IEleus 483 Honours for Titus Flavius Hierophant of Paiania

Honours for Titus Flavius Hierophant of Paiania

I Eleusis 483 Date: 162-167/8 AD

With good fortune,^[1] the Areopagos Council and the Council of the 500 and the People of the Athenians dedicated (this statue of) [Titus Fl(avius) Hierophant] of Paiania son of Titus Fl(avius) Alkibiades of Paiania, who served as (5)[eponymous] archon (104/5), festival commander (panēguriarchēsantos),^[2] herald [of the Areopagos Council], hoplite general and gymnasiarch from his own resources,^[3] competition director (agonothetēsantos) of the Panathenia from his family funds, grandson of Titus Fl(avius) Leosthenes of Paiania, who served as eponymous archon, (10)festival commander, herald of the Areopagos Council, hoplite general 3 times, and gymnasiarch, competition director of the Panathenaia, having been appointed by the God Hadrian,^[4] brother of Titus Fl(avius) Alkibiades of Paiania, who served as eponymous archon (139/40), festival commander, (15)herald of the Areopagos Council, who (i.e. Titus Flavius Hierophant) served as archon, festival commander, gymnasiarch from his family funds with bowls (olkeiois),^[5] having served as envoy twice to Rome during the reign of the God Antoninus, son of Fl(avia) Eisidora daughter of Fl(avius) Herakleitos and Domitia Laodameia, descendant of Krateros, who maintains the trust (pistin) (20) of the city to this day through what he left behind,^[6] as hierophant, he (i.e. Titus Flavius Hierophant) having gratified the city through the brilliance of his descent and all his love of honour (philotimiais), having received the headband (strophion) in the presence of the Emperor God Antoninus and,^[7] when he initiated the Emperor Lucius Aurelius Verus, by holding the Mysteries (25) twice in one year – and legitimately (kata to themiton) so – and installed him as a Eumolpid, having brought us together, since we also had (the benefit of) him proposing this, (so Athens) dedicated (this statue to him) thanks to the scale of his excellence (aretēs) and of his piety towards the gods, also in this matter.^[8]

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References:

I Eleusis 483 (Translated text) (PHI)

IG II² 3592 (PHI)

SEG 31.167 (PHI)

Syll.³ 869

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Base

Inscription type: Statue base (Areopagos, Council, and People)

fr. a - Findspot: Eleusis (Eleusis Museum E 144 + 1001)
fr. b - Findspot: Eleusis (Eleusis Museum E 178)
fr. c - Findspot: Eleusis (Eleusis Museum E 91)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is a statue base for Titus Flavius Hierophant of Paiania, who was hierophant of the Eleusinian Mysteries from ca. 160-167/8 AD, emphasising his family relationships (ll. 4-20), civic benefactions (ll. 16-17), and the connection of his religious role to the emperors (cf. I Eleusis 503). In accordance with the practice of hieronymy, ‘Hierophant’ is used in place of the honorand’s personal name (which was probably Leosthenes). It also presents the careers of his father Titus Flavius Alkibiades (ll. 4-8), paternal grandfather Titus Flavius Leosthenes (ll. 8-13), brother Titus Flavius Alkibiades (ll. 13-15), and maternal ancestors (ll. 18-20). On the family, see S. Byrne, Roman Citizens of Athens (2003) 255-59. [2] The festival commander (panegyriarchos) was one of the most common liturgies in Imperial Athens, responsible for feeding the attendees at the Eleusinian Mysteries and perhaps also for other aspects of that festival (D. Geagan, Athenian Constitution after Sulla, 1967, 136). [3] The inscription notes that Alkibiades held the gymnasiarchy from his own resources, because, since Hadrian had donated funds to cover the cost of this expensive liturgy in perpetuity, this was extraordinary (Geagan Athenian Constitution, 1967, 130-131). [4] Hadrian might have appointed Titus Flavius Leosthenes as competition director (agonothetes) of the Panathenaia as archon in 112/3 AD (organisation of processions traditionally fell under the remit of the archon: Ath. Pol. 56.4). Alternatively, Hadrian may have served as competition director in absentia and appointed Leosthenes to perform the physical aspects of the role on his behalf. [5] For the gymnasiarchy "with bowls" (used to distribute olive oil), cf. IG II² 1945, l. 2; J. Robert and L. Robert, Hellenica 6, 1948, 127-30. [6] The honorand claimed descent on his mother’s side from one Krateros, who had apparently established an endowment benefitting the city which remained active (on endowments, see Puech, Orateurs 1 with notes). [7] The headband (strophion) was the symbol of priestly office, so apparently the honorand was appointed as hierophant by Antoninus Pius (r. 138-161), on one of his embassies to Rome (cf. ll. 16-17). This must have occurred between the last attestation of the previous hierophant in 157/8 or 159/60 (SEG 28.169, l. 30) and Antoninus’ death in 161. It is unclear why Antoninus Pius was involved in the appointment (Eleusinian priests were usually elected by the Athenian People). Perhaps this was the result of a legal dispute (K. Clinton, The Sacred Officials of the Eleusinian Mysteries, 1974, 36-38). For a possible parallel and for the appointment of Eleusinian priests in the Imperial Age, see SEG 29.127, fr. e l. 1-15 with notes. On Antoninus Pius' relationship with Athens, see Oliver, Constitutions 134. [8] Emperor Lucius Verus (r. 161-169 AD) was initiated during his visit to Athens in 162 AD (see Agora XVIII 315, ll. 23-26; other evidence for the visit is collected in T. D. Barnes, JRS 57, 1967, 71; S. Follet, Athènes, 1976, 55, 136 n. 8). The hierophant led the ceremony, but the actual initiation of Lucius Verus was performed by Lucius Memmius Altar Priest (I Eleusis 503). The Mysteries were held twice in a single month, so that Lucius Verus could pass through both stages of initiation during the one visit. Plutarch, Demetrios 26 says that it was not lawful when the Athenians previously did this for Demetrios Poliorketes in 303 BC, which may explain the defensive assertion that it was done legitimately (l. 25). The honorand also proposed and carried out the admission of Lucius Verus into the genos of the Eumolpidai (cf. Commodus’ appointment as archon of the genos in I Eleusis 513).

Added: 6 Mar 2026
Updated: 6 Mar 2026
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