Some Aspects of the Socio-Cultural Life of Roman Heraclea Pontica in the Light of the Epigraphic, Numismatic and Literary Evidence, G. R. Tsetskhladze (†) – Ş. Yıldırım (eds.), Tios/Tieion on the Southern Black Sea in the Broader Context of Pontic Archaeology, Archaeopress - Oxford 2023, 168–194. (original) (raw)
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The ancient city of Heraclea (Pontica) having its name from the semi-god hero Heracles is situated today in the Eregli district of Zonguldak province in the western Black Sea region of Turkey. Ancient authors tells that the city was founded by Megarians & Boiotians which are known as Dorian tribes in ca. 560 B.C. In addition to coastal site feature, with its powerful policy which is based on tyranny in IV. century B.C., the site became one of the most important politicial authorities in the region till 70 AD when fell under Roman dominion. In Roman Period Heraclea was a part of the provincia Pontus et Bithynia which Romans constituted and kept its importance administratively and economically till the end of Byzantine period. So as to research the history of the Roman Heraclea, the epigraphical works carried on in Karadeniz Eregli Museum since 2007, that revealed so many new epigraphical materials of the city. New votive and grave inscriptions enrich our understanding of the social and cultural life of Heraclea in Roman imperial period. The dedications of the indvidiuals give an idea about the religious life of Roman Heraclea: Marcus Aurelius Silius Domitius Marcianus offers a dedication to goddess Ma for his saviour which puts forward the presence of this Anatolian goddess not only in Heraclea but also in Bithynia region for the first time. A statuette dedication by Asklepiodoros to Heracles Alexikakos (healer & saviour Herakles) demonstrates the continuity of the cult of Heracles in Roman period in the territory. From a dedication of Aurelius Zeuxius to an unknown deity, we learn his religious position as hieropoios. The grave inscriptions are important as well to understand the social & cultural life: The grave inscription of Aurelius Artemonianos Menios, gives the magistracy titles of him as ephebarkhos and paraphylaks that presents knowledge about the ephebarkheia and education. A grave stone of estate & farm managers (oikonomoi & oikonomissai), presents the traces of Roman period farms in the territory of Heraclea. The names on the inscriptions also give information about the Thracian origin of the people, the respected deities, Roman citizenship and Romanization of the city partly.
This is an edited volume of papers delivered at a conference ”Heraclea Sintica: from Hellenistic polis to Roman civitas (4th c. BC — 6th c. AD)“, which took place on September 19-21, 2013 in Petrich, Bulgaria. CONTENTS: L. Vagalinski, E. Nankov. Preface E. Nankov. In Search of a Founder and the Early Years of Heraclea Sintica M.-G. Parissaki. Reconstructing the Tribal History of the Middle Strymon Valley: The Impact of the Muletarovo Inscription G. Mitrev. On the Borders and Urban Territory of Heraclea Sintica D. Garbov. Roman and Early Byzantine Rural Landscapes along the Middle Strymon: A Preliminary Overview L. Vagalinski. Recent Archaeological Data about Heraclea Sintica I. Cholakov. Handcraft Production in Heraclea Sintica (On Archaeological Data) S. Alexandrova. The Black-Slipped Pottery from Heraclea Sintica (1st — 4th c. AD) S. Neykova. Scientific and Ethical Approaches to the Restoration of Terracotta Finds from Heraclea Sintica S. Ivanov, Sv. Filipova. Numismatic Data from the Archaeological Excavations at Heraclea Sintica Located on the Hill of Kozhuh, Petrich Municipality E. Paunov. The Bronze Coinage of Heraclea Sintica J. Bozhinova. Hellenistic and Roman Necropolis near the Village of Rupite, Petrich Municipality M. Andonova. The Coins from the Necropolis ”Metlata“ near the Village of Rupite (F. Muletarovo), Municipality of Petrich E. Nankov, D. Stoyanova. Stone Door of a Roman Tomb from the Necropolis of Heraclea Sintica M. Koleva. Towards Roman Provincial Art: Small Pieces from Heraclea Sintica R. Milcheva. Roman Gravestones with Portraits from the Middle Struma Valley
The paper proposes new readings for two second-century inscriptions which mention Heraclea Sintica and reveal important details about the history and the institutions of the city. A letter by Emperor Antoninus Pius, found in Sandanski (IGBulg IV 2263; AD 157/158) is shown to have been provoked by a conflict over territories between the neighbouring cities Heraclea and Parthicopolis, which possibly originated with the foundation of Parthicopolis ca. AD 116-119. A donation for a geru-sia, of unknown provenance (IGBulg V 5925; AD 181-188) is attributed to Heraclea; it provides valuable evidence on several civic institutions – gerusia / gerusiasts and epimeletes (curator) of the gerusia, argyrotamias (treasurer) and mnemon (registrar) of the city.
TÜBA-AR: Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi Arkeoloji Dergisi , 2017
In this paper as a result of our researches in the museum corrigenda et addenda for four published Roman inscriptions of Herakleia Pontike which are found in the districts of Ereğli in Zonguldak, are being presented. As a result of corrigenda et addenda the final translations of these Greek inscriptions are as follows: 1. Severa, daughter of Severus, granddaughter of Timokrates honoured Iulia Pythias, the outstanding daughter of philosophos Iulius Pythagoras, who has held once more the magistracy of eponymos basileia of/for the city preeminently for.... 2. Tryphon, son of Xenokrates, (died) at the age of 69; Domestichos, son of Tryphon, (died) at the age of 21. Farewell! Kale, daughter of Diogenes, wife of Tryphon, (died) at the age of 47. Farewell! 3. Skamandridas, son of Phronton, (died) at the age of 24. Farewell! 4. Bakchos, son of Herakleidas, (died) at the age of 23. Farewell! Bu makalede bugün Karadeniz Ereğli Müzesi’nde sergilenen; Zonguldak’ın Ereğli ilçesinde bulunmuş; Herakleia Pontike antik kentine ait, Roma İmparatorluk Dönemi’ne tarihli daha önce yayımlanmış dört Hellence yazıt için metinsel düzeltmeler (corrigenda) ve eklemeler (addenda) sunulmaktadır. Bu düzeltmeler ve eklemeler sonucunda Hellence yazıtların çevirilerinin son hali şöyle olmalıdır: 1. Teimokrates torunu Severus kızı Severa, kentin eponymos basileia memuriyetini tekrar en üstün şekilde yürütmüş, flozof Iulius Pythagoras’ın mükemmel kızı (I)ulia Pythias’ı ........için? (onurlandırdı); 2. Ksenokrates oğlu Tryphon, 69 yaşında (öldü); Tryphon oğlu Domestikhos, 21 yaşında (öldü). Elveda! Diogenes kızı, Tryphon’un eşi Kale, 47 yaşında (öldü). Elveda! 3. Phronton oğlu Skamandridas, 24 yaşında (öldü). Elveda! Bu makalede ayrıca, daha önce yayımlanmış bir mezar yazıtındaki yaş okuma hatasını düzeltiyoruz (corrigendum); 4. Herakleidas oğlu Bakkhos, 23 yaşında (öldü). Elveda!
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE), 2016
With the permission of The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s General Directorate of Culture Heritage and Museums and the directory of the Karadeniz Ereğli Museum, a new project was pursued in 2007 to classify and to publish the Greek and Latin inscriptions in the Museum. The recorded inscriptions are all from the Zonguldak (Eastern Bithynia) Region where the ancient cities Herakleia Pontike and Tieion/Tios were located. So far, eighteen new inscriptions of the Museum have been published in two articles and a third one followed wherein a dedication to Herakles Aleksikakos is discussed. In this present paper a new funerary inscription of a magistratus from the Roman imperial period is presented. It has been found behind the Industrial Estate of Ereğli-Zonguldak in 2010, and is being exhibited in the garden of the Museum with the inventory no. A-2010/38. Rectangular sandstone (στήλη) broken at top and bottom. At the top is a bas-relief depicting an education scene.
Anatolia is an area of the Ancient world with a remarkable borderland-character between the Greek and the Oriental world. The present book studies several ancient Anatolian cults and sanctuaries, focusing on the process of interaction between indigenous cultures (Lycian, Carian, Pisidian, Cilician, Lydian, Pontic), Persians, Greeks, and Roman. Which Greek practices did the natives adopt as part of their own tradition, especially in far-flung regions such as Pontus or Pisidia? How did these practices together with the survival, or even revival, of ancient traditions help forge a sort of regional identity in local sanctuaries? Which were the different roles played in this process by the local elites and the rural indigenous populations? To answer such questions, each specific contribution presents a case-study with a thorough analysis of the available epigraphic, numismatic, literary, and archaeological evidence from a linguistic, historical, and religious perspective. Gathered from a vast geographical area – from Ionia to Cilicia –, this book explores different examples of these interactions expressed through local versions of major Greek and Anatolian deities: the Xanthian Leto, Ma of Comana, the Carian Sinuri, Men Askaenos, Men Axiottenos, Apollo Syrmaios, Artemis Sardiane, Meter Sipylene, a Cilician Zeus Ceraunius and the river-gods.