AgoraXVIII 315 Altar for Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus

Altar for Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus

Agora XVIII 315 Date: 162 AD

in corona: ἀγαθῆι τύχῃ. νείκην Αὐτοκρά- τορσι δι[ὰ] σ̣ύ⟨μ⟩πον̣ίας φιλαδέλφοις. vac.

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Translated text

References:

Agora XVIII 315 (Translated text) (AIO)

SEG 23.109 (PHI)

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Agora Excavations - (1)
Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Altar

Inscription type: Dedication (emperor), Metrical (dactylic hexameter)

Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 4039)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This altar, inscribed with a dactylic hexameter acclamation calling for victory of a pair of co-regent emperors is best associated with the (adoptive) brothers, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Marcus and Lucius are also called brother-loving (philadelphoi) emperors in I Eleusis 486 and IG II² 3405-3406 and the ephebes celebrated a festival called the Philadelphia in their honour (AIO Papers 12, pp. 40-44). The occasion for its erection was probably Lucius Verus' visit to Athens in 162 AD on his way to lead the Roman forces in war against Parthia (see I Eleusis 483, ll. 23-26 and 484; other evidence for the visit is collected in T. D. Barnes, JRS 57, 1967, 71; S. Follet, Athènes, 1976, 55, 136 n. 8). Such altars are often associated with an Imperial visit. For other altars dedicated to the pair, see IG II² 3403-3406. For altars dedicated to Augustus and Hadrian, see A. Benjamin and A. E. Raubitschek, Hesperia 28 (1959), 65-83 and Benjamin, Altars of Hadrian 7, respectively. The wreath is depicted with a round medallion tying it together at top. The upper surface is round and shows remains of a firepan. Traces of a moulding cut away on the right-hand side derive from an earlier use.

Added: 6 Mar 2026
Updated: 6 Mar 2026
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ID: AIO_3594