The title of this post is certainly interesting, it can be found in both Appian and Dio and are words attributed to the Emperor Hadrian when visiting the Tomb of Pompey in the East. Pompey is not known as a civil innovator, few temple constructions are credited to him through his life. However there must have been a reason for this line being uttered from Hadrian, could it be that Pompey was given divine status, at least in the east?
One of the most well attested relationships we have of Pompey’s time in the east is his relationship with the city of Mytilene. Not only did the city’s theatre provide a blueprint for Pompey’s own theatre, constructed on his return to Rome, but it’s also a site where we see that Pompey is given quasi-divine status.
Pompey is given the title of founder of the city. The title is largely honorific, given that Mytilene has a long history of its own. However we only need to look at the divine honours that are associated with founders, even if they are only honourific, to get the impression that he was held in a slightly higher regard than your average member of the citizen body.
Let us take for example the benefactor of Pergamon, Diodorus Pasparos, a man who appears to be not much more than a diplomat receives the title founder but also appears to receive divine honours for his troubles.
We must also take in to consideration the fact that Pompey, on his campaign against Mithradates, founded no less than 39 colonies and 7 cities. These cities were given grandiose names such as Pompeiopolis and Mangnopolis. It is hard to think that these cities would not have given honours to Pompey given his status as founder. Given the naming of these cities he is the very identity of the city. This is also reflected in the coinage of the cities. A coin from Pompeiopolis shows a bear headed Pompey and Nike. The image the city is presenting then is that it is a city of Pompey, born from his victories.
Coinage would traditionally place a deity along with a motif of the city in order to promote themselves, this was shifted in the Hellenistic era, when the coins would feature the Monarch along with a deity showing the area’s control and loyalty to the monarch at the time. Alongside this, by associating the monarch in close relation the deity the inference of the monarch’s divinity can be assumed.
Whilst titles are all well and good they may not mean too much. Whilst it may elevate Pompey above all others in the citizen body this doesn’t specifically mean he was held in a quasi-divine regard. However, there is a very interesting inscription from the city that may offer us more lightly in this regard.
Inscription IGXII. 2.59 appears to show that a month was named for Pompey, whilst the inscription is fragmentary there are no other months within the Hellenistic world that begin with the letters P.O.M leading scholars to be sure of accrediting this month to be named after Pompey. Within the ancient world months would be named after deities. In Delphi we see the months Heracleios and Artemisios named after Heracles and Artemis , in later tradition we do see month names changed in order to honour Hellenistic Monarchs.
It is to Delos that we also turn our investigation to another inscription, ID1797. In this inscription there is a reference to a group, the Pompeistai. This group is largely enigmatic, we know their name, and not much else. However what appears to be the case is that they are a society of worshippers in honour of Pompey. In a series of Lectures some 90 years ago it was supposed that this was a group of traders in Delos that paid homage to Pompey’s victory over the pirates at social gatherings. However there is something that doesn’t quite sit right with this interpretation. Given the wide spread honours of Pompey throughout the east it feels like this cannot have been the only band of Pompeistai in the ancient world. We only need to look at Plutarchs life of Flamininus. A general of similar prestige who was granted divine hounours, games and a priesthood. This priesthood, Plutarch tells us were still active some 200 years following Flaminius’ death. It is likely then, that these priesthoods were more formal in nature.
“Moreover, even down to our own day a priest of Titus is duly elected and appointed, and after sacrifice and libations in his honour, a set hymn of praise to him is sung: it is too long to be quoted entire, and so I will give only the closing words of the song:
"And the Roman faith we revere, which we have solemnly vowed to cherish; sing, then, ye maidens, to great Zeus, to Rome, to Titus, and to the Roman faith: hail, Paean Apollo! hail, Titus our saviour!" (Plu. Flam.16).
What is to note is the Hadrian, prior to leaving the burial site of Pompey performed a sacrifice to him, suggesting some form of continuing cult, or just extreme reverence to a Roman of great repute.
Pompey, then, appears to be no different to any great Hellenistic conqueror of the time, seamlessly adapting to the role of Hellenistic monarch and promoting his image in line with his predecessors. He acts as a founder, is given divine honours and even appears to have cults in his honour and by doing so he promotes his own image in the East and perhaps more importantly in Rome.
Pompey also manages to bring some of this splendor, and eastern political discourse back to Rome. In his most elaborate of triumphs he parades Ebony logs from his conquests. This is a display of power used by Hellenistic Monarchs previously, for example the procession of Ptolemy II in Alexandria.
This Hellenistic discourse in the triumph of Pompey was only the beginning of his religious programme within Rome.
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