Gaius-Caligula, the New Sun, and the Royal House of Thrace

The city of Cyzicus decrees that the kings of Thrace and Antonia Tryphaena are to be honoured because the emperor Gaius (Caligula) has confirmed their rule

Typology: Local decree

Original Location: The block was discovered in a reused context in the old Turkish village of Tscharik-Köy, close to the archaeological site of Cyzicus and the modern city of Erdek, The block was discovered in a reused context in the old Turkish village of Tscharik-K?y, close to the archaeological site of Cyzicus and the modern city of Erdek

Current Location: After its discovery, the stone was brought to the Imperial Museum in the Çinili Köşk (Istanbul) in 1882 with the inventory number 659

Date: 37 CE

Centuries: 1st CE

Material: Marble

Measurements: 124 centimetres in height, 86 in width, and 18 centimetres thick

Languages: Greek

Category: Roman, Greek

Publications: Barth, Matthias and Stauber, Josef, Inschriften Mysia und Troas: Kyzikene, Kapu Dağ, no. 1439 [IGRR IV.145; SIG3 798] 

Description: A circular hole on the top was used as a fountain and this had damaged the surface of the stone. This local decree was preceded by another honorific text for Antonia Thryphaena (IGRR IV. 144, see below)

Edition :

I reproduce the edition contained in Inscriptiones Graecae ad Res Romanas Pertinentes IV, p. 54-55, no. 145; updating the diacritical marks to comply with the Leiden conventions.

  ἐπὶ Γαίου Καίσαρος ἱππάρχεω{ι}, Θαργηλιῶνος θʹ·
  ἔδοξεν τῶι δήμωι, εἰσηγησαμένων τῶν ἀρχόντων πάντων, γραμματεὺς βουλῆς Αἴολος Αἰόλου Οἴνοψ μέσης ἐπὶ
  Μηνοφῶντος εἶπεν· ἐπεὶ ὁ νέος Ἥλιος Γάιος Καῖσαρ Σεβαστὸς Γερμανικὸς συναναλάμψαι ταῖς ἰδίαις αὐγαῖς καὶ
  τὰς δορυφόρους τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἠθέλεσεν βασιλήας, ἵνα αὐτοῦ τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῆς ἀθανασίας καὶ ἐν τούτωι σεμνότε-
5 ρον ᾖ, βασιλέων, κἂν πάνυ ἐπινοῶσιν, εἰς εὐχαριστίαν τηλικούτου θεοῦ εὑρεῖν ἴσας ἀμοιβὰς οἷς εὐεργέτηνται μὴ δυ-
  ναμέων, τοὺς Κότυος δὲ παῖδας Ῥοιμητάλκην καὶ Πολέμονα καὶ Κότυν συντρόφους καὶ ἑταίρους ἑαυτῶι γεγο-
  νότας εἰς τὰς ἐκ παων καὶ προγόνων αὐτοῖς ὀφειλομένας ἀποκαθέστακεν βασιλείας· οἱ τῆς ἀθανάτου
  χάριτος τὴν ἀφθονίαν καρπούμενοι ταύτηι τῶν πάλαι μείζονες, ὅτι οἱ μὲν παρὰ πατέρων διαδοχῆς ἔσχον, οὗτοι
  δ’ ἐ τῆς Γαίου Καίσαρος χάριτος εἰς συναρχίαν τηλικούτων θεῶν γεγόνασι βασιλεῖς, θεῶν δὲ χάριτες τούτῳ διαφέρου-
10 σιν ἀνθρωπίνων διαδοχῶν, ᾧ ἢ νυκτὸς ἥλιος καὶ τὸ ἄφθαρτον θνητῆς φύσεως· μεγάλων οὖν γεγονότες μείζονες
  καὶ λαμπρῶν θαυμασιώτεροι εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν παραγείνονται πόλιν Ῥοιμητάλκης καὶ Πολέμων, συνιερουργήσον-
  τες καὶ συνεορτάσοντες τῆι μητρὶ, ἐπιτελούσῃ τοὺς τῆς θεᾶς νέας Ἀφροδείτης Δρουσίλλης ἀγῶνας, οὐχ ὡς
  εἰς φίλην μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς εἰς γνησίαν πατρίδα, ὅτι καὶ ἡ βασιλέων μὲν θυγάτηρ, βασιλέων δὲ μήτηρ, ἡ μήτηρ
  αὐτῶν Τρύφαινα, ταύτην ἡγημένη πατρίδα, οἴκου τε τὸ ἐφέστιον καὶ βίου τὸ εὐτυχὲς ἀνεμεσήτοις ἐνευδαιμο-
15 νησουσα τέκνων βασιλείαις ἐνταῦθα ἵδρυται· ὁ δὲ δῆμος, ἡδίστην ἡγούμενος τὴν ἐνδημίαν αὐτῶν, μετὰ πάσης
  προθυμίας προσέταξε τοῖς ἄρχουσι ψήφισμα ὑπαντήσεως εἰσηγήσασθαι αὐτοῖς, δι’ οὗ εὐχαριστήσουσι μὲν ἐ-
  π’ αὐτῶν τῆι μητρὶ αὐτῶν Τρυφαίνηι, ὑπὲρ ὧν εὐεργετεῖν βεβούληται τὴν πόλιν φανερν δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ δή-
  μου εἰς αὐτοὺς ποιήσονται διάθεσιν· δεδόχθαι τῶι δήμωι ἐπῃνῆσθαι μὲν τοὺς βασιλεῖς Ῥοιμητάλκην καὶ Πο-
  λέμωνα καὶ Κότυν καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτῶν Τρύφαινα, ὑπὸ δὲ τὴν εἴσοδον αὐτῶν τοὺς μὲν ἱερεῖς καὶ τὰς ἱερείας, ἀνοί-
20 ξαντας τὰ τεμένη καὶ προσκοσμήσαντας τὰ ξόανα τῶν θεῶν, εὔξασθαι μὲν ὑπὲρ τῆς Γαίου Καίσαρος αἰωνίου δια-
  μονῆς καὶ τῆς τούτων σωτηρίας· Κυζικηνοὺς δὲ πάντας ἐνδικνυμένους τὴν εἰς αὐτοὺς εὔνοιαν, ὑπαντήσαντας
  μετὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν στεφανηφόρων, ἀσπάσασθαί τε καὶ συνησθῆναι καὶ παρακαλεῖν αὐτοὺς ἰδίαν ἡγεῖσθαι πατρίδα τὴν
  πόλιν καὶ παντὸς αἰτίους γείνεσθαι αὐτῇ ἀγαθοῦ· ἀγαγεῖν δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπάντησιν καὶ τὸν ἐφήβαρχον τοὺς ἐφήβους καὶ τὸν
  παιδονόμον τοὺς ἐλευθέρους παῖδας· τὸ δὲ ψήφισμα εἶναι περὶ τ’ εὐσεβείας τῆς εἰς τὸν Σεβαστὸν καὶ τῆς εἰς τοὺς
25 βασιλέας τειμῆς.

English translation:

I reproduced the translation prepared by Sherk, Robert K., The Roman Empire: Augustus to Hadrian (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). The last 5 lines not translated by Sherk are taken from Braund David C., Augustus to Nero: A Sourcebook on Roman History 31 BC – AD 68 (London: Croom Helm, 1985), p. 247, no. 673. Neither of these authors include line separations and prefer a more readable rather than literal translation.

In the hyparchy of Gaius Caesar, on the ninth day of the month Thargelion. Decreed by the people, the motion introduced by all the archons, the secretary of the Boule Aiolos, son of Aiolos, (of the tribe) Oinops, speaking for them at the mid-session in the (prytany presidency?) of Menophon: Since the New Sun Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus wished to illuminate with his own rays of light even the bodyguard kings of his rule, in order that the greatness of his immortality even in that regard might be more worthy of respect; and the kings put a great amount of thought into discovering appropriate recompense to show their good feeling for the gracious act of such a great god, but failed to discover one – (and since) the sons of Kotys, had been his foster-brothers and had become his companions and had been established by him in the kingdoms rightfully owed to them from their fathers and ancestors; and the sons, reaping the abundance of his immortal favor, in this regard became greater than those before them because, although they held (the royal power) from their fathers, they became kings in the joint rule of such great gods as a consequence of the favour of Gaius Caesar, and the favours of gods differ from human successions (of power) as sunlight from night and as the immortal from mortal nature; having become greater than the great and more wonderful than the brilliant, Rhoimetalkes and Polemon have now come to our city to join in the sacrifices and festivals with their mother who is celebrating the games of the goddess New Aphrodite, Drusilla, not only as to a friendly but also to a legitimate home-city, because Thryphaina, the daughter of kings and mother of kings, is their mother who considers this to be her home-city and has made this place the hearth of her home and luck of her life, content in her children’s kingdoms that have not incurred the anger of the gods; (and since) the People, considering most pleasant their lodging here, with all enthusiasm have instructed the archons to introduce a decree of welcome for them, by means of which they will express their gratitude to their mother Thryphaina for having wished to benefit our city and will make clear the People’s good disposition towards them, let it be decreed by the people to praise the kings Rhoimetalkes and Polemon and Kotys and their mother Tryphaina, and that upon their entrance the priests and priestesses, having opened the precincts and adorned the images of the gods, should pray for the eternal endurance of Gaius Caesar and for the welfare of the kings. And that all the Cyzicenes, indicating their good-will towards them, having met them with the archons and the stephanephoroi, should greet them and welcome them and urge them to regard the city as their own native land and to be the source of every benefit to it. And that to the meeting the ephebarch should bring all the ephebes and the paedonomus all the free boys. And that the decree is a matter of piety towards Augustus and honour towards the kings.     

Commentary:

This inscription was discovered close to the ancient site of Cyzicus in the northern area of the province of Asia. Its content, however, is interesting not only for the information provided about the local institutions of the Greek city, but especially for the honours decreed for members of the royal house of Thrace.

The first three lines begin with a dating formula that is typical of local honorific resolutions. The ἱππάρχης/hipparchês was the eponymous magistrate of Cyzicus and, in this year, the prestigious position was symbolically held by the emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula). The month Thargelion likewise belonged to the local calendar of the city and, on this date, the people (δῆμος/dêmos) together with the magistrates adopted a resolution (ἔδοξεν/edoxen). From line 3 to 18 and introduced by the particle ἐπεί/epei, the reasons justifying the grant of honours are listed. From the first moment, it is clear that the local decree has a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, it seeks to exalt the rule and divine qualities of the Roman emperor. On the other, Cyzicus wants to express its gratitude to a group of Thracian kings. A preliminary historical explanation becomes necessary in order to clarify the double nature of our document.

At the beginning of the imperial age, Thrace was still nominally ruled by local kings who swore allegiance and submission to the power of Rome. As one of the so-called ‘client-kingdoms’ (Badian, Foreign Clientelae; Braund, Rome and the Friendly King; Lozanov, “Roman Thrace,” p. 78-80), their autonomy was subject to the interests of the emperor as the intervention of Tiberius in 18 CE illustrates. Until this year, Cotys VIII had been the king selected by Augustus, probably on account of both his royal lineage and the cultural refinement praised by Ovid during the poet’s exile on the Black Sea (Letters from Pontus II.9; see Sullivan, “Thrace in the Eastern,” p. 200-204). As soon as Augustus died, Cotys’s uncle, Rhescuporis III started to conspire for the throne. Tiberius condemned such aspirations but his warnings were disregarded and Rhescuporis ended up killing his nephew. Thanks to Tacitus’s account of the episode (Annals II.64-67), we know that the Thracian usurper was punished and brought to a trial before the Senate in which Antonia Thryphaena, Cotys’s wife, managed to get him sent to Egypt where he died. As a result of this process, Tiberius gave the throne to Rhoematalces II (Rhescuporis’s son) and the male descendants of Cotys who were too young and remained under the tutelage of Trebellenus Rufus. Tiberius still continued to be fundamental for the maintenance of the new dynastic arrangement at least in 21 and 26 C.E. (Tacitus, Annals III.38-39, IV.47-51). Meanwhile, the actions taken by Antonia Tryphaena explain the special bond established between the Thracian royal house and Cyzicus. Even if she belonged to one of the most prominent dynasties of the late Hellenistic age – she was daughter of Polemo, king of Pontus (Sullivan, “Dynasts in Pontus,” p. 922-923) –, the queen did not marry again (Strabo, Geography XII.3.29). Remaining widow, she also decided to move to a location in which could presumably be far from court conspiracies but close enough to control the ruling aspirations of her sons. Cyzicus, on the other side of the Sea of Marmara and opposite the coasts of Thrace met both criteria. From here, Antonia Thryphaena became a strong promoter of the imperial power to which she and her family had so much to thank for. It is therefore not surprising to find another honorific decree of Cyzicus for Tryphaena in which a reference to the “eternal house of the greatest of gods, Tiberius Augustus Cesar, and his immortal power” is included (IGRR IV.144, l. 3-4).

Our inscription praises Gaius’s rule and an even greater degree of gratefulness can be observed. The reason for this attitude is stated in lines 9 and 10: the sons of Cotys VIII had finally been installed as sole sovereigns (βασιλεῖς/basileis) of Thrace and this was due to the emperor’s favour (χάρις/charis). As a result, the first part of the document is presented as a way to equally return (ἰσαὶ ἀμοιβαί/isai amoibai) their gratitude (εὐχαριστία/eucharistia) towards “such a great god” (l. 5). This god is no other than Gaius, whom the new Thracian kings personally knew because they had been “foster-brothers and companions” (συντρόφoι καὶ ἑταίροι/syntrophoi kai hetairoi), probably when Antonia Thryphaena went to Rome to avenge the murder of their father. Such circumstances are connected to the unique content of lines 4 and 5. Gaius is presented as the new Sun (Ἥλιος/Hêlios) god, “who wished to illuminate with his own rays of light.” These words could perfectly be contextualised in the language related, first, to Hellenistic ruler worship and, then, Roman imperial cult that was already well established in the province of Asia. In the case of Gaius/Caligula, such a testimony becomes even more revealing. Indeed, it can be coupled with ancient literary sources denouncing that this particular emperor became obsessed with his divine attributes (Suetonius, Gaius 22; Cassius Dio, Roman History LIX.26-27; Aalders, “ἩΛΙΟΣ ΓΑÏΟΣ”). The most illuminating witness of this attitude is Philo of Alexandria, the Jew who led an embassy before the emperor and reports something which is worth citing in full (Embassy to Gaius 95-96): “he metamorphosed and transformed himself into Apollo, crowning his head with garlands, in the form of rays, and holding a bow and arrows in his left hand, and holding forth graces in his right, as if it became him to proffer blessings to all men from his ready store, and to display the best arrangement possible on his right hand, but to contract the punishments which he had it in his power to inflict, and to allot to them a more confined space on his left. And immediately there were established choruses, who had been carefully trained, singing paeans to him [Jonge’s trans.]”

According to Cassius Dio (LIX.28.1), he likewise requested the Milesians to reserve a space for him in their oracle of Apollo Didymaios and we even know that the crows that he bestowed on the victors of the German campaigns were full of celestial allegories (Suetonius, Gaius 45.1), also featuring in the imperial coinage of the year 37-38 C.E. (Levy, “Caligula’s Radiate Crown”). Local coins show that such an extravagant behaviour was embraced by some communities of western Asia Minor (see Bury, “L’idéologie impériale,” p. 581), and our inscription confirms an acceptance dictated by the precedents of imperial worship. The association of Roman humans with Greek deities was far from unprecedented and, indeed, the people of Cyzicus also refer to Gaius’ sister, Drusilla, as a “New Aphrodite” (l. 12). Similar divine references to her can be found in other settlements of the eastern Mediterranean (e.g. SEG 34.180; IG XII,2.172; I.Magnesia 156) and certainly increased when Drusilla unexpectedly died in 38 CE (Suetonius, Gaius 24). Gaius then decided to celebrate pompous funerary commemorations in which a Trojan spectacle was performed and her deification was decreed together with the setting up of a statue in the temple of Venus (Cassius Dio, Roman History LIX.11.2-4). These actions were naturally intended to emphasise that the fate of the Julian dynasty resulted from the success of its sacred ancestors, who originated from Aeneas and were therefore mythical descendants of the loving goddess.  

Nevertheless, this honorific decree is not only fundamental for understanding the impact that imperial attitudes had on the local perception of Roman power. With this communal decision, Cyzicus is also providing us with an example of the decisive role that residents could play in civic life. In this case, Antonia Tryphaena, a royal descendant and consort queen, decided to settle in this new home-city (πάτρις/patris) and brought with her gratitude towards the Roman emperors, economic resources, and regional prominence. On this occasion, she was sponsoring games (ἀγῶνες/agônes) for Drusilla, but other inscriptions show that she undertook many expensive enterprises and financed the renovation of the market-place (IGRR IV.144, 146). For all these reasons, the city enthusiastically (προθυμία/prothymia) wished to “commend” and “welcome” both Thryphaena and her sons upon their ceremonial entry (l. 18-25). At the same time, by honouring Rhoimetalkes and Polemon and Kotys –the kings on which Gaius’ rays were casted– the people of Cyzicus may also have hoped not only for the new emperor’s “eternal endurance and welfare” (αἰώνιος διαμονὴ καὶ σωτηρία/aiônios diamonê kai sôteria), but also for the return of the ancient privileges of freedom which Tiberius had recently removed from the city “because of their acts of special lawlessness against the Romans” (Suetonius, Tiberius 37.3).

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Aitor Blanco Pérez
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Gaius-Caligula, the New Sun, and the Royal House of Thrace

Author(s) of this publication: Aitor Blanco Pérez

Publication date: 2024-12-22 13:24:07

URL: https://heurist.huma-num.fr/heurist/judaism_and_rome/web/7/123

Judaism and Rome
Re-thinking Judaism's Encounter with the Roman Empire