Greek inscriptions: a commemorative monument erected by notables
The blocks placed on top of the wall engraved with inscriptions in Greek are all approximately the same size. The examination of the writing shows that only one engraver or lapicide carried out this work.
By associating 6 of these blocks, we can reconstitute the following text:
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Φαμιλία μονομάχων Π(ουβλίου) Οὐ[λπίου --- ἀρχιερέως]
καὶ Κλαυδίας [--- γυ]ναικὸς αὐτοῦ ἀρχιερείας vacat
[καὶ ---]οῦ δυανδρῶν.
Gladiator Troop of P(ublius) Ulpius [High Priest]
and of Claudia [---] his wife, high priestess
[and of ---]us duovirs.
By associating 2 other blocks and by restoring the missing parts thanks to our knowledge of the inscriptions of Antioch, we can also recompose this text:
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[Φαμιλία] μονομάχων Γ(αΐου) Οὐλπ [ίου Βαιβιανοῦ ἀρχιερέως]
[καὶ Μ(αξίμου) Ἠουείου Δομιτίου Οὐαλεριανο]ῦ Γαΐου δυανδρῶν.
Gladiator troop of G(aius) Ulp[ius Baebianus, high priest,
and of M(aximus) Eveius Domitius Valerian]us, duovirs.
These inscriptions belong to a monument which commemorated the editions of gladiatorial games given by the rulers of the colony of Antioch, the duovirs. The latter owned or rented the troupe ( familia ), offered the spectacle to their fellow citizens either following an electoral promise, or during worship in honor of the emperor, which is shown by the titles of high priest and high priestess of the imperial cult. This custom, which originated in the Roman world, spread to the Roman colonies in the East, but also to the Greek cities. To the traditional gymnastics and theater competitions, the Roman games were therefore added.
These shows could take place in different places. We know from a Latin inscription from Pisidian Antioch (L. Robert, Les gladiateurs dans l'Orient grec , 1940, n° 92), dated from the end of the 1st century A.D., that a certain L. Calpurnius Longus promised a show to the people and had a wooden amphitheater built in two months. He had hunts of all kinds given there every day, aspersions of incense and thirty-six pairs of gladiators for eight days. The theater may have been specially refurbished to accommodate this type of show, as seen in other Greek cities.
Memorial to Stephanos, the Secutor
In the courtyard of the Yalvaç Museum. Stephanos is a frequent name, a name of good omen for those who aspired, at the cost of their life, to obtain a crown.
ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟC
Στέφανος
Memorial to an anonymous gladiator
Memorial to Philemon, the retiarius.
In the courtyard of the Yalvaç Museum. The retiarius is often contrasted with the secutor .
Dedication of Pasinianus, instructor in a school of gladiators and arbiter of combats (2nd half of the 2nd century A.D.)
In the courtyard of the Yalvaç Museum. A Thracian-type fighter? See Thracian specific equipment. Whoever wears this equipment and the way of fighting that is linked, is not necessarily of this geographical and ethnic origin.
Memorial of Podenemos
In the courtyard of the Yalvaç Museum. Podenemos was retiary. We see him brandishing his trident forward.
ΦΙΛΗΜΩΝ
Φιλήμων
ΠΟΔΗΝΕΜΟ[Σ]
Ποδηνέμος
Τ. Κλαύδιος Πασ[ι]-
νιανὸς Νέος σουμ-
μαρούδης τεκμο-
ρεύσας μετὰ γυνα[ι]-
κὸς καὶ ἀδελφῶ[ν]
Μηνὶ Πατρὶ[ῳ]
εὐχήν.
According to B. Levick, “Dedications to Men Askaenos”, Anatolian Studies , 1970, p. 39 No. 4 Plate II.
Pasinianus was a former gladiator who, after his release, had become an instructor ( summa rudis ) in a school of gladiators ( ludus ). Their role was also to arbitrate the fights in the arena. His full name, Tiberius Claudius Pasinianus Neos reveals that he was the descendant of a freedman or a Greek who had obtained Roman citizenship under Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54). His nickname, Neos, "the Young", distinguished him from his father who bore the same name. He makes a dedication, with his wife and his brothers and sisters, to the lunar god Mèn who bears the epithet Patrios, "ancestral". This underlines the continuity of the Mèn cult, which was the protective god of the Greek city of Antioch as well as of the Roman colony.
Funerary stele of Phôtinos, the leader of the hunters
In the courtyard of the Yalvaç Museum. The inscription reveals his function: chief of the hunters ( archikynegos ) and the relief shows him standing, facing, holding a stake in his left hand and a whip in his right hand, his dog at his side. The epitaph ends with the usual formula "in remembrance" (μνήμης χάριν). Calpurnius Phôteinos was a citizen, certainly a freedman or a descendant of a freedman of the great family of Calpurnii. The hunts took place in the morning, while the gladiators clashed in the afternoon. They could pit animals against each other or men against animals.
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