Emperors and Kings in procession

Sources on processions related to rulers in Hellenistic and Roman times

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Priene

Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Aulus Aemilius Zosimos

Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Aulus Aemilius Zosimos

TITLE:
Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Aulus Aemilius Zosimos
DATE:
c. 84/81 BC
TEXT:
I.Pri. 112-113 = SEG 39 1264

HILLER VON GAERTRINGEN (1906): Inschriften Von Priene, Georg Reimer, Berlin
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:
I.Pri. 111 (English)

CARBONNEAU, I (1988): “L’évergétisme à Priène à la fin de l’époque hellénistique”, PhD Dissertation, Université Laval, pp. 45-52 (French)
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
ἐπόμ̣πευσε (I.Pri. 112, l. 117)
Word used to mean the cult images:
ἑρμᾶς δύο (I.Pri. 112, l. 114)
 
Gods or other entities named:
The goddess Athena (I.Pri. 112, l. 103)
Description of the cult images:
Zosimos adorned the gymnasium, setting up two herms in front of the exedra of the ephebes (I.Pri. 112, l. 114-115, τὸ γυμνάσιον ἐκόσμησε, ἀναθ[ε]ὶς ἑρμᾶς δύο πρὸ τῆς ἐφηβικῆ[ς] ἐξέ[δρας)
Procession’s route:
In the streets of Priene
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Yearly, the festival of Panathenaia (I.Pri. 112, l. 102)
Performers:
As the supervisor of the Panathenaia festival, Zosimos led the procession (I.Pri. 112, l. 104-106, [ἡ]μ̣ῶν προσ[τάτιδ]α θε̣ό<ν,> ἐπόμ̣πευσε μὲν κατὰ τὰ εἰθισ[μέ]να [μ]ετὰ τῶν [βο?]ηγῶν)
References to the public attending the procession:
Rites related to the procession:
As the leader of the Panathenea procession, Zosimos offered a sacrifice of oxen on behalf of the city, he presented a prize to the ephebes for wearing fine armour, and he distributed the meat from the sacrifice to the magistracies and the councillors and to those who ran the long distance race and to the trainers around the place and to the public officials (I.Pri. 112, l. 108-112, π[αρ]έσστησεν δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως βοϊ[κ]ὴν θυσίαν· ἔθη[κε]ν δὲ καλλιοπλίας τοῖς ἐφήβοις ἆθλον· διένειμεν [δὲ τ]ὰ ἀπὸ τῆς ἱερουργίας ταῖς τε συναρχίαις καὶ βουλευταῖς κα[ὶ τ]οῖς τὸν μακρὸν τροχάσασιν δρόμον κ[αὶ] τοῖς περὶ τὸν τό[π]ον̣ π̣α̣[ι]δευταῖς καὶ δημοσίοις)
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:
Zosimos was honoured in these two decrees for his service as gymnasiarch and for his service as stephanephoros (“city presient/governor” of Priene). It is noticeable that Zosimos had adopted a Roman name
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1972, n.337

PLEKET, H.W., “SEG 39-1264. Priene. Honorary decree for Zosimos, after 84 B.C.”, in: Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Current editors: A. T. E. N. Chaniotis Corsten Stavrianopolou Papazarkadas. Consulted online on 29 October 2021

Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Krates

Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Krates

TITLE:
Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Krates
DATE:
c. 89 BC
TEXT:
I.Pri. 111 = SEG 65 1077 [*IPriene 111; **Holleaux, BCH 31, 1907, 387 (ll. 116, 119, 132, 141, 142-3); **Wilhelm, WS 29, 1907, 21 (l. 308); **Wilhelm, NB 52-3 (ll. 176); **Robert, RA 24, 1926, 181 (l. 120); SEG 4, 493; **Hellenica 9, 75-6 (l. 188-189); **Migeotte, L’emprunt public no. 95 (ll. 200-201); BE 1987:221 (p. 308)]

HILLER VON GAERTRINGEN (1906): Inschriften Von Priene, Georg Reimer, Berlin
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:
I.Pri. 111 (English)
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
πομπ[εύσ]ας (l. 179) 
ἐκφοράς (l. 307, “a carrying out of a corpse to burial” = a funeral procession)
Word used to mean the cult images:
χαλκῆν ε̣[…]ων (l. 302-304)
Gods or other entities named:
The most revered goddess (l. 180, σεμνοτάτης θε[ᾶς) = Athena)
Description of the cult images:
Procession’s route:
In the streets of Priene
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
The funeral procession, yearly?
Performers:
While he was alive, Krates led the procession as stephanophoros or “city president” of Priene. When he died, he was crowned [with a golden crown in his funeral procession (l. 307, στεφα[νῶσαι] αὐτὸν [ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκφορᾶς στεφάνωι χρυσέω), and in his funeral procession took part the paidonomos with the boys and the gymnasiarch of the youths accompanied by the ephebes and the youths and the generals with the other citizens (l. 311-312, συ]ν̣ακολουθῆσ̣αι δὲ τ[ῆ]ι ἐκφορᾶι [τόν τε] π̣αι[δονόμον μετὰ τῶν παίδων καὶ τὸν γυμνασίαρχον] τῶν νέ[ων ἔχ]οντα̣ τοὺς ἐφήβους καὶ τοὺς νέους κα[ὶ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν)
References to the public attending the procession:
Any citizen who wishes to crown Krates during his funeral procession was be able to do so (l. 309-310, ἐξεῖναι δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆι ἐκφορᾶι τῶν] λοιπ[ῶν τὸν β]ουλόμενον στεφανοῦν Κράτητα)
Rites related to the procession:
As the leader of the procession Krates offered the sacrifices to the goddess and he prayed earnestly for the city to have the best fortune and he sacrificed favourably on behalf of the safety of the citizens of the city and its territory (l. 180-182, καὶ παραστήσας τῆι θεᾶι τὰς θυσίας καὶ κ[ατευξάμε]νος μὲν [κάλλι]στα τῶι δήμωι καὶ καλλιερήσας ὑπέρ τε τῆς τῶν πο[λιτῶν σωτ]ηρίας καὶ ε̣[ὐξάμενος ὑπέρ τε τῶν πο]λ̣ι̣[τῶν καὶ τ]ῶ̣ν κατοικούντων τήν τε πόλιν καὶ τὴν χώραν)
 
Meals in the prytaneion (city hall, seat of government of the city) and in the Panionion (an Ionian sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon Helikonios and the meeting place of the Ionian League, the sanctuary was under the control of the Ionian city of Priene) (l. 311-312, εἶναι δὲ] [αὐ]τῶ[ι σίτησι]ν μὲν [ἐν πρυτανεί]ωι̣ [καὶ ἐν Πανιωνίωι καὶ μετουσίαν τῶν συντελουμένων ἱερῶν). Sacred rites and sacrifices were performed in the council (l. 313-314, καὶ θυ]σιῶν ἐν [τῆι β]ουλῆι)
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:
Krates had an important role in resolving the disputes in which Priene was involved at the time, but much of the long inscription in his honour has been lost, and the frequent gaps can make it difficult to follow the sense. The official announcement of the death of Krates and of his funeral procession is made by the councillors in the city agora (l. 307-308, ποιήσασθαι δὲ] τὴν ἀναγόρευσιν τοὺ<ς> ἐσομ[έ]νο[υς] τό<τε> γραμμα[τεῖ]ς τῆς [βουλῆς καὶ τοῦ δήμου ἐν τῆι ἀγορᾶι)

Krates’ funeral crown is supplied  by the neopoies of the city, the “temple warden”, an official in various Greek cities such as Priene (l. 309, στέφανον χορηγῆσαι τὸν νεωποίην τῆς πόλεως [τὸ] ἀν[άλωμα) 
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1972, n.337

CHANIOTIS, A., CORSTEN, T., PAPAZARKADAS, N. AND TYBOUT, R.A., “SEG 65-1077. Priene. Honorary inscriptions for Krates and for Herakleitos, after 90 B.C.”, in: Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Current editors: A. T. E. N. Chaniotis Corsten Stavrianopolou Papazarkadas. Consulted online on 29 October 2021

TSIGARIDA, I. (2015): “Salt in Asia Minor. An outline of Roman authority interest in the resource”. In: P. Erdkamp, K. Verboven, and A. Zuiderhoek (eds.), Ownership and Exploitation of Land and Natural Resources in the Roman World, Oxford

WALLACE, Ch. (2014): “Ager publicus in the Greek East: I. Priene 111 and other examples of resistance to the publicani”, Historia 63.1, pp. 38-73

Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Moschion Kydimou

Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Moschion Kydimou

TITLE:
Honorary decree of the boule and demos of Priene for Moschion Kydimou
DATE:
129/100 BC
TEXT:
I.Pri. 108 = SEG 39 1262 [Holleaux, BCH 31, 1907. 385-386 (ll. 28, 30, 39-40, 54, 56, 61, 171, 222, 372); **Wilhelm, WS 29, 1907, 19-20 (ll. 59, 216, 377); **Graindor, Mus. belge 11, 1907, 127 (l. 45); **Wilhelm, NB VI 51-2 (ll. 104-5); **Robert, RPh 53, 1927, 100, note 1 (l. 74); SEG 4, 491; **Koerner, Philologus 108, 1964, 140-2 (l. 258); Migeotte, L’emprunt public no. 94]

HILLER VON GAERTRINGEN (1906): Inschriften Von Priene, Georg Reimer, Berlin
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:
I.Pri. 108 (English)

CARBONNEAU, I (1988): “L’évergétisme à Priène à la fin de l’époque hellénistique”, PhD Dissertation, Université Laval, pp.45-52 (French)
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
προεπ̣[όμπευσεν] (l. 281, vb. προπομπεύω, “go before in a procession”)
Word used to mean the cult images:
εἰκόνι χρυσῆι (l. 5, 317-318)
Gods or other entities named:
Olympian Zeus (Διὸς τοῦ Ὀλυμπίου, l. 254); Olympian [Zeus] 260 and Hera and Athena Polias and Pan Arogos ([Διὶ τ]ῶι Ὀλυμπίωι καὶ τῆι Ἥραι καὶ τῆι Ἀθηνᾶι τῆι Πολιάδι καὶ [τῶι Πα]νὶ τῶι Ἀρωγῷ, l. 26-261)
Description of the cult images:
Procession’s route:
In the streets of Priene
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Performers:
Moschion, while he was alive, as stephanophoros or “city president” of Priene (Grainger 1997, p. 473), i.e. “garland-wearer”, the eponymous magistrate of some Hellenistic cities such as Priene, Miletus or Magnesia; the title could also be given to high-ranking priests. Througout his time as stephanophoros
Moschion led a procession in the festival of Panathenaia with a cow worthy of Athena (l. 281-282, προεπ̣[όμπευσεν δὲ καὶ ἐν τῆι τῶν Πανα]θηναίων ἑορτῆι βοῒ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶ[ς ἀξίαι)

When Moschion died, the funeral procession was followed by  the paidonomoi (officials in Greek cities, responsible for the training of boys who were younger than ephebes) with the boys and the gymnasiarch bringing the ephebes and the youths and the generals with the other citizens (l. 366-370, συνακολουθῆσαι δὲ] [τῆι ἐκφορᾶι τού]ς [τε π]αι[δο]νόμους [μετὰ τῶν] παίδων [καὶ] τὸγ γυμνασίαρχον ἔχο[ντα τούς] τε ἐφήβους καὶ τοὺς νέους καὶ τοὺ[ς στρατηγοὺς] μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν)
References to the public attending the procession:
The procession was so splendid that Moschion received the approbation from the foreigners who were staying in the city during the Panathenaia (l. 85-87, ἐπιφανῆι τὴν πρὸς π[άντας εὔνοιαν ἀποδειξάμενος,] ὥστε καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἐπιδεδ̣[ημηκόσι τῶν ξένων ἀποδοχῆς τῆς] μεγίστης τετευχένα)
Rites related to the procession:
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Moschion gave a demonstration of his absolute devoutness towards the gods by leading the procession (l. 281-282, προεπ̣[όμπευσεν δὲ καὶ ἐν τῆι τῶν Πανα]θηναίων ἑορτῆι βοῒ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶ[ς ἀξίαι)
Other remarkable elements:
By the time of this decree, a benefactor was often distinguished more by his regular handouts from his personal wealth than by his exploits in the service of the state; this long inscription contains one of the most detailed surviving accounts of the career of a local benefactor in Hellenistic times, Moschion’s career lasted well over twenty years, from the reign of Demetrios I of Syria (161-150 B.C.) up until the Roman settlement of Asia Minor in 129 B.C. Cf. Horster and Klöckner (2013, p. 133): “[Moschion] was not being honoured exclusivley in his capacity as a priestly officer, but also as an important benefactor of the city”.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1972, n.337

ECKARD, A. (2012): “Female patronage and economic prominence at Hellenistic Priene”, All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). 735, p. 13

GRAINGER, J. D. (1997): A Seleukid Prosopography and Gazetteer, Brill, Leiden, p. 473 

HORSTER, M.; Klöckner, A. (eds.) (2013): Cities and priests cult personnel in Asia Minor and theAegean Islands, De Gruyter, Berlin, p. 133, 166

SERES, D. (2017): “Dynamics of public memory in Hellenistic Priene: a case study”. In: Bajnok, Dániel (ed.): Alia miscellanea antiquitatum. Proceedings of the Second Croatian–Hungarian PhD Conference on Ancient History and Archaeology. Budapest-Debrecen, pp. 189–200

PLEKET, H.W., “SEG 39-1262. Priene. Honorary decree for Moschion, after 129 B.C.”, in: Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Current editors: A. T. E. N. Chaniotis Corsten Stavrianopolou Papazarkadas. Consulted online on 28 October 2021

Nikomedes II’s pompe in Priene

Nikomedes II’s pompe in Priene

TITLE:
Nikomedes II’s pompe in Priene
DATE:
c. 128-127 BC
TEXT:
IvP 55 (Inschriften von Priene): Beschluß des ionischen Bundes für Dionysios aus Priene, Priester des Königs Nikomedes Epiphanes
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:

KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
πομπή (l. 15)
Word used to mean the cult images:
Gods or other entities named:
Dionysus (l. 8)
Description of the cult images:
Procession’s route:
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Performers:
The priest of Nikomedes II (l. 11)
References to the public attending the procession:
Rites related to the procession:
Sacrifices (l. 13) 
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1968, n.299

Lysimachus’ pompe in Priene

Lysimachus’ pompe in Priene

TITLE:
Lysimachus’ pompe in Priene
DATE:
c. 285 BC
TEXT:
OGIS 11 = I.Priene 14
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:
OGIS 11 = I.Priene 14
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
πομπή (l. 21, καὶ πομπ̣ὴ[ν π]έμπε[ιν)
Word used to mean the cult images:
ἄγαλμα (l. 15, καὶ] ἄγαλμα χαλκοῦν) 
βωμὸν (l. 17)
Gods or other entities named:
Description of the cult images:
A bronze statue of him (l. 15, ἄγαλμα χαλκοῦν)  

An altar both erected in the agora (l. 17, καὶ βωμὸν αὐ[τοῦ ἐν τῆι ἀγορᾶι) 

A [gold] crown of 1000 staters (l. 14-15, στεφά[ν]ωι [χρυσῶι] ἀπὸ χρυσῶν χιλίων)
Procession’s route:
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Every year sacrifices on the king’s altar (l. 19, καθ’ ἕκασ]τον ἐνιαυτὸν) as well as every year took place the procession on the day of the king’s birthday (l. 22-23, τοῖς γενεθλίοις βασιλέως Λυσιμάχου)
Performers:
The priests and the colleges of magistrates and all the citizens (l. 21-22, πομπ̣ὴ[ν π]έμπε[ιν το]ύς τε ἱερεῖς καὶ τὰς συναρχ[ίας] καὶ τοὺς πολίτας πά̣[ντας)
References to the public attending the procession:
All the citizens wearing garlands (l. 20, στεφαν̣ηφορεῖν [τ]ο̣[ὺ]ς̣ πολ̣ί[τ]α̣ς ἅπαν[τας])
Rites related to the procession:
The priests and the priestesses of the city shall sacrifice on the altar every year (l. 18-20, καὶ θύειν καθ’ ἕκασ]τον ἐνιαυτὸν [τούς τε ἱερεῖς καὶ τὰς ἱερείας τὰς κατὰ] τὴμ πόλιν); sacrifices on the day of the procession (l. 24, θύματα)
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:

Lysimachos (l. 1, Βασιλεῖ [Λυσιμάχωι.], c. 360 BC – 281 BC), king of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon since 306 BC, had intervened to protect the city of Priene from an attack by the city of Magnesia supported by the local population; in return, Priene then established a cult of Lysimachos 
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1968, n.297

Helen, S. L. (2002): Lysimachus: a study in early Hellenistic kingship, Routledge, London

Seres, D. (2017): “Dynamics of public memory in Hellenistic Priene: a case study”. In: Bajnok, Dániel (ed.), ALIA MISCELLANEA ANTIQUITATUM. Proceedings of the Second Croatian–Hungarian PhD Conference on Ancient History and Archaeology. Budapest-Debrecen, pp. 189–200