- Imperio romano, Storia antica ed epigrafia latina, Epigrafia Griega, Segunda Sofistica, Intelectuales Griegos, Identidad griega en el Imperio, and 16 moreCiudades orientales del Imperio romano, Hadrian, Italica, Greek Epigraphy, Roman Greece, Boeotian Studies, Locri, Fuentes, Ancient Sources, Adriano, Nacimiento En Itálica, Born In Italica, Fuentes Antiguas, Sortes Vergilianae, Emperadores Hispanos, and Spanish Emperorsedit
In this paper, I will look at some aspects of the construction of the memory of the Second Persian War and its political use in the Roman Empire. First, I explore the way in which the Persian Wars evolved from a rhetorical metaphor to a... more
In this paper, I will look at some aspects of the construction of the memory of the Second Persian War and its political use in the Roman Empire. First, I explore the way in which the Persian Wars evolved from a rhetorical metaphor to a central political topic in Augustan times. In a second section, I analyse how the Greeks, i.e. the oligarchs of some Greek cities, discovered that recourse to the Persian Wars was a valuable argument before Rome. Thirdly, I analyse how the Xerxes War became a meeting place between Greeks and emperors. I also examine how emperors, especially in the second century AD, used the Persian Wars as a fundamental part of their political action vis-à-vis Greek subjects, bringing together Rome's political appropriation of war and the Greek use of war as a lure. Finally, I try to show how the Persian Wars were used to justify the processes of federation of the Greeks in the Empire in order to exalt Athens as the quintessence of Hellenism.
En el presente trabajo me aproximo a algunos aspectos de la construcción de la memoria de la Segunda Guerra de Médica y de su uso político en tiempos del Imperio romano. En primer lugar, exploro el modo en el que las Guerras Médicas pasaron de ser una metáfora retórica a convertirse en un tópico central de carácter político en tiempos de Augusto. En un segundo apartado, analizo cómo los griegos, es decir, los oligarcas de algunas ciudades griegas, descubrieron que el recurso a las Guerras Médicas era un argumento valioso ante Roma, y que demostrar su vinculación con aquellos sucesos podía mejorar su valoración en el Imperio y ante el emperador. En tercer lugar, analizo cómo la Guerra de Jerjes se convirtió en un espacio de encuentro entre griegos y emperadores. Indago también cómo algunos emperadores, especialmente en el siglo II d.C., utilizaron la Guerras Médicas como parte fundamental de su acción política ante los súbditos griegos, aunando la apropiación política de la guerra por parte de Roma y la utilización griega de la guerra como un reclamo. Por último, trato de mostrar cómo las Guerras Médicas se usaron para justificar los procesos de federación de los griegos en el Imperio para acabar exaltando a Atenas como quintaesencia del helenismo.
En el presente trabajo me aproximo a algunos aspectos de la construcción de la memoria de la Segunda Guerra de Médica y de su uso político en tiempos del Imperio romano. En primer lugar, exploro el modo en el que las Guerras Médicas pasaron de ser una metáfora retórica a convertirse en un tópico central de carácter político en tiempos de Augusto. En un segundo apartado, analizo cómo los griegos, es decir, los oligarcas de algunas ciudades griegas, descubrieron que el recurso a las Guerras Médicas era un argumento valioso ante Roma, y que demostrar su vinculación con aquellos sucesos podía mejorar su valoración en el Imperio y ante el emperador. En tercer lugar, analizo cómo la Guerra de Jerjes se convirtió en un espacio de encuentro entre griegos y emperadores. Indago también cómo algunos emperadores, especialmente en el siglo II d.C., utilizaron la Guerras Médicas como parte fundamental de su acción política ante los súbditos griegos, aunando la apropiación política de la guerra por parte de Roma y la utilización griega de la guerra como un reclamo. Por último, trato de mostrar cómo las Guerras Médicas se usaron para justificar los procesos de federación de los griegos en el Imperio para acabar exaltando a Atenas como quintaesencia del helenismo.
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La interpretación de la Itálica de Adriano se enfrenta a la necesidad de encajar algunos elementos aparentemente contradictorios y que, no obstante, son piezas claves de su configuración. La centralidad urbanística del templo, la... more
La interpretación de la Itálica de Adriano se enfrenta a la necesidad de encajar algunos elementos aparentemente contradictorios y que, no obstante, son piezas claves de su configuración. La centralidad urbanística del templo, la concesión del estatuto de Colonia de ciudadanos romanos y la aprobación de un senadoconsulto con el título De Italicensibus son elementos de la nueva ciudad que, sin embargo, no están bien conjugados. Podría decirse, de alguna manera, que presentan una sintaxis histórica defectuosa.
Mi propuesta es que, en el equilibrio de las ciudades hispanas, donde podría encontrarse la razón de la petición italicense de convertirse en colonia. Los italicenses habrían querido ser ciudadanos de una colonia para recibir el templo, tal y como lo eran Corduba y Tarraco. Se puede explicar ahora la incomprensión de Adriano, para quien los templos de culto imperial no deberían ser motivos de rivalidad entre ciudades. Pero una cosa son las intenciones de los emperadores y otras, sus consecuencias.
El nuevo templo de la Bética acabó instalado in colonia Italicensi. Además, Itálica recibió, como tantas otras ciudades del Imperio, el nombre del emperador, Aelia, así como el título de Augusta, que no sólo lo vinculaba con el vencedor de Accio, en cuyo honor había un altar en la ciudad, sino también con el propio Adriano. No en vano, durante su estancia en Tarraco, Adriano había simplificado sus nombres públicos para hacerse llamar Hadrianus Augustus, coincidiendo con los 150 años de la invención del título de Augusto. Su patria, recreada desde sus fundamentos, pasó a llamarse Colonia Aelia Augusta Italicensium.
Mi propuesta es que, en el equilibrio de las ciudades hispanas, donde podría encontrarse la razón de la petición italicense de convertirse en colonia. Los italicenses habrían querido ser ciudadanos de una colonia para recibir el templo, tal y como lo eran Corduba y Tarraco. Se puede explicar ahora la incomprensión de Adriano, para quien los templos de culto imperial no deberían ser motivos de rivalidad entre ciudades. Pero una cosa son las intenciones de los emperadores y otras, sus consecuencias.
El nuevo templo de la Bética acabó instalado in colonia Italicensi. Además, Itálica recibió, como tantas otras ciudades del Imperio, el nombre del emperador, Aelia, así como el título de Augusta, que no sólo lo vinculaba con el vencedor de Accio, en cuyo honor había un altar en la ciudad, sino también con el propio Adriano. No en vano, durante su estancia en Tarraco, Adriano había simplificado sus nombres públicos para hacerse llamar Hadrianus Augustus, coincidiendo con los 150 años de la invención del título de Augusto. Su patria, recreada desde sus fundamentos, pasó a llamarse Colonia Aelia Augusta Italicensium.
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The Italica that that can be seen today is the work of Hadrian, the protagonist of the series of transformations that the Empire underwent during the 2nd century. In this century a new ecumenical community was created in which the... more
The Italica that that can be seen today is the work of Hadrian, the protagonist of the series of transformations that the Empire underwent during the 2nd century. In this century a new ecumenical community was created in which the dominance of the Italic Romans over the rest of the territories was replaced by a new social base from the provinces that determined the configuration of the Roman world. Faced with the diversity of peoples and the vastness of the Empire, Hadrian understood the importance of integrating regional diversity, which he came to know personally through the use of travel as a toll of government. Unlike the so-called reactive attitude of the Caesars of the 1st century AD towards their provinces, the emperor took the initiative to benefit not only the Urbs - as had been done before - but also the other cities, altering the nature of the Roman Empire. This process is what I call the Hadrianic Turn
La Itálica que se nos conserva actualmente es obra de Adriano, protagonista del conjunto de transformaciones que experimenta el Imperio a lo largo del siglo II. Durante esta centuria, se asiste a la creación de una nueva comunidad ecuménica en la que la dominación de los romanos de origen itálico sobre el resto de los territorios es sustituida por una nueva base social que procede de las provincias y que determina la configuración del orbe romano. Frente a la disparidad de pueblos y la extensión del Imperio, Adriano concibe la relevancia de la integración de la diversidad regional, que conoció personalmente de acuerdo con el uso de los viajes como forma de gobierno. A diferencia de la definida como actitud reactiva de los Césares del siglo I d.C. para con sus provincias, el emperador toma la iniciativa de beneficiar no solo a la Urbs —como se había hecho con anterioridad—, sino al resto de ciudades, alterando la naturaleza del Estado romano en su tiempo. Este proceso es el que denomino el Giro Adrianeo.
La Itálica que se nos conserva actualmente es obra de Adriano, protagonista del conjunto de transformaciones que experimenta el Imperio a lo largo del siglo II. Durante esta centuria, se asiste a la creación de una nueva comunidad ecuménica en la que la dominación de los romanos de origen itálico sobre el resto de los territorios es sustituida por una nueva base social que procede de las provincias y que determina la configuración del orbe romano. Frente a la disparidad de pueblos y la extensión del Imperio, Adriano concibe la relevancia de la integración de la diversidad regional, que conoció personalmente de acuerdo con el uso de los viajes como forma de gobierno. A diferencia de la definida como actitud reactiva de los Césares del siglo I d.C. para con sus provincias, el emperador toma la iniciativa de beneficiar no solo a la Urbs —como se había hecho con anterioridad—, sino al resto de ciudades, alterando la naturaleza del Estado romano en su tiempo. Este proceso es el que denomino el Giro Adrianeo.
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The core argument of this chapter is that a fertile and reciprocal relationship existed between Hispania Graeca and Hadrian, the Graeculus emperor. As I argue, some of the seeds of Hadrian’s love for Greece are to be found in Hispania.... more
The core argument of this chapter is that a fertile and reciprocal relationship existed between Hispania Graeca and Hadrian, the Graeculus emperor. As I argue, some of the seeds of Hadrian’s love for Greece are to be found in Hispania. Furthermore, once in power, he accelerated the cultural integration of the Empire’s regions thanks to the strengthening of Greek culture. While Greek influence on private lives may be visible in Tarraco, it is especially in Italica that the effects of the emperor’s active Hellenism are highly noticeable. Consequently, I highlight an important point: using modes and forms proper to the Second Sophistic, Hadrian portrayed himself as a somewhat universalizing emperor. After an arduous investigation into his family origins Hadrian presented himself as Hispanic and Italic, but also as Greek. The past became a means for him to portray himself as a living synthesis of the Empire he ruled.
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Adriano gobernó el imperio de manera diferente a como lo habían hecho sus antecesores. Desplegó en favor de los súbditos toda la generosidad de la que un emperador era capaz, buscando la prosperidad (Eudaimonía). Así fue reconocido por... more
Adriano gobernó el imperio de manera diferente a como lo habían hecho sus antecesores. Desplegó en favor de los súbditos toda la generosidad de la que un emperador era capaz, buscando la prosperidad (Eudaimonía). Así fue reconocido por los antiguos. Las riquezas del emperador lo convirtieron en el primer agente económico del imperio. Dotado de una enorme capacidad de actuación, Adriano fue consciente del valor político de su capacidad económica y la desplegó en favor del orbe. Adriano fue portador de la Felicitas.
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The aim of this paper is to study the letters that the Emperor Hadrian sent to the neoi of Pergamum, one of which contains the complete text and is preserved in two copies, and another of which only fragments have come down to us and... more
The aim of this paper is to study the letters that the Emperor Hadrian sent to the neoi of Pergamum, one of which contains the complete text and is preserved in two copies, and another of which only fragments have come down to us and whose recipients I suggest here were the neoi. These letters allow us to gain further insights into the emperor’s attitude towards the Greek gymnasiums and poleis. Hadrian strengthened the ties that Trajan had established with the Greek cities during the Parthian War, understanding that he could win over their living forces by supporting their gymnasiums. This was a step further in converting the civic oligarchies of the East into some of the most staunch supporters of imperial power. A number of individuals who acted as mediators were prime movers in the process of forging links between these cities and the emperor. With firm roots in their poleis, they were people who, due to some or other particular circumstance, had direct access to the emperor. One of the most outstanding was Aulus Julius Quadratus, the promoter of the second imperial cult temple at Pergamum. He also collaborated in the enlargement and adornment of the gymnasium of the neoi and was behind this association’s links to the emperor. Another key figure was Polemo of Smyrna. After having convinced the emperor to build a splendid gymnasium at Smyrna, he also promoted its counterpart at Pergamum, where he settled at the end of his life. Through the gymnasiums, Hadrian and the Greek aristocrats discovered a sphere of fruitful social and political collaboration that allowed the emperor to make himself felt at the very heart of civic life.
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Hist. Aug., Hadr. 13, 6 is, together with Cass. Dio, LXIX 16, 1-2, the only literary evidence for Hadrian Eastern journey during years 128 y 134 AD. Hist. Aug., Hadr. 13, 6 relates briefly some of the crucial happenings which took place... more
Hist. Aug., Hadr. 13, 6 is, together with Cass. Dio, LXIX 16, 1-2, the only literary evidence for Hadrian Eastern journey during years 128 y 134 AD. Hist. Aug., Hadr. 13, 6 relates briefly some of the crucial happenings which took place during the journey, such as the consecration of the temple of Zeus Olympios in Athens. The Historia Augusta appears to place the consecration during the year 128 AD, although the epigraphic evidence unquestionably dates it to 132 AD. Weber attempted to explain this discrepancy by means of a double ceremony, a dedicatio in 128 AD and the consecration in 132 AD. I have attempted to demonstrate how this interpretation, accepted as comunis opinio, is incorrect and that the religious ceremonies in the temple of Zeus Olympios took place in 132 AD. The HA tends to compress the narration and to use different terms, dedicatio and consecratio, due to the stylistic taste typical of IV century AD. An additional element in favour of this argumentation is the temple of Hadrian that was erected in Ephesos. Finally, the article stresses out the importance of the temple of Zeus Olympios due to the fact that with the ceremony of 132 AD the emperor reaches beyond the Roman religious soil and the non-religious provincial ones. The temple of Zeus Olympios, the first one to be consecrated by an emperor outside of Rome and within a free city, represented a unifying factor not only among the Greeks but also with the Roman citizens and the Eastern colonies.
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Adriano (117-138) creó un discurso sobre sí mismo y sobre el Imperio que conformó su acción de gobierno, en Roma y las provincias. Sin embargo, aquel discurso no pervivió en el tiempo de manera coherente e identificable, a diferencia del... more
Adriano (117-138) creó un discurso sobre sí mismo y sobre el Imperio que conformó su acción de gobierno, en Roma y las provincias. Sin embargo, aquel discurso no pervivió en el tiempo de manera coherente e identificable, a diferencia del que Augusto elaboró sobre sí mismo. El pasado fue un componente esencial del discurso sobre el Imperio que Adriano articuló. Se analiza en el texto el caso de Itálica, en buena media, una invención Adrianea, que permitió a los italicenses reeditar su historia y que pervivió en la tradición literaria hasta el Mundo Moderno. La recuperación del discurso Adrianeo es esencial para comprender su labor al frente del Imperio.
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Aelius Aristides, in his Oration on Rome, presents the Roman empire as a legally unified empire founded on justice. I argue that the harmonization of central imperial and provincial local law reflects legal and judicial reforms promoted... more
Aelius Aristides, in his Oration on Rome, presents the Roman empire as a legally unified empire founded on justice. I argue that the harmonization of central imperial and provincial local law reflects legal and judicial reforms promoted by Hadrian. That did not imply that Hadrian aimed to replace local laws with imperial regulations. On the contrary, he appears to have strengthened local institutions and local legal traditions by confirming cities’ rights to use their own laws. While Hadrian promoted legal diversity within the framework of the empire, he actively intervened in local legislation, harmonising conflicting local laws and adapting them to the koinoi nomoi, the common laws, of the empire. Hadrian emerged form the process as the ultimate source of law and judicial authority.
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Cortés-Copete analyses the official documentation of Hadrian’s chancellery to illustrate how the emperor improved a system that allowed him to be more responsive to his subjects. Since Millar’s seminal study, the petition-and-response... more
Cortés-Copete analyses the official documentation of Hadrian’s chancellery to illustrate how the emperor improved a system that allowed him to be more responsive to his subjects. Since Millar’s seminal study, the petition-and-response model suggested an emperor who governed in a responsive matter to the requests presented by his subjects. The latest studies have begged for a re-interpretation of the evidence: Ando has brought to attention the fact that instructions to governors ex ante (mandata) were delivered as a guide to action. The circulation of such normative texts, establishing a general rule, and the re-interpretation and re-application of them in later cases, presented a more active model than that of a reactive, passive government. Cortés-Copete examines the quantitative and qualitative transformation of an emperor who wrote five times more rescripta as answers to petitions than his predecessors and gave them universal legal value. Hadrian felt the need to be precisely and independently informed in order to reach a decision; hence, the emperor who travelled and the emperor who wrote letters complemented each other in order to create a proto-bureaucratic government structure with a more active form of government and a more direct relationship with his subjects. Through the term “integrated management”, Cortés-Copete considers that the petitions were in many cases the consequences of initial imperial actions, which allowed the emperor to establish a dialogue and fluid communication with cities, communities and governing bodies. As such, the mechanism of petition should not be linked to passive mode of government but rather to a proactive way of ruling.
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The cult of theos Hadrian was fully integrated into the structures of Greek civic religon and included different local initiatives, such as the worship of "Hadrian among the Gods" endorsed by the Spartan Thophrastus, whose impact on the... more
The cult of theos Hadrian was fully integrated into the structures of Greek civic religon and included different local initiatives, such as the worship of "Hadrian among the Gods" endorsed by the Spartan Thophrastus, whose impact on the construction of an imperial theology ought not to be overlooked.
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Cassius Dio has never been held in high esteem by historians dedicated to Roman History. As a Greek, he was considered unable to understand the Roman Empire. As a Roman senator, he was blamed for showing little respect for the phylogeny... more
Cassius Dio has never been held in high esteem by historians dedicated to Roman History. As a Greek, he was considered unable to understand the Roman Empire. As a Roman senator, he was blamed for showing little respect for the phylogeny of the emperor Trajan when he wrote that the first provincial emperor was «an Iberian, and neither an Italian nor even an Italiot». In this paper I propose a new interpretation of this text. I will try to show that the source of this text is Hadrian’s Autobiography, now lost. Hadrian devised a multicultural and multiracial identity for himself, and also for the Roman Empire, in an attempt to integrate the diversity of its regions and peoples.
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By the age of twenty five Aristides visited Rhodes, soon before and soon after the devastating earthquake of AD 142. This event led Aristides to write his Oratio Rhodiaca. Mourning over the disaster and preaching moral virtue, the orator... more
By the age of twenty five Aristides visited Rhodes, soon before and soon after the devastating earthquake of AD 142. This event led Aristides to write his Oratio Rhodiaca. Mourning over the disaster and preaching moral virtue, the orator tried to underpin the deepest values of Greek life. Six years later some Rhodian delegates asked for his help in order to settle a new internal crisis. As he was too ill to travel, he sent a book, the Oratio de concordia ad Rhodios. In this oration, Aristides exhorted the Rhodians to put an end to their present quarrel and to remain silent about the real causes of the dispute. His purpose was to save Rhodes’ integrity and dignity as part of the Greek heritage. Plutarch, Dio and Polemo were the sources of his ideas and words.
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It might also have been called “The battle for a name”, the name of Hellas. Not one Roman province was ever called after that region which was identified with an entire civilization. I suggest that this incongruity lay in the fact that... more
It might also have been called “The battle for a name”, the name of Hellas. Not one Roman province was ever called after that region which was identified with an entire civilization. I suggest that this incongruity lay in the fact that from the beginning Roman governmental structures —the provinces arising from military needs— had no necessity to recognise or adapt to previous realities. From Augustus on, the Greeks from European Hellas set out to identify the province with those territories that aspired to being solely Greek. Under Caligula a confederation of Hellenic leagues was attempted with a view to Rome officially recognising them as the Hellenes. Even though the project was not entirely successful, in the 3rd century Cassius Dio had no trouble admitting that the name of that province was indeed Hellas.
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Los discursos son utilizados por Casio Dion como instrumento de análisis histórico. Así se puede reconocer en los discursos en algunos discursos atribuidos a Augusto y en el que se pone en boca de Adriano en su lecho de muerte.
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This paper is concerned with the relationship between Greek culture and Roman politics. My aim is twofold. First, I want to challenge the traditional point of view that held a Roman Ruling Power and a Hellenic Civilizing Power. In my... more
This paper is concerned with the relationship between Greek culture and Roman politics. My aim is twofold. First, I want to challenge the traditional point of view that held a Roman Ruling Power and a Hellenic Civilizing Power. In my opinion, Greek paideia should be considered as a basic component of the alliances between the Roman oligarchy and the Greek civic elites and, as a result of that, as an essential political tool for the Roman Empire. On the other hand, the Roman politicians and the Greek civic aristocracies sparked a debate on the definition of this new Greek culture for the Roman empire. In the end, a paideia based on the classic tradition and on the civic life succeeded.
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The imperial letter preserved in IG II2 1103 has been interpreted as Hadrian’s attempt to control the high price of fish at Athens. Graindor suggested that Hadrian’s epistle was concerned with shortages of fish when the city was crowded... more
The imperial letter preserved in IG II2 1103 has been interpreted as Hadrian’s attempt to control the high price of fish at Athens. Graindor suggested that Hadrian’s epistle was concerned with shortages of fish when the city was crowded with visitors to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Subsequent scholars have unanimously followed this interpretation. However, Kirchner had conceived another possible explanation for this letter, followed only by Abbott and Johnson. In Kirchner’s view, the letter might be read as an interesting attempt on the part of the Emperor to reduce the high cost of living in Athens by suppressing the middlemen. In this paper, I will support this hypothesis proposing a new reading based not only on the general structure of imperial letters, but also in TAM IV 1.3, an imperial decree against the middlemen.
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Se analizan algunas de las claves de la relación entre Adriano y la Hélade, desde su educación juvenil hasta su actividad como emperador, pasando por el año 112. Se destaca su voluntad de restaurar la propesperidad de Grecia y el... more
Se analizan algunas de las claves de la relación entre Adriano y la Hélade, desde su educación juvenil hasta su actividad como emperador, pasando por el año 112. Se destaca su voluntad de restaurar la propesperidad de Grecia y el desarrollo de una auténtica teología del poder imperial.
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En el trabajo se argumenta a favor de la legitimidad de la llegada al trono de Adriano frente a cierta tradición historiográfica antigua, contraria al nuevo emperador. Se aborda también la repercusión de esta tradición hostil a Adriano en... more
En el trabajo se argumenta a favor de la legitimidad de la llegada al trono de Adriano frente a cierta tradición historiográfica antigua, contraria al nuevo emperador. Se aborda también la repercusión de esta tradición hostil a Adriano en la obra de Syme.
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Se propone una nueva interpretación del templo de culto imperial de Itálica, que podría estar consagrado a Júpiter y al propio Adriano, siguiendo el modelo de Atenas
Oikoumene was originally a Greek concept, later adopted by the Roman elites as a way to justify and even to design their imperialistic plans. However, the Roman wish to make the limits of empire coincide with those of the inhabited world... more
Oikoumene was originally a Greek concept, later adopted by the Roman elites as a way to justify and even to design their imperialistic plans. However, the Roman wish to make the limits of empire coincide with those of the inhabited world seemed unattainable. Trajan’s campaigns were indeed an attempt to identify empire and oikoumene. His conquest of the East was a way to vindicate Alexander’s legacy. After its failure, Hadrian and the Greek elites were compelled to redefine their own identity. From then on, Hellenistic legacy was rejected and Greek identity came to base on the Classical past. This choice also made possible to identify empire and Greek culture, which was considered as the best part of oikoumene
In his attempt to insert Greeks into the Roman Empire, Hadrian adapted the Delphic Amphyctiony into the common synedrion of all the Hellenes. However, disputes between Tessalians and Delphians to gain control over the institution and... more
In his attempt to insert Greeks into the Roman Empire, Hadrian adapted the Delphic Amphyctiony into the common synedrion of all the Hellenes. However, disputes between Tessalians and Delphians to gain control over the institution and misuse of imperial funds made the project collapse. Therefore, the emperor turned wholeheartedly to the foundation of the Panhellenion in Athens.
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Claudius Aelianus, Historia Varia