AIUK7 no. 2 Statue base for Julia Domna

Statue base for Julia Domna

AIUK 7 (Chatsworth) no. 2 Date: after 195 AD

Julia Domna Augusta,^[1] wife of L(ucius) Septimius Severus Eusebes Pertinax Augustus (5) Arabicus Adiabenicus^[2] mother of the camps.^[3] The city (dedicated it).

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Greek text

References:

AIUK 7 (Chatsworth) no. 2 (Translated text) (AIO) (AIUK)

IG II² 3415 (PHI)

SEG 47.223

Boschung, MAR XXII no. 133

I Eleusis 519 (PHI)

Translation by: Peter Liddel, Polly Low

AIO Images: 1

Images: Arachne - (1)

Monument type: Base

Inscription type: Statue base (City)

Findspot: Eleusis? (Chatsworth - Boschung 133)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is the base of a statue set up in honour of Julia Domna, who was Roman empress from AD 193 to 211 (when her husband Septimius Severus died; Domna died in AD 217). The statue does not survive. The dedication was made by the city of Athens, but it seems very likely that it was set up at Eleusis. (It was seen there by a British traveller in the early nineteenth century; in 1824 it was acquired by Sir Augustus Clifford, who then gave it to his half-brother, the Sixth Duke of Devonshire. It is the only Attic inscription at Chatsworth with recorded provenance). We do not know what prompted the creation of this monument, although there is other evidence for Domna receiving extensive honours from the Athenians: Agora XVI 340 and 341 decree cult honours for her, associating her closely with Athena Polias and ordering that a gold cult-statue of her be installed in the Parthenon. She is also honoured in IG II² 3418, I Eleusis 518, and IG II³ 4, 1397 . [2] Septimius Severus adopted the title “Adiabenicus” in AD 195, after his campaigns against the Assyrian kingdom. This inscription must therefore date to 195 or later. [3] The title “mother of the camps” was formally granted to Domna on 14th April 195 or 196, in recognition of her morale-boosting role in Septimius’ eastern campaigns. It appears in both Greek and Latin inscriptions honouring the empress.

Added: 21 Oct 2019
Updated: 27 Jun 2024
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ID: AIO_1958