IGII2 3295 Thasos honours Hadrian

Thasos honours Hadrian

IG II² 3295 Date: ca. 132 AD

(This statue of) Emperor Hadrian Augustus Olympios (was erected by) the Thasians,^[1] 5 through the envoy and artist, Xenophantos son of Chares,^[2] in the priesthood of Claudius Attikos.^[3]

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References:

IG II² 3295 (Translated text) (PHI)

Ameling, Herodes Atticus II 40

Højte, Statue Bases 214

DNO 4176

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Base

Inscription type: Statue base (Other city)

Findspot: Athens, St. Ioannis Mankouti (Odos Mnesikleos and Erotokritou) (EM 504)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This statue base is part of a group erected for Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 AD) in the precinct of the Temple of Olympian Zeus by delegations from cities throughout the Roman Empire to celebrate Hadrian's consecration of the temple in 132 AD (see IG II² 3290 with notes). On epigraphic evidence for Hadrian at Athens, see IG II² 5185 with notes.

The dedicator of this statue, Thasos, was an Aegean island off the coast of Thrace. Two altars dedicated to Hadrian and his empress, Sabina, have been found there, which both call him "Olympios, saviour, and founder" and one of which calls her "the new Hera" (IG XII Suppl. 440-441), as well as a statue base (J. Pouilloux and C. Dunant, Recherches sur l'histoire et les cultes de Thasos, 1958, 87, n. 187). It is possible that these indicate that Hadrian had visited the island in 132 AD. Pausanias also notes that the Olympieion precinct contained two statues of Hadrian made of Thasian marble (1.18.6), which was highly prized in the Imperial period. There is an oval cutting on the top of the base for a crowning block, which would have supported the statue itself. [2] Xenophantos is probably one of the artists of Dionysos, a group responsible for organising theatrical performances at major festivals throughout the empire (see IG II² 1320 and AIUK 4.3A (BM Decrees) 9, with notes). The artists' peripatetic nature made them effective envoys (cf. the athlete who serves as envoy in IG II² 3296). Alternatively, he may be the sculptor of the statue (for a certain reference to a sculptor, see IG II² 3300). [3] For Claudius Attikos, first priest of the Olympieion and also high priest of the imperial cult at Athens, see Agora XV 322.

Added: 17 Aug 2024
Updated: 17 Aug 2024
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ID: AIO_3002