SEG 22.152 Honours for Julia Augusta [Artemis] Boulaia

Honours for Julia Augusta [Artemis] Boulaia

SEG 22.152 Date: 14-29 AD

Julia Augusta [Artemis] Boulaia, mother of Tiberius [Caesar] Augustus, [the People and] the Council of the Areopagos (erected this statue of her)

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References:

SEG 22.152 (Translated text) (PHI)

Ehrenburg and Jones, Augustus and Tiberius 89

Schmalz 135

Agora XVIII 254

Leone, Polis, Platz und Porträt 36

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Agora Excavations - (1)

Monument type: Base

Inscription type: Statue Base (Areopagos)

Findspot: Agora (Ag. I 4012)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] The inscription derives from the base for a statue of Livia, widow of Augustus and mother of the emperor Tiberius, sometime between the latter's accession in 14 AD, when she assumed the name Julia Augusta, and her death in 29 AD. There are two holes in top for the feet of a bronze statue which was life size or slightly bigger. The inscription probably identifies Livia with a goddess with the epithet Boulaia ("of counsel"). The goddess is most likely Artemis, given Augustus' close associations with Apollo, but Athena or Hestia are possible alternatives (M. Kantiréa, Les dieux et les dieux augustes, 2007, 113-14). The epithet parallels the identification of Augustus with Zeus Boulaios in I Eleusis 297. It also suggests a connection with the Athenian Boule, especially as the base was found near the Bouleuterion (incorporated into a Byzantine wall). Thompson suggested that the Southwest Temple directly opposite the Boule was built to house her cult (H. Thompson, Hesperia 21, 1952, 91). For other identifications of Julio-Claudians with deities, see SEG 29.167 with notes. For other inscriptions relating to Livia at Athens, see IG II² 3238 with notes.

Added: 24 Jul 2026
Updated: 24 Jul 2026
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ID: AIO_3798