IGII2 3268 Honours for Claudius (41 AD)

Honours for Claudius (41 AD)

IG II² 3268 Date: 41 AD

The Council of the Areopagos [and the Council] of the Six Hundred and the People (erected this statue of) Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, emperor, consul designate (5) for the second time, pontifex maximus, tribunician power (41 AD), the dedicator being . . . son of Diokles of Piraeus, [having been manager (epimelēteusantos)] of the Piraeus twice, . . . - and to the great gods, the hoplite (10) general being Dio- of Besa, and the eponymous [archon of the city being] . . . Leo-^[1]

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References:

IG II² 3268 (Translated text) (PHI)

Højte, Statue Bases Claudius 83

Schmalz 146

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Monument type: Base

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

Findspot: Athens (EM 10359)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] Textual note: A. E. Raubitschek, Hesperia 12, 1943, 68 restores the name of the hoplite general in ll. 10-11 as Διοτε[ίμου Θεοφίλου | Βησ]αιέως (Diotimos son of Theophilos of Besa, cf. IG II² 3580). Schmalz proposes to restore the name of the archon in l. 11-12 as ἐπωνύμ[ου δὲ ἄρχοντος Λυσιάδου | νεωτέ]ρου τοῦ Λεω[νίδου Μελιτέως] (“and the eponymous [archon being Lysiades | the younger], the son of Leo[nides of Melite],” cf. IG II² 1975).

This is a statue base for the emperor Claudius (r. 41-54 AD). Claudius’ titulature indicates that this base was erected in his first year of office (D. Kienast and W. Eck, Römische Kaisertabelle,⁶ 2017, 83), probably in response to his accession. The base was seen in Athens in the house of one Nicholas Trini by Jacob Spon in 1676, but there is no information on its original location. Claudius had fairly few known interactions with Athens. He returned a set of monuments that had been taken from Athens by his predecessor, Caligula (IG II² 5173-5179, Cassius Dio 60.6.8, cf. Paus. 9.27.3). Some scholars have suggested that he funded the construction of the great stairway leading up to the Propylaia on the west side of the Acropolis which occurred during his reign (IG II² 2292, ll. 49-51 and 2297, ll. 11-12; T. L. Shear Jr. Hesperia 50, 1981, 367), although no source explicitly says so. Athenian honours for him were extensive. They were spearheaded by Tiberius Claudius Novius, who dominated Athens throughout his reign and into that of Nero (see IG II² 1990 with notes). The Athenians instituted games in honour of him and the Imperial family at the beginning of his reign, called the Sebasta or Augustan Games (IG II² 3270 with notes). For other statues of Claudius at Athens, see IG II² 3269-3276, NAMA 430, Piraeus Museum inv. 1163, another in the Piraeus Museum, and perhaps Ag. S 347 (B. Martens, JRS 113, 2023, 153, n. 65). It is possible that IG II² 3266 commemorates Claudius and his first wife Valeria Messalina. His second wife and niece, Agrippina the Younger, is commemorated by I Eleusis 354 and perhaps Agora XVIII 255.

Added: 24 Jul 2026
Updated: 24 Jul 2026
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