ChoixDelphes 213 Statue base of Augustus at Delphi

Statue base of Augustus at Delphi

Choix de Delphes 213 Date: 12 BC - 14 AD

The people of Athens for the [preservation (sōtērias)] of all the [Greeks] (erected this image of) (5)Emperor Caesar God [Augustus], Pontifex Maximus . . . . . . ^[1]

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Greek text

References:

Choix de Delphes 213 (Translated text) (AIO)

SEG 19.401 (PHI)

Translation by: Hannes Freitag

Monument type: Base or herm?

Inscription type: Herm (People)?

Fr. a - Findspot: Delphi (Delphi Museum 2188+3788)
Fr. b - Findspot: Delphi (Delphi Museum 3181)
Fr. c - Findspot: Delphi (Delphi Museum 143)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This inscription labelled an image of Augustus erected by the Athenians at Delphi (on Attic inscriptions at Delphi, see IG II³ 4, 17 with notes). The limestone block is broken but four fragments survive, two of which join. The text of the inscription is restored from a similar Athenian base from Delos (I Délos 1591). It was erected after 12 BC, when Augustus assumed the role of pontifex maximus. The dedications at Delphi and Delos may have commemorated the assumption of this title (M. Kantiréa, Les dieux et les dieux Augustes, 2007, 50), but this is not explicit in the inscriptions, so they might post-date it. They probably predate Augustus' death in 14 AD, however, since his titulature is given in full, which would be uncommon for a deceased emperor (cf. Gradel, Emperor Worship, 2002, 332). The inscription has been associated with the so-called ‘pillar of the Nicopolitans’ at Delphi (J. Bousquet, BCH 87, 1963, 196; Woodhead in SEG 19.401), but the small size of the surviving fragments (38-39 cm wide and a bit over 31 cm high) point to a separate, smaller dedication (cf. Choix de Delphes, p. 399), possibly a herm portrait rather than a life-size statue (J. Bousquet, BCH 85, 1961, 89).

Bousquet restores the badly damaged lines 3 to 5 with the formula “for the preservation of all the Greeks”, a traditional formula also found in the honorary decree for Lykourgos (cf. AIO 871, frg. b, l. 15) and in the decrees concerning the Delphian festival of the Soteria (IG XII 4, 1 68, ll. 19-20; 24-25; 40; F.Delphes III 3, 215, ll. 5-6; cf. Bousquet 1961, 90); in an Athenian decree on cult practices for Apollo from 129/8 BC, the god is named as “common preserver of all the Greeks” (SEG 21.469, l. 10). Further parallels are found in statue bases for Julius Caesar from Ephesos (Syll.³ 760, ll. 6-7), Pergamon (IGRR IV 305, l. 5; 307, ll. 3-4) and Karthaia (IG XII 5, 557, l. 3; cf. Robert, Hellenica 10, 1955, 257-260). A base erected on Delos by the Athenian People honours Julius Caesar as “the saviour and benefactor of the Greeks” (I Délos 1587, ll. 3-4). The formula thus links Augustus with his adoptive father, an Athenian politician, and Apollo. The “preservation” is probably generic in nature, rather than a reference to a specific event. On the concepts of freedom (eleutheria) and preservation (soteria), see S. Dmetriev, Greek Slogan of Freedom (2011), and T. Jim, Saviour Gods and Soteria (2022).

Augustus was called a god (theos) during his lifetime in several Greek inscriptions (e.g. I Délos 1591; IG IX 2, 40; SEG 14.537; 54.752). By contrast, the Latin divus ('divine') was used exclusively for deceased emperors (cf. Kantiréa, 197-98). At Athens, an altar dedicated by the People names him as “god, founder (and) preserver” (IG II² 3237) and the word “god” has been restored on two further altars (SEG 18.73 and 77, cf. Benjamin and Raubitschek, Hesperia 28, 1959, 76). A statue of Augustus as “New Apollo” was dedicated by an otherwise unknown Poseidonios son of Demetrios of Phlya (SEG 29.167). On the cult of Augustus at Athens, see IG II³ 4, 10 and Agora XVI 336, with notes, and Kantiréa, esp. 41-45.

The Athenian decision to honour Augustus at Delphi and Delos (see I Délos 1588; 1590; 1591), two major sanctuaries of Apollo, may be explained by the emperor’s predilection for Apollo, but also showcased Athens' influence at these Panhellenic sanctuaries (cf. F.Delphes III.2, 59 for the Dodekais introduced by the Athenians at Delphi ca. 30 BC). In claiming to speak for “all the Greeks”, the Athenians assert their own Panhellenic importance.

Added: 3 Dec 2023
Updated: 27 Jun 2024
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