Observations on religious and cultural life in Heraclea Pontica in the Roman imperial period, D. Braund – A. Chaniotis – E. Petropoulos (eds.), The Black Sea Region in the Context of the Roman Empire, Athens 2022, 355–369. (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.
The imperial cult is generally seen as an instrument used by Roman authorities to ensure the fidelity of their subjects. In the cities of the Black Sea Pentapolis/Hexapolis, this phenomenon is visibly a two-way process, with the local communities developing imperial worship in several stages, in conjunction with the degree of involvement of the Roman authorities in the area. The paper will try to better analyze exactly in what context this process started, what were the actors involved and what were the results.