Emperors and Kings in procession

Sources on processions related to rulers in Hellenistic and Roman times

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Eumenes II

Eumenes II’s pompe in Sardis recognised by Delphi

Eumenes II’s pompe in Sardis recognised by Delphi

TITLE:
Eumenes II’s pompe in Sardis recognised by Delphi
DATE:
c. 166 BC
TEXT:
OGIS 305 = FD 3.3.241 = FD 3.3.242 (A) (B)
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:
OGIS 305 = FD 3.3.241 = FD 3.3.242
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
Cf. Bömmer 1952, p. 1967: “eine Pompe wird nicht ausdrücklich erwähnt, ist aber nach dem Charakter des Festes als sicher anzunehmen”
Word used to mean the cult images:
Gods or other entities named:
Athena (l. A.7) 
Athena Nikephoros (l. B.8)
Description of the cult images:
Procession’s route:
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Every four years with contests in music and gymnastics (l. A.8, κατὰ π[ε]ν[ταε]τ[ίαν] μουσικόν [τ]ε καὶ γυμνικόν)
Performers:
References to the public attending the procession:
Rites related to the procession:

A. the Sardian envoys to Delphi urged the city to accept their sacrifices, festival, games, and allegedly the pompe, as the people of Sardis propose to perform sacrifices and hold games in honour of Athena and king Eumenes II, entitled Panathenaia and Eumeneia, with a prize of crowns equivalent to the Pythian games (l. A.6-8, πα[ρε]κάλ[ε]ον τὰν πόλιν ἀπο[δέξα]σθαι τὰς θυσίας καὶ τὰν πανάγυ[ριν καὶ] [τοὺς ἀγῶνας] ο[ὓ]ς προκ[εχ]εί[ρι]σ[ται] συντελ[εῖ]ν ὁ [δᾶμο]ς ὁ [Σαρδι]ανῶν [τᾶι τ]ε [Ἀθάναι] καὶ βασιλεῖ Εὐμένει τῶι Ε[ὐερ][γέτηι, ὡς ἔγραψ]εν τᾶι πόλει αὐτός, στεφανίτας ἰσοπυθίους)

B. the Sardian envoys to Delphi urged the city to accept a horse-racing contest with status equal to the Olympic games, which the people of Sardis voted to add to the games that it performed for Athena Nikephoros and king Eumenes II (l. B.6-9, ὃν ὁ δᾶμος ὁ Σαρδιανῶν πο][τι]εψαφισμένος ἐστὶ ἱππικὸν [ἀγῶνα ἰσολύμπιον τοῖς] [ἀγ]ώνοις οἷς συντελεῖ τᾶι τε [Νικαφόρωι Ἀθάναι καὶ βασιλεῖ] [Εὐμ]ένει, ἀποδέξηται ἁ πόλις
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:
Even though Eumenes II lost the favour of the Romans after the Third Macedonian War, he continued to be treated with great respect by other Greek states such as Sardis, in the words of Gruen (1984, p. 197): “there was some genuine gratitude paid for tangible benefits: the Attalids were saluted as patrons and protectors”. This inscription may be a celebration of a military victory of Eumenes II against the Galatians (Gera 1998, p. 200 n.72), in fact, it may be interpretet as “a confirmation (enthusiastically exploited by Eumenes and his successor Attalus II) of the Attalids’ self-appointed role as the protectors and saviours of Hellenic civilisation against the barbarian” (Thonemann 2011, p. 174). In general, with Kloppenborg (2020, p. 377), “cultic associations for the Attalids have been attested througout western Asia Minor”).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BÖMMER(1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1967, n.289-293

GERA, D. (1998): Judaea and Mediterranean Politics: 219 to 161 B.C.E., Brill, Leiden, p. 200 n.72 

GRUEN, E. S. (1984): The Hellenistic world and the coming of Rome, vol.1, University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 197-198

KLOPPEBORG, J. S. (2020): Greco-Roman associations: texts, translations, and commentary. Ptolemaic and Early Roman Egypt, De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, p. 377 

THONEMANN, P. (2011): The Meander Valley. A historical geography from antiquity to Byzantium, Cambdrige University Press, Cambridge, p. 174

Eumenes II’s pompe in Delphi (Eumeneia)

Eumenes II’s pompe in Delphi (Eumeneia)

TITLE:
Eumenes II’s pompe in Delphi (Eumeneia)
 
DATE:
160-159 BC
TEXT:
Syll.3 671 = FD 3.3.238 

BRINGMANN, K. and H. VON STEUBEN (1995-2000): Schenkungen hellenistischer Herrscher an griechische Städte und Heiligtümer, 2 vols., Berlin

Cf. Sokolowski LSS 44; Laum 1914: no. 29; Daux FD III.3 238
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:

Syll.3 671 = FD 3.3.238

Collection of Greek Ritual Norms: (English and French : A. JACQUEMIN, D. MULLIEZ and G. ROUGEMONT 2012: Choix d’inscriptions de Delphes, traduites et commentées. Études épigraphiques 5, Athens) 
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
πομπή or its verbal form πομπεύω (l. 8-9, π[ομ]πευόντω; l. 20,  πομπεύσωντι)
Word used to mean the cult images:
βάσιν (l. 22, βάσις, “base” of the statue)
Gods or other entities named:
Apollo and Leto and Artemis (l. 5-6, Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ τᾶι Λατοῖ καὶ τᾶι Ἀρτέμιτι; Apollo again in l. 9)
Description of the cult images:
Procession’s route:
From the threshing floor/ from the circular place/”la place circulaire” (A. Jacquemin, D. Mulliez, G. Rougemont 2012, 167) (l. 9, ἐκ τᾶς ἅλωο[ς]). Cf. “The festival was also to include a procession departing from the so-called “Circular Area” (lit. circular “threshing-floor”) in the sanctuary” (vd. J.-M. Carbon and S. Peels)  
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Every year on the twelfth day of the month of Herakleios (l. 2-3, ἐν τῶι Ἡρακλείωι μηνὶ τᾶ[ι] [δωδεκ]άται), and the procession took place exactly on the twelfth day at the second hour (l. 8-9, τᾶι δωδεκάται π[ομ]πευόντω ὥρας δευτέρας)
Performers:
The priests of Apollo and of the other gods, the prytaneis, the archons and the other magistracies, and the torch-bearers – ten men from each tribe (l. 9-11, οἵ τε ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν καὶ οἱ πρυτάνεις καὶ ἄρχοντες καὶ [τ]ὰ ἄλλα ἀρχεῖα καὶ οἱ λαμπαδισταί, ἀφ’ ἑκάστας φυλᾶς ἄνδρες δέκα)
References to the public attending the procession:
Rites related to the procession:

The overseers sacrificed three full-grown oxen to Apollo and Leto and Artemis, and they managed the other sacrificial victims according to the instructions, and they used the meat for the public feast, as is customary; and they provided forty metretai of wine (l. 5-8, θυόντω δ[ὲ ο]ἱ ἐπιμεληταὶ βοῦς τρεῖς τελείους τῶι Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ τᾶι Λατοῖ καὶ τᾶι Ἀρτέμιτι, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἱε[ρε]ῖα οἰκονομεόντω κατὰ τὰ διατεταγμένα, καὶ τὰ κρ[έα] καταχρείσθωσαν ἐν τὰν δαμοθοινίαν κα[θ]ὼς εἴθισται· οἴνου δὲ ἀναλισκόντω μετρητὰς τεσ[σα]ράκοντα) 

There was a race of torch-bearers from the gymnasium to the altar, and the winner set fire to the sacrifice (l. 15-16, ὁ δ[ὲ] δρόμος γινέσθω ἐκ τοῦ γυμνασίου ἄχρι ποτὶ τὸν βωμόν, ὁ δὲ νικέων ὑφαπτέτω τὰ ἱερά), and the tribe that won the torch-race received ten staters of silver for the sacrifice. 

The priests of Apollo, whenever they go in procession, prayed for the Eumeneia (l. 19-20, οἱ δὲ ἱερεῖς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, ἐπεί κα πομπεύσωντι, κατευχέσθωσαν τὰ Εὐμένεια καθὼς νομίζεται). 
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:

In this decree the city and sanctuary of Delphi received generous gifts from one its patrons; in this case, Delphi received corn and money in return for holding a festival in honour of Eumenes II (Εὐμένης Βʹ), who ruled between 197 and 159 BC, and surnamed Soter meaning “Savior”; he was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis, members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. This dialogue between a city and its benefactor has been interpreted by Domingo Gygax (2016, p. 42) as a “negotiation, (…) he acted as he did partly because Delphi voted to award him great honors – honors that amounted to gifts as well as counter-gifts, and that obliged him to reciprocate”. 

The councillors in office inscribed this decree on the base of the statue of the king Eumenes II near the altar of Apollo, and they dispatched a copy to the king (l. ἀναγράψαι [δὲ τὸ ψάφισ]μα ἐν τὰν βάσιν τὰν ὑπάρχουσαν τοῦ βασιλέος παρὰ τὸν βωμὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τ[οὺς ἐνάρ]χους βουλευτάς, καὶ διαποστεῖλαι ποτὶ [τ]ὸν βασιλῆ τὸ ἀντίγραφον τοῦ ψαφίσματ[ος])

One slightly later decree also studied in this project concerns a donation by Attalos II for the education of boys and honorific ceremonies and sacrifices, also including a procession, a banquet and a torch-race (vd. J.-M. Carbon and S. Peels)
 
Moreover, the Delphic foundation of Alkesippos (also studied in this project), a somewhat earlier document dated to 182 BC apparently served as a partial model for the foundations of the Attaleia and the Eumeneia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1967, n.289-293. 

BOMMELAER, J.-F. and D. LAROCHE (1991): Guide de Delphes. Le site (École française d’Athènes. Sites et Monuments 7), Athens

DAUX, G. (1935): “Sur la loi amphictionique de 380 av. J.C.”, RA,pp. 205-219

DAUX, G. (1936): Delphes au IIe et au Ier siècle, depuis l’abaissement de l’Étolie jusqu’à la paix romaine, 191-31 av. J.-C., Paris, pp. 682-685

DOMINGO GYGAX, M. (2016): Benefaction and rewards in the ancient Greek city. The origins of euergetism, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 42

Eumenes II’s pompe in Teos (Eumeneia)

Eumenes II’s pompe in Teos (Eumeneia)

TITLE:
Eumenes II’s pompe in Teos (Eumeneia)
DATE:
Terminus ante quem 158 BC (190-160 BC)
ACTUAL LOCATION:
Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge (no. GR.39.1865)
TEXT:
CIG 3068 = PHI 256413 = AGRW 12823 (1) (2)
EDITIONS/TRANSLATIONS:

CIG 3068 = PHI 256413 = AGRW 12823  

STRANG, J. R. (2007): “The city of Dionysos: a social and historical study of the Ionian city of Teos” (Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo), pp. 279-280
KEYWORDS:
Word used to mean procession:
πομπή (l. A.18-19, ἥ τε πομπὴ διέλθηι; l. B.22, ἐν ταῖς πομπαῖς)
Word used to mean the cult images:
εἰκόν (l. B27, εἰκόνα)
 
ἀνδριάντα (l. A.23, παρὰ τὸν ἀνδριάντα τὸν Κράτωνος, from the word ἀνδριάς, “image of a man, statue”)
Gods or other entities named:
Dionysos Kathegemon (l. A.5, τὸν καθηγεμόνα Διόνυσον; l. B26-27)
Description of the cult images:
Procession’s route:
The procession ended in the theatre (l. A. 16, ἐν τῶι θεάτρωι; l. A.23, ἐν τῶι θεάτρωι; l. B.16-17, ἐν τῶι θεάτρωι)
Frequency with which the procession takes place:
Every year in the theater on the anniversary day of King Eumenes (l. A.16-18, ἐν τῶι θεάτρωι ὁ ἑκάστοτε γινόμενος ἀγωνοθέτης καὶ ἱερεὺς βασιλέως Εὐμένου ἐν τῆι βασιλέως Εὐμένου ἡμέραι)
Performers:
τὸ κοινὸν τῶν συναγωνιστῶν (CIG 3068, l. B.1); the synagonistai were assistants of the Dionysiac actors, but in this case, the designation probably extended towards musicians etc, as Kraton the aulos-player is called “one of them” (l. 13; cf. Aneziri 2003, p. 325)
References to the public attending the procession:
Rites related to the procession:

“Common banquet” (l. A.15, κοινὸν δεῖπνον) 
Kraton is to be crowned during the association’s banquet and in the theatre (l. A.14-16) 

A pronouncement of the crown by the officials during the drinking festivities after the libations on the same day (l. A. 19-22, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ παρὰ τὸν πότον γινέσθω τῆι αὐτῆι ἡμέραι μετὰ τὰς σπονδὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἡ ἀναγγελία τοῦ στεφάνου. παρατίθεσθαι δὲ καὶ ἐν ταῖς θέαις) 

A tripod and an incense-burner were placed by the statue of Kraton in the theater, and the director of contests and the priest of King Eumenes in office each year undertook the fumigation (l. A.22-26, καὶ ἐν ταῖς πομπαῖς παρὰ τὸν ἀνδριάντα τὸν Κράτωνος τὸν ἐν τῶι θεάτρωι τρίποδά τε καὶ θυμιατήριον, καὶ τῆς ἐπιθυμιάσεως τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καθ’ ἕκαστον ἔτος αἰεὶ ποιεῖσθαι τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην καὶ ἱερέα βασιλέως Εὐμένου γινόμενον)
Allusions to conduct or forms of reverence:
Other remarkable elements:

It is a monument of marble that was erected in the Dionysion (l. 25), it was found in 1732 in the ancient city of Teos (Ionia), in Western Asia Minor, with a decree translated below involves honors for Kraton of Chalkedon by the Ionian-Hellespontine performers (centered at Teos) and the performers devoted to Dionysos Kathegemon (centered at Pergamon)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

ANERIZI, S. (2003), Die Vereine der dionysischen Techniten im Kontext der hellenistischen Gesellschaft. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte, Organisation und Wirkung der hellenistischen Technitenvereine. Stuttgart

BÖMMER (1952), RE: s.v. Pompa. Herrscher, Vol. XXI.2, p. 1967, n.289-293

BOULAY, Th. (2013): “Les ‘groupes de référence’ au sein du corps civique de Téos”. In: P. Fröhlich, and P. Hamon (eds.), Groupes et associations dans les cités grecques (IIIe siècle av. J.-C. – IIe siècle apr. J.-C.), Genève, pp. 251-275

LE GUEN, B. (1997): De la scène aux gradins: théâtre et représentations dramatiques après, Presses Universitaires du Miral, Toulouse, p. 55 

MA, J. (2007): “A Horse from Teos: Epigraphical Notes on the Ionian-Hellespontine Association of Dionysiac Artists”, in P. Wilson (ed.), Greek Theatre and Festivals, pp. 215-245