Imperial Mysteries

Harvard Divinity School

An Aspect of the Emperor Cult: Imperial MysteriesAuthor(s): H. W. PleketReviewed work(s):Source: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 58, No. 4 (Oct., 1965), pp. 331-347Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Harvard Divinity SchoolStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1508545 .

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HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW VOLUME 58 OCTOBER 1965 NUMBER 4

AN ASPECT OF THE EMPEROR CULT: IMPERIAL MYSTERIES

H. W. PLEKET UNIVERSITY OF LEIDEN

I

THE French scholar P. Veyne 1 has recently classified a number of phenomena, which clearly prove that the person of the Roman emperor occupied a predominant position in the minds of the average Roman and Greek. He shows that the imperial ideology both reflected certain sentiments current among the people, and contributed toward the shaping of those sentiments.

The texts and objects dealt with by Veyne testify mainly to a popular, political devotion to the emperor, on the part of the people in general or of the owner of the object in particular. Some examples: in Carthage a rather cheap and poor relief represents the Genius of the Colonia Carthago as carrying on her right hand an effigy of what Veyne takes to be the emperor. In El-Djem, Africa, a medallion found in a tomb pictures Domitian 2

sacrificing to Minerva; is this only an unimportant sepulchral monument or a deliberately chosen image with which the deceased testifies to his "amor Augusti"? Veyne properly observes that we cannot make a firm decision here, but the latter possibility seems the more probable one. In Pompeii appear texts of the type: "vobis (i.e., the emperor and his family) salvis felices sumus." Finally we come to the border line between a popular-

1 P. Veyne, Tenir un buste: une intaille avec le GCnie de Carthage et le sardonyx de Livie a Vienne, Cahiers de Byrsa 8 (1958-59), 6iff.; id., Latomus 21(1962), 83f.

'This relief should not have been omitted from my "Domitian, the Senate and the Provinces," Mnemosyne, IV: 14 (1961), 296ff. The relief shows us once again that an emperor, painted in gloomy colors in most of the senatorial sources, could be and in fact was popular in the provinces; for the problem of Domitian, cf. further a statement by E. Birley, who remarks with regard to the appointing policy of Domitian: "indeed one is tempted to reconsider the reputation of Domitian as an emperor, if his military appointments met with such general acceptance under his successors as is indicated by prosopographical study." Roman Britain and the Roman Army (London, I953), 143.



332 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

political conception and a religious one, with a text from Lyon, inscribed on a clay medallion: "Genio amantissimo coloniae, habeas propitium Caesarem." 3 This "Merciful Caesar" reminds us of the "dei propitii," ' a phrase which carries us directly into our theme.

II

Is emperor worship an expression of political loyalty clothed in a religious garment (since one could not honor a man better than worship him as a god, 6 4OE6O)? Or is this a genuine religious phenomenon (no matter of what nature) ? Recently Ed. Will ' has given a much-needed antidote against the supporters of the former conception. His statement is a good guide when we approach the phenomenon of the ruler-cult in general: "Le sentiment religieux authentique et l'intelligence politique qu'en avaient les b6n6-

'8Though much work has already been done in the field of the ruler-cult in antiquity (cf. Fr. Taeger's Charisma, vols. I and II, and L. Cerfaux - J. Tondriau, Le culte des souverains dans la civilisation greco-romaine, 1957), Veyne's words are worth repeating: "Une 6tude de l'opinion publique d'apres ces documents souvent humbles, d'usage domestique, achetks par goi^t, aurait son interet; elle permettrait de considerer moins abstractement moins 'theologiquement' l'ideologie imperiale, et de voir comment elle repondait a la sensibilit6 populaire ou s'efforqait de la faqonner" (art. cit., 75); cf. for a correct approach of the "religion imperiale" also P. Veyne, "Ordo et Populus, Genies et Chefs de File," MEFR 73 (I96I), 229ff.,

esp. 266-68. 'Cf. the words of J. Bayet: "Marc-Aurele fut declare spontanement 'Dieu

propice' et prophetique; . . on est loin des ironies sur l'apotheose des pamphl&- taires rationalistes, Seneque au Ier siecle ou Lucien au IIe." Histoire politique et psychologique de la Religion Romaine (Paris, 1957), I9o; the Greek rhetor Menan- der describes in his De encomiis (p. 414, i6 Sp.) the scheme of the ideal rapaivOla, in which he suggests, inter alia: bAW ,ev

oiv avTbrbv [i.e., the deceased] '7s pwa, /cXXov 5 '' BsE 6O',

ab~,bv AaKapl'w/iev , eiK6ivas ypi'Owtev, iXao'K'AyteOa 's 54alova.

This "appeasing" or "concilating" (diXgKeO•ta)

is intended to put the deceased (e.g. Marcus Aurelius, as mentioned above; or in general anyone dying prematurely) in a merciful mood; in such a mood he can be called e6~e7ev to the ordinary mor- tals, as the deified Romulus declares about himself after his ascension to heaven:

'Ey& 5~ 56 Zv ebiev` s eo/agr G 5al'o Cwv Kvpvos (Plutarch, Vita Romuli, cap. 28); for "propitius" applied both to gods and to rulers, cf. PW, s.v. propitius (St. Wein- stock rightly points out that this epithet when applied to the emperor in expressions like "Habeas propitium Caesarem," implies the rendering of divine honor to the living emperor on a private level [col. 824]); a recent example of t'ews applied to a god in BE 1963, n. 253 (L. Robert promises a study of fXews-acclamations). For the relation ipws/Oe6s, cf. P. Boyanc6, Le culte des Muses chez les philosophes grecs (Paris, 1936), 291-92, who shows that hardly any difference needs to be made between apotheosis and heroization of a deceased.

'E. Will, "Autour du culte des souverains (a propos de deux livres recents)," Rev. de Phil. (1960), 76ff.



IMPERIAL MYSTERIES 333

ficiaires concourent de faqon indissoluble A l'instauration des cultes monarchiques, et il faudrait se garder de mettre trop ex- clusivement l'accent sur le second 6l6ment, comme cela est trop souvent le cas." 6 A sociological approach which distinguishes between those who are philosophically interested and the man in the street seems to be very desirable. For example: In the literary descriptions of the imperial apotheosis the emperor ascended to heaven in body and soul. That Plutarch happens to reject such a conception and thinks in terms of ascension of the soul alone 7 is interesting enough, but irrelevant for an approach to the impact of the ruler cult on the man in the street.

The leading historians of Greco-Roman religion, however, seem to adhere to the view that the imperial cult is an "empty shell"; "the egg" is found in the cult of the traditional and/or Oriental gods, demons and heroes. M. P. Nilsson calls the imperial religion a "religibses Hohlraum." S K. Latte cannot make much of the religiosity in the emperor cult.9 A. D. Nock has more than once 10 pointed to the absence of exvotos to the emperor, in which thanks would be given for recovery, prayers answered and other favors; in his opinion this absence clearly showed that ancient religiosity should be looked for in the traditional cults and not in the imperial cult. To give an example: the heroized and later even deified Thasian athlete Theagenes was worshipped by the faithful as a healing god. A Roman emperor was never so honored; he was rendered divine honor, because in accordance with ancient usage the highest honor that the most deserving man could be given was divine honor. This did not imply by any means that the person honored was considered to

6 E. Will, art. cit., 79. 'Life of Romulus, 28; for ancient ideas concerning apotheosis cf. E. Bicker-

mann, "Die r6mische Kaiserapotheose," Arch.f.Religionswiss. 27(1929), Iff. and Holland, "Zur Typik des Himmelfahrts," ibidem 23(1925), 207ff.; K. Latte's short paragraph on apotheosis (R6mische Religionsgeschichte, 317f.) is too rationalistic for us to recognize the impact of this phenomenon on the sentiments of the man in the street; a very good treatment of the meaning of the apotheosis of the ruler, especially for the consciousness of the common man, is given by D. M. Pippidi, "Apotheoses imperiales et apotheose de Peregrinos," Studi e Materiali di storia delle religioni 21 (1948), 77ff. (referred to by Latte, op. cit., 317, n. 8).

8Rh. M. 48(1933), 246; cf. also GGR IIP, 385ff. * R6mische Religionsgeschichte (196o), 308. 10Gnomon 8(1932), 518; HTR 45(1952), 237ff.; Gnomon 27 (I955), 245; JRS

47(1957), I15ff.




be (or to become) a god; it was only a matter of homage and not of worship.11 "Ruler-worship started as an expression of gratitude to benefactors; it became an expression of homage and loyalty. There were no doubt moments of intense emotion." 12

It is not my intention to develop here and now a phenomenol- ogy of the imperial cult and thus to form an opinion about the religious meaning of that cult. Let it suffice for the moment to point out that although we have as yet no exvotos dedicated to the deified emperor, domestic altars dedicated to certain em- perors seem to have been popular; 11 in addition, we have the admittedly rare literary testimonia about "pers6nliche Fr6mmig- keit" towards the living ruler,14 and the above-mentioned notion of the merciful emperor. Moreover there is interesting evidence of the importance of mysteries in the imperial cult: in this connection we should by no means speak of a "Redensart," especially not as far as the Pergamene mysteries (cf. infra) are concerned; in my view we have to do here with genuine mystery devotion, even though there are no exvotos of the uvo-rat' of the emperor surviving."

" For the distinction between these two attitudes of mind cf. P. Veyne, art. cit. (cf. note 13), 83, n. 3.

12Nock, JRS 47(1957), 121. 13 Cf. A. S. Benjamin-A. E. Raubitschek, "Arae Augusti," Hesperia 28 (1959),

65ff.; P. Veyne, "Les honneurs posthumes de Flavia Domitilla et les dedicaces grecques et latines," Latomus 21(1962), 49ff., esp. 7Iff. on domestic altars for the emperor. " Cf. S. Morenz, "Vespasian, Heiland der Kranken: Pers6nliche Fr6mmigkeit im antiken Herrscherkult," Wiirzburger Jahrbiicher fiir die Altertumswissenschaft, 4 (1949/50), 370. A. D. Nock, JRS 47(1957), 118 with note 28, argues that Ves- pasian, who cured sick people in Alexandria on his accession to the throne, "does not appear as a wonderworker in his own right." He denies that we have to do with a "power intrinsically belonging to the legitimate monarch." This may be correct, but one wonders whether the common people really bothered about such scholarly distinctions. In IGRom IV, 1273, the gods, together with the K pLOL

av-rKparopes, are worshipped; ez'Xal and Ovaial are addressed to both; it may be that both were supposed to hear prayers. For an emperor called r-qKOOS, cf. Abh. Akad. Berlin 14 (1943), 9, n. 7, with A. D. Nock's remarks in JRS 47(1957), 121, with notes 45 and 46. Just as both the emperor and an ordinary mortal could be merciful towards the living (cf. note 4), both categories could hear prayers after their death; cf. the epitaph of a 4 year old boy, who was called by his parents "their own God, who hears our prayers" (Kaibel, Epigr. Gr., 314=Peek, Griech. Versinschriften, II66, with C. Bradford Welles, HTR 34(1941), 90f. and W. Seston, Hommages

' J. Bidez et ' Fr. Cumont [Collection Latomus II], 313ff.); cf. also

note 65. 1 Inscriptions from Mytilene and Thasos, in which certain terms could point




Perhaps this is the place to refer to what Nock once called "expressions of gratitude which came close to pious veneration." 16 The so-called imperial mysteries have recently been severely dis- counted and classified with the "pseudo-mysteries." In a recent study M. P. Nilsson discussed a number of "pseudo-mysteries" from Asia Minor," including a number of imperial mysteries.s8 The mysteries of the Smyrnaean Dionysus Breiseus (celebrated by 47 1Ep& o-vo80o r6v rITEp' r7v BPELo-Ea ALOVoov rEXVELTrOv KaL

iEvo-r6v) as well as the mysteries of the Pergamene Dionysus

Kathegemon and of the Ephesian Dionysus (perhaps connected with the imperial cult? 19) were for Nilsson "mehr eine Redensart als eine wohl gehiitete Wirklichkeit" 20; in his opinion dances, performances of a sacred drama, hymn singing and symposiums form the major part of these mysteries. Nilsson denies the existence of secret rites "die nur den Eingeweihten zugainglich waren." 21 It is striking that all of the Dionysus mysteries mentioned by Nilsson were celebrated in private clubs; the members of the clubs were the participants - already initiated or still to be initiated - in those mysteries. Members of the club

to the existence of imperial mysteries, I leave undiscussed here; they cannot give us information about the nature of the mysteries; cf. Nilsson, GRR II2, 370 and "Kleinasiatische Pseudo-Mysterien," Bull.Inst.Arch.Bulg. 16 (1950; = Serta Kazaro- viana), 19. J. Pouilloux, Recherches sur l'histoire et les cultes de Thasos, II, 163, esp. n. 7, denies (and in my opinion rightly so) that IG XII, Suppl. 387 would imply any existence of imperial mysteries. In imperial mysteries in general Pouilloux sees not much more than "representations sacrbes" in a closed club. He denies that the deified ruler was supposed to guarantee a blissful hereafter to the worshipper.

1 JRS 47(I957), i20, in connection with the sentiments (described by Philo, Leg. ad Gaium 151) aroused in sailors when seeing the Sebasteion in Alexandria.

17 M. P. Nilsson, Kleinasiatische ..., 17-2o; id., The Dionysiac Mysteries of the Hellenistic and Roman Age, 6o, n. 83; see also id., "Dionysische Mysterien in Phrygien," Eranos 60(1962), I8of. (cf. J.-L. Robert, 'Bull. tpigr., 1963, n. 262): Nilsson sees in the Dionysus mysteries only drinking parties combined with some ritual. The only reaction to Nilsson's thesis known to me is that of Robert: "nous ne le suivrions pas entierement, notamment pour le culte imperial." Bull. tpigr. (I951), n. 43; cf. also REA 62 (1960), 322, n. 3.

18 The Roman imperial mysteries correspond to the royal mysteries in Egypt alluded to in a small scrap of papyrus from Antinoopolis and interpreted by Nilsson, "Royal Mysteries in Egypt," HTR 50o(957), 65f. The words equ~VcK[ and LuvorTK6O clearly refer to initiation into the mysteries. The Egyptian kings were identified with Triptolemos who initially seems to have been the chief personage in the mystery cult.

19 Cf. M. P. Nilsson, The Dionysiac Mysteries, 6off. 2 Kleinasiatische Pseudo-Mysterien, i9. 2Ibid., 18.




played the parts of the various divine characters in the sacred drama, which frequently included certain dances; it does not seem correct to conclude from the presence of these ceremonies that other rites, secret rites, are out of the question. In this connection a well-known inscription from Ancyra deserves our attention.

III

The inscription (SEG VI,59,128 A.D.) contains a decree of a group of technitai, who worship Dionysus and the New Dionysus (Hadrian) as patron. In this decree mention is made of an &ycv

LvOTrLKO9, supervised by the agonothete Ulpius Aelius Pompeianus. This dywy LVo'rtLKO6 indeed seems to have been held in public, viz. in the theatre of Ancyra; it was a competition to which various

aycovurrat were invited; presumably it was a religious drama, in which the leading actors impersonated Dionysus and Hadrian.22 The adjective JMVo'-rLKo6 probably bears upon the sacred dances

performed in this play. Secret performances certainly cannot be postulated here. Nilsson rightly considers

UVO•TrLKOk here a "Red-

ensart" as compared with the original meaning of the word. However, in this completely secular context we read (line 21) that the honorand "ravrT pLpELp ro p0 v vCrrrpLov

ErTpKE0•Ev." There

was a "mysterion" with various parts; in addition to the public aycov LVO-TLKO9 some other "rites" evidently appeared on the

program. It would be unwise a priori to consider these "rites" part of secret mysteries; after all, the technitai from Ancyra did not even style themselves pvo-rratl. However, this inscription makes it possible that in the

uvor-npta of Dionysus Breiseus in

Smyrna and of Dionysus (+ emperor?) in Ephesus other rites could have been celebrated of a more secret character in addition to the sacred drama. For that matter, at the end of his study Nilsson gives us back what he seemed to have taken away at first; in spite of the "Veriusserlichung" of the mysteries he admits

22 Cf. A. Bruhl, Liber Pater. Origine et Expansion du culte dionysiaque ' Rome

et dans le monde romain (Paris, 1953), i86f.: ". . . jeux sacrs . . ; . . . cet dywu' mystique, qui a un caractere incontestablement religieux..."; for this

-dyw, VaTrTLK6s cf. also L. Robert, Hellenica XI-XII, 366, with references to an d-yw'

AvaTITK6s in Side in honor of Dionysus and Demeter; cf. Rev. de Phil. (1958), 21.




that "die Heiden jener Zeit mystische Ideen in jene Riten hinein- legen und ihnen mit frommer Scheu zuschauen konnte." 23

IV

The fact that mysteries were created within the imperial cult unduly strengthened the tendency mentioned above to think in terms of pseudo-mysteries. The evidence for the existence of such imperial mysteries is rather poor: i. An inscription from Ephesus showing that the deified emperor was taken into the Demeter mysteries; the text does not give any details.24 2. An extremely mutilated text from Ephesus, from which it may be inferred that Dionysus and the Roman emperor, together with many other gods and goddesses, were objects of

vo-rpIptLa.25 3. Bithynian in-

scriptions,26 in which the words wLvo-rjpta and oEPao-ro'dbv"v occur (each time in a "cursus honorum" of a local politician):

Tro KOLVOV vaov Twv1 ~Lvotf)qpULtO EpO fvrY9V KatL o craoTrofvTrYqv and

o-Eacao'-rodcT7lv KcaL TO- ,LEkyXOV KatL KOLVOi "r• BELWvvia,

vao3 rwiv

pvo-~T7qp••Wv lepobdavr•'. 4. A Pergamene inscription, containing

the regulations of the local hymnodes, in which rvo-r7pmta and

probably certain mystery-rites are mentioned.27 The first two inscriptions tell us little or nothing about the

contents of the mysteries; probably we have to do with secret celebrations, in one of which, inter alia, a sacred drama was perhaps performed; it is not certain what happened further. The Demeter mysteries in Smyrna involved two female

EOX6dyoL, while at the same time "dances" are mentioned. It is supposed that the two OEoX6lyo danced the parts of Demeter and Core; 28

in addition, perhaps, in a separate ceremony, they praised the goddesses in a sermon, for such was the normal function of the

23 Kleinasiatische . . . , i9. SSIG 3: 820. a GIBM III:6oo. cf. M. P. Nilsson, Kleinasiatische, I8; id., Dionysiac Mysteries,

60. " Ath.Mitt. 24(1899), 429; Le Bas-Waddington, 1I78, quoted by Nilsson GGR

II, 371; Kleinasiatische . . . , 19. ' Inschriften von Pergamon II, n. 374 (= IGRom IV, 353 = Ziehen - von Prott, Leges Sacrae, I, n. 27).

SCIG 3211, 3199, 3200, 3194; cf. Nilsson GGR II2, 357.




OEoX•yog.29 It is possible, though it cannot be proved, that in the

Ephesian Demeter mysteries, in which later the emperor was included, OEOXyoL also appeared; in the course of the celebration of the mysteries they would then have praised the virtues of the emperor in their sermon (and possibly danced the emperor's role).

V

The Bithynian inscriptions mentioned show that mysteries were celebrated in the provincial emperor cult and that two functionaries were involved: the 1Epod'vr-qg and the ro-Epaaorocdfvrvs. The function of the sebastophant and the meaning of his title are both disputed questions. Generally this term is deemed to be a rendering of the Latin "flamen Augusti" 30; in this sense the term does not make the contents of the imperial mysteries any clearer. Nilsson assumes that in the Bithynian inscriptions the sebastophant was not much more than "Spielgeber." ' He bases this assumption on the fact that in these texts the title is coupled with that of "Bithyniarch" and "Helladarch," i.e., with specific political functions relating to the idyovo•Eo-a. Further he points to a number of inscriptions in which the honorand is both sebastophant and agonothete: OGIS 542 (Ancyra; aPXtEPEv -

oTE/3aoro0dTvcrr-q -dycovoOr&) and two parallel texts from Ak- monia and Ephesus, in which the honorand is, among other things, Eirapxov v XVELcrov, PXLEpLa 'Ao-tai vaov 70ro v 'E

4o'o- KOLVOV

7~i 'Ao-Fai EC rV KCloL •a•OVOVVrV 3 a l3ov.32 According to Nilsson these texts take us immediately into the sphere of an agonistic theatre. In his opinion the term E7rapXov r&v reX'ELt~W would imply that the honorand was leader of a group of actors (technitai, viz. of Dionysus). But Robert has pointed out that this term was the Greek rendering of the Latin "praefectus

' About the meaning of the OeoX6yot, cf. L. Robert, Rev. de Phil. (i943), i84f.; REA 62(1960), 3i6ff., esp. 321; Hellenica VII, 2io; for the increasing importance of the sermon in Hellenistic-Roman worship see M. P. Nilsson, "Pagan Divine Service in later Paganism," HTR 38(1945), 63ff.; cf. also GGR II2, 380f.

30So Latte, R6mische Religionsgeschichte, 320; Ch. Edson, HTR 41(1948), 153ff., esp. 196, n. 45.

"' Kleinasiatische . . . , 19; GGR IIJ, 371. 32 Ephesos II, 173ff., n. 61 and 63; Le Bas, 655.




fabrum." 33 It follows that in these two texts a number of dis- jointed titles are mentioned. Moreover, Robert observed that the juxtaposition of sebastophantes and agonothetes makes an identi- fication of the two functions very improbable.

In the Bithynian inscriptions the hierophant and the sebastophant seem in any case to be involved in the imperial mysteries.34 The only way to give the sebastophant an agonistic function here would be to use the argument of the dyc'ov LUTvo-rLKO from Ancyra, which was, as a matter of fact, part of a vo-iriptov. However, this is by no means a parallel, for in Ancyra the "agon" is organ- ized by the technitai of Dionysus, who were famous for their frequent participation in "agones"; an agonothete is mentioned expressis verbis. In Bithynia there is only question of rvo-rIpLa in the provincial imperial temple and an agonothete is not mentioned; on the other hand, the sebastophant from Bithynia does not occur in the organization of the wvo-r4pcov at Ancyra.

It seems to be safer and methodically more correct to explain the sebastophant in connection with the hierophant. As a matter of fact, the honorands perform both functions in the Bithynian imperial mysteries. It is a known fact that in Eleusis the hierophant discharged the following functions: he participated in the liturgical dramas performed as a part of the mystery celebration; at the initiation he spoke the mysterious words that should not be passed on to the non-initiated (ra drrdopp'rra); and he showed rd Nepd, i.e., the sacred objects, to the mystai.35 On the analogy of these functions 36 the sebastophant might play a part in a liturgical, "imperial" drama. As far as I know, no direct evidence is to be found for this function. The

Eof•ocvrqY occurring in a

Smyrnaean Dionysus-thiasos 37 might serve as a parallel. With some hesitation it has been suggested that this Oeo0dv1-rq possibly "appeared in the role of the god and announced something to the

"3L. Robert, "Recherches Rpigraphiques," REA 62(196o), 3x6ff., esp. 322, n. 3. 4 Therefore, Latte's remark, op. cit., 320, n. 2, that nowhere is the sebastophant

related to mystery cults, remains obscure to me. "5P. Foucart, Les Mysteres d'Eleusis (Paris, 1914), 179. 6 Latte's view, op. cit., 320, that the parallelism between hierophant and

sebastophant was only intended to show that the imperial cult was just as sacred as the Eleusinian cult, is too vague to be attractive.

a7 SEG XIV, 752 (XVI, 726; XVIII, 494).




mystae in sacred ceremonies" 38; to support this view it was pointed out that in certain religious clubs the members sometimes played the roles of gods in a liturgical drama. The phenomenon itself is well known, but the question remains: was the person who played such a role called a

OEof•xab` - or a o0-Efao-rof4xvr)qg?

Nilsson's view is that these functionaries "showed the power of the god Dionysos or the emperor respectively by praising them, their power, and their deeds in words" 39; he would answer the question just above in the negative. In his opinion the theophant is identical with the EoXo'yoa, whose function it was to praise the virtues of the emperor in a sermon. But the theologos was in numerous cults too well-known a functionary for his function to be indicated by an entirely new title, i.e., "theophant," and in my opinion this fact militates against Nilsson's explanation of "theo-

phant." Within the imperial cult a new function has even been created, which runs parallel to that of the OEoXoyog. A Milesian inscription mentions a o-rEfao-CroXdyo in a context otherwise unim-

portant for our purpose: he was the man that had to deliver the eulogy on the emperor."4 The fact that here a special function with a special title has been created tells against the theory that the sebastophant would in fact be and do the same as the sebasto- logos. The description of duties and titles in this new cult would probably have been exact enough to prevent such a duplication.

One gets the impression that Latte and Nilsson suggest the interpretation of the sebastophant from an instinctive dislike of what I should call the literal and most obvious explanation: the sebastophant is the person "who shows (the image of) the Em- peror." 41 They have emphasized too much the fact that the imperial mysteries are as mysteries a "Redensart" to accept this literal interpretation. The arguments that are brought forward against this view seem to me to be weak: i. We do not know any-

SSo M. P. Nilsson (Dionysiac Mysteries, 138f.), rendering the opinion of the original editor J. Keil.

39Ibidem, 138. 40 L. Robert, Hellenica VII, ch. 22, and p. 210o.

41 Again it can only be guessed what the lepai are that the hierophant showed in the imperial mysteries in Bithynia: perhaps certain attributes of the Roman emperor or objects symbolizing the majesty of the Emperor and/or the Roman Empire ?




thing at all about such a ceremony in imperial mysteries; 42 this is hardly an argument, as Nilsson, for that matter, admits himself; the argumentum e silentio is always dangerous and the more so where mysteries are concerned, of which nothing should become known to outsiders. 2. Latte's view that imperial images were too profane to be shown in the sacred mysteries 4 is also incorrect. Robert has recently shown that the ElKOVEf Of the emperor are on a par with the diytXiara of the gods: both were the object of the devotion of the people.44 The view that the imperial religion was not much more than an expression of political loyalty or gratitude and that it had little or nothing to do with what the ancients meant by religion, has again an important though unadmitted influence on Latte.

VI

The inscription concerning the Pergamene hymnodes (see above, p. 337) offers us the possibility of supporting the literal interpretation of "sebastophant" and of illustrating the meaning of the imperial eikon in the mysteries. The most important festival days of the Hymnodes mentioned in this text were: a. The birthday of Divus Augustus (September 23) celebrated as a part of a three-day festival (September 21-23), together with Livia's birthday (September 21); on September 22 a rapafl3ctLov is sung, for which there is a parallel in the cult of the Attalids;45 b. The birthday of the Divus Augustus celebrated every month; i.e., the first day of every month serves to commemorate Divus Augustus (with the Asiatic calendar reform of A.D. 9 Augustus' birthday was proclaimed the first day of the first month of the year); c. The two three-day festivals of the Rosalia46 and of the

Mv'arrjpa (Ist, 2nd and 3rd Panemos and Ist, 2nd and 3rd Loios respectively).

About the Mvrnjppam of the Hymnodes we read the following:

2 Dionysiac Mysteries, 138. Op. cit., 320, note 2.

* Cf. Robert's "Recherches ]pigraphiques." 46 Cf. L. Robert, etudes Anatoliennes, ch. I. ~ L. Robert has promised a study of this festival; cf. already now his remarks

in REA 62(1960), 342.




"The eukosmos will give the hymnodes wreaths on the monthly celebration of the birthday of Augustus and on the remaining birthdays of the Autokratores; during the mysteries he will dec- orate the hymnodeion with wreaths; every day (sc. of the mystery festival) he will give the hymnodes and their sons wreaths, and Augustus a cake, incense and lamps" (B, lines 14-20). Further it appears from C.8 and D.io that during the mystery festivals there was heavy eating and drinking; some functionaries have to provide olvos, aproa, o-r•pwo-tcr

("Gedeck") and hard cash. The

hymnodists formed a very old, well-to-do and exclusive club: 4 the admission of new members is subject to guarantees. It may be assumed that the club and a fortiori its mysteries were tightly closed.

Important for our purpose is the statement that Augustus gets a cake, incense and lamps during the mystery festival.48 In the second century A.D. the offering of a r&cLravov and of Xtkfavwr0` has no longer solely a funerary character. Attic inscriptions mention a ro-iravov offered to Zeus in our period; 49 incense offerings are equally a normal phenomenon in the divine cult. In the second century A.D. we find ourselves in a stage of the develop- ment of ancient cult that has been described in detail by Nils- son."5 In addition and in contrast to the traditional, expensive and consequently comparatively infrequent animal sacrifices a new temple ritual is developing in the Hellenistic-Roman period. Performed more simply and cheaply, it is used more frequently, often even daily. The principal parts of this ritual were: incense, candles, lamps, hymns (cf. the popularity of the hymnodes 51),

7 Cf. the edict of P. Fabius Persicus, published by F. K. Diirner, Der Erlass des Statthalters von Asia Paullus Fabius Persicus (diss. Greifswald, 1935).

8 Curiously enough both Nilsson and Robert think that Augustus received these offerings on his birthday; cf. Nilsson, GGR II2, 375 and Robert, Rev. de Phil. (1939), 191, n. 9; in fact line B, i9f. clearly occurs in the passage about the mysteries. It is true that the first day of the mysteries coincides with the monthly celebration of Augustus' birthday, but this is no more than a chance coincidence. The cake, incense and lamps are offered in the course of the celebration of the mysteries. For that matter, the ceremonies of the two festivals need by no means be the same.

9 L. Deubner, Attische Feste, I54, 158, 163; about the meaning of the offering of incense and irr6rava, cf. P. Boyanci, Le culte des Muses chez les philosophes grecs (Paris, 1936), 278ff., esp. 282f.

0 Cf. Nilsson, HTR 38(1945), 63ff. SAbout the hymnodes, cf. literature and references with L. Robert, REA




and sermons (cf. the OEoXyoL 52). Nilsson has given special attention to the function of the lamp as a cult instrument."3 He adduces evidence which shows that the glaring light of lamps in the Hellenistic-Roman temples is a usual phenomenon. In the imperial cult, which knew relatively few if any traditions, the XVXvog becomes a popular cult instrument. A Teian inscription concerning a combined Dionysus-Tiberius cult mentions Ovtua^o-6at and XvXvaerredo-OaL as principal, daily rites.54 Thus, in the Per-

gamene inscription, the lamp is in place. What was then the meaning of the lamps in the mysteries of

Divus Augustus? Two literary texts mentioned by Nilsson but not related by him to our inscription may assist us in answering this question. Apuleius tells us that in the Isis-mysteries at a certain moment "the sun was suddenly shining with a heroic light in the middle of the night." 55 Julianus testifies that ivoa-ral lit torches in front of the image of Attis.56 If one thinks furthermore of the great significance of light effects in mysteries in general, one is tempted to suppose that the XvXvoL served the purpose of showing the image of the Divus Augustus during the mystery celebration suddenly in a glaring lamp-light to the meeting of the initiated. Further there seems to be some evidence that also in the Eleusinian mysteries (and possibly in others as well) the images of the goddesses were shown to the mystai in glaring light. Aristotle compared the impact of the Eleusinian initiation rites with the *XXawj* 0ro voi3 conferred upon the mind by philosophy. Proclus says that one of the results of the neoplatonic "telestike" was that the cult-image was animated and moreover illuminated

62(196o), 318, n. 4; 321, n. 6; 322, note 3; 34If.; Rev. de Phil. (1959), 214, n. 8; Bull. Rpigr. (1941), n. 9; (I952), n. Ioo; Gnomon (I959), 661.

52 Cf. Nilsson's article HTR 38(1945). 3 "Lampen und Kerzen im Kult der Antike," Opuscula Archaeologica VI (1950),

96ff. (= Opusc. Selecta III, 189ff.) ; on X6•os

and XvXYactia see also L. Robert, Rev. de Phil. (I939), I89f.; A. Garcia y Bellido, "Isis y el Collegium Illychiniari- orum del Pratum Novum" (Conv. Cordubendis), Hommages

' W. Deonna (= Coll. Latomus XXVIII), 238ff. (on the importance of XvXvcdrroL in the Isis cult and mysteries).

'L. Robert, etudes Anatoliennes, 20off. ' Metamorph. XI. 23. ' Or. V.

179c; cf. also an Ephesian inscription, in which two uvaral dedicate an

Eros and a three-bracket chandelier to Aphrodite Daitis (J. Keil, Jahresh. 17(1914), 145ffi.) .




by the deity ('4riEXEoUTLK7' . . E•L/JvXov aV•TO E'tVOl0-E Ka'L XXa/p4- ONvat Traph rov OELov). From the combination of these two pieces of evidence Boyance has tentatively inferred that in the Eleusin- ian mysteries the images of the deities were illuminated and thus shown to the mystai.57 This inference finds support in a passage from the 2oth oration of Themistius (ed. Dindorf, p. 288) in which the philosopher is compared with the priest who shows the

dyaXta of the deity, aryj

KaTaXan7rt/IyoEVOV 6•-'Ecol, to the

initiated. Even if Boyance is wrong in supposing that Themistius had in mind the Eleusinian mysteries,"s this text does not lose its evidential value: the link between mystery cults in general and the rite of showing the image of the god to the worshippers is firmly attested by it and that is precisely what we are looking for. The Fpya fOC2 which, according to Plutarch (De prof. Virt. 8ie) the Eleusinian mystai suddenly observed, is generally taken to be, to put it in Deubner's words, "einem durch Tageslicht bedingten Effekt." " In Pergamum the function of daylight has been taken over by lamps, in the Isis mysteries by torches. The replacement of torches by lamps seems understandable enough on practical grounds. Against those who might possibly object that lamplight was not bright enough for purposes of illumination in a mystery cult, I may point out that according to Artemidorus (Oneirocriticon, ed. Hercher, p. 96, line i6) lamps sometimes produced a very clear light.

My interpretation of the Pergamum-inscription implies that the hymnodes possessed imperial ELKOVE. In C. 12-13 ELKOVE rirv 1E3ao-rCv are indeed mentioned, i.e., of Augustus and Livia who are worshipped together. '0

e•Efao-r-6 in B. 20- it may be

assumed - is presumably also represented by an ElKCtV.60 Follow- ing Robert I have already pointed to the great significance of the

"P. Boyanc6, op. cit., 54ff., esp. 57 (with a discussion of the texts of Aristotle and Proclus) ; idem, "Sur les myst'res d'Eleusis", REG 75 (1962), 46off. The problem of whether the illumination of the cult-images took place both in the Eleusin- ian mysteries of the imperial period and those of the classical age or only in the former is clearly irrelevant to us here.

' Op. cit., 58, note i; art. cit., 473, n. 2.

9 Attische Feste, 90. 0 Cf. also W. H. Buckler--D. M. Robinson, Sardis VII, n. 21 where in con-

nection with r(eXeral) of Athena Neikephoros xpvoa• elic6ves are mentioned; moreover, in the same text .uvarTpta are recorded of the gods of the palaistra, Hermes and Heracles.




ELKOVES in the imperial cult in the East. From Robert's study it appears clear that there is a strict parallelism between the struc- ture of the "liturgie imperiale" and that of the worship in the traditional cults: the lepa4~ poL, O EdopoL, S/38OdLopoL etc. are paral- leled by the sebastophoroi in the imperial cult. The (dKopo0 in the traditional cults finds his counterpart in the CdKopoT T-Cv OELwov

ELKOVCov from a recently published Athenian inscription. Robert has shown conclusively that we have to do in this case with a "sacristain" of a chapel with imperial images."' Hymnodes and theologoi occur in the imperial cult either under the same name or with a slight variant (EoX06yog/o-E/8ao-roX0yog). Finally the Eleusinian hierophant may thus be supposed to find his counterpart in the sebastophant of the imperial mysteries. On the basis of this strict parallelism between the dignitaries in the traditional and the imperial cult it seems advisable to consider the "sebastophant" as "one who shows the imperial image." The Pergamum inscription makes it plausible that the showing of the imperial image under glaring lamplight constituted a part of the mysteries. This phenomenon supports, in its turn, the explanation of the title of "sebastophant."

In a Greek inscription found recently in present-day Bulgaria mention is made of a

ao•repa of Dionysian mystai.62 The long

series of dignitaries include three that are important for our purpose: one XvXvadrrpLa and two or~-Eaoa-o4draea. It is possible that in these Dionysian mysteries the ZEf3ao-r6d is worshipped at the same time and that also in this case the XvXvaqtia is designed to accentuate the "showing of the imperial image (and perhaps also that of Dionysus?)." 63

Two final remarks: I. It is probable that in the Pergamum mysteries hymns were sung; in the first place because there are mysteries celebrated by hymnodes, secondly because the sons of

"REA 62(196o), 3x6ff. (essential for a correct approach to the imperial religion).

" G. Mihailov, IGB III, I517, line 5; cf. Robert, Bull.1pigr. (1962), 175, n. 198. 'P. Boyance, L'antre dans les mysteres de Dionysos, Atti Pontif. Accad. Rom.

di Arch. III: 33 (1960/61), 107-27, and D. M. Pippidi, Grottes Dionysiaques '

Callatis, BCH 88(1964), 151ff., have recently and rightly stressed the importance of caves (Owrpa) in Dionysian mysteries. Thus it is conceivable, though it cannot be proved, that the lamp (which on my theory may well have illuminated the image of the emperor) was lit in a dark cave.




the hymnodes, though not full members of the club, are allowed both to attend the mysteries and to sing in the choir on payment of the Xop~Eov mentioned in D.2 I ("Chorgelder" 64). There is probably some connection between these two privileges; they had to be allowed to participate in the mysteries, because the choir of which they were members happened to sing in those ceremonies.

2. In A.3o a OEoXo6o is mentioned in a badly damaged con-

text; consequently his function within the club of the hymnodes is vague. On the ground of what is mentioned above on p. 338 about the function of the theologoi in (imperial) mysteries we may perhaps consider the possibility that the Pergamum theologos also had a function in the three-day mystery festivals.65

Conclusion: our interpretation of the Pergamene document 66

shows that the mysteries at Pergamum as far as their rites are concerned were true copies of the traditional mysteries; both include hymns, glorification (theologos?), showing of the image. It seems to be certain that the festivals involving hymnodists had a closed character. I see no value in speaking of pseudo-mysteries in this case. The Bithynian mysteries may be grouped together with the Pergamene. The sebastophant takes care of the ceremony to which (according to our explanation) the Pergamene inscription alludes in B. Iff. At present, however, both the epigraphic and the literary sources are too scarce and too vague to allow a more detailed description of the "imperial mysteries."

VII

Nothing compels us to deny that we have to do with genuine devotion to Divus Augustus, dead for more than 150 years. A. D.

" As stated rightly by M. Fraenkel in his commentary, ad loc., 2 70. 85 CIG 3803 can no longer be used as evidence for the presence of a OeoX6yos

in imperial mysteries; the reading OeoX6yos rw3v zr;e EvLva'rqptlwv

proved to be incorrect; the correct version is OvrIK6oS etc.; the text originates from Bithynion- Claudiopolis and probably refers to the mysteries of Antinous; for all this, cf. L. Robert, Rev. de Phil. (I943), 184, n. 9; for Antinous' worship in Bithynia, cf. also F. K. D6rner, Denkschr. Akad. Wien, 75:1 (1952), 40, n. 78: Nw~t 0e& i[] 'AvrtLv6w EXrv w-E0vYq [s]. Antinous, who was worshipped in a mystery cult, apparently heard prayers; it is not inconceivable that in Pergamum likewise the Deified Au- gustus was supposed to hearken to prayer. In general, however, as Nock has emphasized, exvotos are rare in the imperial cult, JRS 47(1957), 115ff.

"6 We may look forward to a study on the Pergamene p~zvtoli from L. Robert, see REA 62(I960), 342, n. 2.




Nock recently spoke of the "deepened sentimentality" of some 2nd century mystery cults as opposed to the pseudo-mysteries, in which the term mystery was, properly speaking, no more than a "fagon de parler." 67 In my opinion the Pergamene imperial mysteries belong to the former category."8

Though the Divus Augustus worshipped at Pergamum may not have heard prayers and healed patients (theoretically the possibility remains that in the minds of his worshippers he was supposed to do so; cf. notes 14 and 65), yet it may not be said that participation in the mysteries is "Ausdruck der Anerkennung einer politischer Wirklichkeit, nicht religioises Bekenntnis." Such statements are based on too narrow a definition of piety. Between the so-called genuine piety of the exvotos, and the mere expression of political loyalty there is a wide field of ritual piety, the source of which need not necessarily be the actual hearing of prayers or the healing of illness; here we are faced with an expression of the general dependence of man on the god(s) which comes close to pious veneration.

' Class. Philol. 55(196o), 121. SWhen dealing with the Hekate mysteries from Lagina (3rd century A.D.)

A. Laumonier, Les cultes indigenes en Carie (Paris, 1958), 404f., distinguishes between "mystere-sacrement, renouvable, de caractere oriental et dionysique" and "mystere-initiation, avec formules et representations . . . , qui preparait plus directement au bonheur de l'au-delk." The Pergamene mysteries have, in my opinion, a share in both: the mystai had their heavy drinking and a good meal, but at the same time Divus Augustus was the centre of an initiation rite. In how far the expectations for the after-life were determined by the initiation cannot be decided in the present state of our sources.



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