the sebasteion at aphrodisias an imperial cult

8/9/2019 The Sebasteion at Aphrodisias an Imperial Cult

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82 Chronika

Geraldine Thommen

The Sebasteion at Aphrodisias:An Imperial Cult to Honor Augustus andthe Julio-Claudian Emperors

Geraldine Thommen

Augustus and the Julio-Claudian emperors successful reign over the vast Roman

Empire were due primarily to provincial loyalty and acquiescence. My researchexamines the intermingling of Roman, Hellenistic, and Aphrodisian art forms in theimperial sculptural reliefs of the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias in order to demonstratethe use of visual art forms to express provincial loyalty to the princeps. I argue thatthe diverse artistic styles of the Sebasteions imperial reliefs represent denitiveevidence of an imperial cult in the eastern provinces and signify imperial concordia,a primary aspect in the successful reign of Augustus and the Julio-Claudiansemperors.


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83Institute for European and Mediterranean Archaeology

The Sebasteion at Aphrodisias: An Imperial Cult to Honor Augustus and the Julio-Claudian Emperors

The successfu l reign of Augustus and theJulio-Claudian emperors over the vastRoman Empire was due in large part toprovincial loyalty and acquiescence. Inorder to express their allegiance to Romeand distinguish themselves from the citiesin the east, provincial leaders createdimperial cults to honor the rulers of theempire. Cults dedicated to the worshipof kings was a customary practice in theeastern provinces, but imperial cultsestablished for Augustus and the Julio-Claudian emperors used distinct formsof art and architecture to publicly display

their loyalty and worship to their newleader. Provincial populations also createdimperial cults as visual acknowledgmentof the emperors imperial propaganda,including his auctoritas, potestas, andpietas.

My research paper argues that theSebasteion at Aphrodisias, a temple andsanctuary dedicated to Augustus, AphroditeAphrodisias, and the Julio-Claud ianemperors, represents denitive evidenceof an imperial cult, based on the structures

and sculptural program created in responseto imperial conquest. Questions I willconsider include, how was the creation ofimperial cult viewed by the emperor, inwhat specic ways did imperia l cult benetAphrodisias and the emperor, how did theintermingling of artistic styles promoteimperial rule, and in what way did imperialcults in the East permit the provinces toelevate their status within the empire? Myresearch examines the Sebasteions distinctintermingling of Roman, Hellenistic, andAphrodisian art and architectural forms,

and focuses on three imperial reliefs withinthe sanctuary-temples sculptural program.At the conclusion of my paper, I hope tohave demonstrated that the Sebasteion inAphrodisias represents a unique Easternarchitectural design that provides strongevidence of a provincial imperial cult tohonor Augustus and the Julio-Claudianemperors.

Excavations of Aphrodisias began in 1960

by New York University professor KenanErim, and inscriptions, uncovered onfortied city walls, dated Aphrodisiassfounding between the late 2ndcentury andearly 1st century B.C.E. based on decreesissued from Rome.1 According to a largenumber of inscriptions discovered alongthe northern side of the citys theater,referred to as the Archive Wall, manyRoman Republic leaders, including Sullaand Julius Caesar, established politicalrelationships with the city and many ofits elite families. By the late 30s B.C.E.,

the city of Aphrodisias became a leadingprovince in the East for the RomanEmpire, in both strategic location andnatural resources. In his Annals, theancient historian Publius Cornelius Tacitusdocuments that Aphrodisias became anadvantageous locale for Romes militaryand political ventures throughout theEast, and he states that the city receivedhigh praise from Augustus regarding thedelity to the Roman nation with whichthey had sustained the Parthian inroad.2

The concept of eastern imperia l cultbecame an established religious andpolitical practice long before the reignof the Roman emperors. Kings in theHellenistic East legitimized their powerand divine right as absolute rulers by theirassociation with a state pantheon, andRoman republic leaders, including LuciusCornelius Sulla and Julius Caesar, usedeastern cults to validate their elevatedstatus. Eastern imperial cults offered god-like honors, referred to as isotheoi timai, sothat citizens could express eusebeia (piety )

and eunosein (loyalty) to the isotheos(one equal to the gods).3 The imperialcult that developed in the East to honorAugustus and his Julio-Claudian, a lthoughbased on the same principles used tovenerate Hellenistic monarchs and RomanRepublic leaders, established differentterminology and distinct forms of art andarchitecture to express their loyalty to the


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rulers of the Roman Empire.4 The termsebastos (holy/revered place) is the Greekequivalent for augustus and became thetitle bestowed upon the imperial emperorin the eastern provinces.5 Although theRoman princeps never ofcially sanctionedthe establishment of imperial cults in theeast; the honors were positively receivedby the emperors, which were advantageousfor their reign and provided visualacknowledgment of Augustan and Julio-Claudian propaganda in the East.

Ancient histor ical texts document that

citizens in the provinces were encouragedto honor the emperors, and expressgratitude and loyalty to Rome. Pliny statesin his Natural History that the RomanEmpire was the nurse and mother of allthe landsand joined together scatteredempires, implying that Rome and theemperors had established a communispatria for all citizens.6The quote insinuatesthat the numerous political and economicimprovements, at least based on Romanstandards, put in place after the conquestof the East by the Roman Empire

brought prosperity and peace to theseimpoverished or barbaric regions. Due tothe strong relationship between Augustusand the leaders of Aphrodisias prior to theRoman conquest, the prosperity that thecity experienced after Augustus becameemperor, and the citizenship bestowedupon many of the Aphrodisian aristocracy,certainly validates Pliny the Elders notionthat Rome was the nurturer of all lands.

The Sebasteion, discovered during a 1979excavation of Aphrodisias, not only signies

evidence of an imperial cult in name, butalso in its design, function, and sculpturaldecoration. According to inscriptions foundon the temples architrave, constructionbegan during the reign of Tiberius, butdue to numerous earthquakes during themid-1st century C.E. reconstruction andcompletion of the temple-sanctuary did notoccur until the reign of Nero. The east-west

oriented Sebasteion combined Hellenisticand Roman architectural conventions,but unusual architectural elements and

decorative forms reveal the developmentof an innovative Aphrodisian style.7

The axial-symmetrical plan appears to bemodeled on imperial fora, most notablythose created in Rome for Caesar andAugustus; both contain temples axiallyplaced at the end of symmetricallyanking porticoes.8Each portico containssuperimposed columns, a different order

Figure 1: Partial reconstructed elevation of South

Portico


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signifying each story, but the heightof the porticoes, and their placementanking a long processional or sanctuaryway represents a dist inct Aphrodisianarchitectural design (Fig. 1); this uniqueformat of elements was not replicatedin any other cities in the Greek East.The use of Roman bui lding forms in theconstruction of the Sebasteion implies thatthe Aphrodisians wished to demonstratetheir desire to simulate Roman structuresand sculpture. However, either because oftheir limited accessibility to actual Romanmodels or a desire to maintain a certain

level of artistic freedom, builders andsculptors implemented Hellenistic andAphrodisian art and architectural forms intheir construction of the Grand Sanctuary-Temple.

Full sculptural reliefs, as well as a multitudeof fragments, have been recovered fromthe Sebasteion site, and the organizationof these artworks within the temple hasbeen recreated by scholars from New YorkUniversity and Cambridge University,specically Kenan Erim and Christopher

Ratt from the former, and R. R. R. Smithfrom the latter, based on the excavatedmaterials from the site. On the second andthird stories of each portico, a complex seriesof 180 reliefs, 90 for each portico, originallydecorated the processional walkways.9Along the north port ico, six rel ief panelsand fteen inscribed bases have beenreconstructed from excavated fragments,but archaeologists have reconstructedthe north porticos visual program.10 Thesecond storey reliefs depicted ethn, orpersonications of the lands defeated

by Augustus. A series of single standingdraped women, differentiated by costume,attributes, and inscriptions located onthe bases, were most likely modeled froma catalog of reproductions produced inRome and distributed throughout theprovinces.11 The third storey of the northportico most likely contained a seriesof allegorical gures personifying time

and place, based on two recovered reliefsdepicting personications of Day andOcean, Hermera and Oceanus.12

The second storey reliefs containedprototypical scenes from the standardcanon of Greek religion and mythology,including Herakles, Dionysus, and Apollo,although a few restored panels containimages that refer specically to Rome orAphrodite, such as a relief recreating thescene of Romulus and Remus with the She-wolf.13The third story relief panels containimperial narrative scenes of Augustus

and the Julio-Claudian emperors withtheir family members, gods, or symbolicpersonications, juxtaposed next to panelsof mythological gures, such as Nike andRoma.14

Three imperia l rel iefs I have selectedto analyze for my research reectAphrodisiass percept ion of imper ial rule,as well as Augustan and Julio-Claudianpropaganda, and the design of the reliefsreveal the unique style of Aphrodisiansculptors. Three important elements

appear in each sculptural panel: the nudityof the emperor, specic imperial portraittypes, and a dened narrative that honorsdifferent attributes of each emperor. I willbriey explain the importance of thesethree elements, and then proceed with myanalysis of the individual imperial reliefs.

Nude images were a well-established artisticpractice in antiquity to honor gures ofprestige or power. In Rome, the emperorwas only represented nude after his death,signifying his divine status. In provincial

imperial cults, nudity became a commonmeans of visual representation to honorthe emperor as a divine leader, as wellas imperial attributes of pax, concordia,stability, and prosperity that he brought tothe provinces. Although the nude imageof the emperor was representative of theirdivinity in the East, they were not meantto be represented as actual gods. Imperial


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leaders were given honors equivalent tothe gods, or isotheoi timai, meaning thatthey were venerated and bestowed sacredhonors, but acknowledged as mortal men;the key word is equivalent, indicating alevel of separation between emperor andgod.15

The emperors portraits used in theSebasteion reliefs demonstrate thatAphrodisian sculptors had access toreproductions of imperial portrait types,but local sculptors replicated them withtheir own personal style and techniques.16For instance, Augustuss image resembleshis Prima Porta type, but his three pincerlocks are positioned in a direction thatdiverges from his imperial portrait.Identication of the princeps was essentialto understand the meaning of each relief,

and the three imperial relief panelsexamined in this research paper, althoughnot exact likenesses, would be identiableby all visitors who came to the Sebasteionto honor the emperors.

The iconography, personicat ions, andmotifs used in the narrative scenes of thereliefs were essential elements in conveyingthe intended meaning of each panel, andthey provided the most conclusive evidencethat the Sebasteion was an eastern-designedimperial cult to honor Augustus and theJulio-Claud ian emperors, unique to theGreek East. Themes found within thethree relief panels include military victory,conquest of barbaric nations, peace, andunity. Sculptors carefully intermingledRoman, Hellenistic, and Aphrodisianimages to depict each emperors

Figure 2: Augustus, Nike, and Trophy, South Portico


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accomplishments, and the positive changesthey brought to the East.

Imperial triumphs by the princepsachieved stability and peace throughoutthe provinces, and the sculptural relief,Augustus with Nike and trophy (g. 2),exemplied the pax and concordia thatAugustus brought to Aphrodisias due tohis many victorious conquests. Augustussvictories and resulting dominion isconveyed through the symbolic imagesof the relief: an eagle situated along hisright leg, and the personication of trophypositioned to his left, standing atop a bound

captive, presented to him by the Greekgoddess Nike. Augustuss facial featuresand hair, although not exact likenesses ofhis imperial portrait types, appears looselymodeled on the Prima Porta and Forbestype. The size of the emperors ear andmodeled physiognomy appear accurate insize and shape to his imperial portraits,but the placement of his three pincer locksof hair, a standard element of his sculptedimage, lacks the precise placement on hisupper forehead. The emperors classicallynude body, signifying his divinity, ispresented in a relaxed contrapposto stance,his head turned to the left toward trophy

Figure 3: Claudius and Agrippina, South Portico


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an uncommon subject matter in Augustanart, but the unique narrative of the

Sebasteion panel. In Figure 2, Augustuswith Nike and trophy, the interminglingof Roman and Hellenistic forms representsa distinctly Aphrodisian design, as thesewere not typical imperia l representationsin the Greek East, and may allude toAphrodisiass close relat ions with theRoman Empire. The image of Augustussurrounded by accolades and attributes of

and Nike. Augustus holds a scepter in hisright hand, which conveyed imperial rule,

and his head is decorated with a wreath,most likely made from oak leaves, thatsignied the emperors victorious triumphsthat saved the lives of the Roman citizens,and referred specically to the people ofthe eastern provinces.

Augustus depicted with images of Nike, atrophy, or a conquered prisoner, was not

Figure 4: Nero and Armenia, South Portico


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his imperial reign provides strong evidenceof an imperial cult to honor the peace andstability Augustus brought to the RomanEmpire through his military victories andconquests.

Personal attributes of the emperor, admiredand honored by provincial populations,represented the theme conveyed in theimperial relief, Claudius and Agrippina (Fig.3). The panel depicts the third princeps ofthe Roman Empire shaking the hand of hisfourth wife, Agrippina the Younger, while atogate stands at the same height, an eastern

interpretation of equality between thesethree gures. Shaking hands in Roman artcommonly symbolized marital concordiaor des between political leaders, but ineastern iconography this action typicallydenoted death or parting.17 The imperialrelief, Claudius and Agrippina, certainlyhonored Roman concordia between theemperor and his wife.

Portraits of Claudius did not appear until41 C.E. when he became emperor at theage of fty-one, which typically depicted

the middle aged princeps with wrinklesabove his eyebrows and around his mouth,as well as fringed hair across his forehead.The image of Claudiuss advanced ageimplied his pietas, or even his modestia,two important qualities emphasized inimperial propaganda. The emperors wifeAgrippina the Younger appears looselymodeled on her imperial portrait typewith four deeply cut, elaborate rows ofcurled hair. Despite missing an idealizedhead, the sculptural image of the RomanState or People places the corona civica

upon Claudiuss head, signifying that theemperor had saved the lives of not just asingle Roman citizen, but the entire RomanEmpire. The imperial rel ief panel, Claudiusand Agrippina, conveyed concordia andprotection within the empire, two keyqualities honored in an imperial cult, butthe image of imperial husband and wifeshaking hands, and the togate sculpture

signifying the Roman State, represented asculptural format unique to Aphrodisiansculpture.

The nal imperial relief, Nero and Armenia(Fig. 4), contains Roman and Easterniconography, and includes not only imagesthat honor dominance and peace, butacknowledges the emperors compassiontoward conquered nations. Neros nude,muscular physique, adorned with only ashort cloak draped around his neck, andfastened with a round brooch, as well asa baldric carrying an empty scabbard

hanging along his side, towered above thepersonication of the Armenian nation.The portrait and torso appear modeledfrom young imperial portrait types of Nero,but this relief presented a non-typologicalrepresentation of the center-part fringedhair along his forehead.

The personication of Armenia, whoseslumped, defeated gure sits up on theground, supported by Neros legs andhands, contained numerous iconographicalelements that identied her as a barbarian

nation. A short cloak on her shoulders andshort boots with ribbon-like ties, coupledwith her soft phrygian placed atop herlong, unbound hair that fell down pasther shoulders, represents a barbaric gure;a quiver and bow propped next to theconquered gure represented iconographytypically associated with Armenia.18 In theSebasteion relief panel, the emperor appearsready to lift up the conquered nation andwelcome her into the empire, although thepersonied Armenia had suffered defeat.Neros successful campaigns against

Armenia received signicant publicityand notoriety throughout the RomanEmpire.19 The Sebasteion relief panel,Nero and Armenia, provided denitiveevidence of an imperial cult to honor theemperors potestas, pietas, and auctoritas,and the unique format of the gures in theimperial sculptural panel demonstratedan innovative Aphrodisian aesthetic that


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reected the artists and citys perceptionof the emperor and his accomplishments inthe East.

The successfu l reign of Augustus and theJulio-Claudian emperors depended on theloyalty and acquiescence of the easternprovinces. Although not demanded byRoman leaders, the creation of templesand sanctuaries to honor the princeps alsoexpressed visual acknowledgment andacceptance of the propagandized valuesand virtues of the emperors. The extensivesculptural program of the Sebasteion at

Aphrodisias, and more specical ly, theimperial relief panels on the third storeyof the south portico, represented a uniqueintermingling of Roman, Hellenistic, andAphrodisian artist ic styles that presentedevidence of an imperial cult to honorAugustus and the Jul io-Claud ian emperors,and documented a unique local aesthet ic ofthe citys sculptors, and their interpretat ionand support for imperial reign.

Endnotes:

1 Reynolds 1982, 2-4.2 Tacitus 3.62.3 Price 1984, 88.4 Taylor 1975, 244-245.5 Taylor 1975, 168.6 Pliny 2.3.39.7 Smith 1987, 92-94.8 Smith 1987, 94.9 Smith 1988, 51,53.10 Smith 1988, 95-96.11 Smith 1990, 92-9412 Smith 1988, 51.13 Smith 1987, 97.14 Smith 1987, 96-98.

15 Price 1984, 88.16 Price 1984, 100.17 Price 1984, 107.18 Smith 1987, 118.19 Smith 1987.


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Works C ited:

Ando, Clifford. 2000. Imperia l Ideology andProvincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire. Berkeley:University of California Press.

Erim, Kenan T. 1982. A New Relief ShowingClaudius and Britannia from Aphrodisias. Britannia,

Vol. 13, 277-i i.

Erim, Kenan T. 1986. Aphrodisias: City of Venus.New York: Facts on File Publications.

Erim, Kenan T. 1990. Recent Work at Aphrodisias.Aphrodisias Papers: Recent work on architectureand sculpture, eds Charlotte Rouech. Ann Arbor:Department of Classical Studies, University of

Michigan.

Pliny the Elder. 1940. Natural History, trans by H.Rockham. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Price, S. R. F. 1984. Gods and Emperors: The GreekLanguage of the Roman Imperial Cult. The Journalof Hellenic Studies, Vol. 104, 79-95.

Ratt, Christopher. 2008. The Founding ofAphrodisias. Aphrodisias Paper s 4: New researchon the city and its monuments, eds Christopher Rattand R. R. R. Smith. Portsmouth: Journal of Roman

Archaeology.

Reynolds, Joyce. 1982. Aphrodisias and Rome.London: The Society for the Promotion of RomanStudies.

Reynolds, Joyce. 1981. New Evidence for theImperial Cult in Julio-Claudian Aphrodisias.Zeitschrift fr Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd 43,317-327.

Smith, R. R. R. 1996. Archaeological research atAphrodisias, 1989-1992. Aphrodisias Papers 3:The sett ing and quarries, mytholog ical and othersculptural decoration, architectural development,Portico of Tiberius and Tetrapylon, eds CharlotteRouech and R. R. R. Smith. Ann Arbor: Journal ofRoman Archaeology.

Smith, R. R. R. 1987. The Imperial Reliefs from theSebasteion at Aphrodisias. The Journal of RomanStudies, Vol. 77, 22-138.

Smith, R. R. R. 1990. Myth and Allegory in theSebasteion. Aphrodisias Papers: Recent work onarchitecture and sculpture, eds Charlotte Rouechand Kenan T. Erim. Ann Arbor: TheUniversity ofMichigan.

Smith, R. R. R. 1988. Simulcra Gentium: The Ethnefrom the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias. The Journal of

Roman Studies, Vol. 78, 50-77.

Tacitus. 1937. The Annals, ed John Jackson. 16vols . Loeb Classical Librar y. Cambr idge: Har vardUniversity Press.

Taylor, L ily Ross . 1931. The Divin ity of the RomanEmperor. American Philological Association.

the sebasteion at aphrodisias an imperial cult

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