SEG 69.88 Sardis honours Hadrian

Sardis honours Hadrian

SEG 69.88 Date: ca. 131/2 AD

Ἀγαθῇ Τύχ[ῃ] ^vv ταῖς Χάρισ[ι] τοῦ αὐτοκ̣[ράτορος Ἀδριανοῦ]. Αὐτοκράτορος Ἀδριανοῦ Ὀλυ̣μπ[ίου ὅσαι Κροίσου τοῦ?] Λ̣υ̣δ̣ίου εὐεργεσίαι εἰσὶ [ε]ἰς ἡ̣μ̣ᾶς Σα̣[ρδιανούς] ⟦[- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -]⟧ ἅ̣π̣ερ̣ (5)[ὁ θειότατος αὐτοκράτωρ?] διατηρεῖν τε καὶ ἀνασῴζ⟨ε⟩ιν κ̣αὶ ἀπο⟨λ⟩αμβάνειν ἡμᾶς προαι- [ρεῖται vac. ] vac. [Ἁδριανὸς Σεβαστός πολλὰ? ὑπο]σ̣χ̣ό̣μενος αὐτὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον βελτείους [καὶ] τ̣οὺς πολει̣τ̣α̣ς ἐ̣[ποίησεν? ὥστε τούτων] τὰ μὲν οἴκοθεν φιλο̣τειμουμένων, τὰ δὲ καὶ ἐξ ὧν δι' ἐπιμελείας τῆς αὐτοκ̣[ρατόρων καὶ συγ]χωρήσεως ἐκ τῶν κοινών καὶ δημοσίων πο- (10)ρίζουσιν νεαρόν τι καὶ ἀ[γλαὸν προσηγ?]γ̣ύ̣ησεν γενέσθαι κάλλος ταῖς Σάρδεσιν, τό τε σύνολον οὐκ ἔστι[ν αὐτὰς ὑπερβαλεῖν?. ἡμεῖς δὲ] κατηφήσαμεν. vac. vac. ^vvv τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς̣ [στήλης ἐπεμελήθησαν οἱ ποιήσαν]τες αὐτὴν ἐκ ^vvv τῶν ἰδίων σύνεδροι Π̣[ανέλληνες καὶ πρέσβεις? - - -]χ̣ος καὶ ^vvv Α. Κορνήλιος Πόστομ[ος vac. ]

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Translated text

References:

SEG 69.88 (Translated text) (AIO)

IG II² 1089 (PHI)

IG II² 3279 (PHI)

IG II² 4775 (PHI)

Oliver and Meritt, Greek Inscriptions 1941 35

Oliver, Marcus Aurelius 45

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Agora Excavations - (1)

Monument type: Stele

Inscription type: Decree (Other city, Sardis)

fr. a - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 5892)
fr. b - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 8429)
fr. c - Findspot: Unknown (EM 6097a)
fr. d - Findspot: Unknown (EM 2509)
fr. e - Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 2269)
fr. f - Findspot: Unknown (EM 2891)
fr. g - Findspot: Acropolis (EM 9487)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This decree of Sardis is one of four inscriptions set up on the Athenian Acropolis by various communities to commemorate their admission to the Penhellenion following its creation in 131/2 AD (see SEG 69.89 for a full list; on the Panhellenion, see IG II³ 4, 215 with notes). These inscriptions tend to focus on the grounds on which the city had been admitted to the Panhellenion, namely kinship ties to the cities of Mainland Greece, long-standing ties of friendship with Rome, and/or signs of special honour from Hadrian.

Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia, was one of the chief cities of the province of Asia in the Imperial period, serving as the centre of an assize district and receiving the prized status of neokoros twice (S. Burrell, Neokoros, 2004, 100-103). By this time it was culturally Greek, but ancestrally the Lydians were a separate people, so it is unclear how the Sardians claimed the Greek descent necessary for admission to the Panhellenion. In Sardis VII.1 13, from the reign of Hadrian, the Sardians are said to be autochthonous, but this Lydian heritage coexisted with claims to Greek kinship; in Sardis VII.1 40 from the first century AD, they call the Athenians "their own kinsmen". In this decree, Sardis’ Lydian heritage appears to be emphasised by the reference to Kroisos, the last king of Lydia (r. 585-547/6 BC), who was famous for his wealth and gifts to the oracle of Delphi. The decree's claim that Hadrian has exceeded him parallels comparisons between Hadrian and traditional heroes like Theseus at Athens (see SEG 50.155 with notes). The decree is vague about the nature of Hadrian's benefactions. From other evidence, it appears that he had allowed Sardis to institute cultic honours for him (see Sardis VII 2 319-320 with notes, in which a Sardian delegate to the Panhellenion is honoured by the Athenian Areopagos).

The preserved part of the relief in the pediment of the stele depicts, at left, a bearded male (Hadrian or Kroisos?) reclining with a cluster of grapes or a sack of gold, next to a vine, and at centre the lower part of three figures in long tunics, probably the Graces / Charites (three divine personifications of gratitude) invoked in l. 1 (Follet and Peppas Delmousou BCH 143, 2019, 770-71 = SEG 69.88). [2] This deep erasure occupies most of the line; no trace of the erased text is visible. [3] The sentence in ll. 6-11 is convoluted and has some abrupt changes of direction; it is perhaps not correctly restored. The point seems to be that Hadrian's benefactions have inspired Sardian civic leaders to benefit the city both with their own money and in public roles; Hadrian is thus ultimately responsible for all their benefactions. "Management" (epimeleia) and "permission" (synchoresis) in l. 9 were technical legal terms, but their specific meaning in this context is unclear (on these terms generally, see S. Dmitriev, City Government in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor, 2005, 119-121 and K. Harter-Uibopuu in L. Gagliardi and L. Pepe, Dike, 2019, 152-175)" The "common" (koina) funds are perhaps those of the League (koinon) of the Greeks of Asia, to which all cities in the province of Asia belonged (see OGIS 504-507 with notes). The "People" are the Sardians. [4] Similar clauses naming the citizens responsible for erecting the stele appear at the end of the other inscriptions commemorating admission to the Panhellenion (SEG 69.89, ll. 42-45; SEG 47.163 ll. 37-44). This is the only case where the funders are explicitly stated to be the city's delegates to the Panhellenion, but it is likely in the other cases.

Added: 21 Jan 2024
Updated: 14 Apr 2025
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ID: AIO_2843