IGII2 5185 Arch of Hadrian

Arch of Hadrian

IG II² 5185 Date: 132 AD

Face A

This is Athens, once Theseus' city.

Face B

This is Hadrian's and not Theseus' city.^[1]

Previous - IG II² 5140 Next - IG II² 5186

References:

IG II² 5185 (Translated text) (PHI)

Translation by: Chris de Lisle

Images: Wikimedia Commons - (1)

Monument type: Gateway

Inscription type: Building inscription

Findspot: Arch of Hadrian (In situ)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This pair of iambic trimeters are inscribed on the Arch of Hadrian, located east of the Acropolis on the east-west road running past the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Face A is inscribed on the west face, so that it would have been seen by people heading from the centre of the city towards the temple. Face B is located on the east face; a viewer approaching from this side sees the Acropolis framed beneath the arch. The inscriptions juxtapose Theseus, the mythical founder of Athens, with the Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 AD), who completed the Temple of Olympian Zeus and visited Athens for its consecration in 132 AD (see below). The arch was erected by the Athenians on the route of the celebratory procession for this event (A. Adams in The Greek Renaissance, 1989, 10-16). The inscription appears to be a striking assertion that Hadrian had superseded Theseus as founder of the city of Athens. An alternative suggestion is that the arch marked the border between the old city of Theseus, west of the arch, and a new city of Hadrian to the east (M. Zahrnt, Chiron 9, 1979, 393-398 with Vit. Hadrian 20.4 and Phlegon FGrH 257 F 19; cf. "the new Athens" of CIL III 549). The text would parallel that on a column supposedly erected by Theseus on the Isthmos to mark the border between the Peloponnese and Ionia (Plut. Theseus 25.3). However, the archaeological evidence has not revealed much Hadrianic building around the Temple of Olympian Zeus (most of his other structures were located to the north of the Acropolis); both inscriptions seem to emphasise that Theseus' city was a thing of the past; and they seem to be the wrong way around, since Face B, which should be read by people entering the new city, is instead seen by those approaching the Acropolis (M. Fuchs, Athenische Mitteilungen 131/132, 2016/2017, 297-322). On the architecture of the arch and its subsequent history, see A. Kouremenos in A. Kouremenos, The Province of Achaia in the 2^nd century CE (2022), 345-75. It seems to be modelled on the arch of Hadrian at Ephesos, likewise built over a major processional way (cf. H. Thür, Das Hadrianstor in Ephesos, 1989). In the mid-second century AD, a pair of replicas were erected on either side of the entrance to the sacred precinct at Eleusis (IG II³ 4 217-218) and Herodes Atticus erected a gate with somewhat similar inscriptions for his wife's estate (IG II² 5189 and SEG 23.121). The inscription on face A is referenced in an ephebic oration of 184/5 AD (SEG 50.155, ll, 34-35).

Hadrian was widely noted for his philhellenism and particularly for his patronage of Athens, which far exceeded that of all other Roman emperors (see D. Willers, Hadrians panhellenisches Program 1990; M. Boatwright, Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire, 2002, 144-171). Before his accession, he was educated in rhetoric by an Athenian, Isaios (cf. IG II³ 4, 137), received Athenian citizenship in the deme of Besa, and served as archon in 112 AD (see IG II² 3286 with notes). As emperor, he visited Athens in 121, 124, and 132 AD. Probably in 124 AD, Hadrian issued a new constitution for Athens, at the city’s request, of which one section survives (IG II² 1100). He is the first emperor from whom inscribed letters survive at Athens, which make further regulations for the city and announce gifts to it (IG II² 1101-1103). He also wrote letters to organisations based in the Athens, including the Epicureans (SEG 55.249-250), the artists of Dionysos (SEG 33.139), and the musical artists of the Dancer (SEG 30.86). He sponsored a massive programme of construction in the city, which included the Library of Hadrian (cf. IG II² 3288), an aqueduct (CIL III 549), and many other structures (for a full summary of building works in Athens during Hadrian’s reign, see M. Lagogiani-Georgakarakos and E. Papi, Hadrianvs – Αδριανός, 2018: Link). The culmination of these benefactions came in 132 AD with the consecration of the Temple of Olympian Zeus in 132 AD (see IG II² 3290 and 5186). At the consecration, Hadrian founded the Panhellenion, a league of privileged Greek cities, with its headquarters in Athens (see IG II³ 4 215 with notes) and established the Panhellenia, Olympia, and Hadrianeia festivals as further sacred games, making Athens the only city in the Roman Empire to celebrate sacred games in all four years of the Olympic cycle.

In return for his benefactions, the Athenians erected this arch, over a hundred altars (see Benjamin Altars of Hadrian 7 with notes), and statues in the Theatre of Dionysos (IG II² 3286-3287D), inside the Parthenon (Pausanias 1.24.7; Raubitschek, Hadrian 1), behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus (Paus. 1.18.6), and elsewhere (IG II² 3288, 3311). They established a new tribe named Hadrianis, probably in 124 AD, and a new deme named Antinoeis after his lover Antinoos, perhaps in 130 AD (these are first attested in Agora XV 334 of 141/2 and IG II² 2049, ll. 78-85 of 142/3 AD respectively). Both Hadrian and Antinoos received cultic honours (SEG 30.86; IG II³ 4, 1901; 1929, AIO Papers 12, 40-44; F. Camia in A. Kouremenos, The Province of Achaia in the 2^nd Century CE, 2022, 93-117). Further statues were erected in Athens for Hadrian by other cities (IG II² 3290-3310, SEG 41.143, 48.204, CIL III 7282-7283, 7285), by groups (IG II² 3313, SEG 32.255, 47.222), by individuals (IG II² 3314-3320, Agora XVIII 262, I Rhamnous 158, SEG 32.254, 35.148), and by unknown dedicants (IG II² 3382-3383, 3385, Agora XVIII 261, I Eleusis 453, SEG 32.253, 48.205). Three statues survive for his empress Sabina and his in-laws Matidia the Elder and Younger (IG II² 3387-3389).

Added: 17 Aug 2024
Updated: 19 Aug 2024
Feedback

ID: AIO_3059