judaism_and_rome 2026-07-22T04:55:22+02:00 1 320 Inscription https://heurist.huma-num.fr/heurist/?recID=320&db=judaism_and_rome 2022-08-16 23:18:43 2025-07-22 16:56:40 public Dedication to the imperial cult at Narbo (CIL XII, 4333) Two panels with inscriptions from a marble altar, set within an incised frame. The lettering is good, with hederae for punctuation. The remaining two sides of the altar have not yet been found, and may have been reused in a later monument. The anterior face of the altar (side A) contains the regulations of the cult, and the lateral side (side B) records the dedication and promise to maintain the monument. This is most likely a 2nd century CE copy of the original. 0012 0012 3192 Latin 3264 4515 3267 4514 3263 3262 3260 3259 <p>This altar from Narbo is one of the best examples of the proper organisation and conduct of Roman religion in the provinces. Dedicated in 12 CE, the marble altar was set up in the Forum of ancient Narbonne, where it provided the central focus for a public cult, modelled on the cults in Rome (Woolf, <em>Becoming Roman</em>, p. 222). There are two inscriptions from the altar: side A records the promise of, and statute for, a cult of the <em>numen Augusti</em> (the divinity of Augustus), which was vowed on 22nd September 11 CE, just five years after Tiberius had dedicated an altar for the worship of the <em>numen Augusti</em> in Rome in 6 CE (Fishwick, <em>Imperial Cult</em>, I.1, p. 146). Side B of the inscription records the dedicatory statement and regulations for rituals performed at the altar.</p><p>The inscription on side A of the altar begins with a vow to Augustus, his family and household, the senate and the people of Rome, that the “colonists and residents” (<em>colonis incolisque</em>) of Narbo have “bound themselves to worship his divine spirit in perpetuity!” (<em>se numini eius in perpetuum / colendo obligaverunt</em>). The independence of this statement is important; the construction of the altar is not in response to an official decree or central order, but an autonomous action originating amongst the inhabitants of the city. There follows a list of days on which ritual celebrations will be held: Augustus’s birthday – 23^rd September – is given as the first date on which offerings will be made, in order to celebrate “the day on which the good fortune of the age bore him to be ruler of the world” (<em>qua die / eum saeculi felicitas orbi terrarum / rectorem edidit</em>). The offerings would continue into the next day, the 24^th September, in a regular practice that saw Augustus’s birthday honoured by two days of celebrations across the Roman world. Those making the offerings are also listed here: three <em>equites</em> from the local populace and three freedmen (<em>tres equites Romani / a plebe et tres libertini</em>); an important distinction is being made here, which emphasises that the three <em>equites </em>are to be drawn from the populace(<em>a plebe</em>), rather than being members of the local senatorial elite, thus broadening the appeal and social inclusion of the cultic activity (see Nicolet, <em>L’inscription de l’autel de Narbonne</em>, p. 721-732). Three further dates for sacrifices and offerings are given by the text: 1^st and 7^th January, and the 31^st May. This last date again speaks to the very locally specific context in which the altar was vowed and dedicated, as the text records it is in honour of the day on which Augustus himself resolved a dispute between the <em>ordo decurionem</em> (town council) and the people (<em>plebis decurionibus coniunxit</em>). Michel Gayraud has noted that all of the dates given for these offerings are linked to Augustus (his birthday) and his government, and particularly his exercise of power, both globally and locally, such as in Narbo itself (Gayraud,<em> Narbonne Antique</em>, p. 362). This is interesting in light of the inscription’s repetition of the extent of Augustus’s power; side A of the inscription twice records that Augustus is ‘ruler of the world’ (line 15-16: <em>eum saeculi felicitas</em> <em>orbi terrarium rectorem edidit</em>; lines 24-6: <em>qua die primum imperium orbis terrarum auspicatus est</em>), employing the rhetoric of universal rule to reinforce the state of Roman power. The reality that Augustus’s – and therefore Rome’s – power was not universal was irrelevant in pro-Roman imperial ideology, which sought rather to emphasise the extent of Rome’s dominion, irrespective of its precise geographical limits. For such a statement to be reiterated independently by a provincial audience demonstrates the successful dissemination of this message outside of Rome; the community of Narbo had engaged with the ideological impact of Augustus’s power and the extent to which it reached, and was able to reproduce the rhetoric of the discourse in language that directly imitated the statements and ideas emanating from the capital city.</p><p>Side A of the inscription breaks off abruptly, so it is not clear what further rituals or celebrations may also have been listed, but the regulations of the cult are described in the inscription from side B. Here, the altar is dedicated along with instructions for the proper form of worship and interaction. Firstly, we discover that the altar and the sacrifices at it are offered to the “divine power” of the emperor, the <em>numen Augusti</em>, which appears to exist <em>separately</em> and quite distinctly from the body of the emperor. As Duncan Fishwick has stated, the fact that the emperor’s <em>numen</em> can receive prayers and offerings as it appears to do here suggests that it “was conceived as a divinised abstraction to be treated in the same way as a traditional god” (<em>Imperial Cult</em>, p. 385; 388-96. See also Kneissl, <em>Entstehung und Bedeutung der Augustalität</em>, p. 296). The regulations of the cult, including its maintenance, are stated beneath this, with the qualifying declaration that they are the same as those listed for the altar to Diana on the Aventine Hill in Rome (<em>eadem sunt quae sunt arae / Dianae in Aventino</em>). This is in part a reminder to the inhabitants of Narbo that the cults of the colony were specifically Roman in character, the cults of Roman citizens, but it also “serves to insert this new cult into a genealogy of ritual” (Woolf, <em>Becoming Roman,</em> p. 223). This new cult in Narbo was not to be understood as an innovation specific to the colony itself, but rather an addition to a more ancient, cultic tradition, which saw each cult as the descendent of another from across Graeco-Roman antiquity (Woolf, <em>Becoming Roman,</em> p. 223). The regulations also firmly established the legality of the cult, in the sense that the individuals performing its activities were subject to the same propriety and order as any other group administered by the civic authorities (Woolf, <em>Becoming Roman,</em> p. 226). The inscription ends with a reiteration from side A’s text of the colony’s devotion to Augustus, his <em>numen</em>, and his family, including his wife and children, in a clear acknowledgement of the success of propagating the dynastic image of the Augustan household. The stability that a dynasty suggested was clearly attractive to the citizens of ancient Narbo.</p><p>The success of the imperial cult at Narbo is indicated by the longevity with which the regulations of its activities survived; the inscription is believed to be a 2^nd century copy of the original, indicating that the rites and rituals were still in force in the Antonine period (Fishwick, <em>Imperial Cult</em>, p. 482; 610). Together with the altar believed to have been dedicated to Roma and Augustus at Tarraco in 26-25 BCE (Quintilian, <em>Institutes of Oratory</em>, VI.3.77), the altar at Narbo was the earliest known celebration of the imperial cult in the Latin West; the fact that it appears to have been motivated by the intervention of Augustus in some matter of local dispute is a good illustration of Duncan Fishwick’s point that colonies and <em>municipia</em> tended to establish cults spontaneously, and based on models understood from elsewhere, such as that of the altar of Diana in Rome mentioned explicitly in the text (<em>Imperial Cult</em>, p. 146). This easy adoption of cultic practice in Narbo should, therefore, be understood as evidence for the extent to which the <em>Colonia Iulia Paterna Claudia Narbo Martius</em> was integrated – and felt themselves integrated – into the Roman world; they demonstrated early loyalty to the emperor through the erection of an altar that directly imitated one instituted in Rome, and practiced devotion to his cult routinely and systematically, and seemingly well into the next century. The organisation of the cult – including members of the equestrian class and freedmen – indicates the broad social spectrum that the cult encompassed, and their active attachment to the principate and its institutions. </p> Roman power Roman Senate Roman people imperial cult loyalty sacrifice citizen father of the fatherland universal rule universal happiness colony Narbonensis Gaul Augustus Musée archéologique de Narbonne Marble Height: 110 cm Width: 58 cm Depth: 29 cm 1st CE 40 Forum of ancient Narbonensis, Gaul. Side A:<br /> T STATILIO TAVR[ ]<br /> L CASSIO LONGINO<br /> COS X K OCTOBR<br /> NVMINI AVGVSTI VOTVM<br /> 5     SVSCEPTVM A PLEBE NARBO<br /> NENSIVM IN PERPETVOM<br /> QVOD BONVM FAVSTVM FELIXQVE SIT IMP CAESARI<br /> DIVI F AVGVSTO P P PONTIFICI MAXIMO TRIB POTEST<br /> XXXIIII CONIVGI LIBERIS GENTIQVE EIVS SENATVI<br /> 10   POPVLOQVE ROMANO ET COLONIS INCOLISQVE<br /> C I P N M QVI SE NVMINI EIVS IN PERPETVVM<br /> COLENDO OBLIGAVERVNT PLEPS NARBONEN<br /> SIVM ARAM NARBONE IN FORO POSVIT AD<br /> QVAM QVOT ANNIS VIIII K OCTOBR QVA DIE<br /> 15    EVM SAECVLI FELICITAS ORBI TERRARVM<br /> RECTOREM EDIDIT TRES EQVITES ROMANI<br /> A PLEBE ET TRES LIBERTINI HOSTIAS SINGV<br /> LAS INMOLENT ET COLONIS ET INCOLIS AD<br /> SVPPLICANDVM NVMINI EIVS THVS ET VINVM<br /> 20   DE SVO EA DIE PRAESTENT ET VIII K OCTOBR<br /> THVS VINVM COLONIS ET INCOLIS ITEM PRAE<br /> STENT K QVOQVE IANVAR THVS ET VINVM<br /> COLONIS ET INCOLIS PRAESTENT VII QVOQ<br /> IDVS IANVAR QVA DIE PRIMVM IMPERIVM<br /> 25   ORBIS TERRARVM AVSPICATVS EST THVRE<br /> VINO SVPPLICENT ET HOSTIAS SINGVL IN<br /> MOLENT ET COLONIS INCOLISQVE THVS VI<br /> NVM EA DIE PRAESTENT<br /> ET PRIDIE K IVNIAS QVOD EA DIE T STATILIO<br /> 30   TAVRO M AEMILIO LEPIDO COS IVDICIA<br /> PLEBIS DECVRIONIBVS CONIVNXIT HOSTIAS<br /> SINGVL INMOLENT ET THVS ET VINVM AD<br /> SVPPLICANDVM NVMINI EIVS COLONIS ET<br /> INCOLIS PRAESTENT<br /> 35   EXQVE IIS TRIBVS EQVITIBVS ROMA[ ]<br /> LIBERTINIS VNV[<br />  <br /> Side B:<br /> [ ]S NARBONESIS A[ ] <br /> NVMINIS AVGVSTI DE[ ]<br /> CAVIT [[ ]]<br /> [[ ]]<br /> 5     [[ ]] LEGIBVS IIS Q I S S<br /> NVMEN CAESARIS AVG P P QVANDO TIBI<br /> HODIE HANC ARAM DABO DEDICABO <br /> QVE HIS LEGIBVS HISQVE REGIONI <br /> BVS DABO DEDICABO QVAS HIC <br /> 10   HODIE PALAM DIXERO VTI INFIMVM <br /> SOLVM HVIVSQVE ARAE TITVLORVM<br /> QVE EST SI QVIS TERGERE ORNARE <br /> REFICERE VOLET QVOD BENEFICII <br /> CAVSA FIAT IVS FASQVE ESTO SIVE <br /> 15   QVIS HOSTIA SACRVM FAXIT QVI <br /> MAGMENTVM NEC PROTOLLAT ID <br /> CIRCO TAMEN PROBE FACTVM ESTO SI <br /> QVIS HVIC ARAE DONVM DARE AV <br /> GEREQVE VOLET LICETO EADEMQ <br /> 20   LEX EI DONO ESTO QVAE ARAE EST <br /> CETERAE LEGES HVIC ARAE TITVLISQ <br /> EADEM SVNTO QVAE SVNT ARAE <br /> DIANAE IN AVENTINO HISCE LEGI <br /> BVS HISQVE REGIONIBVS SICVTI <br /> 25   DIXI HANC TIBI ARAM PRO IMP <br /> CAESARE AVG P P PONTIFICE MAXI <br /> MO TRIBVNICIA POTESTATE XXXV <br /> CONIVGE LIBERIS GENTEQVE EIVS <br /> SENATV POPVLOQVE R COLONIS <br /> 30   INCOLISQVE COL IVL PATERN NARB <br /> MART QVI SE NVMINI EIVS IN PER <br /> PETVVM COLENDO OBLIGAVERVNT <br /> DOQVE DEDICOQVE VTI SIES VOLENS <br /> PROPITIVM 126 Roman CIL XII, 4333 Yes <div>Side A:</div> <div> </div> <div>        T(ito) Statilio Taur[o]</div> <div>        L(ucio) Cassio Longino</div> <div>        co(n)s(ulibus) X K(alendas) Octobr(es)</div> <div>        numini Augusti votum</div> <div>5      susceptum a plebe Narbo-</div> <div>        nensium in perpetuom</div> <div>        quod bonum faustum felixque sit Imp(eratori) Caesari</div> <div>        divi f(ilio) Augusto p(atri) p(atriae) pontifici maximo trib(unicia) potest(ate)</div> <div>        XXXIIII coniugi liberis   gentique   eius   senatui  </div> <div>10    populoque Romano et colonis incolisque</div> <div>        c(oloniae) I(uliae) P(aternae) N(arbonensis) M(artii) qui se numini eius in perpetuum</div> <div>        colendo obligaverunt plebs Narbonen-</div> <div>        sium aram Narbone in foro posuit ad   </div> <div>        quam quot annis VIIII K(alendas) Octobr(es) qua die</div> <div>15    eum saeculi felicitas orbi terrarum</div> <div>        rectorem edidit tres equites Romani</div> <div>        a plebe et tres libertini hostias singu-</div> <div>        las inmolent et colonis et incolis ad</div> <div>        supplicandum numini eius thus et vinum</div> <div>20    de suo ea die praestent et VIII K(alendas) Octobr(es)</div> <div>        thus et vinum prae-</div> <div>        stent K(alendis) quoque Ianuar(iis) thus et vinum</div> <div>        colonis et incolis praestent VII quoq(ue)</div> <div>        Idus Ianuar(ias) qua die primum imperium</div> <div>25    orbis terrarum auspicatus est thure</div> <div>        vino   supplicent   et hostias singul(as) in-</div> <div>        molent et colonis incolisque thus vi-</div> <div>        num ea die praestent</div> <div>        et pridie K(alendas) Iunias quod ea die T(ito) Statilio</div> <div>30    Tauro M(anio) Aemilio Lepido co(n)s(ulibus) iudicia</div> <div>        plebis decurionibus coniunxit hostias</div> <div>        singul(as) inmolent et thus et vinum ad</div> <div>        supplicandum numini eius colonis et  </div> <div>        incolis praestent</div> <div>35    exque iis tribus equitibus Roman[is tribusve]</div> <div>        libertinis unu[s</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>Side B:</div> <div> </div> <div>        [Plep]s Narbone(n)sis a[ram]  </div> <div>        numinis Augusti de[di]</div> <div>        cavit [---]  </div> <div>        [------]</div> <div>5      [---] legibus iis q(ae) i(nfra) s(criptae) s(unt)</div> <div>        numen Caesaris Aug(usti) p(atris) p(atriae) quando tibi  </div> <div>        hodie hanc aram dabo dedicabo-</div> <div>        que his legibus hisque regioni-</div> <div>        bus dabo dedicabo quas hic</div> <div>10    hodie palam dixero uti infimum</div> <div>        solum huiusque arae titulorum-</div> <div>        que est si quis tergere ornare</div> <div>        reficere volet quod beneficii</div> <div>        causa fiat ius fasque esto sive</div> <div>15    quis hostia sacrum faxit qui  </div> <div>        magmentum nec protollat id-</div> <div>        circo tamen probe factum esto si  </div> <div>        quis huic arae donum dare   au-</div> <div>        gereque   volet   liceto   eademq(ue)</div> <div>20    lex  ei dono esto quae arae est</div> <div>        ceterae leges huic arae titulisq(ue)</div> <div>        eadem sunt quae sunt arae  </div> <div>        Dianae in Aventino hisce legi-</div> <div>        bus hisque regionibus sicuti</div> <div>25    dixi hanc tibi aram pro Imp(eratore)</div> <div>        Caesare Aug(usto) p(atre) p(atriae) pontifice maxi-</div> <div>        mo tribunicia potestate XXXV</div> <div>        coniuge liberis genteque eius</div> <div>        senatu populoque R(omano) colonis</div> <div>30    incolisque col(oniae) Iul(iae) Patern(ae) Narb(onensis)</div> <div>        Mart(ii) qui se numini eius in per</div> <div>        petuum colendo obligaverunt  </div> <div>        doque dedicoque uti sies volens</div> <div>        propitium</div> <p>Translation taken from:</p> <p>Lewis, Napthali and Meyer Reinhold, “CIL, Vol XII, no. 4,333,” Roman Civilization: Selected Readings: The Republic and the Augustan Age. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990) 622-623. Used by permission of Columbia University Press.</p> <p> </p> <p>Side A:</p> <p>In the consulship of Titus Statilius Taurus and Lucius Cassius Longinus, September 22. Vow taken to the divine spirit of Augustus by the populace of the Narbonensians in perpetuity: “May it be good, favourable and auspicious to Emperor Caesar Augustus, son of a god, father of his country, <em>pontifex maximus</em>, holding the tribunician power for the thirty-fourth year; to his wife, children and house; to the Roman senate and people; to the colonists and residents of the Colonia Julia Paterna of Narbo Martius, who have bound themselves to worship his divine spirit in perpetuity!”</p> <p>The populace of the Narbonensians has erected in the forum at Narbo an altar at which every year on September 23 – the day on which the good fortune of the age bore him to be ruler of the world – three Roman <em>equites</em> from the populace and three freedmen shall sacrifice one animal each and shall at their own expense on that day provide the colonists and residents with incense and wine for supplication to his divine spirit. And on September 24 they shall likewise provide incense and wine for the colonists and residents. Also on January 1 they shall provide incense and wine for the colonists and residents. Also on January 7, the day on which he first entered upon the command of the world, they shall make a supplication with incense and wine, and shall sacrifice one animal each, and shall provide incense and wine for the colonists and residents on that day. And on May 31, because on that day in the consulship of Titus Statilius Taurus and Manius Aemilius Lepidus he reconciled the populace to the decurions, they shall sacrifice one animal each and shall provide the colonists and residents with incense and wine for supplication to his divine spirit. And of these three Roman <em>equites</em> and three freedmen one… [the rest of the inscription is lost].</p> <p> </p> <p>Side B:</p> <p>The populace of Narbo has dedicated the altar of the divine spirit of Augustus…under the regulations recorded below.</p> <p>“O divine spirit of Caesar Augustus, father of his country! When this day I give and dedicate this altar to you, I shall give and dedicate it under such regulations and such rules as I shall here this day publically declare to be the groundwork both of this altar and of its inscriptions: if anyone wishes to clean, decorate, or repair it as a voluntary service, it shall be lawful and permissible. If anyone sacrifices an animal without making the customary additional offering, it shall nevertheless be accounted properly done. If anyone wishes to donate a gift to this altar or honour it he shall be permitted, and the same regulation as applies to the altar shall apply to such gift. The other regulations for this altar and its inscriptions shall be the same as those for altar of Diana on the Aventine Hill. Under these regulations and these rules, just as I have stated, on behalf of the Emperor Caesar Augustus, father of his country, <em>pontifex maximus</em>, holding the tribunician power for the thirty-fifth year; of his wife, children and house; of the Roman senate and people; and of the colonists and residents of the Colonia Julia Paterna of Narbo Martius, who have bound themselves to worship his divine spirit in perpetuity, I give and dedicate this altar to you that you may be favourably and kindly disposed.”</p> Yes colonia dedico divus divi filius ara perpetuus hostia sacrum incola lex Diana Aventinus pater patriae senatus populus romanus coniunx vinum donum volens propitium orbis felicitas terra numen divus filius Caroline Barron English Honorific Yes 141 293 313 1