Diodorus Pasparus
Diodorus Pasparus (
Diodorus is part of a class of civic leaders in the province in this period, like
Life
Diplomatic activity
During the
The earliest inscription, IGR IV 292, is a decree praising Diodorus for his actions at this time. He seems to have led an embassy to Rome to get the Senate to take action against the publicani.[4] Diodorus' embassy also seems to have complained about depredations carried out by the occupying Roman legions, the financial costs of hosting them, and the tribute that had been levied on Asia after the First Mithridatic War.[5] During the war, Mithridates had arrested a group of Pergamene conspirators and seized their property. Diodorus secured the return of this property somehow (perhaps it had been taken by the Romans along with the rest of Mithridates' property at the end of the war).[6] The decree records that these actions and others were central to maintaining order and harmony in Pergamon at a time of major social unrest.[7] A similar embassy sent at this time by the League of the Greeks in Asia (to which all the cities in the province of Asia belonged) to complain about the publicani is attested in a decree at Aphrodisias (IAph2007 2.503).[8][9] Several other advocates for the cities of Asia at this time are mentioned in inscriptions and literary sources.[10]
In honour of these actions, the Pergamenes honoured Diodorus with a golden crown, a marble statue, a gilded statue, two statues on horseback, a colossal bronze statue showing him being crowned by the people,[11] all of which were to bear the inscription:[12]
the people honoured Diodorus son of Herōides, the hereditary priest of Zeus the Greatest and chief priest, who inherited the role of benefactor from his ancestors and has provided many great benefits to his fatherland
— IGR IV 292, lines 29-31[12]
In addition, he received front-row seats at all festivals and games and the right to burn incense at all political meetings. A new civic tribe was established, named Paspareis in his honour. The day of his return from Rome, 8 Apollonius, became a public holiday. A benefactor cult was established for Diodorus, including a sanctuary (the Diodoreium) in
MDAI(A) 35, p. 409, no. 2 seems to recall this diplomatic activity at a later date.[14]
Gymnasiarch
IPergamon II 256 honours Pasparus for his service as gymnasiarch (manager of the city's four gymnasia)[15] and organiser of the 29th celebration of the Nicephoria festival, which was the first to take place after a war, and was passed immediately after the festival, while he was still in office.[16] Older scholarship placed this in 125 BC in the aftermath of Aristonicus' revolt, but C. P. Jones established that the correct date is 69 BC, following the end of the Third Mithridatic War in Asia.[17] The decree was passed while Pasparus was still in office as gymnasiarch and it orders a marble statue to be erected in his honour in the gymnasium of the young men (the base of this survives as MDAI(A) 32, p. 313 no. 36) and a bronze cult statue in an uncertain location.[18] Sacrifices are to be offered to Diodorus next to the cult statue, both statues are to be given a headband and a crown whenever other statues receive those honours, and Diodorus is to receive a crown each year at the Hermaea festival, which marked the end of the gymnasiarch's year of office.[19]
The surviving text of IGR IV 294 does not contain Diodorus' name, but it was almost certainly passed in his honour at the end of his tenure as gymnasiarch.
IGR IV 293 is an inscribed column, which once stood in Pergamon's upper gymnasium.[25] It contains six honorific decrees for Diodorus (a-f), of which b, e, and f are mostly lost.[26] These decrees were voted at different times and inscribed on the column at a later date.[27] Decree a honours Diodorus for the construction work that he oversaw as gymnasiarch in 69 BC.[15][28] This work included the construction of a new palaestra (wrestling ground) in one of the gymnasia and it mentioned various other projects that are now lost. It also mentions his organisation of the 29th celebration of the Nicephoria festival.[29][30] In honour of his achievements, an exedra was to be built for him in the gymnasium of the youths containing a cult statue of him.[29] IGR IV 293 decree d is a later stage in the same process. It praises Diodorus for his construction work once more, saying he has conducted himself "just as if he were a second founder," mentions that he had agreed to pay for the construction of the exedra, and makes the necessary arrangements to allow him to do that.[31][32] Decree e is mostly lost, but it seems to mention that Diodorus had carried out sacrifices and games previously decreed for his father, Heroides.[33]
MDAI(A) 35, p. 409, no. 3 also honours Diodorus for his service as gymnasiarch and includes a chronological account of his activities in the role. It may be a second copy of IGR IV 294 or a decree passed in Diodorus' honour at the end of a second, otherwise unattested, tenure as gymnasiarch.[34]
Further diplomacy
Decree c on IGR IV 293 honours Diodorus for further diplomatic activities and other unspecified good deeds, noting his "influence with the (Roman) magistrates."
Coinage
A set of Pergamene bronze coins. These coins bear the names of their mint magistrates, Mithradates and Diodorus. Mithradates was a friend of Julius Caesar, a witness for the prosecution of Lucius Valerius Flaccus (praetor 63 BC; son of Lucius Valerius Flaccus, consul 86 BCE) at Rome in 59 BC (subject of Cicero's Pro Flacco),[38] and was eventually appointed king of Bosporus. The other magistrate is probably Diodorus Pasparus.[38] C. P. Jones suggests that Mithradates succeeded Diodorus as Pergamon's leading citizen.[38]
List of inscriptions
Reference | Date | Type | Topic | Other references |
---|---|---|---|---|
IGR IV 292 | 85-73 BC[39] | Decree | Diplomatic activities | MDAI(A) 32, p. 243, no. 4; Chankowski 1998 no. 5 |
MDAI(A) 35, p. 409, no. 2 | After IGR IV 292 | Decree | Diplomatic activities | Chankowski 1998 no. 11 |
IPergamon II 256 | 69 BC | Decree | Gymnasiarchy: Nicephoria | Chankowski 1998 no. 3 |
MDAI(A) 32, p. 313, no. 36 | 69 BC | Statue base | Gymnasiarchy: Nicephoria | Chankowski 1998 no. 4 |
IGR IV 293f | 69 BC | Dossier of decrees | Permission to erect statue/s | MDAI(A) 32, p. 257, no. 8; MDAI(A) 35, p. 412, no. 4; Chankowski 1998 no. 6 |
IGR IV 294 | 69 BC | Decree | Gymnasiarchy | MDAI(A) 29, p. 152, no. 1; OGIS 764; Chankowski 1998 no. 1
|
IGR IV 293a | 69 BC | Dossier of decrees | Gymnasiarchy: construction work | MDAI(A) 32, p. 257, no. 8; MDAI(A) 35, p. 412, no. 4; Chankowski 1998 no. 6 |
IGR IV 293d | 69 BC | Construction of Diodorus' exedra | ||
IGR IV 293c | After 69 BC[37] | Diplomatic activities[28] | ||
IGR IV 293b | ? | Fragmentary | ||
IGR IV 293e | ? | Sacrifices for Diodorus' father | ||
MDAI(A) 35, p. 409, no. 3 | 69 BC or later?[40] | Decree | Gymnasiarchy | Chankowski 1998 no. 2 |
MDAI(A) 32, p. 314, no. 37 | ? | ? | Fragmentary | Chankowski 1998 no. 8 |
MDAI(A) 32, p. 314, no. 38 | ? | ? | Fragmentary | MDAI(A) 35, p. 467, no. 50; Chankowski 1998 no. 9 |
MDAI(A) 32, p. 314, no. 39 | ? | Decree of neoi (young men)? | Fragmentary | Chankowski 1998 no. 10 |
References
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 183 n. 2, 191, 197.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 203–205.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 191, 193–194, 203.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 191, 193–194.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 194–196.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 196–197.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 197.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 193–194.
- ^ Reynolds, Joyce; Roueché, Charlotte; Bodard, Gabriel. "2.503. Decree of the koinon of Asia". IAph: Inscriptions of Aphrodisias. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 203–204.
- ^ a b Corey Brennan 2009, p. 173.
- ^ a b c Decree A on "OGIS 764: Pergamon honours Diodoros Pasparos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 197–198.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 191-192.
- ^ a b Jones 1974, pp. 198 & 201.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 163, 169.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 184 & 190. This date affirmed by Robert 1981, p. 346; Chankowski 1998, p. 168; Corey Brennan 2009, p. 171 n. 2 with further references. A challenge by Musti 1998 is answered by Jones 2000
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 163, 169-174.
- ^ Decree C on "OGIS 764: Pergamon honours Diodoros Pasparos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 192-194.
- ^ a b Jones 1974, pp. 199.
- ^ a b c Decree D on "OGIS 764: Pergamon honours Diodoros Pasparos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ a b Jones 1974, pp. 200.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 190-191.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 163.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 163-164.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 166.
- ^ a b c Chankowski 1998, p. 164.
- ^ a b Decree E on "OGIS 764: Pergamon honours Diodoros Pasparos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 175.
- ^ Decree G on "OGIS 764: Pergamon honours Diodoros Pasparos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 175-180.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 190.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 194.
- ^ Jones 1974, pp. 198.
- ^ a b Decree F on "OGIS 764: Pergamon honours Diodoros Pasparos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ a b Chankowski 1998, p. 168.
- ^ a b c Jones 1974, pp. 202.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 169.
- ^ Chankowski 1998, p. 195.
Bibliography
- Chankowski, Andrzej S. (1998). "La procédure législative à Pergame au Ier siècle au J.-C. : à propos de la chronologie relative des décrets en l'honneur de Diodoros Pasparos". Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique. 122 (1): 159–199. .
- Corey Brennan, T. (2009). "Embassies Gone Wrong: Roman diplomacy in the Constantinian Excerpta de Legationibus". In Eilers, Claude (ed.). Diplomats and Diplomacy in the Roman World. Leiden: Brill. pp. 171–192. ISBN 9789004170988.
- Forster, Florian Rudolf (2018). Die Polis im Wandel : Ehrendekrete für eigene Bürger im Kontext der hellenistischen Polisgesellschaft. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 9783946317197.
- Genovese, Cristina (2011). "Per eterna memoria e immortalità di un benefattore": L'Heroon di Diodoro Pasparo a Pergamo". Mediterraneo Antico. 14: 57–74. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- Jones, C. P. (1974). "Diodoros Pasparos and the Nikephoria of Pergamon". Chiron. 4: 183–206.
- Jones, C. P. (2000). "Diodoros Pasparos Revisited". Chiron. 30: 1–14. .
- Musti, D. (1998). "I Nikephoria e il ruolo panellenico di Pergamo". Rivista di Filologia e di Istruzione Classica. 126: 5–40.
- Robert, Louis (1981). "Une épigramme satirique d'Automédon et Athènes au début de l'Empire (Anth. Pal. XI-319)". Revue des Études Grecques. 94 (447): 338–361. .
- Virgilio, B. (1994). "La città ellenistica e i suoi "benefattori": Pergamo e Diodoro Pasparo". Athenaeum. 82: 299–314.
External links
- "OGIS 764: Pergamon honours Diodoros Pasparos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 4 February 2023.