On the New Pergamene "Lex Sacra" Sokolowski, Franciszek Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Winter 1973; 14, 4; ProQuest pg. 407

On the New Pergamene Lex Sacra 
Franciszek Sokolowski 

M ICHAEL WORRLE has recently published, among the inscrip­
tions from the shrine of Asclepios in Pergamus, the remains 
of a code governing the ceremonies to be performed before 

the consultation in the dormitory.1 The text is known from the frag­
ments of two copies dated by their letter forms to the second century 
of our era, while the code itself is of an undetermined earlier date. 
The text has been carefully established by the editor, but in his com­
mentary many ritual items have not been fully clarified and ex­
plained. I shall try to contribute something further to the under­
standing of the document. 

A 

- - - - - - ~~~ Tpa7TI=S01;c~W c~[ E]-
[Aoc 8E~tOV K ]~~ cl7Aay~!,a KaU] ~af3JJ!, aAAov cTEc/>avov €Aaac 17 [po ]­

[OvlcOw Lltt] 'Al7oTpol7a{wL l7Ol7avov paf38wTov EVVE0f.Lc/>aAov Kat V 

[Ll LL MELALX{W]L l7Ol7avov paf38wTov EVVE0f.LcPaAov Kat' APTlf.LL8[L] 
5 [ ....... ] Kat 'APTlf.LLOL IIpo(Jvpa{aL Kat TijL EKctcrT)L 7T07Tavov V (?) 

[JVVE0f.L<p]~Aov. V Tafha OE l7O~caC OVETW XOLpOV ya~~OTJVOV V 

[TWL 'ACKA ]TJ7TLC7JL Jl7~ TOU f3Wf.LOU Kat TP~7TESOVC(Jw CKEAoc OEg[ L]-

[OV Kat Cl7]Actyxva. 'E/!-{JaA.\I.Tw OE f;~ TOV 0TJcavpov of3oAovc TpEL[C]. 

[Elc O~ T~]!, EC7TEpav ~7TLf3aA.\I.[ C Ww 7To7Tava Tpt~ EVVE0f.L<paAa. 
10 [TOVTWV f.LE]!, 010 E7Tt T~V ;gw OVf.LEAT)!, TVXTJL Kat. MVT)f.LOCVVT)L. V (?) 

[ '~' '] , ~, '/GI' ~ TO UE TpLT OV EV TWL EYKOLf.LTJTTJpLWL !!:!JEf.LLOL. - - -

B 

- - - - - II po(}vic(Jw OE Ll LI. 'A 7TOT[PO ]-

20 [7Ta{wL 17017 ]avov paf38wTov EVVEOf.Lpa~OV Kat Ll Lt JlffLAL X{WL 7T07T[ a]­
[VOV paf30w ]TOV EVVEOf.Lcpa~ov Kat' APTE/!-LOL IIpoevpa{aL Kat' APTEf.LL-
[OL ...... ]~ Kat rfj EKeXCTTJL 17017avo!' €VVE0f.LcpaAov. 'Ef.Lf3aAAe-
[TW OE Kat] EtC TOV OTJcavpov 9{JoAo1;C TpELC. IIEptOvEcOwcav 

[O~ &Acp{TO ]LC f.LEAtn KaL JAa{4JL oEoEvf.LEvoLC Kat Atf3avwnnf 

1 In Chr. Habicht, Die Inschriften des Asklepieions (AltertUmer von Pergamon VIII 3 [1969] 
no.161. 

407 

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408 ON THE NEW PERGAMENE LEX SACRA 

25 [ I • (J] I \ (J \ • I ~. ~ \. ( ) 7TaVT€C o£ €pa7T€VOJI'T€C TOV €OV €7T0P.€VO£ TW£ £€P€t. Ka£ u:. or v 

[ ......... ] v Elc SE -HJv ecmf.pav E7T£{JaMlc(Jwcav ot T€ 7TPO-
[(J I ]' \, I \. (J I , vcap.€vo£ € fC TO €yKOtP.7]T7]PtOV Ka£ o£ 7T€P£ vcap.€JIO£ 7Tav- V 

[T€C 7T67Ta ]va Tpta EJIJI€6p.cpaAa €Np.£SI.. TtJ)(fJI.. MlI7Jp.octJlI7J£ e­
[K&C'T'T}£ 7T6}vavov• -

1-11 and 20-23 rest. Warde. 24 Sokolowski. 7T€AavO?]LC Habicht. 25 Habicht. 
6 and 26: 1/2 vac. 26 end: . or vac. 26-27 sugg. Warde (supra n.l) 183 n.82. 

These passages prescribe the performances of certain ceremonies 
called 7TPO(JtJ€£V2 and 7T€P£(JtJ€£V, morning and evening, before entry 
into the dormitory. There are numerous similarities between the two 
sections, but there are also serious discrepancies: (1) the latter section 
does not mention the sacrifice of a pig, which figures in the earlier 
part (A 6-8); (2) the sacrifice called 7T€P£(JtJ€£V mentioned in the second 
section (23-24, 27) does not appear anywhere in the first; (3) this latter 
ceremony is not linked with the payment of the cult fee, while three 
obols are required in connection with the ceremony of 7TPOOtJ€£V 

(8, 23); (4) the prescriptions at 1, 2-3, 6-8 and at 19 and 22-23 of the 
second section are formulated in the singular, while the plural is used 
at 23 and 26. 

How can we explain these similarities and divergences? One might 
suppose that the ceremonial of incubation underwent change in the 
course of time: new rites had been introduced and old cancelled. But 
this supposition cannot be derived from the general sense of the 
document, which seems to present one compact, valid code. I would 
suggest that these two parts are intended for two or even three kinds 
of visitors to the dormitory ward (or wards); the first applies to per­
sons entering the sleeping hall for the first time, the second to those 
wanting to enter and consult on subsequent occasions. It is clearly 
stated in lines 15-17 that those who have already made one visit and 
return for further consultation on the same subject do not sacrifice 
another pig. And it is precisely this sacrifice that is omitted from the 
second section. We may therefore recognize that persons applying 
for a first visit were ushered to one dormitory (probably the larger), 

I I accept the suggestion of \Vorrle to restore lines 26-27 1I'po[8vcap.6'ot. The phrase €lc 

'TO £YKOtP."I-n7ptOV means in late Koine the same as & 'Tip eyKOtP."I'T7]p{~: cf. Mayser, Grammatik 
titr griech. Papyri II 2,373; Blass-Debrunner, Grammatik des neutest. Griechisch § 205. I pro­
pose also to restore at 14 a1l'ac"Ic K]yap.{lIoc; at 31 cVp.1I'aV'Ta. In the gaps at 5 and 22 should be 
restored something like 'EKQ.'T7]t or 'Evolllat. 

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FRAN CISZEK SOKOLOWSKI 409 

while those asking for another visit with reference to the same matter 
were escorted to another ward (probably a smaller one). 

The rules at 23-29 instruct a group of people called OEpa:1TEVOIl7'ES to 
carry out the ceremony of 1TEPLOVELV. These were admitted for con­
sultation together with another group seeking anew advice on the 
subject of their previous consultation during their first visit to the 
larger dormitory. These latter perform the same rites of 1TPOOVELV 

as they did in the course of their former visit but without sacrificing a 
pig. The first group offer rather modest gifts (some ground grain 
moistened with honey and oil and frankincense); the members of the 
second group present more expensive items (five big cakes each). In 
addition, the latter pay the cult fee, while the others pay nothing 
(lines 8 and 23). Because of these differences alone we can presume 
that the visitors treated less favorably were outsiders, while those 
enjoying privilege had a closer relation to the sanctuary.3 As for the 
ceremonies performed, Warrle suggests that the verb 1TEpdJVELV may 
designate some kind of sacrifice celebrated 'around' altars.4 On the 
other hand, the preposition 1TEpl may indicate some kind of purifica­
tory performance carried out 'around' the people participating in a 
ceremony, as F. pfister once observed.5 We should bear in mind also, 
however, that the prefix 1TEpl, besides its usual meaning 'around', 
sometimes merely strengthens the force of the verb.6 Before render­
ing judgement on these opinions, we must first consider all the texts 
in which the verb 1TEPLOVELV figures. 

Plutarch, in his treatise De superstitione, describes the behavior of a 
man addicted to this extravagancy: avo' apLC'Ta 1Tpc}:rrn Kat cvvfj 1Tpawc 

OE£C£Oa£f.1-ovlcr- 1TEp£OVbf.1-EVOC OtKO£ KaOrrra£ Kat 1TEpLf.1-aTTbf.1-EVOC.7 We can 
translate the phrase that interests us as "sacrificing for himself and 
smearing himself one time after another." Plutarch thinks of the 
spell of religious tension during which the sick man is constantly 
sacrificing. 

3 The members of the association of Bendis at Athens do not pay the cult fees, cf IG III 
1361= F. Sokolowski, Lois Sacrees des cites grecques (Paris 1969) no. 45.3. See on the subject 
F. Poland, Geschichte des griech. Vereinswesens (Leipzig 1909, repro 1967) 247, 300 and 493. 

'Quoting Paus. 5.15 and IG IV2 1, 742=F. Sokolowski, Lois Sacrees des cites grecques, Sup-
plbnent (Paris 1962) no.25.3, Warde calls the ceremonial "Umgang" (p.182). 

6 RE Supplb. 6 (1935) 149-50. 
6 Schwyzer-Debrunner, Griechische Grammatik II 500. 
7 Mor. 168D (II pp.474-75 Loeb). The reading of the MSS has been corrected to 7T€pt8€wup.£­

vac, I think wrongly. 

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410 ON THE NEW PERGAMENE LEX SACRA 

The verb 1T€pdlV€tV is used by St John Chrysostom in his commen­
tary on St Paul's Epistle to the Galatians.8 Discoursing on the abolition of 
the law of the Old Testament and on the new law of Christian faith, 
h . ., '{3'Q ~ ~, " , , ~, , e wntes: €t yap ca fJaTa TTJpEtC DLa n l-':r1 1TEPLT€f-I-II'{J; EL DE 1TEpLTEf-I-vn, 
oux Tt f-I-~ 1TEptOVELC;. Chrysostom alludes in this passage to the continued 
observance of the old Sabbath, of circumcision and of sanguinary 
sacrifice. He speculates on the cult practice recurring in the cycles of 
the week or month or year. We can, I think, translate the verb in 
question <sacrifice regularly, repeatedly'. 

The verb 1TEptOVELV figures in an inscription from Astypalaia of the 
second century of our era, which lists the chiefs or eponyms in a cer­
tain cult association dedicated to Asclepios.9 In this record OEOC 
• ACKA7J1TtOC is listed seven times as an eponym. Three men, each de­
scribed as 1TEPLOVWV, are mentioned three times in close association 
with the god. A certain Mousikos son of Ophelion was in one year 
eponym (line 3), and some time later is 1TEptOVWV with Asclepios when 
the god is eponym (line 10). The Roberts have reasoned that this 
term means that the men in question guaranteed the celebration of 
sacrifices which should have been celebrated by the god as eponym: 
usually the sacrifices were followed by a banquet or reception for 
the members of the association. This interpretation seems very 
plausible. The participle emphasizes the customary accomplishment 
of cult and social duties on the fixed days of the month or the year. 
The meaning of 1TEPLOVEtV in the inscription is therefore close to that 
in the passage from St John Chrysostom. 

The inscriptions from Asclepios' shrine in Pergamus mention 
certain well-known and prominent persons, undoubtedly pilgrims 
to the sanctuary, called individually 1TEptOVTTJC.lO Chr. Habicht has 
argued that they played some role in the cult performances, as did 
for instance the 1TPOOVTTJC in the cult of the Roman emperors and else­
where.H It seems to me more probable that their functions were 
similar to those carried out by the 1TEptOVWV in Astypalaia. 

8 Migne, PG 10.818. I am indebted for this reference to Professor H. C. Youtie. 
9 W. Peek, Inschriften von den Dorischen Inseln (AbhI.eiPZig 62 [1969]) 48-49 no.100. Cf J. and 

L. Robert, BullEpigr 1971, 486. For the honours bestowed on eponyms cf Sokolowski, 
op.cit. (supra n.4) no.71; Philostr. VS 1.613. 

10 Cl. Pard alas 7T€P,Oth-rjC dedicated to the god a small altar or dish described as 7T€P'OV­
.,.'KOV: Habicht, op.cit. (supra n.l) no.140. P. Afranius Flavianus was 7T€P'OVT'1}c KalO€pa7T€lYT'I]c, 
ibid. no.79. Iuventianus Alexander from Nicomedia was 7T€P,Oth-rjC and possibly 8€pa7T€IYT'I]C 
and V€WKOPOC and priest of Asclepios, ibid. no.152. 

11 op.cit. (supra n.1) 142. 

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FRANCISZEK SOKOLOWSKI 411 

It is likely that the verb under inquiry figures in a small fragment 
of the lex sacra of Asclepios from Epidaurus.12 I propose to restore a 
few words to give to the phrase some sense: 

27 "] A' '[ (Jf - - - ELCEPXO V'TaL 'T1JL E'TEP aL vpaL 

- - - - - - -Jove 7Tp6e TO:/:[ e 7Tp6T€PfJV ()vcto:,c 

- - - - - - ]'TO:V'TO: 7TEpdJV[ OVct - -

The restoration cannot be certain, but the phrase as restored seems to 
mention the sacrifices celebrated in some succession of timeP 

According to line 25 of the code, the rites of 7TEPL(JVELV were accom­
plished by persons described as (JEpa7TEvovTEC. I suggested above that 
they stayed probably in a close relationship with the shrine of Asclep­
ios. For a more precise view of their position in the temple we must 
consult Aelius Aristides and the inscriptions from Pergamus. In quest 
of a cure for his illnesses Aristides visited various centers of Asclepios 
and of Sara pis and made a rather long sojourn in Pergamus. He calls 
himself (JEpa7TEV'T~C and names his colleagues (some of them promi­
nent rhetors, philosophers and high Roman officials) cvv(JEpa7TEV'Tal and 
cVILcPOtT'Y'JTaL (Rier.Log. 2.27).14 In one of his many dreams he reports 
that he approached the Roman emperor. The sovereign was amazed 
that Aristides did not kiss him (probably his hand). But hearing that 
his subordinate had been dissuaded by Asclepios to pay such a mark 
of respect, the emperor said (1.23): "It is enough for me; to serve 
Asclepios is beyond all things." In another dream Aristides records 
that he was standing together with his fellow therapeuts in front of 
the statue of Asclepios "when the paian is sung" (4.50); this indicates 
that they were participating in the most solemn ceremony of the 
temple. Once he offered an elaborate sacrifice and distributed pieces 
of the victims and wine to his companions (2.29). On another occasion 
he dreamt that he saw Asclepios himself approaching him in the form 
of the ex-consul Salvius, who happened to be staying in the sanctuary 
at that time (2.9 0 O' E'TvyxavE 7TPOCEOPEVEtV).15 Elsewhere (2.45) 

12 IG IV2 1,742 C 28-29= Sokolowski, op.cit. (supra n.4) no.25. 
13 I do not think that the chain of oblations in the Pergamene lex sacra labelled 7Tpo8v£c8w 

(lines 19-22) has any relationship with the phrase 7T€PL8v£c8wcav (line 23). Apart from the 
fact that they were accomplished almost simultaneously, the worshippers were certainly 
different from those carrying through the ceremonial of 7T€PL8v€w. The latter did not 
deposit their gifts in the dormitory, as is said of the 7Tpo8vcd.p.€VOL (line 27). 

14 Cf. Habicht, op.cit. (supra n.1) no.28.16. 
15 For this verb cf. AEM 6 (1882) 23 no.46.12; Dittenberger, SIG3 717.84; Sokolowski, 

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412 ON THE NEW PERGAMENE LEX SACRA 

Aristides speaks of different groups of people busy in the service of 
h I ·" 8' 8 "'i;" A f t e temp e: 0' 7T€P' TOV €OV €pa7T€VTat Kat Ta~LV €XOVT€C. rag-

mentary dedication from Pergamus published by E. Frankel men­
tions the 8€pa7T€V'Tal and gives as a date the name of their secretary.16 
In his collection of inscriptions from the Pergamene Asdepieion 
Habicht published a number of dedications by the therapeuts honor­
ing gods, priests and fellow worshippers.17 It would be not far from 
the truth to infer from these testimonies that there existed in the 
Pergamene Asdepieion an organized body of the 8€pa7T€OOV'T€C men­
tioned in our lex sacra. They were busy usually in the temple activi­
ties, but in the meantime they applied for consultations in the sleeping 
ward.1s 

This evidence about the therapeuts in Pergamus recalls strikingly 
the situation of the KeXTOXOt in the sanctuaries of Sarapis in the Graeco­
Roman world. We should not forget that while people went to his 
shrines for many reasons, a certain number of pilgrims naturally 
went seeking a cure for illness, particularly epileptics.19 Among the 
worshippers in the Sarapieion of Delos the following groups are 
specified: 8€pa7T€VTal. 1-'€~aV'1J4>6pot, and the 8tacoc of Sarapiasts.2o In 
an inscription from Demetrias in Thessaly, the ti7T6CTO~ot honor a 
priest of Sarapis for his benefactions to the 8€pa7T€VTat.21 The thera­
peuts, along with their chief or founder, are attested in the cult of 
Sarapis in Cyzicus.22 All these testimonies correspond well to what 

Lois Sacrees de l'Asie Mineure (Paris 1955) no.69.18. Aristides uses 'lTap£8p£J££v in the same 
sense, Hier.Log. 2.47; cf. Sokolowski, ibid. no.33 A 27-28; Vettius Valens, Anthologia ed. 
Kroll (Berlin 1908) 210.2, quoted by L. Delekat, katoche (Munch.Beitr. 47 [1964]) 166. 

18 lnschriften von Pergamon no.338. 
17 op.cit. (supra n.l) no.47; 79; 122; 152.6. 
18 Herzog (SB Ber! [1935] 1007-08) thinks that Aristides was a member of a loose associa­

tion of doctors and intellectuals sojourning in the sanctuary. There existed also a group of 
helpers whom Herzog compares to the stretcher-bearers in Lourdes, France (Die Wunder­
heilungen von Epidaurus [Philologus Supplb. 22 (1930)] 159). Sometimes ordinary pilgrims 
visited the shrine organized in a loose group called 9lacoc (ICr. I [XVII] Lebena no.ll A 6). 

It Cf U. Wilcken, UPZ I pp.34ff; Delekat, op.cit. (supra n.15) 166ff. 
20 IG XI 4, 1226. Cf A. Rusch, De Sarapide et lside in Graecia cultis (Berlin 1909) 50ff; L. 

Vidman, Isis und Sarapis bei den Griechen und Romern (RVV 29 [1970]) 68, 70-71. 
!1 IG IX 2, 1107. 
22 RevArch 37 (1879) 258 = L. Vidman, Sylloge inscriptionum religionis lsiacae et Sarapiacae 
(Berlin 1969) no.318. 

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FRANCISZEK SOKOLOWSKI 413 

we know a bout the therapeuts living in the Asclepieion of Per gam us. 23 

Coming back to the lex sacra of Asclepios, we have good reason to 
think that three groups of persons applied for entry to the dormitory, 
or rather dormitories: those who came for the first time or for the 
first consultations on their respective subjects, those whose visit was 
not their first but concerned the same subject, and those persons who 
enjoyed a special status in the shrine. The first two groups were pre­
pared for each consultation through an elaborate ceremony of 
1TPOO";€LV; those of the third group passed through a simple ceremonial 
before consultation.24 

We must remember that our lex sacra was written not for use of 
the ministers of the cult, who surely had special texts to serve their 
own needs, but for the people. The fundamental matter for visitors 
was to know where to go, what to do and what to pay. On the other 
hand, the management of the sanctuary was eager to make its in­
come safe and the taxation not too heavy. In this connection we recog­
nize three dispositions: (1) full-scale duties on the first consultations, 
(2) lower charges for subsequent interrogations, and (3) favorable 
treatment reserved for the persons allowed to consult frequently, 
without limitation on subject or time.25 

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN 

May, 1973 

23 E. Ziebarth (Das griech. Vereinswesen [Leipzig 1896, repro Wiesbaden 1967] 203-04) 
and Poland (op.cit. [supra n.3] 35-36) did not share the opinion that the therapeuts formed 
a strictly organized body; instead, they were a loose group of worshippers. Since then our 
documentation on the associations has become more complete, and Habicht (op.cit. [supra 
n.1] 114-15) and P. M. Fraser (Ptolemaic Alexandria II [Oxford 1972] 618-19 n.419) think that 
they were set up as a /(o'vov. 

24 I would suggest reading lines 25-26 i£[pop.rn]p.ov,. The combination of functions of the 
priest and of this officer is attested in Epidaurus in the late Roman period (cf Hepding, 
RE 8 [1912] 1491). It seems to me that the presence of priest and of accounting manager in 
the introduction of visitors was needed not only to supervise the ceremonial but also to 
exercise some kind of control over the people entitled to favorable treatment. In this con­
nection I cite the rules from other cults, forbidding worship in the absence of a priest: 
[o1Twe (iv f'1)o]Ek . •. eui[eove] evvaYE' ••• f'1)o[e] 1Tpoe Tove flwp.ove f'1)oe TO plyapov 1Tpoclwe,v 
«V€V rile i€pEae (IG II2 1177= Sokolowski, op.cit. [supra n.3] no.30.3-7); f'1)'Uva iJvwi'nv «v€V 
TOV /(aiJE,Spveap.Evov TO tEpoV (ibid. no.55.7-8). See also ibid. nos. 45.7-8; 69.29-41; 119.9-11; 
op.cit. (supra n.4) n05.36; 129.7-11. 

26 The writer warmly thanks Professor Herbert C. Youtie for reading this paper and for 
his helpful suggestions. 

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