(2024) Romans at Besa: New Light on an Athenian Deme in the Imperial Period (original) (raw)

Full access here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/romans-at-besa-new-light-on-an-athenian-deme-in-the-imperial-period/91041B0F1ADCF24D12B8BC3037740300 This publication marks the debut in shedding light on the lesser-known yet significant ancient deme of Besa (Βῆσα), situated in south Attica. In the Roman period, notable figures such as the emperors Hadrian (likely a property owner in the area), Commodus, and Severus Alexander were recorded as citizens of Besa. Additionally, the influential eastern magnate G. Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappus was a citizen of this deme, as were several individuals who dominated Athenian politics in the first and, especially, the second century CE. The article includes appendices listing 51 Roman citizens of Besa and 12 from the adjacent deme of Anaphlystos.