judaism_and_rome 2026-07-22T01:04:18+02:00 1 332 Inscription https://heurist.huma-num.fr/heurist/?recID=332&db=judaism_and_rome 2022-08-16 23:18:43 2025-07-22 16:56:40 public Delphi, Hadrian, and the local citizenship of a Roman soldier Orthostat containing several local documents of Delphi split in different paragraphs probably belonging to a larger monument (see image). 0125 0125 3214 1950 ca6fcec4ea2a7d8eae5e51b25ed2c19ba9758543 delphi_citizenship.jpg image/jpeg 562 2022-08-12 11:53:12 Delphi, Hadrian, and the local citizenship of a Roman soldier, 3214, Delphi (562.74 KB)) https://heurist.huma-num.fr/heurist/?db=judaism_and_rome&file=ca6fcec4ea2a7d8eae5e51b25ed2c19ba9758543 Greek 3233 3232 3231 4986 3509 3241 3240 3239 3933 3237 3236 3235 3234 <p>This inscription comes from <a href="https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/540726">Delphi</a>, one of the monumental sites of Hellenism in the Greek peninsula that played a central role during the Archaic, Classical and post-Classical ages (see Scott, <em>Delphi</em>, p. 55-145). The first four lines are therefore rooted in tradition. A formula introduces, on the one hand, the prominence of a god (θεός/<em>theos</em>), Apollo, overseeing all the activities conducted in a settlement very attached to his prestigious oracular sanctuary (Fontenrose, <em>The Delphic</em>). On the other hand, the good fortune (τύχα/<em>tycha</em>) is invoked using the old epichoric dialect. In line 2, the date follows the local calendar as Poitropios was the Delphic intercalary month (Samuel, <em>Greek and Roman Chronology</em>, p. 73-74). On the 3^rd day, the assembly of the privileged citizens (or δαμιουργοί/<em>damiourgoi</em>, see Vatin, “Damiurges”) summoned and adopted a resolution (ἔδοξεν/<em>edoxen</em>). With such a Greek introduction, it would be difficult to anticipate that the man honoured was a Roman citizen called Caius Iulius Pudens.<br /><br />Not only was Pudens fully Roman, but actually a soldier (στρατιώτης/<em>stratiôtês</em>) of the I Legio Italica. The high-political class of Delphi had decided to grant their local citizenship (πολειτεία/<em>poleiteia</em>) to this legionary. Even if such awards were mainly honorific across the eastern provinces in the imperial period, they could still be appreciated especially from a respected community that was mostly generous with international victors of the sacred Pythian festival (see Puech, “Derniers affichages”, p. 198-203). Pudens had stayed (ἐπιδημῶν/<em>epidêmôn</em>) at the city finely and with pudency – note the clever use of the Greek adverb αἰδημόνως/<em>aidêmonôs </em>related to his Latin name (Robert, <em>Études anatoliennes</em>, p. 88-89). But, what brought a Roman soldier to a Greek sacred place such as Delphi? Lines 6 and 9 explain that he had been supervising the works (ἔργα/<em>erga</em>) and constructions (κατασκευαζομένα/<em>kataskeuazomena</em>) commissioned by the emperor Hadrian, here described as a lord (κύριος/<em>kyrios</em>).<br /><br />Consequently, this document is not only important for attesting the continuity of local institutions and old traditions at Delphi in the 2^nd century CE, but also extremely interesting for assessing the impact of Roman imperial soldiers and benefactions. As a celebrated philhellenist, Hadrian is renowned for his favours and travels in Greece. Athens was undoubtedly the most benefited city (Cassius Dio, <em>Roman History </em>XLIV.16.1-2; Pausanias, <em>Description of Greece</em> I.18.6-9; see Boatwright, <em>Hadrian and the Cities</em>, p. 144-156), but the surviving letters addressed to the Delphians show that he was also favourably disposed towards the Pythian sanctuary (see Oliver, <em>Greek Constitutions</em>, p. 156-160, no. 181-193). Already in 118 CE, Hadrian had confirmed the freedom and autonomy of the Delphians on account of the city’s antiquity and nobility (<em>FD</em> III,4 301). In 125, his instructions concerning the Amphictiony announced that he was to visit the centre of the regional league located at Delphi (<em>FD</em> III,4 302). During this first tour around Greece, the contemporary author Pausanias reports that many constructions were sponsored (e.g. I.42.5, II.3.5, VI.16.4, VIII.11.8, X.35.4-5, see Birley, <em>Hadrian</em>, p. 175-188). Even though Pausanias says nothing about Delphi, it is very likely that the works supervised by Caius Iulius Pudens were connected with this first visit. Likewise, Hadrian could have on this occasion accepted the honorific archontate recorded in lines 12 and 13. If that was indeed the case, it would be very difficult to connect Hadrian’s initiative with the revival of the sanctuary of Apollo celebrated by the late Plutarch in <em>The Pythian Oracles </em>(<em>Moralia </em>409 b-c; see Swain, “Plutarch, Hadrian”). What is certain is that the construction project promoted by the Roman emperor at Delphi was of a considerable scale, as it required supervision by an imperial agent staying at a free Greek city.<br /><br />Furthermore, Pudens was not just a soldier but belonged to the rank of the <em>frumentarii </em>as recorded in line 5 of our inscription. A principal member of the army, he had a direct link with the emperor as a agent of a sort of secret service (see Rankov, “Frumentarii”). Hence, abuses and clashes of this group with the local population were numerous (MacMullen, <em>Soldier and Civilian</em>, 49-79). Aurelius Victor (<em>De Caesaribus</em>, XXXIX.44) in the 4^th century CE even referred to them as a <em>pestilens genus </em>(“pestilent race”) and gladly reports that Diocletian suppressed their activities; something confirmed by John the Lydian (<em>Roman Magistrates</em> II.27). Against this background, the praiseworthy stay of Pudens at Delphi is even more remarkable. Such a positive reception of a member of the Roman army also needs to be connected with the edict that Hadrian himself issued for the communities of Asia, by which he intended to curb the unlawful exactions that his troops may commit in both official and private missions. The honorific local citizenship granted by the Delphians should show us that, even if abuses were frequent, not all the imperial soldiers were criminals. At the same time, this document attests the appointment of members of the army to supervise what appears to be civil works. While inscriptions normally commemorate the erection of a monument – the magnificence of which archaeology can sometimes corroborate – they do not commonly specify the process and agents involved in its construction. By virtue of this Delphic resolution, one should infer that the supervision and control of certain projects personally sponsored by the emperor could be intense and his representatives may not have always behaved as laudably as Pudens did. By extension, Hadrianic monuments and intervention in the Levantine provinces are widely attested too (e.g. Arch of Gerasa). In Judea, however, we do not have evidence illustrating such an esteemed interaction between the local population and the founders and builders of the Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina.</p> tradition abuse Roman soldiers Hadrian Greece Delphi building Roman army supervision Greek citizenship Not reported Not reported Not reported. Letters are 1.5 centimetres tall. 2nd CE 5832 East of the temple of Apollo in Delphi (Greece) 75 235 134 189 253 Roman Greek Flacelière, Robert, Fouilles de Delphes, Tome III. Epigraphie, Fascicule IV: Les inscriptions de la terrasse du temple et de la région nord du sanctuaire (nos. 87-576), Paris, De Boccard, 1954, p. 183, no. 98. No <p align="left">Flacelière, Robert, <em>Fouilles de Delphes, Tome III. Epigraphie, Fascicule IV: Les inscriptions de la terrasse du temple et de la région nord du sanctuaire (nos. 87-576)</em>, Paris, De Boccard, 1954, p. 183, no. 98. </p> <table style="height: 377px; width: 1363px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">           θεός. τύχα ἀγαθά.</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">μηνὶ Ποι{ο}τροπίῳ γʹ, ἐν ἐννόμῳ</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">δαμιουργίῳ· ἔδοξεν τοῖς</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">δαμιουργοῖς· Γ. Ἰουλίῳ Πούδεν-</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left">5</div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">τι φρουμενταρίῳ λεγιῶν<ο>ς πρώ-</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">της Ἰταλικῆς στρατιώτῃ ἐπὶ τῶν</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">ἔργων ὄντι τῶν κατασκευαζομέ-</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">[ν]ων ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου Καίσαρος Τρα-</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">[ιαν]οῦ Ἁδριανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ, καλῶς</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left">10</div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">[καὶ] αἰδημόνως ἐπιδημοῦντι, δο[ῦ]-</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">ναι πολειτείαν.</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">[ἄ]ρχοντος Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Τρα-</div> </td> </tr><tr><td valign="top" width="26"> <div align="left"> </div> </td> <td valign="top" width="225"> <div align="left">ιανοῦ Ἁδριανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ.</div> </td> </tr></tbody></table> <div style="text-align: justify;">The translation is my own and seeks to remain as close as possible to the original Greek line separation and syntax.<br /><br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;">God. Good luck. In the month Poitropios (day) 3. In the lawful/ <em>damiourgion</em> it was decreed by the/ <em>damiourgoi</em> that to C(aius) Iulius Pudens/, frumentarius of the I Legion// Italica, the soldier who was in charge of/ the works and the constructions/ (funded) by the lord Caesar Trajan/ Hadrian Augustus and who has finely/ and modestly resided (among us)// citizenship shall be granted/. In the archonship of the emperor Caesar/ Trajan Hadrian Augustus.</div> Translation by author of the database record Yes Delphi grants its local citizenship to a Roman soldier supervising the works sponsored by Hadrian. θεός τύχη ἀγαθός ἔννομος δοκέω λεγεών στρατιώτης ἔργον κύριος ̓Αδριανός ἐπιδημέω πολιτεία αὐτοκράτωρ σεβαστός Aitor Blanco Pérez English Local decree Yes 133 155 228 241 253 336 1