CILIII 549 Dedication of the Aqueduct of Hadrian

Dedication of the Aqueduct of Hadrian

CIL III 549 Date: 139 AD?

Latin Text: Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrian Antoninus Augustus Pius, consul 3 times, tribunician power 2 times (139 AD?), father of the fatherland, this aqueduct in new Athens, begun by the God Hadrian, his father, he completed and dedicated.^[1]

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References:

CIL III 549 (Translated text) (EDH)

ILS 337

SIA VI 2

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Epistyle

Inscription type: Building inscription

Original location: Athens, Dexamini Square

Findspot: Athens, Dexamini Square (In situ , National Gardens)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This Latin building inscription appeared on the epistyle of a portico on the front tank of a reservoir located at the site of the modern Dexamini Square, on the southwest slope of Lykabettos. This was the terminus of a 17.8 km-long subterranean aqueduct, which brought water to Athens from Mount Parnes to the north. It was begun by Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 AD), completed by Antoninus Pius (r. 138-161 AD), and remained in use until 1940 AD (see E. D. Chiotis in G. A. Aristodemou and T. P. Tassios, Great Waterworks in Roman Greece, 2018, 70-97 on the aqueduct and A. Borlenghi, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene 84, 2006, 63-99 on the reservoir). Latin is unusual in Athenian inscriptions and was usually employed, as here, to emphasise the text's close association with the Roman Imperial power. For other Latin inscriptions at Athens, see SIA VI. It is disputed whether the "new Athens" was a new suburb built to the east of the city by Hadrian or a reference to Hadrian's renewal of the city (see IG II² 5185 with notes on this issue and Hadrian's relationship with Athens in general). Hadrian built several other aqueducts, including an even longer one to bring water from Stymphalos to Corinth. Aqueducts tended to be products of Roman Imperial power rather than civic benefactors, because they were very expensive, often crossed civic boundaries, and represented a triumph over the natural order that would appear hubristic from ordinary people (S. Alcock, Graecia Capta, 1993, 124-26). The imperial titulature is irregular, since Antoninus Pius did not become consul for the third time until his third year of tribunician power, but might indicate a date between 18 August and 9 December 139 AD, when Antoninus was consul designate for the 3rd time (Kienast, Romische Kaisertabelle⁶ 128). Antoninus, who stressed his continuation of Hadrian’s legacy throughout his reign, was thus quick to bring this aqueduct to completion. He also continued Hadrian’s patronage of the Panhellenion (OGIS 504), but otherwise seems to have been much less interested in Athens than his predecessor or his successor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180 AD).

The full inscription was seen, already in ruins, by Cyriacus of Ancona in 1436. The right half had been lost by 1676. When the Haseki Wall was built in 1778, the left half was reused as the lintel of the Boubounistra Gate (at Syntagma Square). Since the demolition of the wall in 1834, this portion has been located in the National Gardens (M. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos and E. Papi, Hadrianvs – Αδριανός, 2018, 173-79).

Added: 17 Aug 2024
Updated: 17 Aug 2024
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