A New Inscription from Aphrodisias and the Title "pater tes Poleos" [Greek] ROUECHÃ#, CHARLOTTE
Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1979; 20, 2; Periodicals Archive Online pg. 173

A New Inscription from Aphrodisias 
and the Title nU'tllP 'tllc nOAE(t)c 

Charlotte Roueche 

RECENT EXCAVATIONS at Aphrodisias in Caria,l in particular 
since 1972, have revealed to the east of the Theatre a large 
piazza surrounded by colonnades which was remodelled at 

several periods. The latest phase of this piazza appears to be of the 
fourth or fifth century (we know from a recently discovered inscrip­
tion that substantial work was done in the piazza under Julian), and 
several statue bases of the late Empire have been found in the area; 
two are in situ, and others have been found built into the Byzantine 
wall which blocked off the Theatre from the piazza when the 
acropolis was fortified. 

Of the two surviving bases which stood just east of the Theatre 
with their inscribed faces towards the piazza, one is badly damaged, 
but the other is almost complete, and the statue which stood on it was 
found beside it. This statue is about to be published,2 accompanied 
by a very brief note on the inscribed base. The purpose of this article 
is to describe and discuss this base more fully. 

The rectangular base of Aphrodisias marble (height 1.01 meters, 
width 0.48, depth 0.60) with upper and lower moulding is almost 
certainly reused; a half-moon, in relief, remains on the far side. The 
base stood, rather awkwardly, on another base cut down to receive it. 
The first line of the inscription is on the upper moulding. The letters, 
which are irregular and inelegant, average 4 em in height (PLATE 1). 

1 For the current excavations at Aphrodisias, conducted by Professor Kenan Erim of 
New York University with the generous help of the National Geographic Society and 
many other benefactors, see the annual reports in the American Journal if Archaeology and 
Turk Arkeoloji Dergisi, as well as the bibliography in the Princeton Encyclopaedia oj Classical 
Sites (Princeton 1976). I am preparing an edition of the late Roman and Byzantine 
inscriptions from Aphrodisias and assisting in the preparation by Miss] oyce Reynolds of 
a corpus of inscriptions from the site. 

2 In Romische undJriihbyzantinische Portriitplastik aus der Turkei, by E. Alfi:ildi-Rosenbaum 
and]. Inan (Berlin 1979). The statue is now on display in the Aphrodisias Museum, and 
the base is in the Museum garden. 

173 



174 A NEW INSCRIPTION FROM APHRODISIAS 

[( cross) ] )1 ya()fjL ( cross) T VXTJL ( cross) 
'1'\' \ 
.1 ov aVaV€WTTJv 

KaL KTlcTTJV TfjC (J-TJTpo1Tl5(A€WC) 
\" , 

Kat €V€PY€TTJV 7TaCTJC 
Kaplac <PA(d.fJLOV) IlaA(J-aTov 

TaJ) 7T€plfJA ( €7TTOV) V7Ta ( 'TLKav) K ( aL) E7Tal XO (VTa) 

Tav T07TOV TOV (J-€yaAo7Tp ( €7T€CTd.TOV) 
fJ£Kaplov CPA ( d.fJLOC) , A ()TJvloc 

o Aa(J-7Tp (oTaToc) 7TaT1]p TfjC 
Aa(J-7Tp (OTd.'T"'Y}C) , Acppoo (€£ctlwJ) (J-'Y}'T"po1Tl5 (A€WC) 
, -, '() €VXap£CTWV aVE 'Y}-

(vacat) K€V (leaf) 

Flavius Palmatus was named III another inscribed monument, 
presumably from Caria, but not found (Anth.Pal. 16.35): 

M '. TI- \ \ I , I VTJ(J-OV€C Ot nap€c 7TO,V\€WV €V€py€c£aWV 

II aA(J-aTov (II aA(J-aJ) edd.) l()v8tK'Y}V TOCCOV ayaccd.(J-€VOt. 

L. Robert pointed out that this epigram almost certainly derives 
from an inscription honouring a late imperial governor of Caria, 
and so probably at Aphrodisias; 3 Alan Cameron, in studying the 
manuscripts of the Planudean Anthology, showed that the original 
reading was IIaA(J-aToJ).4 Caria was still governed by a praeses at the 
time of the redaction of the Notitia Dignitatum (ca A.D. 400) but was 
under a consularis by the time of the composition of the source for 
Hierocles' Synecdemus (in the 440's).5 It is attractive to associate such 
upgradings of provincial governorships (which are typical of the late 
Empire and appear unrelated to changes in the importance of the 
particular provinces) with a change in emperor or of ministry, and a 
consequent wish for senatorial support; but in Theodosius II's long 
reign it is difficult to identify anyone particularly appropriate 
moment which could serve as a terminus post quem for our inscription. 
A definite terminus ante quem must be Justinian's Novel VIII, of May 
536, which abolished the vicariate of Asia. The inscription reflects 

3 Hellenica IV (Paris 1948) 14, cf. 148-49. 
4 Porphyrius the Charioteer (Oxford 1974) 194. 
5 For the date of the Notitia Dignitatum see A. H. M. Jones, Later Roman Empire II 

(Norman 1964) 1417-21 [hereafter, Jones, LRE]. For the date of the Synecdemus and its 
sources, see Jones, Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces2 (Oxford 1971) 514-21. The material 
is summarized in LRE 1451-61. 



CHARLOTTE ROUECHE 175 

the withering away of that office, and Justinian's legislation seems 
merely to have legalized the status quo; by 536 the vicariate appears 
to be held regularly by the governor of Phrygia Pacatiana (TOV 
{1tKaptOV Tflc 'Acwvflc, oVTa SE Kat aPXOVTa Tflc llaKanavflc tPpvytac; SO 

Jones, LRE 374). Our inscription presumably reflects an earlier 
stage in this process, before the vicariate came necessarily to fall to 
the governor of Phrygia Pacatiana. 

It would be tempting to try to draw a conclusion about the date 
from Palma tus' title 7T€pt{1I\€7TTOC (spectabilis). The governor of Caria 
is referred to as l\afL7TpchaToc apxwv in 426 and as fL€yal\o7Tp€(7TEcTaToc) 

K6fL( Y)c) KE tmaTLdc under Anastasius,6 but neither of these usages 
allows definite conclusions to be drawn. The Anastasian governor 
very probably had another, more specific, rank as well as fL€yal\o-

7TP€7TECTCXTOC, which was omitted in the curtailed style of this mile­
stone inscription. As for Palmatus, he may well have been 7T€pt{1A€7TTOC 

by virtue of his office of deputy vicar rather than by virtue of being 
consularis of Caria. 7 

Palmatus is called, with the standard rhetoric of the late Empire, 
avav€wT77c, KTtCTY)C and, in the epigram, l8vStKY)C. L. Robert has shown 
all of these to be typical epithets of the period.8 EV€PYETY)C is common 
at all periods. Palmatus' benefactions to "all Caria" were sufficient, 
apparently, to earn him two statues, one put up by the Carians; this 
suggests that the expense was met by the provincial assembly, from 
their own funds (however these were raised).9 Our statue, however, 

6 For the first, H. Gregoire, Recucil des inscriptions grccques-chretiennes d'Asic mineure I 
(Paris 1922) 242 [hereafter, ICC]. For the second (Flavius Iohannes), G. E. Bean and 
J. M. Cook, ABSA 50 (1955) 138-39, no.54 (SEC XVI 694), and BullEp 1958,444. See 
also ICC 236 (Bean and Cook, op.cit. 106, no.33 [SEC XVI 665] with BullEp 1958,443). 

7 Dr J. R. Martindale comments that the evidence "appears to show that only in the 
West under the Ostrogoths were ordinary provincial governors automatically of spectabilis 
rank (and this may be due to defective evidence); otherwise, all governors who were 
spectabilis held that rank by virtue of some other title (usually that of comes, although the 
nature of the comitiva may vary)." The governor of Phrygia Pacatiana became spectabilis 
comes when he absc.~·bed the functions of the vicar of Asiana in 536. 

6 On aVaV€WT~C see L. Robert, Hellenica XI-XII (Paris 1960) 24-25; on KTlcTTJC see 
Hellenica IV 116 and BullEp 1956, 317; on i8vSlKTJC see Hellenica IV 13ff. 

9 On the provincial assemblies, see Jones, LRE 763-66. "The Carians" also erected 
statues to Aelia Flaccilla (Th. Reinach, REC 19 [1906] 110 no.30 [ILS 9466, ICC 280] ; 
cf. Robert, Hellenica IV 14) and to the governor Helladius (MAMA VIII 531, with 
Hellenica XIII [Paris 1965] 157); further fragments of this latter inscription have been 
found during the excavations, to read: 

Tijc /.LEy&,ATJC ap€Tijc roiJrov /.dyav ~YEMovfia 
'E:>J.&.owv [K]<lpEc crij[ca]v [a]M~t.B9M[EVO]'. 



176 A NEW INSCRIPTION FROM APHRODISIAS 

gives the appearance of having been put up, almost as in the good 
old days, by an individual, Flavius Athenaeus, the TTa-r~p -rijc TTbA€WC. 

It is L. Robert, again, who has helped to clarify the use of this 
term.10 The honorific titles 'father', 'mother', 'son' and 'daughter of 
the city' were given to benefactors of the cities in the classical period, 
but titles of this kind fell out of use with the diminution of civic 
benefactions in the late Empire. In 465 a law of Leo I (Cod.Just. 
10.44.3) declared: Si quis vero ex his omnia decurionum munera ve l 

functiones vel honores nulla imminente necessitate, sed sua sponte peregerit, 
eum pro sua liberalitate patrem civitatis, in qua voluntarius municeps apparebit, 
si hoc ei libuerit, fieri constituique hac lege decernimus. It is an interesting 
indication ofthe loss of independence by the late Roman cities that a 
law should be considered necessary to allow them to offer such a title. 
It is quite likely that Leo's law, like so much late Roman legislation, 
in fact was inspired by existing piecemeal practice, itself based on a 
memory of the earlier usage. The title appears, however, to accom­
pany a function which is more specific than the liberalitas of Leo's law. 
From the fifth century onwards, the title TTa-r~p -rijc TTbA€WC, and even 
the verb TTa-r€p€Vw, are found quite frequently in inscriptions and in 
the laws. It may be useful to collect these examples here. 

Among inscriptions, the following are known to me. While a few 
can be dated with some precision, the majority reflect the current 
state of the epigraphy of the period and are dated only within a 
margin of one or two centuries by editors. 

APHRODISIAS 

(1) (cross) €7Tt iPA(afJlov) iPwTlov cXO(AacnKOV) Kat 7TaTpoc (cross). Letters 
3 cm. This new inscription is cut on the lower rim of a marble 'game­
board', as is the similar inscription published by Reinach (REC 19 [1906] 
297 no.213, whence ICC 264): (cross) €7Tt iPA(afJ'ov) iPWTLOV cxo(AacnKov) 
(cross). Late fifth or sixth century. 

(2) An inscription cut on the northeast gate at Aphrodisias, published 
most recently by Cormack (MAMA VIII 427, citing earlier publications), 
dates the repairing of the gate €7Tt iPA(afJlov) 'AI-t7T€A{ov TOV €AAOY'JL(WTCXTOV) 
CXO(AaCTLKOV) Kat 7TaTpoc lvS. 'Y)' (cross). A new fragmentary inscription on 
the rim of the Odeon stage at Aphrodisias, referring to work done on the 
Odeon in almost identical terms, refers to a CXO(AacnKOC) Kat 7TaT-fJp whose 
name is lost, but who is very probably also Flavius Ampelius. Fifth 
century. 

10 See in particular Hellenica IV 130 and n.6; RevPhi132 (1958) 50. 



CHARLOTTE ROUECHE 177 

(3) L. Robert pointed out that Rhodopaios, apostrophized as TTaTEp in an 
epigram published by him (Hellenica IV 127ff), was probably TTaTTJp TfjC 
7T(JAEWC. Late fifth or sixth century. 

(4) Flavius Athenaeus, in our new inscription. 

(5) For another TTaT~p TfjC TToAEWC from Aphrodisias, Aristocrates, see 
below, p.182. 

MlLETUS 

(1) ICC 219 (datable to 538): dates the building ofa gate by regnal year, 
consulate, the governor, the bishop and TTaTEpEvoVTOC 'Iwavvov TOV 
Aaf-tTTp( oTaTov) KOfL( 'Y)TOC). 

SMYRNA 

(1) Anth.Pal. 9.615 (cited by L. Robert, Hellenica IV 131) is apparently 
taken from an inscription, with the lemma Etc AOVTpOV €V EfLvpvTJ; the text is 
uncertain, but it appears to refer to a Theodore OC yap €WV TToAwc KTE(XVWV 
TafLL'Y)c TE TTaT~p TE restored the baths. Probably sixth century, perhaps 
even by Agathias-see Hellenica IV 132 n.3. 

(2) Agathias (Anth.Pal. 9.662, with Hellenica IV 132; A. and A. Cameron, 
JHS 86 [1966] 9-10, believe that this is the poet himself; P. Maas, 
ByzNeugrJb 3 [1922] 163-64, had his doubts) TTaT~p ... TToA'Y)oc repairs the 
public lavatories at Smyrna. Sixth century. 

ATTALlA 

(1) ICG 307: [€]TTt. .. an anonymous [cJxo(AaCTLK011) K(at) 7T(XT[p0C. . . ]; 
the context is not clear. Sixth century-Gregoire. 

(2) ICC 309: €TTt (the governor and) <IEpoootov TOV AafLTTpo( TChov) TTaTPOC, 
referring to the facing (TTAaKwnc) of a gate. Fifth-sixth century-Gregoire. 

SIDE 

(1) G. E. Bean, Die Agora von Side .. . Ausgrabungen im Jahre 1948 (Ankara 
1957) 95 no. 70, as emended by L. Robert, RevPhil 32 (1958) 47ff: €TTt 
SEO[O]Wpov TOV [AalmpoT]aTov K[ofL'Y)TOC] Kat TTaTpoc, referring to the 
renewal of a mosaic. 

(2) G. E. Bean, The Inscriptions of Side (Ankara 1965) no.87, with BullEp 
1965, 419: -ry TToAtc €K TWV lo{wv XP'Y)fLaTwli Ota ct>pOVTWVOC KOfL('Y)TOC) (XTTO 
av8vTTa(Twv) K(at) TTaTp(oc) TOVC imoKaTw TOV T{TAov TTECCOVC Kat a!fLoac 
€TTECKEvacEv. Fifth-sixth century. 

TARSUS 

(1) GIC 4438 (unhelpfully reedited by G. Laminger-Pascher, ZPE 15 
[1974] 32-33): €YEVETO -ry OOocTpwcta €TTt lIaA[A]ao[l]ov TOV €)0.0ytJ.L(wTaTov) 
cxo(AaCTLKOV) Kat TTaTpOc. 



178 A NEW INSCRIPTION FROM APHRODISIAS 

(2) G. Laminger-Pascher (op.cit. 35, from R. Heberdey's notes): i17~ 

fPA (a{1lov) , [wavvov Toii f'EyaAo17p ( €7TECTaTov) Ka~ 17Ep,{1A ( €17TOV) KOf' ( YJTOC) Ka, 
apxoVToc ~f'WV K( a,) Z~vwvoc Toii Aaf'17po( TaTov) KOf'(YJTOC) K( a,) 17aTpoc TC) 17av 
~pyov ylyovEv iv Xpo(vCfJ) lVS('K7'WVOC) a'. The reference to the comes Isauriae 
as 17Epl{1AE17ToC, particularly with the reinforcement of f'EyaAo17pE17€CTaTOC, 

ought to put this inscription well after Justinian's Novel XXVII De Co mite 
Isauriae (535), although it is not impossible that these titles were already 
being usurped by the comes; Laminger-Pascher's proposed fourth-century 
date for both these inscriptions is unacceptable. l1 

(3) A. E. Raubitschek, in H. Goldman (ed.), Excavations at GiizW. Kule, 
Tarsus I (Princeton 1950) 384 no.8, with p1.258; reproduced, but with a 
question mark, in BullEp 1951, no.223. I would prefer to see this not as 
a fourth-century tombstone, [(cross) T0170C Toii f'Eya] A017P (E17ECTChov) 
KOf'YJTO[C )telac Kai. MTO],QOC Movcovvlov [ .. . c.10]wv Toii 17Ep,fJA(l17TOV) 
[ .. . c.10] K€ Kocf'a Toii [ .. . c.lO],aplov Ka, [ .. . c.lO] 17Ep,{1A(€17TOV) Tp(,){1 
[ .. . c.lO]TN.EONTOE [ .. . c.lOEoTlpov [ .. • c.10]!OY (cross)-so Rau-
bitschek-, but as a building inscription: [(cross) i17i. Toii f'Eya]Ao17p(€7TE­
cTaTov) KOf'YJTO[C cxo(AacnKoii) Kai 17aT],Q0c MovcovvLov, K.T.A. If this 
restoration is correct, we should assume a late-fifth or sixth-century date 
(which would accord well with the letter forms) in view of the debased 
titulature; for another f'EyaAo17p(E7T€CTaToc) 17aT~p, see below. The other 
people listed must then be private contributors to the building. 

ELAEUSSA (CILICIA TRAcHAEA) 

(1) Bent and Hicks, JHS 12 (1891) 259 no.32; (if. R. Heberdey, 
DenkschrWien 44 [1896] 50); Laminger-Pascher, from Heberdey's notes, 
op.cit. 67: i171. '[f'ov TOV f'EyaAo17p(E17EcTaTov) KOf'(YJTOC) 17aTpoc, on an 
aqueduct supplying Elaeussa-Sebaste. Laminger-Pascher reads "IAAov, 
which from the facsimile looks possible; but L. Zgusta, Kleinasiatische 
Personennamen (Prague 1964) 196, suggests that' [f'OU could be from' [f'ac, 
a widespread name. In any case, Laminger-Pascher's identification with 
the famous general Illus is very improbable. Late fifth or sixth century. 

CAESAREA (PALESTINE) 

(1) B. Lifschitz, RBibl68 (1961) 122 no.15, if. BullEp 1962,315: <PA(a(3,oc) 
.ETpaT~YLOc 17EpLfJA(E17TOC) 17aT~p Kat. 17pWTE(VWV) T~V a,plSa eVil T0 TolXCfJ Kat. 
Tfj avafJa{}pf!- a170 17oAmKwv. Datable (by the titles of the governor) after 536. 

(2) B. Lifschitz, op.cit. 122-23, with n.51 for earlier bibliography: i17t. (the 
governor and) 'HALou Aaf'17po(TaTov) 17aTpoc TfjC 170AEWC, concerning the 

11 For the abbreviation iv xpp, which puzzled Laminger-Pascher, see SEC VIII 34 and 
35, whence M. Avi-Yonah, Abbreviations in Creek Inscriptions (QDAP IX Supp!., London 
1940) 113. 



CHARLOTTE ROUECHE 179 

building or repairing of a basilica; datable (by the same arguments) 
before 536. 

PALESTINE (location uncertain) 
(1) B. Lifschitz (translating M. Schwabe), REibl 70 (1963) 255 no.l 
(SEG XX 482), if. BullEp 1964, 501: Kat TaVT7]V T~V TijC T(WV) {,SaTWV 
/-LEXavfjC 6 Aa/-L7Tp(OT<XTOC) 7TaT~p <IAap{wv ecPEupEv apET7Jv. 

SEPPHORIS (?) 
(1) B. Lifschitz, ZDPV 79 (1963) 94-95 (SEG XX 416, if. BullEp 1964, 
512) reediting SEG VIII 15, a private inscription on a lintel, conjectures 
a 7TaT~p TijC 7T()AEWC. But the private character of this inscription and the 
difficulties at several points make this very uncertain. 

JERUSALEM (?) 
(1) GIG 9140, from a dubious copy by Bailie (on whose unreliability see 
Robert, Hellenica XIII 152-53), apparently refers to the daughter of 
... ] voc eAAoYLfLO [ Ta] TOV 7TaTpoc [ ... 

PERINTHUS (THRACE) 
(I) E. Kalinka, JahresheJte 23 (1926) Beiblatt 192 no.148, emended by 
L. Robert, Hellenica IV 130 n.6; if. also A. P. Christophilopoulos, in 
'EpavLOv 7TPOC rEWPYLOV E. MapLSaK7]v I (Athens 1963) 3-4 (if. BullEp 1965, 
243), and M. Vickers, GR 22 (1972) 175 (if. BullEp 1972, 286): [E7Tt] 
AEWVTOC TOU [? EU(oYLfLwTaTov) cxo(AaCTLKOV)] Kat 7TaTp(oc) 7TO~[EWC ... J. 
CORTYNA (CRETE) 
(1) M. Guarducci, I.Creticae IV 461; A. C. Bandy, Christian Inscriptions of 
Grete (Athens 1971) 32: E7TL..[3LYLALov TOY Aa(-L7TpOT<XTO,!, CKpmaptov Kat 7TaTpoc 
TijC 7To(AEWC), referring to the restoration of a pavement and (?) a church 
(a cistern, Bandy). The only copy of this inscription (A. Lollini, in cod. 
Vat. gr. 1759 fo1.l35r ) is very unsure. 

The pattern that emerges from this list is, first, that almost all the 
inscriptions are associated with public works, and secondly, that 
certain cities produce clusters of 7TaTEpEc while others, with abundant 
evidence of public works dating from this period (e.g., Gerasa and 
Syria in general), produce no mention of such an official.l 2 

As to the references in the legislation, these also follow an interest­
ing pattern. By far the majority of these passages speak of 7TaT€pEC 

and/or some other kind of official. Thus: 

12 There are also mentions in papyri: see, e.g., C. Wessely, Stud Pal III (Leipzig 1904) 
nos. 67 (7th cent., Heracleopolis) and 176 (6th cent., Arsinoe); these, unhelpfully, are 
simply descriptions of individuals. 



180 A NEW INSCRIPTION FROM APHRODISIAS 

Cod. Just. 10.27.2.12 (Anastasius, on the organization of corn levies): Kat ol 

7T'aT'pEC TWV 7T'OAEWV Kat 1Tac €TEPOC TijC CVVWvijc 1TpOVOO1JfJ-EVOC. 

Cod. Just. 1.5.12.7 (487 or 510) : TOVC SE aUTovc alpETtKOVC OVTE €KSiKOV OVTE 
'\ \ 'A.. '''' ~ 7T'OI\EWC 7T'aTpOC fJ-ETtEVat 'f'pOVTtoa CVYXWpOVfJ-EV. 

Cod. Just. 8.51.3.3 (529): concerning the protection of rights of abandoned 
children, entrusted to governors and episcopis nec non officiis praesidalibus et 
patribus et defensoribus civitatum et omni civili auxilio. 

Cod. Just. 3.43.1.1 (529): concerning laws about dicing to be enforced a 
patribus seu defensoribus loco rum (cJ. Cod. Just. 1.4.25). 

Cod. Just. 12.63.2.6 (530): the responsibility for not giving more than a 
stated amount to requisitions by governors is urged: ou XP~ SE OVTE TOVC 

7T'aT'paC OVTE TOVC CtTwvac . . . 1Tap'XEw. 

Just. Nov. 75.2 (537): concerned with the ratification oflocallegislation in 
Sicily-id est pro defensoribus vel patribus civitatum decretum. 

Just. Nov. 85.3.1 (539): responsibility for the control of private arms 
manufacture belongs to governors, their officia, Kat TWV TaC 7T'oAEtC €KSt­

KOVVTWV Kat 7T'aT€pwv, 

The implication of such phrases would seem to be that not every city 
had a 7TIX7"1]P, 

Against this background, it is useful to look at the laws which 
mention 7TIXTEpEC more specifically. The earliest reference (after the 
law of Leo quoted above) is Cod.Just. 8.12 (Zeno, 485/6) which 
forbids central government officials from interfering with public 
works which are undertaken from civiles reditus-the cities' own 
income-and which are the concern of patribus civitatum. 

Cod.Just. 11.33.2 is a law of Constantine (314) dealing with the 
regulation of debts by a private individual to a city. In the Theo­
dosian Code (12.11.1) this money is to be invested periculo curatorzs 
kalendarii, but in the J ustinianic Code this is emended to CUTa patris 
civitatis. 

Cod.Just. 1.4.26 (530) is also concerned with 7TOAtTLKIXL 7Tpoco8OL; 

the care of the land owned by the city (7TOALTLKOV ~ 8YJfLonov) is the 
responsibility of TOV 8wc/nMcrIXTov E7T{cKo7Tov TOV TE 7TIXTEpIX TOVC 7"E 

AOL7TOVC EV {J7TOA~if;EL KT~TOpIXC (9). Decisions about the reliability of a 
surety are to be reached by TOV 8WcpLMcTIXTOV E7T{cKo7Tov TOV TE 7TIXTEpIX 

TOV 7"E EK8LKOV TfjC 7TOAEWC (12). 
Just. Nov. XVII (535) contains the mandata to be given to provincial 



CHARLOTTE ROUECHE 181 

governors, setting out their duties. Chapter 4 is concerned with the 
governor's conduct vis-a-vis central government envoys on special 
missions-it instances the construction of waterworks, roads, bridges, 
walls, etc. as the object of such missions. The governor is instructed 
not to allow such officials to oppress his subjects, and to check their 
credentials; the passage continues, aAAa K<Xt Tije a~8ov{<xe TWV E7n­

Trl)ELWV K<xt TWV EPYWV TWV 7ToAEWV E7nJ-tEA~cn, 7T<xp<xeKwa~wv EK TWV 
\...... I ,\ rl I \) I ......,' 

7TOI\LTtKWV XP7]J-taTWV aVTOVC aTE 7TaTEpac Ta avaYKaWT<XT<X TWV EPYWV 

7TOLEtV Kat yEcpVPWV Oflolwc Kat ODWV Kat ALflEVWV... Kat TEL XWV 

E7nJ-tEAEtc8aL (Lat. procurans ex civilibus pecuniis patres quae valde necessaria 
sunt operumfacere, etc.). This very compressed passage has been found 
difficult by others, as the manuscript variants show. The editors took 
the reference to patres to mean 7TaTEpEc TWV 7ToAEWV. 13 But this requires 
rather an abrupt change of subject matter from the envoys, with 
whom the preceding sentences are concerned, to local officials; the 
remainder of the chapter discusses the governor's relations with 
soldiers (also the representatives of central government) in his 
province. It seems preferable to take aTE 7TaTEpac as a rhetorical 
embellishment, characterizing the behaviour to be desired from the 
government envoys.14 The point of the sentence is that the envoys 
should use the existing resources of a city, rather than make a special 
requisition (~7JJ-twvv, above). If this interpretation is correct, we 
presumably need to assume ut before patres in the Latin text. If, 
however, the sense of the passage is that the governor should appoint 
7TaTEpEc to obviate the need for such envoys, we should omit the 
aVTovc aTE of the Greek text; but this correction is more violent and 
therefore less attractive. 

Just. Nov. 128.16 (545) is concerned with protecting the funds of 
cities from taxation. Neither tax collectors (a:1T<XLT7]T<xl) nor local land 
owners (KT~TOpEC) nor the governor nor his officium are to interfere 
with this money; aAAa TOV EKaCT7]C 7ToAEWC OCLWT<XTOV br£CK07TOV Kat TOVC 

I ..... 1\ ",'\'",.- I 
7TPWTEVOVTac TT?C 7TOI\EWC, OV fl7]V al\l\a KaL TOVC aVT7]c KT7]Topac 7TpO-
Q '\\ 8 " , , ~ '\ " , , "\\ ",<XI\I\EC aL J-tEV TOV 7TaTEpa TOV T7]C 7TOI\EWC KaL TOV CLTWV7]V KaL al\l\ovc 

TOWVTOVC DWLK7]TeXC. Such officials are to present yearly accounts. 

13 Justinian, Novellae, ed. R. Scholl and W. Kroll (Berlin 1895) 120; so also R. Gang­
hoffer, L' evolution des institutions municipales en Occident et en Orient au Bas Empire (Paris 1963) 
161. 

14 For such embellishments, compare ch.l, where the governor is urged Ku8apac 
cpvAaTT€tv . .. Tac X€ipuc: for this standard rhetorical cliche applied to governors, see 
Robert, Hellenica IV 38-39, and 1. Sevcenko in A. Grabar, Synthronon (Paris 1968) 35. 



182 A NEW INSCRIPTION FROM APHRODISIAS 

For an example of this system in practice, we return to Aphrodisias; 
Just. Nov. CLX (not datable) was written in response to an appeal 
fi 'II '. '\ \' \ ~ 'II J. ~, '\ \ rom rJ.PLCTOKpaTrJC 0 €/\I\Oytp.,WTaTOC 7TaTTJp TTJC rJ.'f'POOLCL€WV 7TOI\€WC, KaL 

ot KaT' atJT~V K€KTTJp.,lvOL, over the management of the large legacies 
(XpVcLOV cvxvov) which had been left to the city, the income from 
which had been endangered by Justinian's laws restricting the 
liabilities of debtors (Nov. CXXXVIII, before 535). It is clear that at 
Aphrodisias a tradition of public benefactions by individuals con­
tinued to a late date. This may have been partly inspired by the 
continuance of pagan traditions (e.g., the elder Asclepiodotus, for 
whom see Hellenica IV 115-26; I hope to publish soon fresh evidence 
of pu blic benefactors in this circle); but the generous Hermias was a 
Christian, as was Rhodopaios. 15 It does not appear to be paralleled 
to quite such an extent elsewhere at this period, however. 

Finally, the earliest reference to a 7TaT~p would appear to be in a 
letter of Nilus of Ancyra (Ep. 2.36) addressed to L1TJp.,ocfNv€L 7Ta7'pL 

7TOA€WC and presumably written before ca 430. But Alan Cameron 
has recently demonstrated that the headings of these letters are 
largely the work of a sixth-century editor, and in view of our other 
evidence, this reference should probably be added to the list of 
anachronisms collected by Cameron. 16 

There is, therefore, no reliable evidence to date the use of the title 
7TaT~p 7'fjc 7TOAEWC before the middle of the fifth century, although this 
situation largely reflects the general difficulties in dating late 
imperial inscriptions. It may well be that further work in this field 
will allow us to be more precise and perhaps to give an earlier date 
to some occurrences of the title; for the moment, its absence from the 
Theodosian Code is the most substantial indication of date that we 
can adduce. 17 From the middle of the fifth century and throughout 
the sixth, the 7Ta7'~p 7'fjc 7TOAEWC appears to be a civic official in charge 

15 For Hermias see IGC 277, with Robert, Hellenica IV 130. For the three inscriptions 
honouring Rhodopaios, see Hellenica IV 127-29. Reexamination of the stone published by 
Reinach (REG 19 [1906] 142 no.75) shows a well-cut cross below the inscription. 

16 GRBS 17 (1976) 181-96. For a similar anachronism see the 7Tar~p 7TOA£WC named as a 
persecutor in the time of Decius at Magydos in Pamphylia, in the Martyrium of Conon 2 
(R. Knopf, Ausgewiihlte Miirtyrerakten3 [Tiibingen 1929] 64), apparently a composition of 
late antiquity (if. A. Harnack, Geschichte tier altchristlichen Literatur2 11.2 [Leipzig 1958] 
469-70). 

17 R. Ganghoffer, op.cit. (supra n.13) 161 n.31, claims "Ie pater apparait en Egypte des 
Ie Ive siecle," referring to L. Harmand, I.e patronat sur ies coilectivitis publiques (Paris 1949) 
428; but Harmand only cites references for the term 7Tarpwv. 



CHARLOTTE ROUECHE 183 

of the civic revenues (TeX LOL(X XP~fLaTCX, Side 2; TeX 7TOALTtKa, Caesarea 
1; the civiles reditus [Cod.Just. 8.12] or 7TOALTLKCXL 7TpOCOOOL [Cod.Just. 
1.4.26]). Other subsidiary duties-supervising gaming (Cod.Just. 
3.43) and protecting the rights of children (Cod.Just. 8.51 )-were 
probably assigned to him simply out of administrative convenience. 
Buildings erected from these revenues are dated by the 7TCXT-rlP; 

perhaps when they are also dated by the governor (e.g., Miletus 1, 
Attalia 2, Caesarea 2), this indicates more than one source for the 
money (and, if my interpretation of Tarsus 3 is correct, private 
citizens can also be involved). He is indeed well described as 7TOALOC 

KT€aJlWJI TfXfL'1]C T€ 7TfXT~P TE (Smyrna I). These functions have been 
known for some time.1s 

Jones proceeds to equate the 7TCXT-rlP with the curator, an office 
descended from the earlier AOYLCT-rlC, and to attribute a 7TCXT~P to 
every city.19 But the pattern that emerges from the inscriptional 
evidence-where 7TfXTEPEC seem to turn up in clusters, at particular 
cities-seems to me to be reinforced by the tone of the legal evidence, 
where the 7TfXT~P is so often referred to as one alternative in a list of 
officials. Modern understanding can be too easily influenced by the 
legislators, especially Justinian, who undoubtedly wanted to create 
a neat and uniform system of administration; but the reality was 
often different. I very much doubt whether every city had a 7TCXT~P 
T7]C 7TOAEWC. The office of EKOLKOC seems to have been more wide­
spread-but then the functions of a defensor were more widely needed. 
It is not clear to me that a 7TCXT~P would be required in a city whose 
revenues were merely those set aside for them from the imperial 
revenues (Jones, LRE 733-34); such an arrangement was probably 
very largely a fiction in any case. I suspect that the 7TCXT~P T7]C 7TOAEWC, 
as opposed, perhaps, to other officials with somewhat similar func­
tions, will be found only in cities with a substantial income from 
possessions of their own-of which we know Aphrodisias to be one. 

18 See for example Waddington ad Le Bas-Waddington no.594; E. Hanton, Byzantion 4 
(1927/28) 114; A. H. M. Jones, The Greek Cityfrom Alexander to Justinian (Oxford 1940) 
250; LRE 726. 

19 Jones, op.cit. (supra n.18) 209; LRE 726 and n.30, 759 and n.104. This assumption 
creates some difficulties: cf e.g., E. Stein, Histoire du Bas Empire II (Paris 1959) 212 n.l. 
R. Ganghoffer, op.cit. (supra n.13), devotes a section (170-72) to "Rapports du 'defensor 
civitatis' avec Ie 'curator reipublicae'," whom he too equates with the 7TaT~p. D. Claude 
found too many obstacles to the coexistence of the 7TaT~p and the defensor and concluded, 
"Eine Stadt besass demnach einen defensor oder einen pater civitatis": Die byzantinische 
Stadt (Munich 1969) 115. 



184 A NEW INSCRIPTION FROM APHRODISIAS 

This money will have come from loan income (so Cod.Just. 11.33.2, 
and Just. Nov. CLX) and from the cities' own land (Cod.Just. 4.26), 
and the management of both of these is specifically entrusted to the 
7TaTEpec. Alternatively, it could be suggested that a 7TaT7]p was always 
appointed but that in cities without their own wealth he was 
insignificant. 2o This latter suggestion cannot be disproved; but it is 
based on an assumption of a uniformity of civic administration 
which seems to me improbable. 

The overall history of the cities of the later Roman empire is of a 
constant struggle by the central government to keep them solvent 
and functioning, with diminishing success. 21 The rate of decline, 
however, varied dramatically from city to city. I believe that it is 
necessary to reexamine the evidence on a geographical basis and to 
explore the diversities over time and over space which have made it 
possible to propose two contrary 'models' for the provincial life of the 
period: either one of flourishing municipal communities or one of 
irresistible municipal decline. 22 The truth (not surprisingly) is likely 
to be far more complex. 

In my own view, the appearance of the title 7TaT~p TfjC 7T6A€wc at 
a particular city, especially if it appears more than once (e.g., at 
Attalia, Side, Tarsus, Smyrna, Caesarea and, above all, Aphrodisias) 
indicates that that city enjoyed ir. the later fifth and sixth centuries a 
considerable measure of independent, secular prosperity, as opposed 
to depending on the generosity of governors or of a well-endowed 
church.23 The balance between the two sources of funds is well 
illustrated at Aphrodisias. There, the governor's generosity was still 
a matter of importance, which was acknowledged and encouraged, 
in the case of Palmatus, by two statues. One was erected by the 
provincial assembly with money to which Aphrodisias presumably 
contributed. The other, however, was put up by Flavius Athenaeus, 
either from his own money (demonstrating a still lively tradition of 

20 Thus perhaps the 1TaT€p€C found witnessing documents (supra n.12) were of little 
importance, and the pater civitatis at Mopsuestia in 550 (Mansi IX 278 and 285, cited by 
Jones, LRE 760). 

21 Jones, LRE 732-34, 757ff. 
22 See the discussion ofSevcenko, op.cit. (supra n.14) 38. 
23 It is particularly striking that, of these cities, Aphrodisias, Caesarea, Side and Tarsus 

were all metropolises, and as such particularly liable to central government benefactions. 
But the evidence from Aphrodisias suggests that the presence of the governor and his 
officium in the city contributed to the continuing prosperity of the local ruling class. 



CHARLOTTE ROUECHE 185 

private munificence) or, as I believe, from the substantial city funds 
which he administered as 0 t..UfL7Tp(6TUTOC) 7TUT~p TfjC t..UfL7Tp(oTaTTJc) 

'Acppoo(ractEwv) fLTJTp07T6 (t..EWC) ; similarly, the work referred to as 
being done by the 7TUT1]P in Smyrna 1 and 2 and Palestine 1 is 
probably work carried out in his official capacity from public money, 
even though this is not specifically mentioned, as it is in Caesarea 1. 
From the evidence of Justinian's Novel CLX (cited above, p.182) it is 
clear that these funds still gave the city a fair measure of fiscal 
independence and self-esteem well into the sixth century.24 

KUWAIT 

March, 1979 

24 I am grateful to Professor and Madame Louis Robert, Dr J. R. Martindale and Miss 
J. M. Reynolds for generously giving their guidance and encouragement in the prepara­
tion of this article, and to Professor Kenan Erim, whose energy has made available so 
much new material which he has kindly allowed me to publish. I thank also the editors 
of GRBS for constructive advice. 



ROUECHE PLATE 1 

'.t\ 
DEDICATORY INSCRIPTION ON STATUE BASE AT APHRODISIAS