Introduction: The history of Roman Cyprus has traditionally been considered obscure and uniform. This thesis proposes to re-evaluate the history of Roman Cyprus through a study of the representation and expression of identities in the islands epigraphic record. It will be argued that while Cyprus has long been considered a provincial backwater, it is an important and unique case study for considering the themes of power, identity, and life in the Roman provinces in general. This case study focuses on a family of local elites from Paphos who were granted the Roman civitas by the proconsul of c. AD 18, C. Ummidius Durmius Quadratus, and is part of a larger investigation into the representation of Cypriots enfranchised by Rome attested in the epigraphy of the civic and sacred contexts of Roman Cyprus.Roman Civitas in Cyprus: Cyprus was annexed from the Ptolemaic Empire in 58 BC by Rome, only to be restored to the Ptolemies in 48/7 BC by Julius Caesar. Romes control of Cyprus was fully realized with the fall of Alexandria in 30 BC to Octavian. From this time, Cyprus and its inhabitants shared the fate of Egypt under Rome. They were treated as enemies surrendered at discretion, dediticii, which perhaps explains the notable lack of colonies, free cities, and cases of its inhabitants being granted civitas in this minor Roman province.

Key Questions

How are the members of this newly enfranchised family represented by these monuments?What aspects of being Roman are drawn upon and emphasised?How intensified is their expression of Roman, Cypriot or local identity in these inscriptions and how would the texts of the inscriptions complement the accompanying statues or monuments?Does the context in which these monuments were set up impact on the types of identity expressed?What can these monuments reveal about the familial relationships of the Ummidii?

Conclusions

These monuments present a fascinating mixture of evolving identities that are not limited to strictly being Roman, Cypriot, or local.The Ummidii were united by marriage to another local family granted civitas, the Claudii of Paphos. Both families dominated the Paphian religious scene and these monuments emphasise their local prestige as priests and priestesses of long established Cypriot cults.The context of four of these monuments situated in the Sanctuary of Paphian Aphrodite intensifies the local identity of both families.The names Pantauchos, Appharion, Rhodokles and Teukros reflect Cyprus character as an island of mixed settlement as they are Macedonian, Samian, Attic and Rhodian in flavour.A re-configuration of the stemma of this family reveals that C. Ummidius Quadratus was married to both Claudia Rhodokleia and Claudia Appharion and that these two women were not the same person, contra Terence Bruce Mitford. It is uncertain, however, how many generations of this family are represented by these monuments.

Key Bibliography

Cayla, J. B. (2004) Livie, Aphrodite et une Famille de Prtres du Culte Imprial Paphos in S. Follet (ed.) (2004) LHellnisme dpoque Romaine, Paris: 233-243Corsten, T. (2010) Names in in Asia Minor a Preliminary Study in R. W. V. Catling and F. Marchand, (eds.) (2010) Onomatologos. Studies in Greek Personal Names Presented to Elaine Matthews, Oxbow Books: 456-464

Mitford, T. B. (1980) Roman Civitas in Salamis in Salamine De Chypre Histoire et Archologie, tat de recherch, Paris: 275-288

Syme, R. (1968) The Ummidii in Historia: Zeitschrift fr Alte Geschichte, Vol. 17, No. 1: 72-105