from Philippi shows that things could turn out quite

favorable for private associations In an -unfortunately- undated inscription it appears

that the city of Philippi honored as a benefactor Antiochos son of Lycos from

Thyateira who was the ldquofirstrdquo of the purple-dyers293

This piece of evidence proves

that private associations engaged in reciprocal relations with their cities They were

not the only ones honoring locally prominent citizens but they could have been

acknowledged by the city for their services It is not hard to imagine that associations

of purple dyers could have benefited the city with some work of public utility294

and

that more exchange of honors between the city and the group existed as well The

implication is that through the bilateral honoring the business activities of the group

could have benefited

Hitherto I suggested that the exploitation of honorific practices for the

advancement of professional interests was not exercised only by the associations of

Roman businessmen Yet apart from the cases analyzed till here all the rest favor the

scenario whereby private groups developed honorific practices to participate in the

competitive game of status augment There are plenty of examples illustrating the

latter thus I will examine a selection of the ones providing rich details for possible

reconstructions which at the same time are the most representative ones

II) Honoring for Status

Around the mid 3rd

century AD a group dedicated to the cult of the Egyptian god

Sarapis at Thessaloniki accomplished to pass a common degree with the city

Accordingly the boule and the demos honor -with a bomos- Poplius Aelius Neikanor

the worthiest (ἀξιολογώτατος) Macedoniarch who was also honored by the religious

291 For the reconstruction see Kloppenbrog-Ascough (2011) 301 292 Sviatoslav (2010) 321 293 Philippi II 697 Τὸν πρῶτον ἐκ τῶν πορφυροβάφ[ων Ἀντ]ίοχον Λύκου Θυατειρ[η]νόν εὐεργέτ[ην]

καὶ [] ἡ πόλις ἐτ[ίμησε] 294 For the possibility whereby associations of purple dyers could have been involved in major works of

public utility se van Nif (1997) 88-91

74

group as their prostates namely patron295

The term prostates could also refer to the

associationrsquos leader yet it choosing the second option does not really make a

difference to the following interpretation Like the Roman businessmen we are

dealing here with a group that could influence the highest local authorities and

construct their public image based on exactly that element Not only did they attempt

a degree of civic integration but they also succeeded it

The honorific language used is yet another issue to consider This inscription was

the product of the highest civic institution and some private group The chosen lingual

formula was the typical official bureaucratic one found in most of the honorific

inscriptions examined in this chapter Moreover the honorand is not praised for a

specific benefaction or transaction but generally as ldquomost worthyrdquo Attention is given

on describing the honorand on moral terms a pattern also seen in many of the

honorific inscriptions studied here Such description provided a sense of socio-

political importance It underlined social distance and political power ldquoby the use of

an explicitly elevated symbolic language and legitimated by an abundant display of

moral and personal qualitiesrdquo296

Concerning the honorand according to his title he was an important official

possibly the highest one of the Macedonian Koinon His socio-political and financial

status quite likely belonged to the propertied classes The scenaria that we could

construct in regard to his relation with the initiates of Sarapis are numerous Let us

examine a very plausible one

As their patron or leader or both he could have provided for their social life by

constructing a club house a sanctuary funding their assemblies being the

intermediate between them and other public and private institutions and so on He

could have facilitated their business interests if they were professionals or even

elevate their actual political career by securing or at least promoting their entrance

into civic institutions such as the Macedonian Koinon or into local magistracies

More than that we cannot exclude the case that Poplius Neikanor could have been a

member of this group The possibilities of interpreting this affiliation are plenty

There is though one safe remark we can make here An unidentified number of

people of unknown social economic and professional background decided to put

295 IG X 21 192 ἀγαθῆι τύχηι δόγματι τῆς κρατίστης βουλῆς κα ὶ χ ε ιροτονίᾳ τοῦ ἱε ρω τά του δήμου

Π ό πλιον Αἴλιον Νεικάνορα τὸν ἀξιολογώτατον μακεδονιάρχη ν οἱ συνθρησκευτα ὶ κλείνης θ εοῦ μ εγάλου

Σαράπιδος τὸν προστάτην εὐτυχεῖτε 296 Van Nijf (2011) 236

75

forward their collectivity as one devoted to an important deity of the city for the past

few centuries Moreover they succeeded in demonstrating that they were not a

marginal group rather a fully integrated one in the city life297

Likewise a group from Philippi dedicated to the cult of the Egyptian gods Isis and

Sarapis announced their place in society honoring local prominent citizens with a

number of inscriptions During the period 2nd

-3rd

centuries AD they dedicated a

sizable honorific bomos to a certain Lucius Valerius Priscus who apparently held a

variety of public offices Namely he had served as a regular councilor as an honorary

councilor as agonothetes as a type of police magistrate and as juridical magistrate as

well298

The honorand had indeed a rich political career and he was part of a family that

held a tradition in offices in other words a rather prominent family299

It is easy to

imagine that any type of group would desire to attract such an individual as its

benefactor or in any other sort of connection Again a vague relationship or the

absence of one lies behind this text It is impossible to discover whether the recipient

of honors was a member of the group and what kind of ties he maintained with this

collectivity Similarly we cannot determine whether this honorific monument was the

result of some benefactions or the call for future ones

Furthermore most likely the same group furnished two more inscribed stele

honoring socially renowned inhabitants of the city300

The first one constitutes

probably posthumous honors for their benefactor who is characterized ldquomost

worthyrdquo exactly like Poplius Neikanor in Thessaloniki301

With the second one they

honor the son of this benefactor and they allude to the political career of the father

He had been a gymnasiarch a high-priest and an agonothetes of the festival dedicated

297 Charles Edson speculated that since they could appear next to the city in joined honors these people

originated from the local aristocracy Edson (1948) 187 While such a scenario cannot be excluded it

can neither be proven Even if we accept Edsonrsquos argument the above interpretation is still applicable 298 Philippi II 252 L(ucio) Valerio L(uci) fil(io) Volt(inia) Prisco orn(amentis) dec(urionatus)

hon(orato) dec(urioni) irenar(chae) Ilvir(o) iur(e) d(icundo) munera- rio cultores deor(um) Serapis

[et] Isidis 299 Philippi II 249 where we read of a Publius Valerius Niger being aedilis of the city There are also numerous inscriptionσ mentioning his tribe title namely Voltinia see Tsochos (2004) 88 300 Philippi II 307 and 311 301 The text concludes after the honors with the phrase for the sake of (his) memory Philippi II 307

ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ Κ(οίντον) ∙ Φλάβιον ∙ Ἑρμαδίωνα τὸν ἀ ξ ιολογώτα[το]ν οἱ θρησκευ[τὲ] τοῦ Σέραπι [τὸ]ν

εὐεργέτην [μνή]μης χάριν This expression fits funerary commemoration However the monument was

found in the city in other words it is not likely that it was a funerary bomos rather an honorific one

76

to Asclepius302

Even if he was not a member of the political authorities his having

been the administrator of the cityrsquos gymnasion and his having been at the helm of a

civic festival speak loudly for his prominence

In this case I would favor the scenario that the honorand (at least the father)

maintained actual relations with the group since in the first inscription he is named as

their benefactor and in the second he is entitled as ἴδιος which can be translated as

ldquotheir ownrdquo The above interpretations with regard to their possible relationship are

applicable here as well thus I will avoid repetition

What should be noted is that the sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods was situated

within the city walls303

This fact by itself is not of great importance Yet once we

examine this from a comparative viewpoint it becomes clear that the specific cult was

a prominent one to the population and the administration of the city

Specifically the cult of the Egyptian Gods was probably introduced at Philippi

around the 3rd

century BC as in other cities of Macedonia304

However it must have

assumed importance only in the Roman era according to the epigraphic and

archaeological evidence305

A number of dedications illustrate the latter For instance

an inscribed base -probably of a statue- has been found within the sanctuary306

It was

dedicated by the priest of Isis to a certain woman who was deemed fit to receive a

statue The reason may have been either that she was a prominent figure of the local

society or a benefactress of the sanctuary Another one is a dedication to Isis the

Imperial house and the city itself constructed by a medical officer who also

commissioned and dedicated four tables issued by an official decree of the council307

The second inscription in particular is of great value since it is a testimony that the

authorities of the city were in active connection with the specific cult

Its local-civic importance is also suggested by its urban location (in the map

below n 5) Although it is rather isolated from the rest of the public infrastructures

that were all concentrated around the forum once we compare it with other cults the

difference becomes clear For instance the sanctuaries of Silvanus of Artemis and of

302 Philippi II 311 Κο(ίντον) ∙ Φλάβιον Ἑρμαδίωνα υἱὸν Κο(ίντου) ∙ Φλαβίου Ἑρμαδίωνος τοῦ ∙

κρα(τίστου) ∙ γυμνασιάρχου καltὶgt ἀρχιερέως οἱ θρησκευτὲ τὸν ἴδιον ἀγωνοθέτην τῶν μεγάλων Ἀσκληπείων 303 Tsochos (2004) 83-4 304 Ibid 83 305 Ibid 306 Philippi II 190 307 Philippi II 132

77

Cybele are located on the foot of the mountain (n 3 4) Moreover plenty of the

inscriptions dedicated to the Egyptian gods were unearthed within the agora (n 9)

except for the sanctuary (n 5) while none dedicated to the afore-mentioned deities

were found in a central point308

Specifically the three honorific monuments of the associations examined so far

were spotted within the city center The one dedicated to Valerius Priscus was found

next to the agora in the commercial market (n 10) while the other two were found

nearby at the Basilica A΄ (n 6) They were in other words visible to the public

instead of being isolated

clubhouse or rural sanctuary

of restricted view and

accessibility Charalampos

Tsochos assumed from the

material of all the

monuments dedicated to this

cult their inscribing style

and all the above presented

details that the dedicators

and honorands descended

from the upper social

echelons309

Map of the city-center of Roman Philippi Koukouli (1995) fig 14

Although this cannot be proven with regard to this association it is quite safe to

argue the following A number of people whose professional and general background

remains unknown decided to provide a public image of their collectivity associated it

with a very important part of the local religious vitality Moreover the people that

they honored the possible connections that they had and the utilization of urban

landscape plainly demonstrates that they asserted a claim for recognition and

integration in civic life

Furthermore the first of these three inscriptions was composed in Latin while the

other two in Greek We see thus that they assumed for themselves neither a

completely Roman identity nor an entirely Greek one but something in between We

308 Tsochos (2004) 88-9 309 Ibid 88

78

could argue that in a Roman colony they advocated themselves as carriers of cultural

assimilation as participants of a Roman and Hellenic identity exactly like the

funerary activities examined in this colony

The koinon of thiasotai at Beroea examined above can be understood in a similar

way Specifically Paranomos most probably came from an important family A

relative of his possibly his son was honored during the early 1st century AD by the

city of Beroea for holding a public office in an ldquoexcellentrdquo manner (ἄριστα

πεπολειτευμένον)310

It is quite likely that the city chose its magistrates from the local

elites The implication is that a member of the group Paranomos could have been of

some prominence for the Beroean society

We could therefore understand this monument as an attempt of a private

association to exhibit its close affiliation with the important people of the city

Moreover they presented themselves as adherent of the socio-political values

replicating the widespread habit of honors assuming in this way its place within the

civic culture It is unfortunate that we do not know the original provenance of this

monument The editors though of the inscription suggest that the sanctuary of

Dionysus would have been located within the region where this inscription was

found311

The rest of the honorific inscriptions repeat the patterns observed thus far Forging

connection with socially superior individuals seems to have been exercised by more

groups and was used for the construction of a civically integrated identity A very

fragmentary inscription of the early 3rd

century AD found in Thessaloniki depicts a

group honoring its benefactress for her incomparable services to the sanctuary and

stressing her and her familyrsquos high origins312

The specific inscription was found close

to the Sarapeion

Could the mentioned benefactions refer to the Sarapeion Was there another

sanctuary which this prominent woman benefited built by this association There are

well known cases of private associations erecting under the official state permission

their own religious establishments313

Whether this is a similar case it is hard to say

310 EKM 1 103 311 Close to this area there has been found a column with manumissions dedicated to Dionysus see

EKM 1 22 commentary 312 IG X 21 16 For an analytical commentary see Nigdelis (2006) 211-216 313 See the most famous example of the Cyprian merchants and the Egyptians who were granted by the

Athenian assembly the right to possess land and build there their sanctuary IG II2 337 Same provision

was granted to a Thracian group IG II2 1283

79

Nonetheless the setting of the monument in a central position makes it a tool for

status claims

Similarly a group of mystai based in Beroea honored a woman who probably

descended from a family that traditionally held priestly offices It is not discernible

whether this tradition of priesthood was of public-official or private nature314

Provided that the honorand was a priestess of an official cult as well as her ancestors

then the specific inscription would be an advertisement of high connections within the

local society If she was a priestess of the cultic group coming from a family that

retained the priestly office within the group then it would still be a status claim since

the specific inscription can also be viewed as a tool for internal distinction and status

negotiation processes Yet again as in their funerary activities associations embraced

and advertised this acceptance of the established social hierarchies

Another religious collectivity from Thessaloniki dedicated a stele to a member

who was probably their leader for constructing their oikos (probably their

clubhouse)315

The stele was found almost a kilometer away from the Sarapeion This

makes the following hypothesis quite plausible A private group aspiring to participate

in civic life constructed their clubhouse close to a cultic center of paramount

importance to the city such as the Sarapeion From a visible place in urban space

they claimed their place within the local society via monumentalizing their

acceptance of the hierarchical model and of civic practices such as honors316

All of the examples studied so far exhibit some repetitive patterns Private

associations took advantage of their honorific practices with a view to establishing

their identity It was an identity for groups that were adherents of the deep-rooted

social structures and of religious of focus

Conclusion

In this chapter I concentrated on the associative honorific practices A short analysis

of the habit of honoring in the Greco-Roman world showed that one of its primary

functions was to demonstrate acceptance of the given socio-political orders Honoring

314 EKM 1 122 Κλαυδίαν Ἄλκηστιν Ἰουλιανῆς Ἀμμίας καὶ Κλαυδίου Τέρπνου θυγατέρα τὴν ἐκ προγόνων ἱέρειαν ἐκγόνην Ἰουλιανῆς Νεικολαΐδος καὶ Πλωτιανῆς Ἀλκήστεως οἱ μύσται For the argument that she

descended from a family with a priestly tradition apart from the mention of the text see Hatzopoulos

(1996) 154 n 2 315 IG X 21 58 316 Likewise see Philippi II 535 EKM 1 22 SEG 36 583 IG X 21 208 and 219 IG X 22 75 and

407

80

by itself exhibited the internalization of the hierarchical values of that society and

reproduced civic culture Within this framework I set out to discover the role of

associationrsquos honors

I began by examining the honorific activities of a group that I distinguished from

the rest namely the associations of Roman businessmen I suggested that they may

have used their honorific practices to present themselves with a collective identity

distinct and at the same integrated Moreover it is quite possible that they utilized

these same practices to improve and promote their business conditions I then divided

my analysis of the rest of the associations in Hellenistic and Roman times The

purpose was to show that honors were used as a tool for status and integration by

associations before the coming of Rome

In addition I proposed that apart from the Roman businessmen more groups such

as the Dionysiac artists could have used these practices to promote their professional

interests and not only as an instrument for the construction of status With regard to

the rest of the associations I argued that honoring people was mainly meant to be a

strategy for the creation of identities

They sought to be seen as socially integrated Private associations monumentalized

relations of networking with important people They connected or at least attempted

to with prominent members of their cities Specific motives are quite hard to find

yet the result was that they probably strengthened their prestige and possibly attracted

tangible benefits Many of these groups moreover combined this claim for civic

integration with focusing on a religious culture In many cases it is identifiable that

the chosen deity was of particular importance for their environment

It should be obvious by now that private associations of Macedonia were much

interested in a self-image built upon religion They advertised this picture both with

their mortuary and honorary practices It is time to focus more on these religious

aspects In the following chapter I will examine the religious activities of these

groups

81

Chapter V Religious Practices

Introduction

Hitherto I have dealt with associationsrsquo funerals and honors in Macedonian cities I

have attempted to show that private associations made use of their funerary and

honorary activities in an outward way to advertise themselves as integrated groups in

the city and tried to establish their own position in a stratified society Moreover it

should be clear by now that these collectivities no matter the varied socio-economic

and political background of their members mainly provided an image of themselves

as initiates and devotes of certain deities This final chapter sets out to study the

associative focus on religion

Any relevant research should begin by making it clear that the religious traditions

of the Greek and Roman civilizations should not be understood as a cohesive set of

belief practices norms and institutions in an integrated system of an identifiable solid

core317

We are rather dealing with beliefs and traditions open to influences depending

on a variety of factors such as social and civic circumstances or family and group

customs Associations as active components of the city strongly involved themselves

with religion expressing it via certain activities

Many scholars now study the religious practices of associations focusing on their

social implications A plethora of works has examined in depth the success of cultic

associations in the Greco-Roman world attempting to identify what they offered to

people that made them so attractive318

Co-aligning with this tradition my focus will

be directed as well on the social realities that lie behind the religious practices of

Macedonian associations What I consider here as religious activities of associations

are dedications to deities and rituals

To arrive at a comprehensive understanding for such an inquiry I will mainly

study two elements the choice to devote to certain deities and paint a public picture

as their initiates and the function of rituals Before I proceed with the associative

religiosity of Macedonian cities it would be useful to outline a general background of

317 For a relevant discussion see Rives (2007) 1-53 318 Quite representative works including as well previous literature are Harland (2003) and Steinhauer

(2014) A rather representative work of the past tradition of observing associations from a legal and

institutional perspective is Arnaoutoglou (2003) while he studies as well the social world of cultic

associations of Athens his also quite focused on discovering the legal framework of their existence and

function

82

the religious world of this region In this way the behavior of associations concerning

the religious spectrum would be better understood

Main Part - The Role of Associative Religious Practices

1 Religion in Macedonia

As demonstrated in the first Chapter Macedonians were undeniably Greeks Be that

as it may from its early beginning till its later history Macedonia provides always

clues for a more distinctive culture than the rest of the Greek world Religion is a case

in point as it is identifiable that there were certain practices that set Macedonians

apart from their fellow Greeks319

Manuela Mari who discusses traditional cults and

beliefs of Macedonia warns us that sketching a distinct Macedonian pantheon would

be a task equal to fiction Yet at the same time she argues that even among local

peculiarities some constant features are traceable in the pre-Roman era320

In

particular while the deities worshipped in the region are the same as everywhere else

in Greek lands certain cults aroused special interest while others popular elsewhere

received less attention in Macedonia

Among the latter were for instance Hephaestus and Poseidon and among the

former were especially Zeus Herakles Artemis Dionysus Asclepius Isis and

Sarapis321

The last owns in particular seem to add a ldquonationalrdquo dimension to

Macedonian cults The cult of Zeus was the most important one of this region since

Macedon the mythical ancestor was supposedly the son of Zeus The royal traditions

were built upon this connection Coinages dating back to the reign of Phillip II carry

the head of Zeus He was worshipped under a number of epithets across this region

with Zeus Hypsistos being the most prevalent one The importance of Zeus is evident

in cities like Dion and Vergina which were of ldquonationalrdquo value to the Macedonians

As stated above annual festivals celebrating Zeus were established at Dion as of the

late 5th century BC

The cult of Herakles was of equal importance Macedonian kings traced their

origins back to Herakles and its cult is attested in almost all of the Macedonian cities

and especially in the royal capitals Vergina and Pella He also appeared on coins

dating from the early 5th

century BC Herakles along with Artemis was of such

319 Christesen-Murray (2010) 428 320 Mari (2011) 321 Christesen-Murray (2010) 430

83

significance that certain rituals including rites of passage into adulthood were

performed in their name Artemisrsquo prominence is attested from an abundance of

votive reliefs and dedications as well as coins depicting her head issued by Phillip II

Like Zeus Artemis was worshipped under many variations along this region

Furthermore the cult of Dionysus seems to have been quite popular in Macedonia

Annual sacrifices presided by the king were performed on a specific day which was

sacred for the god Its importance may be explained by the inclination of the

Macedonians in Orphic beliefs for afterlife in which Dionysus had a key role A

passage from Athenaeus records as well the importance of his cult for the Macedonian

royalty322

All the more his widespread regional popularity is also confirmed by many

local epithets

Progressively since the 4th

century BC the appearance and dominance of the

Egyptian gods mainly Isis and Sarapis has been documented While they can hardly

be characterized as Greco-Macedonians they became of certain significance for the

region Isis became the tutelary deity of Philippi She was moreover worshipped in

Dion as the Isis Locheia (Protector of Women in Childbirth) and figurines of an

assimilated version of Isis to Tyche (Fortune) are the most numerous religious

dedications found in excavations in northern Macedonia Above all the Sarapeion of

Thessaloniki became one of the most prominent sanctuaries of the Egyptian Gods in

the Greek world

A hypothesis explaining the rooting of this cult may be Alexanderrsquos inclination to

foreign deities and especially Egyptian Gods The implication is that since this cult

was dear to the number one Macedonian persona then its acceptance could have been

unquestionable and much desired Paul Christesen and Sarah Murray attribute this

affiliation to the Egyptian gods to the fact that the Macedonians were much more

deeply involved in the Near East than the rest of the Greeks to their openness to

foreign cults and practices and to association between Isis and the afterlife which

was a crucial element of the religious tradition of the Macedonians323

All the more apart from the afore-described cults that were profound in

Macedonia it seems that every city had at the same time its own prominent cults

Hence it has been argued that a clear distinguishing line between ldquocivicrdquo and

ldquonationalrdquo concerning the religious traditions of pre-Roman Macedonia cannot be

322 Athenaeus 14659 F-660 323 Christesen-Murray (2010) 436

84

easily drawn since they these two dimensions co-existed and interrelated324

A very

interesting example indicating this fusion between civic and national is the cult of

Asclepius which is widely found in several cities of the region In particular in a

variety of cities namely Philippi Philippopolis Thessaloniki Herakleia Lyngistis and

Kassandreia a tribe named after Asclepius is attested

The preceding discussion referred to Macedonia generally during the period 4th-1

st

centuries BC325

It is beyond doubt that the Roman rule brought about changes It is

not appropriate here to give an in-depth account of the religious world of the Roman

Empire Nonetheless a few details are of use As the Imperium Romanum expanded

along with it religious traditions evolved The Empire was a world of moving

populations bringing with them their own cultures and traditions What had already

been happening from the Hellenistic times was intensified in the Roman era There

was an unprecedented cultural proximity and exchange Many scholars now interpret

the religious developments of the Empire as a result of competition between cults

using concepts such as the religious market or approaches of contemporary

theoretical frameworks like the network one326

Macedonia found itself within this world In this region in particular this cultural

interplay was at its peak since the Via Egnatia facilitated the movement of peoples

Hence from the 1st century BC onwards Macedonia witnesses new religious

elements as well the substitution and syncretism of others

While Roman and other settlers introduced their own religious customs like the

cult of Silvanus and the one of Liber Pater at Philippi the Imperial cult or the Jewish

God327

at the same time Macedonian religious traditions maintained their seat in the

324 Mari (2011) 460 325 All the information provided thus far can be found at Hatzopoulos (2002) Christesen-Murray

(2010) and Mari (2011) which are detailed introductions to this topic with former literature For more

elaborate studies among an immense literature Duumlll (1977) and Hatzopoulos (1994) remain essential

Specifically for the cult of Asclepius I have consulted a recent unpublished master thesis which is an

exhaustive analysis of this cult in Macedonia see Lioulias (2010) 326 There is a growing literature around these matters See indicatively North (1992) introduced the

idea of religious pluralism for the concept of religious competition see North (2010) Stark (1997)

attempted to explain the rise of Christianity via the model of the religious market Collart (2013) 5-78 examines the potential of network approach upon the religious world of the Roman Empire Woolf

(2012) uses a network analysis to explain the religious pluralism Concerning the term religious

market while it is convenient as a notion to describe the religious plurality of the Greco-Roman

Mediterranean world it has its limits and it should be used cautiously for the criticism see Woolf

(2014) 68-9 327 See in Stobi a Jewish synagogue BCH 56 (1932) 291

85

Roman era328

Among the variety of indications demonstrating this resilience of

religious traditions the cults of Herakles Kynagidas and Isis illustrate it in the best

possible manner In particular while the specific deity was the recipient of

dedications by the Antigonid kings we find him during the Roman period as the

presiding god on slave manumissions329

Not only did his cult survive but on the

contrary it presented signs of social flexibility since it did no longer address solely the

elite With regard to the Isis one this cultural continuance is obvious in Philippi and

Dion the two most important Roman colonies in Macedonia At both cities it seems

that the Isis sanctuary (combined with Sarapis in Philippi) gradually became a

predominant one330

Hence as the religious map of the Empire can be seen as one of uniformity and

diversity331

the same can be argued about Macedonia While new elements were

introduced and sometimes replaced or assimilated with the old ones332

at the same

time traditional ones did not cease to exist One could advise against associating the

continuation of these cultic activities with the Macedonian religious traditions since

transformation and syncretism processes would have substantially altered many

aspects of them Transformed or altered though our sources draw a picture of specific

cults being worshipped in this region from the Classical and Hellenistic period up to

and during the Imperial era We can therefore assume that a traditional religious

Macedonian core remained alive in Roman Macedonia333

Let us now examine the

role of private associations of Macedonia in this cultural aspect

2 Private Associations in the Service of Gods

It should be obvious by now that private associations of Macedonia appeared in

public mainly carrying a religious face In the subsequent pages I will attempt to

understand 1) Religious choices namely the implications of their choice to depict

themselves as initiates of the specific deities 2) The function of dedications and 3)

The function of rituals

328 See Christesen-Murray (2010) 429 who argue that ldquomuch of Macedonian religious practice

remained unchanged from roughly the fourth century BC to the third century ADrdquo 329 Mari (2011) 461 330 For Dion see Pingiatoglou (2010) for Philippi see Tsochos (2004) 331 Rives (2007) 54-88 332 An example demonstrating the processes of religious exchange and assimilation is an association

from Thessaloniki dedicated to the god Hermanoubis namely a hybrid deity product of the unification

of Hermes and Anoubis see IG X 21 220 333 For the religious features of Roman Macedonia see Tsochos (2012)

86

21 Choosing Deities

In this section the question to be answered is why private associations chose the

specific deities to devote to It is of course a very difficult question to be answered

only in a few pages thus only a possible interpretation will be attempted

Observing the deities that these people chose to worship and built their collective

image as their initiates presents some interesting results The graph below provides a

good impression334

Devotion of Associations to Deities according to the cities

At a first glance it seems that the cults which have been widespread and prominent

since the Hellenistic era are the ones attracting associations more than others Zeus

Dionysus and the Egyptian Gods predominate Other deities that were prominent in

the regal past also appear such as Artemis Herakles and Asclepius At the same time

we come across foreign imports like Silvanus and Liber Pater and local traditions

such as the Hero God in Philippi I would cautiously argue therefore what

Arnaotoglou has noted for another case namely that associations were carriers of

334 The specific graph has been built upon the number of inscriptions citing associations that carry

religious titles namely seventy nine out of hundred and twenty Some inscriptions were quite

fragmentary whilst for some it is hard to tell whether they were dedicated to a deity [dubious IG X 21

219299 679 SEG 56 796] Regarding the category Other it includes deities that do not appear

frequently in the titles of associations Aphrodite Poseidon the Muses the Great Gods of Samothrace

the Jewish God and the Thracian deity Souregethes

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Zeus Dionysus Egyptian Gods Theos Hypsistos

Hero God Herakles Roman Deities Nemesis

Artemis Asclepius Other

87

local identities and they adopted and functioned in accordance to various local

circumstances335

A few indications support this assumption

For instance some inscriptions of the above graph may have been produced by the

same group as seems to be the case with the ypogegrammenoi synklitai a group

dedicated to the cult of Theos Hypsistos in Thessaloniki336

What I am implying is that

if a group had the financial and social power and status to regularly erect monuments

and since they choose to devote themselves to the specific cult and not to any other

then this cult could have been of more significance to the local society

Choosing a cult due to its local importance may be suggested by more indications

For instance as it is shown from the graph the Dionysiac cult at Thessaloniki

attracted the majority of the groups Its significance for the city is testified by the fact

that even the highest civic institution that is the polis dedicated to this cult337

The

same applies with regard to the cult of the Egyptian Gods at Thessaloniki for which

almost forty five dedicatory inscriptions have been found (out of almost a hundred

dedicatory to deities)338

There is of course an element of partiality in the above

suggestion since Thessaloniki and Philippi concentrate almost three quarters of the

associationrsquos inscriptions Yet again it seems that associations mainly constructed

their identities based on the Macedonian religious traditions as well as on local

ones339

22 Dedications Honoring Gods

As in the funerary and honorific activities here I will try to understand the role of

dedications Apart from being a social norm namely the given way of demonstrating

devotion to the divine what other implications lie behind What did associations want

335 See for example Arnaoutoglou (2003) (2011a) (2011b) and Gilihan (2012) 94 336 They created two dedications IG X 21 68 and 69 possibly the same group behind IG X 21 70

and SEG 56 751 The assumption that we are dealing with the same group is based on the same title

close dates as well as the same members concerning the third inscription it is likely that it was the

same group since there is reference to a person who has the same gentilicum with members of the

previous two inscriptions Moreover the title of the third group is synklitai while the previous two are

ypogegrammenoi synklitai the ypogegrammenoi namely the ones who are mentioned below may refer

only to the mentioned members of the group in the specific monument instead of being part of the

grouprsquos title Similarly the forth inscription mentions only a group titled as synklitai 337 IG X 21 28 338 See IG X 21 339 In an attempt to approach the above question statistically namely to find out the importance of the

cults in their cities based on which one attracted the majority of dedications or which one was the most

important for the highest civic institutions of the city the epigraphic material proved frustrating The

lack of complete corpora for most of the cities the small numbers of dedicatory inscriptions -

comparing to the funerary ones that are always the majority- and the fragmentary condition of many of

the dedicatory inscriptions made such an attempt impossible

88

to achieve with religious dedications How did they want outsiders to look upon them

with this type of the epigraphic expression

The various dedications made to the worshipped deities manifest some repetitive

patterns in the ways associations constructed these dedications whether it was a stele

or a bomos probably for sacrificial purposes or a base for the statue of the deity

Many include a membership list and reference to the offices of the group A typical

example is a stele dedicated to Zeus Hypsistos by a group based in Edessa340

The text

opens with a typical votive dative Διὶ Ὑψίστωι (to Zeus Hypsistos) followed below

by a relief depicting an eagle within a wreath a characteristic motive for the specific

cult What follows is the title of the group a long membership list and the concluding

dating formula (the dedication was made) during the priesthood of Marcus Attius

Loggus341

Some inscriptions include more information A dedication to Zeus Hypsistos from

Beroea as well as the one to the Great Gods of Samothrace from Amphipolis

examined in the previous chapter mentions the professions of the dedicators342

Such

references are but a minority Apart from these two no other mentioning a profession

was detected There are also those reflecting a sense of solidarity and a group identity

namely dedications to a deity and the group or dedications made by a member and

the group For instance a member of a cultic group in Stobi made a dedication to

Herakles and his fellow peers343

Likewise the secretary of an association in

Thessaloniki dedicated two objects at his own expenses to Theos Hypsistos and the

group344

Furthermore this identity of a collectivity could have been combined with

attention being called to leading status too An association in Thessaloniki again

probably the very one mentioned above raised a stele mentioning the whole group or

at least a great number of it -thirty eight members- dedicating it to Theos Hypsistos on

340 SEG 46 744 Διὶ Ὑψίστωι ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας Μ(άρκου) ∙ Οὐιβίου Ἀμβούα οἱ συνήθεις ἐπιμεληταὶ

Σ(έξτου) ∙ Ποσιδωνίου τοῦ Ταρούλου v καὶ (αΐου) ∙ Ποντίου Τορκουάτου Π(όπλιος) ∙ helliplist of names

followshellip ἔτους ∙ θϟρʹ ∙ Περιτίου ∙ ἱερητεύοντος ∙ Μ(άρκου) ∙ Ἀττίου Λόγγου ΡΥΣ ἐποίει 341 Similarly EKM 1 28 EAM 24 Makedonian Institutions n 80 SEG 46 800 IG X 21 244

Philippi II 580 342 EKM 1 27 SIG3 1140 343 Spomenik 71 75176 made by a member and the group SEG 50 599 EKM 1 26 344

SEG 56 751 Similarly AE 1948-49 (1951) 36 no 4

89

behalf of a member who was the son of a high ranking officer of the group345

In a

same way a dedication in Philippi first referred to those individuals who held specific

offices and then to the rest of the other members346

There are though some inscriptions that solely refer to the dedicators and their

offices An example is a Thessaloniki-based group devoted most probably to

Dionysus that dedicated a bomos The dedicators of the monument appear to be only a

number of high ranking officers347

The offices of cultic duties in particular clearly

implied differentiated task and responsibilities in other words hierarchy348

Similarly

in Thessaloniki again two high officers of a group dedicated to a version of Dionysus

namely Διόνυσος Ὡροφόρος stressing out that the dedication was made exclusively

by them They erected a stele inscribing that they dedicate the bomos and the

magaron (μάγαρον) that is a clubhouse or a temple sanctuary of the group to the god

at their own expenses (ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων)349

Whether they paid for the construction of the

magaron and the bomos or the phrase from their own means that they commissioned

the dedicatory stele we cannot easily determine What can be safely maintained

though is that this inscription highlights the prominent status these two individuals

enjoyed within the group

The implications thus far are more or less similar to the ones drawn in the

previous two chapters Private associations came forth as cohesive collectivities

replicating the civil structure and denoting that they participated in the local religious

life We could thus perceive these inscriptions as integration tools Moreover the fact

that in some cases more emphasis was placed on certain individuals and their offices

over the whole group could be understood as an attempt to negotiate status within the

group

345 IG X 21 68 Θεῶι Ὑψίστωι ὑπὲρ Τ(ίτου) ∙ Φλαουίου Εὐκτιμένου ∙ υἱοῦ Ἀμύ [ν]τ α τοῦ

[τρικλει]νάρχου [οἱ ὑπογε]γραμμένοι [συνκλ]ίται [Τ(ίτος) ∙ Φλαούιος ∙ Εὐ]κ τιμένου υἱὸς Ἀμύνταςhellip long

list of names followshellipSimilarly IG X 21 69 346 Philippi II 166a Ὑπὸ σπιράρχην ΚΑΙΠΑΤΑΙΠΟΝ Μουντανόνἀρχιγάλλαρον bullΒαρ(ίνιον) bull

Ἄλκιμονκαὶ γάλλαρον bullΚορ(νήλιον) vacat Πρόκλον vacat ὑπὸ παλεομύστην bull Αὐρ(ήλιον) άϊον bull

Αὐρ(ήλιος) bull Φίλιππος bull γάλ(λαρος) bull Οὐα(λέριος) bull Ζιπας Ὄππι(ος) bull Ἡρώδης bull γάλ(λαρος) bull Αὐρ(ήλιος)

Φίλιππος bull γάλ(λαρος) bull Κάττ(ιος) bull Τεχνικὸς γάλ(λαρος) bull Μάρι(ος) bull Κέρδων bull βουκόλος 347 IG X 21 65 ὁ ἀρχιμαγα ρ εὺς ∙ καὶ ∙ ἀρχινεω κόρος ∙ καὶ ∙ πατὴρ σπηλλέου ∙ καὶ Αὐρ(ηλία)

Σ ωσιπάτρα ἡ γαλα κ τηφόρος ∙ κισταφο ρ ήσασα ν ἔτη λʹ τὸν βωμὸν ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἀνέθηκαν εὐτυχῶς 348 See SEG 49 814 While it is not identifiable whether it was an honors or dedications to a deity or an

album-catalogue of the members it is the number one inscription to show the demarcated offices of a

cultic group 349 SEG 56 753 Μουσαίου Διονύσῳ Ὡροφόρῳ Ἑλένη Δημητρίου ἀρχιμαινὰς καὶ Κ(όϊντος) Δομίτιος

Φῆλιξ μαγαρεὺς τ ὸν βοvμὸν καὶ τὸ μάγαρον ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων[ἔτους] σ ν΄

90

This claim for integration and acceptance could have been strengthened with

another form of dedication to deities Apart from stele honoring the deity or shrines

for sacrifices associations could have dedicated constructions of public utility to

deities The example is given in Philippi by a group of -most probably- female

initiates to the divinities of Liber Libera and Hercules350

The group is called thiasus

Maenadum Except for the syncretism between the cults of Liber Pater Bacchus and

Dionysus the sole fact that they name themselves Maenads (the Latinized version of

the Greek Μαινάδες) namely the raving ones demonstrates their commitment to the

Dionysiac cult Apparently this did not deter them from declaring adherence to

another deity as well It is worth observing the text

Lib(ero) et Lib(erae) et Herc(uli) thiasus Maenad(um)

regianar(um) aq[ua]m induxit [p(osteris) s(uis)]

To begin with the adjective regianarum has given rise to some discussion

concerning its meaning Whether this royal or distinguished which are the possible

translations meant that they were of high social status or they just wished to attach

some prestige or some any other reason is open to debate351

The most interesting

part of the text remains the phrase aquam induxit posteris suis which is translated as

they brought water at their own costs The meaning of this phrase could have

remained a mystery if it was not for its provenance

In particular this inscription was found in a small building underneath the baths

south of the Basilika B΄352

According to the excavators the walls of this building

were used as foundations in the northwest corner of the public baths353

Consequently

the aquam induxit could refer either to an aqueduct or some form of infrastructure that

pumped water into the location

A number of inscriptions reveal the prominence of this cult for Philippi354

One of

them may be proof of the existence of a sanctuary for this cult355

This suggests that

the building bearing the above inscription on its wall could have been their clubhouse

350 Philippi II 340 I have kept here the orthography of Hercules since it is in Latin all the previous

times I referred to this cult as Herakles denoting the Greek writing Ἡρακλῆς 351 For the discussion see Kloppenbrog-Ascough (2011) 334 352 For the location of the Basilica B΄ see n 11 at the map of Philippirsquos city center (see above p 77) 353 Collart (1937) 367-8 Unfortunately the inscription disappeared during the Second World War

[Jaccottet (2003) II 60-1] 354 Philippi II 094 332 338 339 341 342 355 Philippi II 338 Libero et Liberae Herculi sacrum Caius Valerius Fortuna- tus cum Marroni-a

Eutychia uxore

91

or another sanctuary or the same sanctuary referred to in this inscription356

From this

perspective the water could have been brought for the baths or for accommodating the

grouprsquos ritual purposes Were the first option correct then this inscription should be

perceived as a statement of strong status A group of women could afford to support

the city funding the construction of a structure of public utility357

We are dealing with

a small scale benefaction In the second scenario the group demonstrated its power to

retain their premises in a prominent place within the city center

Despite being the only one of its kind this inscription is a useful indication of the

potentials of private associations and of the ways they could exploit their dedications

to the divine Religious identity was paired with a call for civic integration Similarly

a group of gladiators in Philippi built their identity as adherents of deities namely

Nike Nemesis and Mars declaring it in the most prestigious manner They

commissioned three dedicatory inscriptions on the three sides of a pilaster that

supported the western parodos of the cityrsquos theater (the left pilaster as seen in the

photo below)358

These three inscriptions

solidly illustrate the civic

status this paper discusses

A group of gladiators

represented themselves not

only as such but also as

partakers in the religious

life This identity

moreover was a loud

statement of participation

in the cityrsquos life This group Western Parodos of Philippirsquos theater Taken

by Alexandros Tsouris April 2015

356 For the suggestion that it was a place for worship see Jaccottet (2003) II 60-1 357 For the importance of baths and aqueducts in the imperial period in the Greek East see respectively

Farrington (1987) and Coulton (1987) 358 Philippi II 142 Μ(ᾶρκος) ∙ Βελ λεῖος Ζώσιμ [ος] ἱερεὺς τῆς ἀνεικήτου Νεμ[έσε]ως ὑπὲρ φιλοκυνηγῶν

τοῦ στέ[μ]ματος τὰ ἀφυδρεύματα τῶν θεῶν ἐκκ τῶν ἰδίων ἐποίησεν Philippi II 143 [Μ Β]ε λλ [εῖος | Ζ]ώσιμος ἱε [ρεὺς | τ]ῆς ἀνεικίτου Ν ε [μέσε]|ος Philippi II 144 [Μ(ᾶρκος) Βελλεῖος mdash mdash]λῆνος

Ζώσιμ ος [ἱερεὺς Νεμέσεω]ς τῆς θεοῦ ἀνεική[του ὑπὲρ φιλ]οκυνηγῶν τοῦ στέμματος [mdash mdash mdash mdash]μα [mdash

mdash mdash mdash]κεμ[mdash mdash mdash mdash]νίου [mdash mdash mdash mdash]σε πα[mdash mdash mdash mdash]ον σε [mdash mdash mdash mdash]κεν ε[mdash mdash mdash mdash]χην

[mdash mdash mdash mdash]λ[mdash ἐκ τῶν ἰδί]ων τὰ [ἀφυδρε]ύμα[τα ἐποίη]σα All three inscriptions mention solely

Nemesis Yet each one has a different deity depicted on a relief [142 Nike 143 Nemesis 144 Mars]

Moreover the second inscription 143 does not mention the group yet the connection is self-implied

92

apparently managed to obtain the necessary permission from local authorities to

curve their dedications on such a visible location

It is quite reasonable to assume that they had to provide something in exchange to

be granted this license A possible scenario is that they covered the expenses of

constructing the whole pilaster359

In any case the implication of this monument is a

demonstration not only of a claim for integration in civic life and the social

hierarchies but of the acceptance of this claim This group did not advertise itself

with an inscription in some private clubhouse or sanctuary but in one of the centers of

the cityrsquos vitality the theater

The last type of dedications to be examined here are documents that could have

served the propagation of religious ideas and traditions While it is reasonable to state

that any religious dedication was an act of spreading religious traditions the

following type of inscription bears greater implications in that direction

There are only a few inscriptions in particular that get across the notion of serving

the divine will This working under godly guidance was expressed in a way of

denoting that the specific act (the dedication) was done after the deity had requested

or ordered it possibly in a dream A dedication for Apollo from Philippi includes the

phrase ex imperio along with the membership list meaning that the dedication was

mandated by the god360

Another dedication to Artemis from Stobi reveals that the

dedication was made following to a dream (καθrsquo ὅραμα)361

Similarly an inscription

from Thessaloniki records the same pattern362

Examining the latter case proves quite

illuminating

Specifically it is a story behind the establishment of the cult of Sarapis in the

Egyptian town of Opus Accordingly revealing himself through a dream the god

359 There is a dubious phrase found in two of the three inscriptions that puzzles the editors Due to its

fragmentary nature it allows multiple reconstructions one of which supports the above suggestion

Accordingly the text mentions that the priest who made the dedication on behalf of the association

paid for the things that are set up on their expenses for the discussion and different opinions upon this

dubious phrase see Kloppenborg-Ascough (2011) 332 Moreover the same scholars read another

inscription Philippi II 95 as a group that honors the benefactor of gladiatorial games see ibid This

would show the prominence of gladiatorial games at Philippi In this perspective such a gladiatorial

association would have every reason to advertise themselves as active benefactors of the arena

(constructing a part of it the specific pilaster) However this inscription is extremely fragmentary and

their reconstruction is really hypothetical 360 Philippi II 509b Moreover Philippi II 339 entails as well this formula (it cannot be verified

however that the dedicators of the second were members of some association) 361 Spomenik 77 41 20 Ἀρτέμιδ[ι Λοχίαι] τὸν βωμ[ὸν ἔθηκεν] Θεούχρη[στος μετ]ὰ τῶν το[ῦ θιάσου

ἐ]πιμελη[τῶν Σύρου] Ζωΐλου κ[αὶ Διοσκου]ρίδου κα[θrsquo ὅραμα] 362 IG X 21 255 Many scholars have dealt with this document in depth For a commentary with

previous literature see Kloppenborg-Ascough (2011) 357-362

93

instructed one of his initiates to perform specific actions that led to the creation of the

cult A few details though have to be highlighted It is quite strange that an inscription

that was found at the Sarapeion of Thessaloniki refers to the cultrsquos creation at an

Egyptian town A few features provide a possible explanation

The dialect used in the inscription has led some scholars to argue that the original

document was written in Opus (Egypt) or the surrounding area during the period 3rd

-

2nd

centuries BC363

From this perspective the dream took place in Thessaloniki it led

to the cultrsquos creation in Opus and to the subsequent inscribing of the story Later a

copy was taken to Thessaloniki to serve as part of the tradition of the cult364

Since

our inscription is dated in the period 1st-2

nd centuries AD then it could have been the

case that the Thessalonian devotees re-inscribed the text and positioned it in the

Sarapeion to acquaint the people of Thessaloniki with the history of the cult

Therefore this inscription did not only serve as a means of religious propaganda but

also as a tool of safekeeping tradition and memory From this perspective this

association can be regarded as a mechanism for the preservation and continuance of

tradition

Such methods of dissemination of religious ideas were quite widespread in the

Greco-Roman world365

If we place therefore this document into a broader

background of religious networking and developments in the Mediterranean basin we

can also perceive it as a tool for claiming a share in a religious market as an

instrument of participation in religious competition In a city where the cult of the

Egyptian gods had a long history a group of initiates could have called for more

attention and expansion by highlighting the tradition of their cult within the local civic

history From this perspective as written above all dedications to deities can be

regarded as tools for the spread of religious ideas Yet the one in question could have

had a stronger claim in the religious competition within the city since it focuses much

more explicitly in a local identity

Summing up in this part of the chapter I analyzed dedications to gods and

goddesses This type of inscriptions communicated a picture of cohesive groups

363 Sellew (1980)17 Koester (2010) 143 364 For this reconstruction see Sellew (1980) 17-19 and Koester (2010) 143 365 See for instance the Christian apostle Peter who had a vision instructing him to bring the gospel to a

new city (Acts 1010ndash23 126ndash11 166ndash10) The gospels abound of visions with the apostle Paul

holding the lead There is moreover a variety of sources showing dreams or some forms of divine

instructions to be used for the foundation of cults For examples of relevant evidence see Ascough

(2003) 95 Kloppenborg-Ascough (2011) 357 Sokolowski (1974) and Chaniotis (2012)

94

adherents of the civil structure As was the case with the funerary and honorary

inscriptions they were also employed to negotiate identities within the group This

communication of a religious identity was moreover in some cases strongly paired

with a civic one Finally while we can perceive any document declaring attachment

to cults as a propagandistic tool some were more explicit than others As seen

especially in this last inscription local traditions could have been deeply stressed as

an instrument for participation in a competitive religious market In the next section I

will take a look at the essence of religious activities that is to say rituals

23 Rituals

Giving an exact definition on the term and concept of ritual seems to be a difficult

task since this issue is debated366

I have no intension of engaging in this discussion

yet a framework what constitutes a ritual is necessary to be set In this study I

perceive rituals as practices and activities that may be of some symbolic value within

a religious and social context These activities could have been frequent or at least of

some relative repetition in time they were characterized by some sequence (beginning

and end) they could also have become a pattern and they probably had a

communicative function as well367

In this section I will observe the function of

rituals Since these activities had a basic communicative character they certainly

attracted some attention They became shared experiences for insiders and outsiders

alike My aim is to interpret the messages they communicated through these

experiences to members and the city

An example that fits perfectly the above description is the funerary rituals I

examined in the third chapter In particular the Roman rosalia and a Greek equivalent

came under scrutiny368

Let us set aside the ethnicity of these customs for a while and

focus on the communicative nature of the rituals Angelos Chaniotis has recently

described a ritual as a ldquocomplex act of communication between performers

spectators and addressees the living and the dead mortals and godshelliprdquo369

In his

analysis of rituals Chaniotis is wondering whether they were understood as intense

shared experiences and whether the performance of rituals was intended to take the

366 See OCD (2012) sv ldquoritualrdquo 367 Stavrianopoulou (2006a) 368 There is a discussion whether the Greek funerary endowment (IG X 21 260) can be equated with

the rosalia for the literature and the different opinions see Nigdelis (2010) 30 n 96 369 Chaniotis (2006) 214

95

form of emotional experiences of togetherness The mortuary rituals examined in this

study seem to provide a positive answer to these questions

The texts referring to rosalia imply that the specific ritual entailed an annual rose-

related offering to the grave Whether the members of the collegia that were the

recipient of these endowments were supposed to wear rose-wreaths or disperse them

on the tomb is not easily discernible Likewise the priestess from Thessaloniki that

called her group members to perform a funerary ritual mentioned only that they

should bring a rose wreath to the grave Examining the communicative nature of these

rituals a question comes to mind who participated and who observed as an outsider

We could assume that if a member was buried all the collegiate participated in the

ritual performance Paying homage to the dead was certainly an emotional experience

shared by the whole group and probably by the family of the deceased370

These

directly forged a sense of solidarity within the group It relieved the members of the

group from a great insecurity This shared experience surely committed to the

participantsrsquo memory Yet we cannot really know whether other members of the local

communities witnessed these rituals as outside observes Nonetheless the

communicative character of the ritual was re-enforced by the inscriptions

The reference of an annual ritual on the inscriptions projected on the mind of the

reader the picture of this specific funerary memorial An emotional experience shared

by the participants became a shared memory for the whole population of the city the

familiarity of which with the cemetery is simply suggested by the fact that funerary

inscriptions were at any given time of the Greco-Roman antiquity the majority

Hence the monumentalization of the ritual namely the inscription communicated -as

stressed as well in the second chapter- a picture of a cohesive group that breathed life

into its solidarity by taking care of its membersrsquo tombs It also built an image of a

trustworthy organization that could foster the spiritual needs not only of group

members but of outsiders as well As a result the ritual itself and the inscription as an

instrument of memory were used to evoke emotion and create identity371

Another inscription from Thessaloniki supports this interpretation Specifically a

member of an association dedicated to Zeus Dionysus Gongylus left an endowment to

370 Chaniotis (2006) provides a good collection of primary sources demonstrating that rituals were

emotionally shared experiences and were intended as well to function as such 371 There are plenty of works focusing on the dynamics of rituals For rituals as emotional

performances that created identities see the collection of articles in Stavrianopoulou (2006b) for rituals

as agents of religious developments in the Roman Empire see the collection of articles in Hekster-

Schmidt-Witschel (2009)

96

its peers372

From the revenues of the bequeathed land with vine yards they were

supposed to carry out ritual banquets three times per year Two of the three occasions

(they used the Macedonian calendar) were held in months that coincided with months

of Roman rituals concerning the dead the Parentalia and the Rosalia This

implication along with other details derived from the text has made scholars argue

that these tri-annual banquets were actually a mortuary ritual373

The most important

detail is the exhortation that the banquets should be performed for the θρέψαντες

which translates those who fed nourished took care (of someone) that is to say the

parents

Nigdelis puts a very interesting interpretation on this bequest The text reads that

the bequest is binding for the present and future members according as well to the

tradition (κατὰ τὸ παραδεδομένον) Since this tradition also cherished in the past then

he argues that these θρέψαντες refers generally to the deceased parents or relatives of

the members From this viewpoint the donation would make sense under the

following scenario the specific custom must have been endangered with extinction

due to lack of regular funding thus he donated this land to provide revenue for the

continuance of this ceremonial tradition374

Regardless of the applicability of this reconstruction which seems quite

reasonable the main implication of this testament is that a ritual was used to preserve

the cohesiveness and collective memory of the group Contrary to the rosalia that

could have attracted outsiders this ritual was destined solely for the fellows or at

least it seems so Nigdelis has stated quite aptly ldquoThrough a sense of historical

continuity the identity of the members and the firm standing of their collective

identity were reinforcedrdquo375

The text concluded stating that the stele was set (in the

Sarapeion where it was found) following a permission granted by the priest Overall

the ritual and its written memory the inscription meant to solidify the cohesiveness

and identity of the group and possibly attract more devotees through the

advertisement of this history in a prestigious space The connection between space

and ritual is apparent

372 IG X 21 259 373 Nigdelis (2010) 31-3 For more literature upon this inscriptions see Kloppenborg-Ascough (2011)

352-6 374 Nigdelis (2010) 32-33 375 Ibid 33

97

As I suggested in the Chapter III we should perceive the endowments for

commemorative rituals such as the rosalia as evidence of associative vitality In

particular it is quite likely that associations could have competed for the attraction of

endowments The performance of ritual-banquets in a sacred space and its subsequent

advertisement could have played a role similar to the one of the dedication examined

above the one that publicized the history of the Isis-cult in Thessaloniki In both

cases the emphasis to the historical continuity of the associations in connection with

the precise place the Sarapeion could have been used as instruments of competition

between cults Let us now move from the mortuary spectrum into the rituals

concerning the living

Searching for evidence of rituals from the rest of the inscriptions we come across

almost no information showing in detail the whole process and structure of religious

rituals However a certain degree of reconstruction is possible based on

nomenclature For instance some versions of the cult of Dionysus to which a few

associations were dedicated such as Διόνυσος Πρινοφόρος Δροιοφόρος and

Ὡροφόρος illustrate these groupsrsquo involvement in rituals associated with nature and

fertility376

Furthermore we have seen in the previous chapters that associations paid a great

deal of attention in stressing both in funerary and honorific inscriptions the titles of

these members that held an office within the group Studying these offices we can

reconstruct to a certain extent associative rituals carried out both in private and public

The distinction I set here might be misleading Simply put what we can assert from

this nomenclature is that associations participated in public processions Whether the

private rituals were hosted in their premises within closed doors we cannot know

Nonetheless one category was performed primarily among the group members and

the other took place in public view I will begin with the first one

Only a handful of details can be extracted Offices such as that of the priest which

is attested quite frequently377

as well as the dedication of sacrificial shrines indicate

the performance of sacrifices Sacrifices could have been organized in such a way

that specific duties were distributed among the club members An example is the

office of βοωφόρος namely the bull cattle bearer which should be understood as the

376 IG X 21 260 SEG 56 753 For possible interpretations of these titles Nigdelis (2010) 15 n 7

(with previous literature on the topic) 377 IG X 21 70 260 309 SEG 36 583 SEG 46 744 SEG 56 778

98

one who brings the animal for the sacrifice378

Another example is a very interesting

office of a Dionysiac group the one of ἀρχιμαγαρεὺς ἀθύτου which provides an

elaborate picture379

Studying literary and epigraphic sources Nigdelis shows that this

word bears two possible interpretations The officer carrying this title could have

either been assigned to restrain his peers from consuming the meat before the

completion of the sacrifice or examining the properness of the meat to be

sacrificed380

The previous example as well as offices including that of τρικλείναρχος namely

director of feasts381

or that of σωφρονισταὶ which quite likely refers to officers

responsible for the maintenance of order during banquets and meetings382

suggests

that sacrifices resulted in feast and banquets The fact that such evidence show that

these banquets were held in buildings of religious importance increase the possibility

of their being linked with rituals383

There are more examples suggesting the latter

The inscription prescribing the bequest and post-mortem banquet set by the group

dedicated to Zeus Dionysus Gongylos examined above was located in the Sarapeion

It is quite likely that they held their banquets within the establishment Another

example is the μύσται of the town Meneis who made a dedication after a banquet

The inscription which was a base for something quite likely a statue of Dionysus

was found in the sanctuary384

Another one is an inscription found at the temple of

Zeus Hypsistos in Dion Accordingly a list of persons was selected by lot to be held

responsible for the δοχαὶ that is to say the monthly symposia of the god385

All the

more a complex including a shrine was found to the south of the temple The use of

the shrine for sacrifices is confirmed by the existence of small piles meant to tie the

378 IG X 21 244 See also IG X 21 65 for the office of γαλακτηφόρος which translates as the one

who brings milk 379 SEG 49 814 The title of ἀρχιμαγαρεὺς is also attested in another association (IG X 21 65) yet

there it could bear only the meaning of the head of the μάγαρον namely the head of the house temple

similarly see SEG 56 573 for a μαγαρεὺς 380 Nigdelis (2006) 114-7 381 IG X 21 68 69 382 IG X 21 261 For such an interpretation of the σωφρονισταὶ see Nigelis (2010) 33 n 108 in

comparison with the famous Iobakchoi of Athens (IG II 2 1368) 383 It should be noted as well that feast and banquets can be also seen as rituals There are plenty of

works to be cited for this issue A rather representative piece with previous literature is Harland (2003)

74-83 384 SEG 59 599 385 The inscription remains unpublished See Pandermalis (2003) 418 SEG 56 746 mention as well

the word δοχὴ For its meaning as symposium see Nigdelis (2006) 198-99

99

animals down386

These examples suffice to illustrate that most of the times feast and

banquets could have been connected with rituals or at least were of religious nature

Hitherto we have seen that these groups were occupied with sacrifices which were

followed by collective banquets and that various officers coordinated the whole

process Common meals could have strengthened the cohesiveness of the group

Moreover these banquets were held in buildings of religious context asserting in this

way that a strong element binding the group down was their pledge to specific deities

At the same time the official organizers of such occasions could have exploited their

function to exert authority and negotiate status identities among their peers

There a few more details to be extracted The Dionysiac group from Thessaloniki

the inscription of which preserved the interesting office of ἀρχιμαγαρεὺς ἀθύτου

provides a few hints More offices appear in that inscription providing information

about more functions during rituals Specifically we read of a ναρθηκοφόρος who

was the person accountable for carrying a wand typical of the Dionysiac cult387

It was

probably wreathed in ivy and vine leaves with a pine cone on top388

Besides there is an ἀρχιλαμπαδηφόρος which translates as the first torch-bearer

and of course implies the existence of more torch-bearers since there was a need for a

presiding one This office demonstrates that cultic rituals were held at night What is

though intriguing concerning this post is its being assigned to a female member

Another title the one of νεβριαφόρος meaning the bearer of the deer skin

demonstrates that women had a prominent role within the group and its rituals The

deer skin was a typical symbol of female initiates of the Dionysiac mysteries Even

more the title of μήτηρ σπείρας could be understood as evidence for role

performances by female members This means that the ones bearing this title could

have impersonated the mother of Dionysus Semele389

The last two offices indicate

that the rituals of the groups had a theatrical character Some more titles could

strengthen this assumption Namely functions as γάλλαροι and ἀρχιγάλλαροι known

386 Pandermalis (2003) 417-8 387 Nigdelis (2006) 121 See moreover another inscription (IG X 21 65) for the function of

κισταφόρος namely the basket bearer probably also typical function of the Dionysiac mysteries (LSJ) 388 LSJ 389 Nigdelis (2006) 121-2

100

as well in an association from Philippi390

may indicate the existence of dancers for

the rituals391

The implication of all the above is that this group performed well organized and

structured rituals (including the sacrifices and banquets seen above) giving the

opportunity to its members to strengthen their bonds via shared experiences and to

obtain positions of authority through which they could claim a status place within the

group Furthermore some of the titles mentioned in this inscription such as the

ἀρχιλαμπαδηφόρος and ναρθηκοφόρος may be understood as evidence for

participation in public processions

With regard to the rituals held in public that is to say the processions there are

even fewer details to go into We have to depend yet again mainly on nomenclature

Apart from the above titles there is an association dedicated to the Egyptian gods

called ἱεραφόροι συνκλίται interpreted as the table-companions bearers of sacred

objects392

Their title as well as other implications from the monument393

strongly

suggests their involvement in processions We can imagine that these processions

could have taken place in festivities of civic importance or even in visits of high

ranking Roman officials394

Associations used religion as a faccedilade to achieve recognition in one of the most

important occasions of civic pride To understand the symbolic significance of

parades and similar ceremonies one should simply take a look at modern states

where military parades are used to strengthen the national and collective identity

Ancient festivals were built upon the same idea The city re-affirmed its identity to its

inhabitants and advertised this pride to outsiders These few evidence demonstrate

390 Philippi II 166a 391 The meaning of these two words is debated See Nigdelis (2006) 119-20 who explains that it is

quite difficult to reconstruct the duties of this office Some scholars accept that this title is an

assimilation with the γάλλοι namely the dancers devotees of Cybele or simply initiates of Cybele who

participate as well in Dionysiac cultic rituals 392 We can assert their devotion to the Egyptian gods not by the text of the inscription (IG X 21 58)

but by the relief of the monument which depicts a small statue of Anubis standing on a base Another

inscription too fragmentary to make any assumption was most probably produced by the same group

the only word that survives on the stone is ἱεραφόροι see IG X 21 258 393 According to Voutiras (2005) 286 followed by Nigdelis (2010) 34 the relief depicting a statue of Anubis on a base implies the existence of an officer called Ἁνουβοφόρος namely the bearer of Anubis

implying his statue 394 Not only associations of a religious cover participated in processions A gladiatorial associations of

Thessaloniki (Nigdelis n 44) had an officer titled as vixilarius namely flag bearer apart from parading

inside the arena we cannot exclude the scenario that an integral part of Roman culture gladiatorial

games participated in public processions

101

that associations such as the above succeeded in becoming an integral part of the

cityrsquos identity

Finally there is evidence suggesting that associations thanks to their involvement

in public festivities became intentionally or not agents of traditionalism and memory

instruments of preserving elements of the Macedonian culture An association in

Thessaloniki called itself as oἱ συνήθεις Περιτιαστῶν (the synetheis Perittiaston)395

Περίτια was a festival named after the month Περίτιος of the Macedonian calendar

that was dedicated to the Herakles Phylakos This title denotes their active

participation in this festival In a city of true religious pluralism a group of people

who were generally quite active in the local society396

decided to utilize a cultural

feature of the Macedonian past as the binding element of their collectivity

Irrespective of the motives of this act which remain unknown to us the result is that

this group put its signature on the cultural life of the city as delegates of a Macedonian

culture They contributed to the preservation and continuity of tradition

To sum up my intention was to demonstrate that rituals served multiple purposes

They were events that developed and re-enforced sociability solidarity and cohesion

collective identity and hierarchy They provided thus opportunities for the negotiation

of internal identities Moreover via participation in public rituals that is to say

processions and festivals some associations affirmed their place in the cityrsquos

networks and hierarchies as integrated components of its vitality This participation

in festivals could have also been used for the preservation of ethnic tradition and

memory

Conclusion

I began this chapter by describing the religious unity of Macedonia A number of

deities were of particular importance for this region during the Hellenistic times and

their continuance is detectable as well in the Roman period It is these same deities

associations chose to devote to and construct their identities under their names Of

course more were to be found as the case of Philippi indicates were local traditions

were blended with the newcomers that is Roman deities Nonetheless the ones that

395 SEG 43 462 396 This is confirmed by the amount of inscriptions they produced The head of this association is the

same person found in two more inscriptions produced by a group titled as οἱ συνήθεις τοῦ Ἡρακλέους

IG X 21 288 289 They moreover produced IG X 21 982 and SEG 56 778

102

were traditionally worshipped in Macedonia predominate in the choices of private

associations

Moreover I set out to discover the function of dedications and rituals I argued that

with their dedicatory inscriptions these groups communicated a picture as

organizations that accepted and internalized the given social structure As with the

funerals and honors dedications were used for the construction of status This call for

civic integration that was paired with a religious identity was in some cases re-

enforced by strong status statements A relevant example is the demonstration of

prestige in prominent place of the urban landscape Moreover these inscriptions could

have been used for the spread of religious ideas by stressing the history of the given

cult and its connection to local society

Finally I studied the core of any religious practice namely rituals The latter could

have been used for a variety of purposes Sociability and cohesion as well as

hierarchy and competition of status were all developed in rituals Moreover by

participating in public rituals in terms of public festivities such as processions

associations reaffirmed their place within the civic culture as groups that actually had

a social role worthy of presenting it

103

Conclusion

In my master thesis I largely attempted to understand the place of private associations

in the cities of Roman Macedonia by studying their involvement in the worlds of the

Living the Dead and the Divine Simply put I examined the associationrsquos activities

that have been best documented namely funerary honorary and religious

The reasons for choosing Macedonia are mainly two The first one is that the

private associations of this region have not been fully analyzed before There has not

been a work incorporating all of the evidence and scrutinizing the overall function and

role of associations within their cities The second and more important reason derives

from Macedonia itself as well as from a feature of these groups in this part of the

Greco-Roman world Since its early history up until the Roman period Macedonia

constitutes an area with cultural commonalities The continuity of a distinct ethnic

identity and culture can be traced all along the Hellenistic and Roman times an issue

that was analyzed in the first chapter In this culturally distinctive region private

associations -essentially in the Roman period- mainly constructed their identities

under the banners of deities traditionally worshipped in Macedonia from the Classical

and Hellenistic era

This observation gave birth to the question of the role of private associations in

this part of the Greco-Roman world Specifically I wondered whether associations in

this region can be understood in the same manner as elsewhere According to the

current consensus with regard to the function of such groups they should be seen as

integrated units of their cities aiming for the construction of civic identities Hence I

set out to discover whether associations in Macedonia had a similar role or somewhat

different

In Chapter II I began by constructing a framework of what is a private association

and then I proceeded with a detailed account of the characteristics of the Macedonian

associations The fact that the majority of these groups are to be found in major urban

centers mainly Thessaloniki and Philippi that were of substantial importance for the

whole province as well as their small numbers from parts of the province that

followed slower urbanization rates suggest that they mainly were an urban

phenomenon With regard to their time distribution the fact that associations rose

mainly in the Roman Imperial period could imply that the Macedonian fenomeno

associativo might be a Roman phenomenon On the contrary I suggested that it

104

should be understood within the general rise of the epigraphic habit observable in the

Empire and in Macedonia The first scenario is moreover excluded by the indication

of associationsrsquo existence from the Hellenistic era Concerning their absence from that

time which marks a stark contrast to other regions of the Greek world I suggested

that the reason may be found in the socio-political circumstances set by the Hellenistc

kings

To proceed further I proposed that the typology used so far by scholars namely

categorizations such as professional and religious associations can be misleading

since they could imply some strictly defined raison drsquoecirctre The Macedonian evidence

indicates otherwise Specifically groups that appear by the title as professional

provide indications of religious focus while those that would be traditionally deemed

as religious could have been composed by professionals The only group I categorized

and examined separately from the rest was the associations of Roman businessmen

since there were sufficient indications to do so

Regarding their membership our evidence suggests that private associations of the

region included Romans Greeks men and women although the latter appear to be a

minority These people represented the cross-section of all social-legal and economic

strata All of these features as well as the implications of organization and of a

hierarchical structure correspond to what we know regarding associations from other

regions

Moving to the analysis of their practices in Chapter III focus was given to the

mortuary ones I argued that we should not exclude the hypothesis whereby securing a

place in the cemetery might have been a reason for people of the financially weakest

strata to join these groups For a substantial portion though of collegiati being

buried by their peers was most probably a preference Such a choice should be

understood within the competitive arena for status enhancement apparent in the

Greco-Roman society Namely the identity that associations communicated as

cohesive reliable and hierarchically structured organizations -adherents of the

established socio-political orders- was the tool for status claims Epitaphs present the

construction of status based on distinctions which could have ranged from holding an

office to being a successful professional However prestige based on professions does

not appear to have been that attractive Associationsrsquo members choose to build their

funerary social identities mainly as participants of groups that combined a call for

civic integration with identities based on the religious traditions of the region

105

Yet in colonies mainly in Philippi that concentrates the majority of inscriptions

among Roman colonies of Macedonia it seems that this claim for acceptance was

composed under the advertisement of a cultural mix The deities we find there are

Roman Greek and local and they ways associations announce themselves in society

was neither completely Roman nor solely Greek but in a blended way

This attempt for recognition in a world where the governing elites drew -to certain

extent- their actual power from the demonstration of prestige was further enhanced

with honorific practices These latter were studied in Chapter IV With honors

associations demonstrated that they internalized the core values of the Greco-Roman

society I began with an analysis of honors of the sole group that I distinguished from

the rest namely Roman businessmen I argued that this type of association produced

honorific inscriptions to construct an identity as distinct organizations from the rest of

the cityrsquos institutions and subdivisions yet at the same time as integrated ones They

presented themselves as Romans yet adopting the Greek language Moreover there

are indications suggesting that these same practices could have been utilized for the

promotion of business interests

Furthermore I argued that Roman businessmen were not the only associations that

could have used honors to have their professional activities developed but rather that

more associations such as the Dionysiac performers could have acted likewise Yet

the great majority of the examined associations seem to have practiced honors to raise

their stakes in the competition for status In this struggle which as I showed was

known to associations from Hellenistic times the utilization of public space was a

valuable tool What is noteworthy is again the relative absence of professional

identities While many of the members of private associations could have exercised

some form of occupation they preferred to make their assertion for integration in the

civic environment with collective identities based on the Macedonian religious

culture

Having shown clearly the orientation of private associations to the local religion in

Chapter V I examined the core of such focus namely religious practices I suggested

that private associations of the region selected those deities to build their identity that

were traditionally prominent in Macedonia or locally important while sometimes

local and regional was equally significant To these deities associations dedicated

inscribed monuments which may have been located in eminent places of the urban

landscape As in honorary and funerary inscriptions with their dedicatory ones

106

associations communicated this picture of organizations as adherents of the civic

structure hence they became a platform for status claim Moreover in some cases this

attachment to local religious life seems to have been stressed to the point of being a

useful tool for competition in a religious market In addition associations used rituals

to strengthen social ties and strong bonds between members but exploited them also

for the negotiation of internal hierarchies as well as for the advertisement of

themselves as participants of the civic life

To conclude this thesis I attempted to show that private associations in a culturally

distinctive region such as Macedonia may have had a different role than what is

known from elsewhere These private organizations on Macedonian soil offered

individuals descending from multiple social strata sociability the feeling of

belonging the fulfillment of religious needs and they also became a vehicle for the

construction of social identities They were an instrument for accessing the

competition for status and prestige The difference with other regions lies on the fact

that the claim for civic integration was asserted via identities constructed from local

religious traditions For the members of private associations of Macedonia

identification on professions does not seem to have been as significant as the religious

world of the region In this way private associations became constituents of the

continuation and persistence of local cultures

107

Appendix I Private Associations in Macedonia Primary Evidence 397

Inscription Place Type Group Title Appearance

built on

1 CIG II Add

1997d

Edessa Η Ῥωμαῖοι Συμπραγματευόμενοι profession

2 SEG 46 744 Edessa D οἱ συνήθεις ἐπιμεληταὶ Zeus Hypsistos

3 SEG 50 599 Edessa D οἱ μύσται Zeus Hypsistos

4 EKM 1 22 Beroea H τὸ κοινὸν τῶν θιασωτῶν profession

5 EKM 1 26 Beroea D οἱ ὑπὸ Ποπλίου Κορνηλίου

Ῥούφου διάκονοι

Zeus Hypsistos

6 EKM 1 27 Beroea D uncertain Zeus Hypsistos

7 EKM 1 28 Beroea D οἱ περὶ Ἔρωτα Εὐβιότου

διάκονοι

Zeus Hypsistos

8 EKM 1 59 Beroea H οἱ ἐνκεκτημένοι Ῥωμαῖοι profession

9 EKM 1 122 Beroea H οἱ μύσται Dionysus

10 EKM 1 371 Beroea F οἱ συνήθεις οἱ περὶ Ποσιδώνιν

τὸν ἀρχισυνάγωγον

11 EKM 1 372 Beroea F ἡ συνήθεια τῶν ὄνων profession

12 EKM 1 377 Beroea F οἱ συνοπλᾶνες profession

13 EKM 1 383 Beroea F οἱ ὑπογεγραμμένοιhellip

(gladiators)

profession

14 BE 52 169 Kassandreia F () συνήθεις hellip

15 CIG II 2007f Kassandreia F κολλήγιον θεοῦ ἥρωος Hero God

16 SEG 39 597 Kassandreia F κολλήγιον Οὐρβανῶν profession ()

17 Demitsas 789 Akanthos F () θρησκευταὶ (Περγάμου ἥρωος

)

Hero God ()

18 SEG 1 282 Akanthos H οἱ συνπραγματευόμενοι

Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

19 Koukoli-

Chrysanthaki

235-248

Amphipolis H τὸ κοινὸν τῶν τεχνιτῶν profession

20 SEG 36 583 Amphipolis H οἱ ὑπόστολοι Egyptian Gods

21 SEG 48 716ter Amphipolis H τὸ κοινὸν τῶν τεχνιτῶν profession

22 SIG3 1140 Amphipolis D ἡ τέχνη (τῶν χαλκέων) profession

23 ΕΑΜ 24 Kaisareia D Uncertain Zeus Hypsistos

24 IG X 22 75 Herakleia

Lyngistis

Η οἱ ὑπογεγραμμένοι φίλοι convivial

25 IG X 22 407 Lychnidos H() οἱ περὶ Φιλοδέσποτον καὶhellip convivial

26 Makedonian

Institutions no 80

Lete D uncertain (soldiers) Egyptian Gods

397 The questions marks are set in fragmentary inscriptions or ones of dubious meaning There are cases

where the information provided is so few that it is hard to tell whether we are dealing with honors or a

burial or whether the group depicted itself with a professional or a religious identity

108

27 SEG 35 751 Lete F θίασος Ἀσιανῶν Dionysus

28 IG X 21 16 Thessaloniki H ἱεραφόροι () Egyptian Gods

29 IG X 21 32 Thessaloniki H οἱ συνπραγματευόμενοι

Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

31 IG X 21 58 Thessaloniki H οἱ ἱεραφόροι συνκλίται Egyptian Gods

32 IG X 21 65 Thessaloniki D Uncertain Dionysus ()

33 IG X 21 68 Thessaloniki D οἱ ὑπογεγραμμένοι συνκλίται Theos Hypsistos


35 IG X 21 70 Thessaloniki (οἱ ὑπογεγραμμένοι )

συνκλίται

Theos Hypsistos

36 IG X 21 192 Thessaloniki H οἱ συνθρησκευτα ὶ κλείνης θ εοῦ

μ εγάλου Σαράπιδος

Egyptian Gods

37 IG X 21 208 Thessaloniki H οἱ ἀπελεύθεροι καὶ

ἀπελεύθεραι Φουρίου

Πρόκλου

convivial

38 IG X 21 219 Thessaloniki H () οἱ περὶ Λούκιον Νώνιον

συνήθεις

39 IG X 21 220 Thessaloniki H θρησκευταὶ καὶ σηκοβάται

θεοῦ Ἑρμανούβιδος

Egyptian Gods

40 IG X 21 244 Thessaloniki D Uncertain Dionysus

41 IG X 21 255 Thessaloniki D Uncertain Egyptian Gods

42 IG X 21 258 Thessaloniki D () οἱ ἱεραφόροι Egyptian Gods

43 IG X 21 259 Thessaloniki F οἱ μύσται Zeus Dionysus

Gongylus

44 IG X 21 260 Thessaloniki F θίασος (Πρινοφόρων ) and

θίασος Δροιοφόρων

Dionysus

45 IG X 21 261 Thessaloniki Ἐριφιασταὶ () Dionysus

46 IG X 21 288 Thessaloniki F οἱ συνήθεις τοῦ Ἡρακλέους Herakles


48 IG X 21 291 Thessaloniki F ἡ συνήθεια τῶν

πορφυροβάφων τῆς

κτωκαιδ εκά τη ς

profession

49 IG X 21 299 Thessaloniki F θρησκευταὶ Ἁφροδίτης () Aphrodite

50 IG X 21 309 Thessaloniki F θίασος Ἀσιανῶν Dionysus

51 IG X 21 480 Thessaloniki F θρησκία τ ῶν Ἀσκληπιαστ ῶν

and βακχεῖον Ἀσιανῶν

Asclepius and

Dionysus

52 IG X 21 506 Thessaloniki F θίασοι Διονύσου Dionysus

53 IG X 21 679 Thessaloniki F () οἱ συνήθεις οἱ περὶ Ἐπικράτην (Artemis )

54 IG X 21 821 Thessaloniki F οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἥρωα Hero God

55 IG X 21 860 Thessaloniki F Ταυρουκομπετουδουμος Dionysus

56 IG X 21 933 Thessaloniki ἡ συνήθεια τῶν περὶ

Ἀλέξανδρον

57 IG X 21 982 Thessaloniki F () Ἡρακλέους οἱ συνήθεις () Herakles ()

109

58 Nigdelis no 44 Thessaloniki F collegium ludi centinari profession

59 Nigdelis no 27 Thessaloniki F Ἡ συνήθεια Ἥρωνος

Αὐλωνίτου

Hero Auloneites

60 SEG 42 625 Thessaloniki F Δ οῦμος Ἀφροδείτης

Ἐπιτευξιδίας

Aphrodite

61 SEG 43 462 Thessaloniki F oἱ συνήθεις Περιτιαστῶν Herakles

62 SEG 46 812 Thessaloniki H οἱ συνπραγματευόμενοι

Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

63 SEG 49 814 Thessaloniki D Uncertain Dionysus

64 SEG 56 746 Thessaloniki F συνήθεια

65 SEG 56 751 Thessaloniki D συνκλίται ΘεοῦὙψίστου Theos Hypistos

66 SEG 56 753 Thessaloniki D (θίασος ) Διονύσου

Ὡροφόρου

Dionysus

67 SEG 56 763 Thessaloniki F συνήθεις Γ ουρασίας Ἀρτέμιδ ος Artemis

68 SEG 56 765 Thessaloniki F συνήθεις περὶ Δη μᾶ Π ερείτα

and συνήθεια Ἀρτέμ ιδο ς

Ἀκραίας

and Artemis

69 SEG 56 766 Thessaloniki F ἡ συνήθεια ἥ ρωος Αἰν εία Hero Ainaeas

70 SEG 56 767 Thessaloniki F συν ήθεια ἡ ἐπὶ τοῦ

Ποσειδῶνος

Poseidon

71 SEG 56 768 Thessaloniki F oἱ συνήθεις φιλοπαικτόρων convivial

72 SEG 56 770 Thessaloniki F κολλήγιον μουλιόνων profession

73 SEG 56 778 Thessaloniki F οἱ συνήθεις τοῦ Ἡρακλέους Herakles

74 SEG 56 784 Thessaloniki F ἡ συνήθεια τῆς Νεμέσεως Nemesis

75 SEG 56 796 Thessaloniki F Uncertain

76 SEG 56 797 Thessaloniki F συνήθεια στεφανηπλόκων profession

77 BCH 56 (1932)

291

Stobi D ἡ ἐν Στόβοις συναγωγὴ Judaism

78 SEG 47 953 Stobi F κολλήγιον (gladiators) profession

79 Spomenik 71

75176

Stobi H συνθιασίται (Ἡρακλέους θεοῦ

Μεγίστου )

Herakles

80 Spomenik 75

2555

Stobi F Βακχεῖον Dionysus

81 Spomenik 77

4120

Stobi D θίασος (Ἀρτέμιδος Λοχίας ) Artemis

82 SEG 19 438 Idomene H οἱ συνπραγματευόμενοι

Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

83 IG X 22 330 Styberra H οἱ συνπραγματευόμενοι

Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

84 Philippi II 029 Philippi F κουπίαται Καλπαπουρεῖται profession

85 Philippi II 095 Philippi Η () thiasoshellip

86 Philippi II 133 Philippi F συνποσίον Θεοῦ Σουρεγέθου

and ποσιασταὶ Ἥρωνος

God

Souregethes and

110

Hero God

87 Philippi II 142 Philippi D φιλοκυνηγoὶ τοῦ στέμματος Nemesis


89 Philippi II 163 Philippi D cultores collegi Silbani Silvanus


91 Philippi II 165 Philippi D Cultores collegi Silbani Silvanus


93 Philippi II 166a Philippi D () σπείραhellip Dionysus

94 Philippi II 252 Philippi H cultores Deorum Serapis et

Isidis

Egyptian Gods

95 Philippi II 307 Philippi H οἱ θρησκευτὲ τοῦ Σέραπι Egyptian Gods

96 Philippi II 311 Philippi H οἱ θρησκευτὲ (τοῦ Σέραπι) Egyptian Gods

97 Philippi II 340 Philippi D thiasus Maenadum Liber Libera

Hercules

98 Philippi II 350 Philippi F cultores Cupidinis Cupido

99 Philippi II 373 Philippi F cultoreshellip

100 Philippi II 410 Philippi F ἀργενταρίοι profession

101 Philippi II 509b Philippi Apollo

102 Philippi II 524 Philippi F thiasus Liberi Patris

Tasibasteni

Liber Pater


Tasibasteni

Liber Pater

104 Philippi II 529 Philippi F thiasus Bacchihellip Bacchus

105 Philippi II 535 Philippi H οἱ περεὶ Ῥοῦφον Ζειπα μύστε

Βότρυος Διονύσου

Dionysus

106 Philippi II 580 Philippi D hellip Ἥρωος Αὐλωνείτου Hero Auloneites

107 Philippi II 597 Philippi F μύσται Διονύσου Dionysus

108 Philippi II 641a Philippi F μυσσταγογοὶ Dionysus ()

109 Philippi II 646 Philippi purpurarihellip profession

110 Philippi II 697 Philippi H Πορφυρόβαφοι profession

111 Philippi II 703d Philippi D cultores Heroi Aulonite Hero Aulonites

112 AE 1948-49

(1951) 36 no 4

Dion D θίασος (Διονύσου) Dionysus

113 ILGR 183 Dion D thiasus (Liberi patri) Liber Pater




117 SEG 49 697 Dion H Μουσαϊσταὶ Muses

118 SEG 53 596 1 Dion D θρησκευταὶ Διὸς Ὑψίστου () Zeus Hypsistos

119 SEG 53 596 2 Dion D θρησκευταὶ Διὸς Ὑψίστου Zeus Hypsistos

120 SEG 46 800 Pydna D θρησκευταὶ ἐπὶ θεοῦ Διὸς

Ὑψίστου

Zeus Hypsistos

111

Appendix II Maps

Map 1 Provincia Macedonia as the cultural entity examined in this paper

corresponding to Philipprsquos Macedonian kingdom The four divided parts are the

Roman division of the province of 146 BC (meridai)

112

Map 2 Distribution of Associations in Macedonian cities 398

398 I omitted the yellow bars depicting the proportion of associations in cities (included in the same map

in Chapter II) and left only the numbers to provide a clearer picture since here I wanted to stress more

the difference between major urban centers (big red dots) and minor ones (small white dots)

113

Appendix III Phd Proposal

Aim of the Project

In a substantial number of regions and cities of the Greek East the rise of private

associations lies in accordance with the rise of the epigraphic habit in the Roman

Empire In cases where we can see an earlier increase it corresponds as well to local

epigraphic trends as in the cases of Athens and Rhodes With regard to these

inscriptions it is commonly accepted that they served as a means for the creation of

personal and collective identities399

The implication is that the rise of associations

can be understood as an increased effort for the creation of identities400

The

subsequent implication is that the latter were used for acceptance and integration

within a civic culture In other words associations were the instrument for people

below the elite to enter the competition for status predominant in the culture of the

Greco-Roman city A question though that seems not to have been addressed is

whether we can see these collective identities not only as a claim for status yet at the

same time as a form of cultural resistance

The case of Macedonia may suggest the latter In my master thesis I argued that

associations constructed their identities in accordance to the religious traditions of the

region Associations asserted a claim for civic integration acceptance and recognition

via religious identities The implication is that the religious traditions of the area were

of such social importance that would they suffice for entrance in the competitive

arena for status and prestige Yet to what extent can we understand this focus on a

part of the local culture as a response to the Roman rule namely as a form of cultural

resistance Applying the pattern of this question in a broader geographical spectrum

the aim of this project would be discover how people in the cities of the Greek East

constructed collective identities in relation to socio-political circumstances and

experiences

The medium for such an inquiry would be to study the role private associations

since they are generally regarded as carriers of identities To be more precise I am

going to ask ldquoHow can we understand the identities created by private associations of

the Greek East in connection to the developments brought by the Roman rulerdquo

399 Woolf (1996) 400 Van Nijf (1997) Arnaoutoglou (2003)

114

Methodology

To begin with the main medium of this research will be the epigraphic material

Regarding the geographical spectrum of the above question since its scope is

immense narrowing down is required Hence the first step is going to be the

identification of the associative phenomena in regions and cities Cases where in

Roman times it dies out or at least it seems greatly lesser (in terms of number of

inscriptions) as opposed to earlier Hellenistic booms may be left out Such examples

seem to be Athens and Rhodes where the great flourishing can be detected during the

Hellenistic era while in Roma times although associations exist they are obviously

fewer The next step will be to find out regional or civic cultures For instance to

what extent can we find more examples like Macedonia The case of Termessos

presents some similarities401

Are there more culturally distinctive cases detectable in

Asia Minor Once a demarcation of case studies is possible the following issue

would be to interpret the associative phenomenon by studying the relevant activities

Do we see in every case an attempt for civic integration Moreover do we find

interregional contrasts as in the case of Philippi that signifies a blended culture within

a province of shared cultures

Moreover to find out whether the identities communicated by associations can be

seen as a form of culture resistance more aspects need to be considered For instance

if there are more cases of associations being focused on local cultures in order to

identify whether there is an identity implying separation and distinctiveness we need

to examine as well surrounding cultures and identities How does for instance the

polis position itself towards Rome Do the identities communicated within a given

place correspond to each other or are differences detectable Moreover a useful tool

in this scrutiny would be to discover the composition of associations What types of

people predominate Greeks Romans Citizens How do they position their

collectivities towards the cultures of their surroundings Are there differences in time

within specific case studies Important questions to be addressed here are how do the

various institutions and subdivisions of the cities position themselves towards their

past Do we find cases of civic elites and private associations identifying themselves

as descendants of Greeks All of the afore mentioned questions construct the basic

guidelines to approach the central research question

401 Van Nijf (2010) (2011)

115

Position of the Project within the Discipline - Contribution

Identifying the role of associations in cultural processes fits within a wider frame of

research strands To begin with it connects to the general examination of the role of

associations in their cities402

Moreover the past years there seems to be an increased

interest regarding the vitality of the Greek cities after the establishment of Roman

rule marking a contrast to past traditions that examined the Greco-Roman city in

terms of cultural and political decline403

Researching identities local cultures and

cultural exchanges in the Greek East under Roman rule as a result of the interaction

of Greece and Rome also appears to attract scholars more and more404

In this way

the aspiration of this project is to contribute to these research perspectives

Comprehending how did organizations that represented various social strata beneath

the governing elites of the Greek cities position themselves towards Rome will

hopefully contribute to our understanding of the functions of the Greek city and of the

interaction of peoples and cultures within the Roman Empire

Corpus ndash Structure of the Thesis

Since the demarcation of the case studies is not yet clear to me both corpus and

structure will be more defined in time The main corpus of inscriptions will be the

ones of associations which will depend on the geographical spectrum An average

estimation is 2000 inscriptions This number would be subjected to changes in

relevance to the cases studies For instance if the greater extent of Asia Minor will be

left aside and only cases will be selected then the number will be definitely smaller

The structure of the thesis will also depend on the demarcation of case studies

Proposed Time Table

Semester 1 Working on general background reading literature on the impact of

Roman rule in Greece and its subsequent results on cultures identities

and relevant development Start identifying case studies

Semester 2 Final demarcation of case studies

Semester 3 Building the corpus and begin analysis of the associative phenomena

Semester 4 Start comparing the identities of the associations with other identities

402 See above Introduction General Historiography on Private Associations 403 Alston and van Nijf (2008) Van Nijf and Alston (2011) Alston van Nijf and Williamson (2013) 404 Whitmarsh (2010) van Nijf (1999) (2009) Howgego Heuchert and Burnett (2005) Spawforth

(2012)

116

within case studies to discover to what extent we they became media

of cultural resistance Start writing introduction

Semester 5-7 Writing the chapters (case studies)

Semester 8 Revising writing conclusion and editing

Proposed Supervision ndash Expenses

My suggestion is that the whole project would be supervised by prof dr Onno van

Nijf since his expertise lies both on private associations and issues of cultures and

identities as well as from at least one more expert from the field of Greco-Roman

history Regarding the expenses of the project depending on the demarcation of the

cases studies it would be necessary to visit archaeological sites as well as the libraries

of the foreign schools at Athens which largely include all necessary literature

Moreover attending conferences for presentation of my research should be

considered as well Next to the travel expenses I would include the purchase of

necessary electronic equipment (laptop)

117

Bibliography

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Athenaeus 1887 Deipnosophistae Kaibel Leipzig

Cicero 1909 In Pisonem Albert Clark Oxford

Diodorus Siculus 1888-1890 Bibliotheca Historica Immanel Bekker Ludwig

Dindorf Friedrich Vogel Leipzig

II Secondary Literature

Aceto Michael (2002) ldquoEthnic Personal Names and Multiple Identities in

Anglophone Caribbean Speech Communities in Latin Americardquo Language in

Society 31 577-608

Alcock Suzan (1991) ldquoTomb Cult and the Post-Classical Polisrdquo AJA 95 447-467

--- (2002) Archaeologies of the Greek Past Landscape Monuments and Memories

Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Allamani-Souri Bictoria (2001) ldquoΣχόλια σε μια Αναθηματική Ενεπίγραφη Στήλη

από την Βέροιαrdquo In Β΄Πανελλήνιο Συνέδριο Επιγραφικής edited by Ilias Sverkos

31-48 Thessaloniki Kyriakidi

Alston Richard (2011) ldquoPost-Politics and the Ancient Greek Cityrdquo In Political

Culture in the Greek City after the Classical Age edited by Onno van Nijf and

ibidem 307-336 Leuven Peeters

--- and van Nijf Onno (eds) (2008) Feeding the Ancient Greek City Leuven

Peeters

--- and Williamson CG (eds) (2013) Cults Creeds and Identities in the Greek City

after the Classical Age Leuven Peeters Aneziri Sophia (2003) Die Vereine der Dionysischen Techniten im Kontext der

Hellenistischen Gesellschaft Stuttgart Franz Steiner Verlag

--- (2009) ldquoWorld Travelers the associations of Artists of Dionysusrdquo In

Wandering Poets in Ancient Greek Culture edited by R Hunter - I Rutherford

217-236 Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2009

Arnaoutoglou Ilias (2003) Thusias Heneka kai Sunousias Private Religious

Associations in Hellenistic Athens Athens Academy of Athens

--- (2002) ldquoRoman Law and collegia in Asia Minorrdquo Revue Internationale

des droits de lrsquoAntiquiteacute XLIX 27-44

--- (2005) ldquoCollegia in the Province of Egypt in the First Century ADrdquo

Ancient Society 35 197-216

--- (2011a) ldquoCraftsmen Associations in Roman Lydia-A Tale of two Citiesrdquo


118

--- (2011b) ldquoHierapolis Saittai Thyateira and their Craftsmen Associations A

Comparative Analysisrdquo Lecture at Wolfson College Oxford

Ascough Richard (2000) ldquoThe Thessalonian Christian Community as a Professional

Voluntary Associationrdquo Journal of Biblical Literature 119 no 2 311-328

--- (2003) Paulrsquos Macedonian Associations The Social Context of

Philippians and 1 Thessalonians WUNT 2 Reihe 161 Tuumlbingen Mohr Siebeck

--- (2010) ldquoOf Memories and Meals Greco-Roman Associations and the Early Jesus

Group at Thessalonikerdquo In From Roman to Early Christian Thessalonike Studies in

Religion and Archaeology edited by Laura Nasrallah Charalambos Bakirtzis and

Steven J Friesen 50-72 Harvard Harvard University Press

Ausbuumlttel Frank (1982) Untersuchungen zu den Vereinen im Westen des Roumlmischen

Reiches Kallmiunz Lassleben

Belenis Georgios (1996) ldquoΣυμπραγματευόμενοι Ρωμαίοι σε μια νέα Επιγραφή της

Θεσσαλονίκηςrdquo Tekmeria 2 8-15

Bendlin Andreas (2011) ldquoAssociations Sociality and Roman Law A New

Interpretation of the cultores Dianae et Antinoi in Lanuviumrdquo In Das

Aposteldekret und das antike Vereinswesen edited by Markus Oumlhler 207-296

WUNT 280 Tuumlbingen Mohr Siebeck

Bollman B (1998) Romische Vereinshauser Untersuchungen zu den Scholae der

romischen Berufs- Kult- und Augustalen-Kollegien in Italien Mainz

Broekaert Wim (2011) ldquoPartners in Business Roman Merchants and the Potential

Advantages of Being a Collegiatusrdquo Ancient Society 41 221-256

Brunt Peter (1971) Italian Manpower 225 BC ndash AD 14 Oxford Clarendon Press

Chaniotis Angelos (2006) ldquoRituals between Norms and Emotions Rituals as Shared

Experience and Memoryrdquo In Ritual and Communication in the Graeco-Roman

World edited by Eftychia Stavrianopoulou 211-238 Liege Centre International

drsquo Eacutetude de la Religion Grecque Antique

--- (2009) The Dynamics of Rituals in the Roman Empirerdquo In Ritual Dynamics and

Religious Change in the Roman Empire Proceedings of the Eighth Workshop of

the International Network Impact of Empire edited by Olivier Hekster Sebastian

Schmidt-Hofner and Christian Witschel 3-29 Leiden Brill

--- (2012) ldquoConstructing the Fear of Gods Epigraphic Evidence from Sanctuaries of

Greece and Asia Minorrdquo In Unveiling Emotions Sources and Methods for the

Study of Emotions in the Greek World edited by ibidem 205-34 Stuttgart Franz

Steiger Verlag

Christesen Paul and Murray Sarah C (2010) ldquoMacedonian Religionrdquo In A

Companion to Ancient Macedonia edited by Joseph Roisman Ian Worthington

428-445 Malden MA Blackwell Publishing

Chrysostomou Paulos (2000) ldquoΤο Ταφικό Ιερό Μυστών του Διοινύσου στη Μενηίδα

Βοττιαίας Η Ανασκαφή του Έτους 2000rdquo ΑΕΜΘ 14 455-471

--- (2003) ldquoΤαφικό Ιερό Μυστών του Διοινύσου στη Μενηίδα Βοττιαίαςrdquo AAA 32-

34 194-220

Clemente Guido (1972) ldquoIl Patronato nei Collegia dellrsquo Impero Romanordquo Studi

Classici e Orientali 21 142-229

119

Collar Anna (2013) Religious Networks in the Roman Empire The Spread of New

Ideas Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Collart Paul (1937) Philippes Ville de Maceacutedonia depuis ses Origines jusqursquoagrave la fin

de lrsquoeacutepoque romaine Ecole francaise drsquoAthegravenes Paris Eacuteditions de Boccard

Cooley Alison (2000) ldquoInscribing History at Romerdquo In The Afterlife of Inscriptions

Reusing Rediscovering Reinventing and Revitalizing Ancient Inscriptions edited

by idem 7-20 London Institute of Classical Studies

Cotter Wendy (1996) ldquoThe Collegia and Roman Law State Restrictions on

Voluntary Associations 64 BCE - 200 CErdquo In Voluntary Associations in the

Graeco-Roman World edited by John S Kloppenborg and Stephen G Wilson 74-

89 London New York Routledge

Coulton J J (1987) ldquoRoman Aqueducts in Asia Minorrdquo In Roman Architecture in

the Greek World edited by Sarah Macready and F H Thompson 72-84 London

Thames and Hudson

Drsquo Arms John H (1981) Commerce and Social Standing in Ancient Rome

Massachusetts Harvard University Press

De Ligt Luuk (2000) ldquoGovernmental Attitudes Towards Markets and Collegiardquo In

Mercati Permanenti e Mercati Periodici nel Mondo Romano edited by Elio Lo

Cascio 237-252 Bari Edipuglia

--- (2001) ldquoD 47221pr-1 and the Formation of Semi-Public lsquocollegiarsquordquo

Latomus 602 345-58

De Robertis Francesco Maria (1955) Il Fenomeno Associativo nel Mondo Romano

dai Collegi della Repubblica alle Corporazioni del Basso Impero Napoli Libreria

Scientifica

--- (1987) Scritti Varii di Diritto Romano (Articoli da Rivisite e Miscellanee) Bari

Cacucci

De Ste Croix GEM (1983) The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World

London Duckworth

Dickenson Christopher Paul (2011a) On the Agora ndash Power and Public Space in

Hellenistic and Roman Greece Unpublished Phd Dissertation ndash University of

Groningen Groningen

--- (2011b) ldquoThe Agora as Political Center in the Roman Periodrdquo In The Agora in

the Mediterranean from Homeric to Roman Times edited by Aggeliki

Giannikouri 47-60 Athens Ministry of Culture and Tourism Archaeological

Institution of Aegean Studies

Duumlll Siegrid (1977) Die oumltterkulte Nordmakedoniens in Roumlmischer Zeit Muumlnchen

Fink

Edson Charles (1948) ldquoCults of Thessalonica (Macedonica III)rdquo The Harvard

Theological Review 41 153-204

Epstein Steven (1991) Wage and Labor Guilds in Medieval Europe Chapel Hill and

London The University of North Carolina Press

Eilers Claude (2002) Roman Patrons of Greek Cities Oxford Oxford University

Press

Errington Robert Malcolm (1988) ldquoAspects of Roman Acculturation in the East

120

under the Republicrdquo In Alte Geschichte und Wissenschaftsgeschichte Festschrift

fuumlr Karl Christ zum 65 eburstag edited by Peter Kneissl and Volker Losemann

140-157 Darmstadt Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft

Farrington Andrew (1987) ldquoImperial Bath Buildings in South-West Asia Minorrdquo In

Roman Architecture in the Greek World edited by Sarah Macready and F H

Thompson 50-59 London Thames and Hudson

Fedak Janos (1990) Monumental Tombs of the Hellenistic Age A Study of Selected

Tombs from the Pre-classical to the Early Imperial Era Toronto University of

Toronto Press

Finley Moses (1999) The Ancient Economy Updated Edition with a foreword by Ian

Morris [first edition London 1973] Berkley University of California Press

--- (1983) Politics in the Ancient World Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Foucart P (1873) Les Associations Religieuses chez les Grecs Thiases Eranes

Orgeons Paris Klincksieck

Fraser Peter Marshall (1977) Rhodian Funerary Monuments Oxford Clarendon

Press

--- (1960) The Inscriptions on Stone Samothrace Excavations Conducted by the

Institute of Fine Arts of New York University 2 Vol New York Pantheon Books

Gabrielsen Vincent (1997) The Naval Aristocracy of Hellenistic Rhodes Aarhus

Aarhus University Press

--- (2001) ldquoThe Rhodian Associations and Economic Activityrdquo In Hellenistic

Economies edited by Zofia Archibald John Davies Vincent Gabrielsen and G J

Oliver London - New York Routledge

--- (2007) ldquoBrotherhoods of Faith and Provident Planning The Non-public

Associations of the Greek Worldrdquo Mediterranean Historical Review 22 183-210

Garnsey Peter and Richard Saller (1987) The Roman Empire Economy Society and

Culture London Duckworth

Gellner Ernest (1977) ldquoPatrons and Clientsrdquo In Patrons and Clients in

Mediterranean Societies edited by ibidem and John Waterbury 1-6 London

Duckworth

Gibbs Matthew (2011) ldquoTrade Associations in Roman Egypt Their Raison drsquoEcirctrerdquo


--- (2013) ldquoCollegiardquo In The Encyclopedia of Ancient History edited by Roger S

Bagnall Kai Brodersen Craige B Champion Andrew Erskine and Sabine R

Huebner 1649-1652 Malden MA Blackwell Publishing

Gilihan Yonder Moynihan (2012) Civic Ideology Organization and Law in the Rule

Scrolls A Comparative Study of the Covenantersrsquo Sect and Contemporary

Voluntary Associations in Political Context Leiden Boston Brill

Gruen Eric (1984) The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome Berkeley and

Los Angeles University of California Press

Hammond N G L (1989) The Macedonian State Origins Institutions and History

Oxford Clarendon Press

Harris Edward M (2013) ldquoHoroirdquo In The Encyclopedia of Ancient History edited

by Roger S Bagnall Kai Brodersen Craige B Champion Andrew Erskine and

121

Sabine R Huebner 3305-6 Malden MA Blackwell Publishing

Hatzopoulos M B (1994) Cultes et Rites de Passage en Maceacutedoine Athens

Research Center for Greek and Roman Antiquity National Hellenic Research

Foundation

--- (1996) Macedonian Institutions under the Kings I A Historical

and Epigraphic Study Athens Research Center for Greek and Roman Antiquity

National Hellenic Research Foundation

--- (2002) ldquoΛατρείες της Μακεδονίας Τελετές Μεταβάσεως και Μυήσειςrdquo In

Λατρείες στην laquoΠεριφέρειαraquo του Αρχαίου Ελληνικού Κόσμου edited by Afroditi A

Avagianou 11-29 Athens Research Center for Greek and Roman Antiquity


--- (2011) ldquoMacedonians and the Other Greeksrdquo In Brillrsquos Companion to Ancient

Macedon Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon 650BC- 300AD

edited by Robin J Lane Fox 51-78 Leiden Boston Brill

Harland Philip (2003) Associations Synagogues and Congregations Claiming a

Place in Ancient Mediterranean Society Minneapolis Fortress Press

Hekster Olivier Schmidt-Hofner Sebastian and Witschel Christian (eds) (2009)

Ritual Dynamics and Religious Change in the Roman Empire Proceedings of the

Eighth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Heidelberg July

5-7 2007) Leiden Boston Brill

Herz Peter (2008) ldquoUumlberlegungen zur Geschichte des Μakedonischen Koinon im

dritten Jahrhundertrdquo In Festrituale in der Roumlmischen Kaiserzeit edited by Joumlrg

Ruumlpke 115-132 Tuumlbingen Mohr Siebeck

Hopkins Keith (1983) Death and Renewal Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Howgego Christopher Heuchert Volker and Burnett Andrew (eds) (2005) Coinage

and Identity in the Roman Provinces Oxford Oxford University Press

Jaccottet Anne-Franccediloise (2003) Choisir Dionysos Les Associations Dionysiaques

ou la Face Cacheacutee du Dionysisme I and II uumlrich Akanthus

Johnson Terry and Dandeker Chris (1989) ldquoPatronage Relation and Systemrdquo In

Patronage in Ancient Society edited by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill 219-238

London and New York Routledge

Joshel Sandra (1992) Work Identity and Legal Status at Rome Norman and London

University of Oklahoma Press

Kallet-Marx (1995) Hegemony to Empire The Develpoment of the Roman Imperium

in the East from 148- 62 BC Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California

Press

Kanatsoulis Demetrios (1953-55) ldquoΤο Κοινόν των Μακεδόνωνrdquo Μακεδονικά 3 26-

49

--- (1955-1960) ldquoΗ Μακεδονική Πόλις Από της Εμφανίσεως της μέχρι των Χρόνων

του Μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνουrdquo Μακεδονικά 4 232-314

Kloppenborg John (1993) ldquoEdwin Hatch Churches and Collegiardquo in Origins and

Method Towards a New Understanding of Judaism and Christianity Essays in

Honour of John C Hurd edited by Bradley H McLean 212-238 Sheffield

Sheffield Academic Press

122

--- (1996) ldquoCollegia and Thiasoi Issues in Function Taxonomy and Membershiprdquo In

Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World edited by idem and Stephen

G Wilson 16-30 London and New York Routledge

--- and Ascough Richard (eds) (2011) Greco-Roman Associations Texts

Translations and Commentary Berlin New York De Gruyter

Koester Helmut (2010) ldquoEgyptian Religion in Thessalonikē Regulation for the

Cultrdquo In From Roman to Early Christian Thessalonike Studies in Religion and

Archaeology edited by Laura Nasrallah Charalambos Bakirtzis and Steven J

Friesen 143-150 Harvard Harvard University Press

Koukouli-Chrysanthaki Chaido (2011) ldquoΚοινὸν τεχνιτῶν στην Αμφίποληrdquo In

Νάματα Τιμητικός Τόμος για τον Καθηγητή Δημήτριο Παντερμαλή edited by Ilias

Sverkos 236-247 Thessaloniki University Studio Press

--- Bakirtzis Charalampos (1995) Φίλιπποι Athens Ministry of Culture

Kremydi-Sisilianou (2005) ldquolsquoBelongingrsquo to Rome lsquoRemainingrsquo Greek Coinage and

Identity in Roman Macedoniardquo In Coinage and Identity in the Roman Provinces

edited by Christopher Howgego Volker Heuchert and Andrew Burnett 95-106

Oxford Oxford University Press

Kubiacutenska J (2001) ldquoTiberius Claudius Lycus de Thessalonique et son Thiaserdquo

Zeitschrift fuumlr Papyrologie und Epigraphik 137 153-160

Lioulias Stergios (2010) Η Λατρεία του Ασκληπιού στη Μακεδονία Unpublished

master thesis Thessaloniki Aristoteleian University of Thessaloniki

Liu Jinyu (2005) ldquoLocal Governments and Collegia A New Appraisal of the

Evidencerdquo in A Tall Order Imperialism Law Religion And Society in the

Ancient World essays in honor of William V Harris Jean edited by Jacques

Aubert and suzsanna Vaacuterhelyi 279-310 Leipzig Walter de Gruyter

--- (2008) ldquoThe Economy of Endowments the case of Roman associationsrdquo In Pistoi

dia ten technen Bankers loans and archives in the Ancient World Studies in

honour of Raymond Bogaert edited by Koenraad Verboven Katelijn Vandorpe

and Veacuteronique Chankowski-Sable 231-256 Leuven Peeters

--- (2009) Collegia Centonariorum The Guilds of Textile Dealers in the Roman

West Leiden Boston Brill

Loukopoulou Louiza (1996) ldquoThe Fortunes of the Roman Conventus of Chalcidicerdquo

In Roman Onomastics in the Greek East Social and Political Aspects edited by A

D Rizakis 143-148 Athens Research Center for Greek and Roman Antiquity


Ma John (2007) ldquoHellenistic Honorific Statues and their Inscriptionsrdquo In Art and

Inscriptions in the Ancient World edited by Zahra Newby and Ruth Leader-

Newby 203-220 Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Mari Manuela (2011) ldquoTraditional Cults and Beliefsrdquo In Brillrsquos Companion to

Ancient Macedon Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon 650BC-

300AD edited by Robin J Lane Fox 453-466 Leiden Boston Brill

Macready Sarah and Thompson FH eds (1987) Roman Architecture in the Greek

World London The Society of Antiquaries of London

MacMullen Ramsay (1963) ldquoA Note on Roman Strikesrdquo The Classical Journal 58

123

269-271

--- (1974) Roman Social Relations 50 BC to AD 284 New Haven and London

Yale University Press

--- (1982) ldquoThe Epigraphic Habit in the Roman Empirerdquo The American Journal of

Philology 103 233-246

Meyer Elizabeth (1990) ldquoExplaining the Epigraphic Habit in the Roman Empire

The Evidence of Epitaphsrdquo The Journal of Roman Studies 80 74-96

--- (1993) Epitaphs and Citizenship in Classical Athensrdquo The Journal of Hellenic

Studies 113 99-121

McCready Wayne (1996) ldquoEcclēsia and Voluntary Associationsrdquo In Voluntary

Associations in the Graeco-Roman World edited by John S Kloppenborg and

Stephen G Wilson 31-58 London New York Routledge

McLean Bradley (1993) ldquoThe Agrippinilla Inscription Religious Associations and

Early Christian Formationrdquo in Origins and Method Towards a New

Understanding of Judaism and Christianity Essays in Honour of John C Hurd

edited by Bradley H McLean 239-270 Sheffield Sheffield Academic Press

Meeks Wayne (1983) The First Urban Christians The Social World of the Apostle

Paul New Haven and London Yale University Press

Mikalson John (2006) ldquoGreek Religion Continuity and Change in the Hellenistic

Periodrdquo In The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World edited by Glenn

R Bugh 208-224 Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Millar Fergus (1977) The Emperor in the Roman World Ithaca New York Cornell

University Press

--- (2006) ldquoThe Greek City in the Roman Periodrdquo In The Greek World

the Jews and the East edited by Hannah M Cotton and Guy M Rogers 106-135

Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press

Millet Paul (1989) ldquoPatronage and its Avoidance in Classical Athensrdquo In Patronage

in Ancient Society edited by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill 15-48 London and New

York Routledge

Mitrev Georgi (2002) ldquoDionysiac Thiasoi in the Roman Province of Macedonia

Tradition and Innovationsrdquo In Studia in Honorom Margaritae Tacheva edited by

Konstantine Boschnakov and Diljna Boteva 289-97 In Bulgarian Sofia Sofia

University Press

--- (2003) Religious Institutions and Communities in the Province of Macedonia (148

BC-284 AD) Phd Dissertation in Bulgarian with an English Summary Sophia

Mommsen Theodor (1843) De Collegiis et Sodaliciis Romanorum Kiliae Libraria

Schwersiana

Monson Andrew (2005) ldquoThe ethics and economics of Ptolemaic religious

Associationrdquo Ancient Society 36 221-238

Morris Ian (1992) Death-Ritual and Social Structure in Classical Antiquity


---- (1994) ldquoEvery manrsquos Graverdquo In Athenian Identity and Civic Ideology edited by

Alan L Boegehold and Adele C Scafuro 67-101 Baltimore and London The

John Hopkins University Press

124

Muhs Brian (2001) ldquoMembership in Private Associations in Ptolemaic Tebtunisrdquo

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 44 1-21

Nigdelis Pantelis (2006) Epigrafika Thessalonikeia Thessaloniki University Studio

Press

--- (2010) ldquoVoluntary Associations in Roman Thessalonike In Search

of Identity and Support in a Cosmopolitan Societyrdquo In From Roman to Early

Christian Thessalonike Studies in Religion and Archaeology edited by Laura

Nasrallah Charalambos Bakirtzis and Steven J Friesen 13-47 Harvard Harvard

University Press

--- ldquoIII Roman Macedonia (168 BC - AD 284)rdquo In The History of Macedonia

wwwmacedonian-heritagegr

Nora Pierre (1989) ldquoBetween Memory and History Les Lieux de Meacutemoirerdquo

Representations 26 7-24

North John (1992) ldquoThe Development of Religious Pluralismrdquo In The Jews Among

Pagans and Christians edited by Judith Lieu John North and Tessa Rajak 174-

193 London and New York Routledge

--- (2010) ldquoPagan Ritual and Monotheismrdquo In One God Pagan Monotheism in the

Roman Empire edited by Mitchell Stephen and Van Nuffelen Peter 34-52


Pandermalis Dimitrios (1983) ldquo um roumlmischen Portraumlt im kaiserzeitlichen

Makedonienrdquo Klio 65 161-7

--- (1999) ldquoΔίον 1999 Μουσαϊσταί ndash Βασιλεύς Δημήτριοςrdquo ΑΕΜΘ 13 416-20

Papazoglou Fanoula (1988) Les Villes de Maceacutedoine agrave leacutepoque Romaine Athens

Ecole Franccedilaise d Athegravenes

--- (1983) ldquoPolitical and Administrative Devepomentsrdquo In Macedonia 4000 Years of

Greek History and Civilization edited by M B Sakellariou 192-99 Athens

Ekdotike Athenon

Paschidis Paschalis (2012) ldquoCivic Cults and (other) Religious Associations in

Search of Collective Identities in Roman Macedoniardquo Forthcoming Paper

presented at the conference Associations in Context Rethinking Associations and

Religion in the post-classical Polis (11th

-13th

October 2012) Copenhagen

University of Copenhagen

Patterson John (1993) ldquoPatronage collegia and burial in Imperial Romerdquo In Death

in Towns Urban Responses to the Dying and the Dead 100-1600 edited by

Steven Bassett Leicester Leicester University Press

--- (1994) ldquoThe Collegia and the Transformation of the Towns of Italy in the Second

Century ADrdquo In LItalie dAuguste agrave Diocleacutetien Actes du colloque international

organiseacute par lEacutecole franccedilaise de Rome edited by helliphellip 227-238 Romehellip

--- (2006) Landscapes and Cities Rural Settlement and Civic Transformation in

Early Imperial Italy Oxford Oxford University Press

Pavis DrsquoEscurac Henriette (1988) ldquoOrigo et Reacutesidence dans le Monde du Commerce

sou le Haut-Empirerdquo Ktema 13 57-68

Pearson Michael Parker (1982) ldquoMortuary Practices Society and Ideology an

Ethnoarchaeological Studyrdquo In Symbolic and Structural Archaeology edited by

125

Ian Hodder 99-113 Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Petsas Fotis (1969) ldquoΑρχαιότητες και Μνημεία Κεντρικής Μακεδονίαςrdquo

Aρχαιολογικό Δελτίο 24 (Χρονικά) 291-312

Perry Jonathan Scott (2006) Roman Collegia The Modern Evolution of an Ancient

Concept Leiden Brill

Perdrizet Paul (1900) ldquoInscriptions de Philippes Les Rosaliesrdquo BCH 24 299-323

Pingiatoglou Semeli (2010) ldquoCults of Female Deities at Dionrdquo Kernos 23 179-192

Poland Franz (1909) Geschichte des griechischen Vereinswesens Leipzig Teubner

Purcell Nicholas (1987) ldquoTomb and Suburbrdquo In Roumlmische raumlberstraszligen

Selbstdaerstellung ndash Status ndash Standard edited by Henner von Hesberg and Paul

Zanker 25-41 Munich Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften

Rebillard Eacuteric (2009) The Care of the Dead in Late Antiquity Translated by

Elizabeth Trapnell Rawlings and Jeanine Routier-Pucci Ithaca and London

Cornell University Press

Robert Louis (1940) Les Gladiateurs dans lrsquo Orient Grec Paris Bibliothegraveque de

l Eacutecole des Hautes Eacutetudes

Romiopoulou Aikaterine (1973) ldquoΑρχαιότητες και Μνημεία Κεντρικής

Μακεδονίαςrdquo Αρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον 28 B2 433-442

Rouecheacute Charlotte (1993) Performers and Partisans at Aphrodisias in the Roman

and Late Roman Period London W S Maney and Son

Rizakis Athanasios (1986) ldquoΗ Κοινότητα των Συμπραγματευόμενων Ρωμαίων της

Θεσσαλονίκης και η Ρωμαϊκή Οικονομική Διείσδυση στη Μακεδονίαrdquo Αρχαία

Μακεδονία IV 511-524 Thessaloniki Institute for Balkan Studies

--- (1998) ldquoL Eacutemigration Romaine en Maceacutedoine et la Communaute Marchande de

Thessalonique Perspectives Eacuteconomiques et Socialesrdquo In Les Italiens dans le

Monde Grec IIe siegravecle av J-C - Ier siegravecle ap J-C Circulation Activiteacutes

Inteacutegration edited by Christel Muumlller and Claire Hasenohr 110-132 Paris Eacutecole

Normale Supeacuterieure

--- and Tourasoglou I (2000) Mors Macedonica Ο Θάνατος στα Επιτάφεια Μνημεία

της Άνω Μακεδονίας Athens Archaiologiki Etaireia

Rives James B (2007) Religion in the Roman Empire Malden MA Blackwell

Publishing

Rohde Dorothea (2012) Zwischen Individuum und Stadtgemeinde Die Integration

von Collegia in Hafenstaumldten Mainz Verlag Antike

Royden Hasley (1988) The Magistrates of the Roman Professional Collegia in Italy

from the First to the Third Century AD Pisa Giardini

Saller Richard (1982) Personal Patronage under the Early Empire Cambridge

Cambridge University Press

Salmeri Giovanni (2011) ldquoReconstructing the Political Life and Culture of the Greek

Cities of the Roman Empirerdquo In Political Culture in the Greek City after the

Classical Age edited by Onno van Nijf and Richard Alston 197-214 Leuven

Paris Walpole MA Peeters

Salway Benet (2013) ldquoName personal Romanrdquo The Encyclopedia of Ancient

History edited by Roger S Bagnall Kai Brodersen Craige B Champion Andrew

126

Erskine and Sabine R Huebner 4690-4691 Malden MA Blackwell Publishing

Schiess Traugott (1888) Die Roumlmischen Collegia Funeraticia nach de Inschriften

Muumlnchen Theodor Ackermann

Sellew Philip (1980) ldquoReligious Propaganda in Antiquity A Case from the

Sarapeum at Thessalonicardquo Numina Aegaea 3 15ndash20

Sokolowski Franciszek (1974) ldquoPropagation of the Cult of Sarapis and Isis in

Greecerdquo Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies 15 441-448

Solin Heikki (2001) ldquoLatin Cognomina in the Greek Eastrdquo In The Greek East in the

Roman Context Proceedings of a Colloquium Organised by the Finnish Institute

at Athens May 21 and 22 1999 edited by Olli Salomies 189-202 Helsinki

Foundation of the Finnish Institute at Athens

Sourvinou-Inwood C (1990) ldquoWhat is polis-religionrdquo In The Greek City from

Homer to Alexander edited by O Murray and S R F Price 295-322 Oxford

Oxford University Press

Spawforth A (2012) Greece and the Augustan Cultural Revolution Cambridge


Stark Rodney (1997) The Rise of Christianity How the Obscure Marginal Jesus

Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few

Centuries San Francisco CA Harper

Stavrianopoulou Eftychia (2006a) ldquoIntroductionrdquo In Ritual and Communication in

the Graeco-Roman World edited by ibidem 7-22 Liege Centre International drsquo

Eacutetude de la Religion Grecque Antique

--- (ed) (2006b) Ritual and Communication in the Graeco-Roman World Liege

Centre International drsquo Eacutetude de la Religion Grecque Antique

Steimle Christopher (2008) Religion im Roumlmischen Thessaloniki Tuumlbingen Mohr

Siebeck

Steinhauer Julietta (2014) Religious Associations in the Post-Classical Polis

Stuttgart Franz Steiner Verlag

Sverkos K (1997) Συμβολή στην Ιστορία της Άνω Μακεδονίας των Ρωμαϊκών

Χρόνων (Πολιτική Οργάνωση Κοινωνία Ανθρωπωνύμια) Thessaloniki Phd

Dissertation at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki

Sviatoslav Dmitriev ldquoMagistrates and Officials Greekrdquo in The Oxford Encyclopedia

of Ancient Greece and Rome ed Michael Gagarin and Elaine Fantham 319ndash21


Tataki Argyro (1988) Ancient Beroea Prosopography and Society Athens

Research Center for Greek and Roman Antiquities National Hellenic Research

Foundation

--- (1996) ldquoThe Nomina of Macedoniardquo In Roman Onomastics in the Greek East

Social and Political Aspects edited by AD Rizakis 105-109 Athens Research

Center for Greek and Roman Antiquity

Tod Marcus (1932) Sidelights on Greek History Three Lectures on the Light thrown

by Greek Inscriptions on the Life and Thought of the Ancient World Oxford Basil

Blackwell

Toynbee J M C (1971) Death and Burial in the Roman World London Thames

127

and Hudson

Trakosopoulou-Salakidou Eleni (1993) ldquoΑπό την Κοινωνία της Θεσσαλονίκης των

Αυτοκρατορικών Χρόνων Νέα Επιγραφικά Ευρήματαrdquo In Ancient Macedonia

Fifth International Symposium Vol III edited byhelliphelliphelliphellip Thessaloniki

Institute for Balkan Studies

Tran Nicolas (2006) Les Membres des Associations Romaines Rome Publications

de lrsquoEacutecole franccedilaise de Rome

Tsochos Charalampos (2004) ldquoΤο Ιερό των Αιγυπτίων Θεών και η Λατρεία τους

στους Φιλίππους μέσα από το Επιγραφικό Υλικόrdquo AEMΘ 16 83-94

--- (2012) Die Religion in der Roumlmischen Provinz Makedonien Stuttgart Franz

Steiner Verlag

Van Dyke Ruth and Alcock Suzan (2003) ldquoArchaeologies of Memory An

Intorductionrdquo In Archaeologies of Memory edited by ibidem 1-13 Malden MA

Blackwell Publishing

Van Nijf Onno (1997) The Civic World of Professional Associations Amsterdam

JC Gieben

--- (1999) ldquoAthletics festivals and Greek identity in the Roman Eastrdquo Proceedings of

the Cambridge Philological Society 45 175-200

--- (2000) ldquoInscriptions and Civic Memory in the Roman Eastrdquo In The Afterlife of

Inscriptions Reusing Rediscovering Reinventing and Revitalizing Ancient

Inscriptions edited by Alison Cooley 21-36 London Institute of Classical

Studies

--- (2009) Staying Roman - Becoming Greek The Roman Presence in Greek Cities

Lecture at the conference of CRASIS (unpublished) Groningen

--- (2010) ldquoBeing Termessian Local Knowledge and Identity Politics in a Pisidian

Cityrdquo In Local Knowledge and Microidentites in the Imperial Greek World edited

by Tim Whitmarsh 163-188 Cambridge Cambridge University Press

--- (2011) ldquoPublic Space and the Political Culture in Roman Termessosrdquo In Political

Culture in the Greek City after the Classical Age edited by ibidem and Richard

Alston 215-242 Leuven Peeters

--- and Alston Richard (eds) (2011) Political Culture in the Greek City after the

Classical Age Leuven Peeters

Vanderspoel John (2010) ldquoProvincia Macedoniardquo In A Companion to Ancient

Macedonia edited by Joseph Roisman Ian Worthington 251-275 Malden MA


Verboven Koen (2011) ldquoProfessional Collegia Guilds or Social Clubsrdquo Ancient

Society 41 187-195

Veyne Paul (1990) Bread and Circuses Translation of the original (1976) by Brian

Pearce London Allen Lane The Penguin Press

Vitti Massimo (1996) Η Πολεοδομική Εξέλιξη της Θεσσαλονίκης Από την Ίδρυση

έως τονν αλέριο Athens Archaiologike Etaireia

Voutiras Emmanuel (1992) ldquoBerufs- und Kultverein Ein δουμοϲ in Thessalonikerdquo

Zeitschrift fuumlr Papyrologie und Epigraphik 90 (1992) 87-96

--- (2005) ldquoSanctuaire Priveacute-Cult Public Le Cas du Sarapieion de Thessaloniquerdquo In

128

Ἰδίᾳ καὶ Δημοσίᾳ Les Cadres ldquoPriveacutesrdquo et ldquoPublicsrdquo de la Region recque

Antique Actes du IXe Colloque du CIER A tenugrave agrave Fribourg du 8 au 10 Sept 2003

edited by V Dasen and M Pieacuterart 273-88 Lieacutege CIERGA

Von Hesberg H and anker P (1987) ldquoEinleitungrdquo In Roumlmische raumlberstraszligen

Selbstdaerstellung ndash Status ndash Standard edited by idem 9-20 Munich Bayerische

Akademie der Wissenschaften

Wallace-Hadrill Adrew ed (1989a) Patronage in Ancient Society London and New

York Routledge

--- (1989b) ldquoPatronage in Roman Society from Republic to Empirerdquo In Patronage in

Ancient Society edited by ibidem 63-88 London and New York Routledge

Waltzing Jean Pierre (1895-1900) Eacutetude historique sur les Corporations

professionelles chez les Romains depuis les origins jusquagrave la chute de lEmpire

dOccident Vol I-IV Bruxelles Hayez

Wiemer Hans-Ulrich (2013) ldquoHellenistic Cities The End of Democracyrdquo In A

Companion to Ancient Greek Government edited by Hans Beck 54-69 Malden

MA Wiley-Blackwell

Wilson Stephen (1996) ldquoVoluntary Associations An Overviewrdquo In Voluntary

Associations in the Graeco-Roman World edited by idem and Stephen G Wilson

1-16 London and New York Routledge

Wilson Stephen (1998) The Means of Naming A Social and Cultural History of

Personal Naming in Western Europe London UCL Press

Wilson Alan John (1966) Emigration from Italy in the Republican Age of Rome

New York Manchester University Press

Whitmarsh Tim (ed) (2010) Local Knowledge and Microidentites in the Imperial

Greek World Cambridge Cambridge University Press

Woolf Greg (1996) ldquoMonumental Writing and the Expansion of Roman Society in

the Early Empirerdquo The Journal of Roman Studies 86 22-39

--- (2012) Only Connect Networks and Religious Change in the Ancient

Mediterranean World Lecture at the conference of CRASIS (unpublished)

Groningen

--- (2014) ldquoIsis and the Evolution of Religionsrdquo In Power Politics and the

Cults of IsisProceedings of the Vth International Conference of Isis Studies

Boulogne-sur-Mer October 13ndash15 2011 edited by Laurent Bricault and Miguel

John Versluys 62-92 Leiden Brill

1

Contents 1

Preface - Acknowledgments helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

Abbreviationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip3-4

Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip5-11

Chapter I Macedoniahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12-15

Chapter II Fenomeno Associativo in Macedoniahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip16-36

Chapter III Funerary Practiceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip37-55

Chapter IV Honorary Practiceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip56-80

Chapter V Religious Practiceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip81-102

Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip103-106

Appendix I Private Associations in Macedonia Primary Evidencehelliphellip107-110

Appendix II Mapshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip111-112

Appendix III Phd Proposalhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip113-116

Bibliographyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip117-128

1 Cover Illustration photograph of the Roman Forum at Philippi Picture taken by Alexandros Tsouris

April 2015

2























3

Abbreviations



























4







1979ndash84


Oxford 1996







4th ed Oxford 2012


Tuumlbingen 2000




1923--

SIG3 Syll


1924


5

Introduction






associations2























2 Wilson (1996) 1






6















th century








necessity10






society12




7





interaction13


of associations14






debates15




order






















8





Publications that




general18





characteristics19










Such comparative
















9



























in the region







10








documented ones26



























11












society

12

Chapter I Macedonia



Yet my



latter

Why Macedonia




5th

century BC30



from the 5th





















13










In addition the





Koinon37





Moreover


-

3rd


Beroea39













occur

14



It



distinct entity42













Macedonia and more







but the






15













16


Introduction













nature47














and






17






















collectivity52








Finally any






18































19



In the map55



province56












0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20






Beroea



The










urban phenomenon59















along the way


21



















0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500



22


times61








century BC64



century


How then can we




























23



Typology



In Macedonia in














scholars69





Yet












24












In fact the term






From this



















25



















religious one


















26























Shifting focus



century BC88







thus









27




Chapter IV























He maintained








28










nomina98























29



Membership






Let us































examples see ibid

30









There are



Thus private




Roman world103










approaches105











evidencerdquo

31












Furthermore



It thus becomes in















his colleagues112



marriage



He might as



32








-3rd

centuries AD







Instead






Let us now









well118









33







curialisrdquo120






the group or not122























34










social strata126





their groups

Organization











administration127






35











organization model

Conclusion
























Poland (1909) 330-423

36




























37


Introduction









This tradition

























two

38




definition137
















revived139
















(1987)

39





















century




knowledge143




suggests that the


Moreover the whole






40










families148






make the 19th






association149






which paid



and






41




































42
























Fraser (1977) 58-70

43

























century AD





the inscriber162







44



































of Nigdelis (2006) 138-146]

45



relative 169















there


treasurer171















46


Another












process














year fare well

good soul








47






He demonstrated his










From this






















21 28

48



Therefore being














identities183























49




down











212 Endowments












other187



They were






50


































51




























tomb195









52















This notion of













endowments




53

















distinctions






it re-













54

endowment203



The


























Conclusion






55
































56


Introduction






dedications209











that211

















57

















Gellner


















58


What




Thus




there












their cities





Such honorific










59



written224





relationrdquo









prominence226





which were













argument

60








What kind of















it is










61


3rd


Its elaborate







We









70 72 74 80) While the

















62



The agora was









Yet the ones

















authorities









63













to strangers241








identity242




culture





ethnic distinction






64


with the city243










The

























65







Tiberius250





Emperor himself

























66



















A vague















67


The sole



specific individual


city258





The exact relation


























68














These












increased

264 Van Nijf (2009) 5 265 Van Nijf (1997) 92 266









69





The stone


cm269




location








examined above






Thus


benefactions




kingdomrdquo272







70

Macedonians274






Olynthus276


Macedonian royalty























festivals280





71





There are though






It is quite





inscription285








relevance
















72



















agoranomos289









In this way the













73





festivals292



business activities










and












Around the mid 3rd








74




































75







-3rd





well298



It is easy to























76

to Asclepius302















around the 3rd







It was














77














material of all the







echelons309












308 Tsochos (2004) 88-9 309 Ibid 88

78



















found311









to the Sarapeion










79


status claims













clubhouse)315











Conclusion







407

80




























groups

81


Introduction












core317





















function

82














In






Sarapis321









late 5th century BC







83










royalty322


local epithets










the Greek world














84


A very






st

centuries BC325

















God327













85

Roman era328











predominant one330


diversity331



at the same




















86

21 Choosing Deities






good impression334















0

2

4

6

8

10

12




87


circumstances335













The








ones339


















88








The text





Loggus341




Such








group344










89


In a









Similarly

















group











90


























Consequently




One of


This suggests that





Eutychia uxore

91


From this





We are dealing with










photo below)358








life This identity

moreover was a loud












92


























illuminating
















93







-

2nd

centuries BC363




Since








tradition




















94









23 Rituals






















In his





95













These
























96

its peers372







The most important



parents























352-6 374 Nigdelis (2010) 32-33 375 Ibid 33

97

















fertility376


















98









sacrificed380





suggests














All the











99

animals down386















It was

















100



the rituals391












objects392


strongly





















101


cityrsquos identity





















memory

Conclusion










102


associations
















103

Conclusion
















and Hellenistic era







different










104






kings














regions















105



























culture








106




















107



built on

1 CIG II Add

1997d







Zeus Hypsistos



διάκονοι

Zeus Hypsistos








(gladiators)

profession





)

Hero God ()


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

19 Koukoli-

Chrysanthaki

235-248







Lyngistis



26 Makedonian

Institutions no 80





108




Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession






συνκλίται

Theos Hypsistos



Egyptian Gods



Πρόκλου

convivial


συνήθεις



Egyptian Gods





Gongylus



Dionysus







profession





Asclepius and

Dionysus








109



Αὐλωνίτου

Hero Auloneites



Aphrodite



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





Ὡροφόρου

Dionysus




Ἀκραίας

and Artemis




Poseidon







77 BCH 56 (1932)

291



79 Spomenik 71

75176


Μεγίστου )

Herakles

80 Spomenik 75

2555


81 Spomenik 77

4120



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





God

Souregethes and

110

Hero God









Isidis

Egyptian Gods




Hercules






Tasibasteni

Liber Pater


Tasibasteni

Liber Pater




Dionysus







112 AE 1948-49

(1951) 36 no 4










Ὑψίστου

Zeus Hypsistos

111

Appendix II Maps




112





113


Aim of the Project









The

















experiences






114

Methodology

































401 Van Nijf (2010) (2011)

115












In this way














Proposed Time Table








(2012)

116















117

Bibliography









Society 31 577-608











Peeters















118



































Steiger Verlag







34 194-220



119














Thames and Hudson







Latomus 602 345-58



Scientifica


Cacucci


London Duckworth



Groningen Groningen






Fink






Press


120









Toronto Press







Press














Duckworth















121




Foundation
































Press


49







122













































123

269-271








Studies 113 99-121














University Press






York Routledge




University Press




Schwersiana








124




Press





University Press


















Ekdotike Athenon





-13th















125
































Publishing













126


























Siebeck











Foundation






Blackwell


127

and Hudson










Steiner Verlag





JC Gieben






Studies















Society 41 187-195








128








York Routledge








MA Wiley-Blackwell














Groningen





2























3

Abbreviations



























4







1979ndash84


Oxford 1996







4th ed Oxford 2012


Tuumlbingen 2000




1923--

SIG3 Syll


1924


5

Introduction






associations2























2 Wilson (1996) 1






6















th century








necessity10






society12




7





interaction13


of associations14






debates15




order






















8





Publications that




general18





characteristics19










Such comparative
















9



























in the region







10








documented ones26



























11












society

12

Chapter I Macedonia



Yet my



latter

Why Macedonia




5th

century BC30



from the 5th





















13










In addition the





Koinon37





Moreover


-

3rd


Beroea39













occur

14



It



distinct entity42













Macedonia and more







but the






15













16


Introduction













nature47














and






17






















collectivity52








Finally any






18































19



In the map55



province56












0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20






Beroea



The










urban phenomenon59















along the way


21



















0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500



22


times61








century BC64



century


How then can we




























23



Typology



In Macedonia in














scholars69





Yet












24












In fact the term






From this



















25



















religious one


















26























Shifting focus



century BC88







thus









27




Chapter IV























He maintained








28










nomina98























29



Membership






Let us































examples see ibid

30









There are



Thus private




Roman world103










approaches105











evidencerdquo

31












Furthermore



It thus becomes in















his colleagues112



marriage



He might as



32








-3rd

centuries AD







Instead






Let us now









well118









33







curialisrdquo120






the group or not122























34










social strata126





their groups

Organization











administration127






35











organization model

Conclusion
























Poland (1909) 330-423

36




























37


Introduction









This tradition

























two

38




definition137
















revived139
















(1987)

39





















century




knowledge143




suggests that the


Moreover the whole






40










families148






make the 19th






association149






which paid



and






41




































42
























Fraser (1977) 58-70

43

























century AD





the inscriber162







44



































of Nigdelis (2006) 138-146]

45



relative 169















there


treasurer171















46


Another












process














year fare well

good soul








47






He demonstrated his










From this






















21 28

48



Therefore being














identities183























49




down











212 Endowments












other187



They were






50


































51




























tomb195









52















This notion of













endowments




53

















distinctions






it re-













54

endowment203



The


























Conclusion






55
































56


Introduction






dedications209











that211

















57

















Gellner


















58


What




Thus




there












their cities





Such honorific










59



written224





relationrdquo









prominence226





which were













argument

60








What kind of















it is










61


3rd


Its elaborate







We









70 72 74 80) While the

















62



The agora was









Yet the ones

















authorities









63













to strangers241








identity242




culture





ethnic distinction






64


with the city243










The

























65







Tiberius250





Emperor himself

























66



















A vague















67


The sole



specific individual


city258





The exact relation


























68














These












increased

264 Van Nijf (2009) 5 265 Van Nijf (1997) 92 266









69





The stone


cm269




location








examined above






Thus


benefactions




kingdomrdquo272







70

Macedonians274






Olynthus276


Macedonian royalty























festivals280





71





There are though






It is quite





inscription285








relevance
















72



















agoranomos289









In this way the













73





festivals292



business activities










and












Around the mid 3rd








74




































75







-3rd





well298



It is easy to























76

to Asclepius302















around the 3rd







It was














77














material of all the







echelons309












308 Tsochos (2004) 88-9 309 Ibid 88

78



















found311









to the Sarapeion










79


status claims













clubhouse)315











Conclusion







407

80




























groups

81


Introduction












core317





















function

82














In






Sarapis321









late 5th century BC







83










royalty322


local epithets










the Greek world














84


A very






st

centuries BC325

















God327













85

Roman era328











predominant one330


diversity331



at the same




















86

21 Choosing Deities






good impression334















0

2

4

6

8

10

12




87


circumstances335













The








ones339


















88








The text





Loggus341




Such








group344










89


In a









Similarly

















group











90


























Consequently




One of


This suggests that





Eutychia uxore

91


From this





We are dealing with










photo below)358








life This identity

moreover was a loud












92


























illuminating
















93







-

2nd

centuries BC363




Since








tradition




















94









23 Rituals






















In his





95













These
























96

its peers372







The most important



parents























352-6 374 Nigdelis (2010) 32-33 375 Ibid 33

97

















fertility376


















98









sacrificed380





suggests














All the











99

animals down386















It was

















100



the rituals391












objects392


strongly





















101


cityrsquos identity





















memory

Conclusion










102


associations
















103

Conclusion
















and Hellenistic era







different










104






kings














regions















105



























culture








106




















107



built on

1 CIG II Add

1997d







Zeus Hypsistos



διάκονοι

Zeus Hypsistos








(gladiators)

profession





)

Hero God ()


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

19 Koukoli-

Chrysanthaki

235-248







Lyngistis



26 Makedonian

Institutions no 80





108




Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession






συνκλίται

Theos Hypsistos



Egyptian Gods



Πρόκλου

convivial


συνήθεις



Egyptian Gods





Gongylus



Dionysus







profession





Asclepius and

Dionysus








109



Αὐλωνίτου

Hero Auloneites



Aphrodite



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





Ὡροφόρου

Dionysus




Ἀκραίας

and Artemis




Poseidon







77 BCH 56 (1932)

291



79 Spomenik 71

75176


Μεγίστου )

Herakles

80 Spomenik 75

2555


81 Spomenik 77

4120



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





God

Souregethes and

110

Hero God









Isidis

Egyptian Gods




Hercules






Tasibasteni

Liber Pater


Tasibasteni

Liber Pater




Dionysus







112 AE 1948-49

(1951) 36 no 4










Ὑψίστου

Zeus Hypsistos

111

Appendix II Maps




112





113


Aim of the Project









The

















experiences






114

Methodology

































401 Van Nijf (2010) (2011)

115












In this way














Proposed Time Table








(2012)

116















117

Bibliography









Society 31 577-608











Peeters















118



































Steiger Verlag







34 194-220



119














Thames and Hudson







Latomus 602 345-58



Scientifica


Cacucci


London Duckworth



Groningen Groningen






Fink






Press


120









Toronto Press







Press














Duckworth















121




Foundation
































Press


49







122













































123

269-271








Studies 113 99-121














University Press






York Routledge




University Press




Schwersiana








124




Press





University Press


















Ekdotike Athenon





-13th















125
































Publishing













126


























Siebeck











Foundation






Blackwell


127

and Hudson










Steiner Verlag





JC Gieben






Studies















Society 41 187-195








128








York Routledge








MA Wiley-Blackwell














Groningen





3

Abbreviations



























4







1979ndash84


Oxford 1996







4th ed Oxford 2012


Tuumlbingen 2000




1923--

SIG3 Syll


1924


5

Introduction






associations2























2 Wilson (1996) 1






6















th century








necessity10






society12




7





interaction13


of associations14






debates15




order






















8





Publications that




general18





characteristics19










Such comparative
















9



























in the region







10








documented ones26



























11












society

12

Chapter I Macedonia



Yet my



latter

Why Macedonia




5th

century BC30



from the 5th





















13










In addition the





Koinon37





Moreover


-

3rd


Beroea39













occur

14



It



distinct entity42













Macedonia and more







but the






15













16


Introduction













nature47














and






17






















collectivity52








Finally any






18































19



In the map55



province56












0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20






Beroea



The










urban phenomenon59















along the way


21



















0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500



22


times61








century BC64



century


How then can we




























23



Typology



In Macedonia in














scholars69





Yet












24












In fact the term






From this



















25



















religious one


















26























Shifting focus



century BC88







thus









27




Chapter IV























He maintained








28










nomina98























29



Membership






Let us































examples see ibid

30









There are



Thus private




Roman world103










approaches105











evidencerdquo

31












Furthermore



It thus becomes in















his colleagues112



marriage



He might as



32








-3rd

centuries AD







Instead






Let us now









well118









33







curialisrdquo120






the group or not122























34










social strata126





their groups

Organization











administration127






35











organization model

Conclusion
























Poland (1909) 330-423

36




























37


Introduction









This tradition

























two

38




definition137
















revived139
















(1987)

39





















century




knowledge143




suggests that the


Moreover the whole






40










families148






make the 19th






association149






which paid



and






41




































42
























Fraser (1977) 58-70

43

























century AD





the inscriber162







44



































of Nigdelis (2006) 138-146]

45



relative 169















there


treasurer171















46


Another












process














year fare well

good soul








47






He demonstrated his










From this






















21 28

48



Therefore being














identities183























49




down











212 Endowments












other187



They were






50


































51




























tomb195









52















This notion of













endowments




53

















distinctions






it re-













54

endowment203



The


























Conclusion






55
































56


Introduction






dedications209











that211

















57

















Gellner


















58


What




Thus




there












their cities





Such honorific










59



written224





relationrdquo









prominence226





which were













argument

60








What kind of















it is










61


3rd


Its elaborate







We









70 72 74 80) While the

















62



The agora was









Yet the ones

















authorities









63













to strangers241








identity242




culture





ethnic distinction






64


with the city243










The

























65







Tiberius250





Emperor himself

























66



















A vague















67


The sole



specific individual


city258





The exact relation


























68














These












increased

264 Van Nijf (2009) 5 265 Van Nijf (1997) 92 266









69





The stone


cm269




location








examined above






Thus


benefactions




kingdomrdquo272







70

Macedonians274






Olynthus276


Macedonian royalty























festivals280





71





There are though






It is quite





inscription285








relevance
















72



















agoranomos289









In this way the













73





festivals292



business activities










and












Around the mid 3rd








74




































75







-3rd





well298



It is easy to























76

to Asclepius302















around the 3rd







It was














77














material of all the







echelons309












308 Tsochos (2004) 88-9 309 Ibid 88

78



















found311









to the Sarapeion










79


status claims













clubhouse)315











Conclusion







407

80




























groups

81


Introduction












core317





















function

82














In






Sarapis321









late 5th century BC







83










royalty322


local epithets










the Greek world














84


A very






st

centuries BC325

















God327













85

Roman era328











predominant one330


diversity331



at the same




















86

21 Choosing Deities






good impression334















0

2

4

6

8

10

12




87


circumstances335













The








ones339


















88








The text





Loggus341




Such








group344










89


In a









Similarly

















group











90


























Consequently




One of


This suggests that





Eutychia uxore

91


From this





We are dealing with










photo below)358








life This identity

moreover was a loud












92


























illuminating
















93







-

2nd

centuries BC363




Since








tradition




















94









23 Rituals






















In his





95













These
























96

its peers372







The most important



parents























352-6 374 Nigdelis (2010) 32-33 375 Ibid 33

97

















fertility376


















98









sacrificed380





suggests














All the











99

animals down386















It was

















100



the rituals391












objects392


strongly





















101


cityrsquos identity





















memory

Conclusion










102


associations
















103

Conclusion
















and Hellenistic era







different










104






kings














regions















105



























culture








106




















107



built on

1 CIG II Add

1997d







Zeus Hypsistos



διάκονοι

Zeus Hypsistos








(gladiators)

profession





)

Hero God ()


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

19 Koukoli-

Chrysanthaki

235-248







Lyngistis



26 Makedonian

Institutions no 80





108




Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession






συνκλίται

Theos Hypsistos



Egyptian Gods



Πρόκλου

convivial


συνήθεις



Egyptian Gods





Gongylus



Dionysus







profession





Asclepius and

Dionysus








109



Αὐλωνίτου

Hero Auloneites



Aphrodite



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





Ὡροφόρου

Dionysus




Ἀκραίας

and Artemis




Poseidon







77 BCH 56 (1932)

291



79 Spomenik 71

75176


Μεγίστου )

Herakles

80 Spomenik 75

2555


81 Spomenik 77

4120



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





God

Souregethes and

110

Hero God









Isidis

Egyptian Gods




Hercules






Tasibasteni

Liber Pater


Tasibasteni

Liber Pater




Dionysus







112 AE 1948-49

(1951) 36 no 4










Ὑψίστου

Zeus Hypsistos

111

Appendix II Maps




112





113


Aim of the Project









The

















experiences






114

Methodology

































401 Van Nijf (2010) (2011)

115












In this way














Proposed Time Table








(2012)

116















117

Bibliography









Society 31 577-608











Peeters















118



































Steiger Verlag







34 194-220



119














Thames and Hudson







Latomus 602 345-58



Scientifica


Cacucci


London Duckworth



Groningen Groningen






Fink






Press


120









Toronto Press







Press














Duckworth















121




Foundation
































Press


49







122













































123

269-271








Studies 113 99-121














University Press






York Routledge




University Press




Schwersiana








124




Press





University Press


















Ekdotike Athenon





-13th















125
































Publishing













126


























Siebeck











Foundation






Blackwell


127

and Hudson










Steiner Verlag





JC Gieben






Studies















Society 41 187-195








128








York Routledge








MA Wiley-Blackwell














Groningen





4







1979ndash84


Oxford 1996







4th ed Oxford 2012


Tuumlbingen 2000




1923--

SIG3 Syll


1924


5

Introduction






associations2























2 Wilson (1996) 1






6















th century








necessity10






society12




7





interaction13


of associations14






debates15




order






















8





Publications that




general18





characteristics19










Such comparative
















9



























in the region







10








documented ones26



























11












society

12

Chapter I Macedonia



Yet my



latter

Why Macedonia




5th

century BC30



from the 5th





















13










In addition the





Koinon37





Moreover


-

3rd


Beroea39













occur

14



It



distinct entity42













Macedonia and more







but the






15













16


Introduction













nature47














and






17






















collectivity52








Finally any






18































19



In the map55



province56












0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20






Beroea



The










urban phenomenon59















along the way


21



















0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500



22


times61








century BC64



century


How then can we




























23



Typology



In Macedonia in














scholars69





Yet












24












In fact the term






From this



















25



















religious one


















26























Shifting focus



century BC88







thus









27




Chapter IV























He maintained








28










nomina98























29



Membership






Let us































examples see ibid

30









There are



Thus private




Roman world103










approaches105











evidencerdquo

31












Furthermore



It thus becomes in















his colleagues112



marriage



He might as



32








-3rd

centuries AD







Instead






Let us now









well118









33







curialisrdquo120






the group or not122























34










social strata126





their groups

Organization











administration127






35











organization model

Conclusion
























Poland (1909) 330-423

36




























37


Introduction









This tradition

























two

38




definition137
















revived139
















(1987)

39





















century




knowledge143




suggests that the


Moreover the whole






40










families148






make the 19th






association149






which paid



and






41




































42
























Fraser (1977) 58-70

43

























century AD





the inscriber162







44



































of Nigdelis (2006) 138-146]

45



relative 169















there


treasurer171















46


Another












process














year fare well

good soul








47






He demonstrated his










From this






















21 28

48



Therefore being














identities183























49




down











212 Endowments












other187



They were






50


































51




























tomb195









52















This notion of













endowments




53

















distinctions






it re-













54

endowment203



The


























Conclusion






55
































56


Introduction






dedications209











that211

















57

















Gellner


















58


What




Thus




there












their cities





Such honorific










59



written224





relationrdquo









prominence226





which were













argument

60








What kind of















it is










61


3rd


Its elaborate







We









70 72 74 80) While the

















62



The agora was









Yet the ones

















authorities









63













to strangers241








identity242




culture





ethnic distinction






64


with the city243










The

























65







Tiberius250





Emperor himself

























66



















A vague















67


The sole



specific individual


city258





The exact relation


























68














These












increased

264 Van Nijf (2009) 5 265 Van Nijf (1997) 92 266









69





The stone


cm269




location








examined above






Thus


benefactions




kingdomrdquo272







70

Macedonians274






Olynthus276


Macedonian royalty























festivals280





71





There are though






It is quite





inscription285








relevance
















72



















agoranomos289









In this way the













73





festivals292



business activities










and












Around the mid 3rd








74




































75







-3rd





well298



It is easy to























76

to Asclepius302















around the 3rd







It was














77














material of all the







echelons309












308 Tsochos (2004) 88-9 309 Ibid 88

78



















found311









to the Sarapeion










79


status claims













clubhouse)315











Conclusion







407

80




























groups

81


Introduction












core317





















function

82














In






Sarapis321









late 5th century BC







83










royalty322


local epithets










the Greek world














84


A very






st

centuries BC325

















God327













85

Roman era328











predominant one330


diversity331



at the same




















86

21 Choosing Deities






good impression334















0

2

4

6

8

10

12




87


circumstances335













The








ones339


















88








The text





Loggus341




Such








group344










89


In a









Similarly

















group











90


























Consequently




One of


This suggests that





Eutychia uxore

91


From this





We are dealing with










photo below)358








life This identity

moreover was a loud












92


























illuminating
















93







-

2nd

centuries BC363




Since








tradition




















94









23 Rituals






















In his





95













These
























96

its peers372







The most important



parents























352-6 374 Nigdelis (2010) 32-33 375 Ibid 33

97

















fertility376


















98









sacrificed380





suggests














All the











99

animals down386















It was

















100



the rituals391












objects392


strongly





















101


cityrsquos identity





















memory

Conclusion










102


associations
















103

Conclusion
















and Hellenistic era







different










104






kings














regions















105



























culture








106




















107



built on

1 CIG II Add

1997d







Zeus Hypsistos



διάκονοι

Zeus Hypsistos








(gladiators)

profession





)

Hero God ()


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

19 Koukoli-

Chrysanthaki

235-248







Lyngistis



26 Makedonian

Institutions no 80





108




Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession






συνκλίται

Theos Hypsistos



Egyptian Gods



Πρόκλου

convivial


συνήθεις



Egyptian Gods





Gongylus



Dionysus







profession





Asclepius and

Dionysus








109



Αὐλωνίτου

Hero Auloneites



Aphrodite



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





Ὡροφόρου

Dionysus




Ἀκραίας

and Artemis




Poseidon







77 BCH 56 (1932)

291



79 Spomenik 71

75176


Μεγίστου )

Herakles

80 Spomenik 75

2555


81 Spomenik 77

4120



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





God

Souregethes and

110

Hero God









Isidis

Egyptian Gods




Hercules






Tasibasteni

Liber Pater


Tasibasteni

Liber Pater




Dionysus







112 AE 1948-49

(1951) 36 no 4










Ὑψίστου

Zeus Hypsistos

111

Appendix II Maps




112





113


Aim of the Project









The

















experiences






114

Methodology

































401 Van Nijf (2010) (2011)

115












In this way














Proposed Time Table








(2012)

116















117

Bibliography









Society 31 577-608











Peeters















118



































Steiger Verlag







34 194-220



119














Thames and Hudson







Latomus 602 345-58



Scientifica


Cacucci


London Duckworth



Groningen Groningen






Fink






Press


120









Toronto Press







Press














Duckworth















121




Foundation
































Press


49







122













































123

269-271








Studies 113 99-121














University Press






York Routledge




University Press




Schwersiana








124




Press





University Press


















Ekdotike Athenon





-13th















125
































Publishing













126


























Siebeck











Foundation






Blackwell


127

and Hudson










Steiner Verlag





JC Gieben






Studies















Society 41 187-195








128








York Routledge








MA Wiley-Blackwell














Groningen





5

Introduction






associations2























2 Wilson (1996) 1






6















th century








necessity10






society12




7





interaction13


of associations14






debates15




order






















8





Publications that




general18





characteristics19










Such comparative
















9



























in the region







10








documented ones26



























11












society

12

Chapter I Macedonia



Yet my



latter

Why Macedonia




5th

century BC30



from the 5th





















13










In addition the





Koinon37





Moreover


-

3rd


Beroea39













occur

14



It



distinct entity42













Macedonia and more







but the






15













16


Introduction













nature47














and






17






















collectivity52








Finally any






18































19



In the map55



province56












0

10

20

30

40

50

60

20






Beroea



The










urban phenomenon59















along the way


21



















0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500



22


times61








century BC64



century


How then can we




























23



Typology



In Macedonia in














scholars69





Yet












24












In fact the term






From this



















25



















religious one


















26























Shifting focus



century BC88







thus









27




Chapter IV























He maintained








28










nomina98























29



Membership






Let us































examples see ibid

30









There are



Thus private




Roman world103










approaches105











evidencerdquo

31












Furthermore



It thus becomes in















his colleagues112



marriage



He might as



32








-3rd

centuries AD







Instead






Let us now









well118









33







curialisrdquo120






the group or not122























34










social strata126





their groups

Organization











administration127






35











organization model

Conclusion
























Poland (1909) 330-423

36




























37


Introduction









This tradition

























two

38




definition137
















revived139
















(1987)

39





















century




knowledge143




suggests that the


Moreover the whole






40










families148






make the 19th






association149






which paid



and






41




































42
























Fraser (1977) 58-70

43

























century AD





the inscriber162







44



































of Nigdelis (2006) 138-146]

45



relative 169















there


treasurer171















46


Another












process














year fare well

good soul








47






He demonstrated his










From this






















21 28

48



Therefore being














identities183























49




down











212 Endowments












other187



They were






50


































51




























tomb195









52















This notion of













endowments




53

















distinctions






it re-













54

endowment203



The


























Conclusion






55
































56


Introduction






dedications209











that211

















57

















Gellner


















58


What




Thus




there












their cities





Such honorific










59



written224





relationrdquo









prominence226





which were













argument

60








What kind of















it is










61


3rd


Its elaborate







We









70 72 74 80) While the

















62



The agora was









Yet the ones

















authorities









63













to strangers241








identity242




culture





ethnic distinction






64


with the city243










The

























65







Tiberius250





Emperor himself

























66



















A vague















67


The sole



specific individual


city258





The exact relation


























68














These












increased

264 Van Nijf (2009) 5 265 Van Nijf (1997) 92 266









69





The stone


cm269




location








examined above






Thus


benefactions




kingdomrdquo272







70

Macedonians274






Olynthus276


Macedonian royalty























festivals280





71





There are though






It is quite





inscription285








relevance
















72



















agoranomos289









In this way the













73





festivals292



business activities










and












Around the mid 3rd








74




































75







-3rd





well298



It is easy to























76

to Asclepius302















around the 3rd







It was














77














material of all the







echelons309












308 Tsochos (2004) 88-9 309 Ibid 88

78



















found311









to the Sarapeion










79


status claims













clubhouse)315











Conclusion







407

80




























groups

81


Introduction












core317





















function

82














In






Sarapis321









late 5th century BC







83










royalty322


local epithets










the Greek world














84


A very






st

centuries BC325

















God327













85

Roman era328











predominant one330


diversity331



at the same




















86

21 Choosing Deities






good impression334















0

2

4

6

8

10

12




87


circumstances335













The








ones339


















88








The text





Loggus341




Such








group344










89


In a









Similarly

















group











90


























Consequently




One of


This suggests that





Eutychia uxore

91


From this





We are dealing with










photo below)358








life This identity

moreover was a loud












92


























illuminating
















93







-

2nd

centuries BC363




Since








tradition




















94









23 Rituals






















In his





95













These
























96

its peers372







The most important



parents























352-6 374 Nigdelis (2010) 32-33 375 Ibid 33

97

















fertility376


















98









sacrificed380





suggests














All the











99

animals down386















It was

















100



the rituals391












objects392


strongly





















101


cityrsquos identity





















memory

Conclusion










102


associations
















103

Conclusion
















and Hellenistic era







different










104






kings














regions















105



























culture








106




















107



built on

1 CIG II Add

1997d







Zeus Hypsistos



διάκονοι

Zeus Hypsistos








(gladiators)

profession





)

Hero God ()


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession

19 Koukoli-

Chrysanthaki

235-248







Lyngistis



26 Makedonian

Institutions no 80





108




Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession






συνκλίται

Theos Hypsistos



Egyptian Gods



Πρόκλου

convivial


συνήθεις



Egyptian Gods





Gongylus



Dionysus







profession





Asclepius and

Dionysus








109



Αὐλωνίτου

Hero Auloneites



Aphrodite



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





Ὡροφόρου

Dionysus




Ἀκραίας

and Artemis




Poseidon







77 BCH 56 (1932)

291



79 Spomenik 71

75176


Μεγίστου )

Herakles

80 Spomenik 75

2555


81 Spomenik 77

4120



Ῥωμαῖοι

profession


Ῥωμαῖοι

profession





God

Souregethes and

110

Hero God









Isidis

Egyptian Gods




Hercules






Tasibasteni

Liber Pater


Tasibasteni

Liber Pater




Dionysus







112 AE 1948-49

(1951) 36 no 4










Ὑψίστου

Zeus Hypsistos

111

Appendix II Maps




112





113


Aim of the Project









The

















experiences






114

Methodology

































401 Van Nijf (2010) (2011)

115












In this way














Proposed Time Table








(2012)

116















117

Bibliography









Society 31 577-608











Peeters















118



































Steiger Verlag







34 194-220



119














Thames and Hudson







Latomus 602 345-58



Scientifica


Cacucci


London Duckworth



Groningen Groningen






Fink






Press


120









Toronto Press







Press














Duckworth















121




Foundation
































Press


49







122













































123

269-271








Studies 113 99-121














University Press






York Routledge




University Press




Schwersiana








124




Press





University Press


















Ekdotike Athenon





-13th















125
































Publishing













126


























Siebeck











Foundation






Blackwell


127

and Hudson










Steiner Verlag





JC Gieben






Studies















Society 41 187-195








128








York Routledge








MA Wiley-Blackwell














Groningen





Documents

For the Living, the Dead, and the Divine Private Associations in Roman Macedonia