Divine Honors for Antiochos and Laodike at Teos and Iasos Sokolowski, Franciszek Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1972; 13, 2; ProQuest pg. 171

Divine Honors for Antiochos and 
Laodike at Teos and lasos 

Franciszek Sokolowski 

PETER HERRMANN has published in the Turkish periodical Ana­
dolu (Anatolia) an important and substantial decree from the 
city of Teos concerning the foundation of the cult in honor of 

King Antiochos III and of Queen Laodike.1 The people of Teos re­
ceived great favors from these sovereigns, both political and eco­
nomic, and decided to bestow on them several religious honors: 
installation of the statues of the royal couple in the sanctuary of 
Dionysos, the chief god of the city, construction of altars to the king 
and the queen in the local subdivisions called symmoriai, erection of 
the statue of the king in the city hall and ceremonies to be performed 
thereafter, offering of first fruits, and building of the fountain in 
memory of Laodike. This last honor and the prescribed ceremonial 
rites have not been fully explained by the editor or subsequent com­
mentators.2 I propose therefore to restore and to discuss C, lines 
76-87, of the inscription of Teos: 

TVX7} aya8i]' 
" ". ~ .. ., ., "\ ()' \ ~ '[~ , ] 77 OCOt av t€PHC TJ ocat L€p€Lat 1TpO 1TOI\€WC vctav CVVT€I\WCW v OP€V€C -
() "(}"" ~ ~ .. ~ , \ a ' ~ , [' '] at 7TpOC Tac VGac €V OLC OH VOa7'£ TOVTWL, I\al-'~avw O€ Ka L TOVC 

CVVT€AOVVTaC Ta AovTpa €VT€v8€v, USp€V€c(}aL S€ Ka~ [TaLc VVI-']-
80 .J.. ' \ [] " ,~ , , " ~,,, \ ra ' '] 'fJaLC Ta 1\0 V Tpa a7TO TTJC KpTJVTJC TavTTJc' OCOL 0 av I\al-'LJ-'avwcw TO 

,,~ , [\] ,\ , , 8[ " \] VOwp €LC T ac xpHac Tac 1Tpoy€ypal-'l-'€vac, 1TapaYLV€C at €1TL 7'TJY 
KpT]VTJV [Ka~ a]1To1TOp€v€C8at €V €c8fj7'£ Aal-'1Tpa.L €c[ T€cPavw ]I-'[ €]-
vove, Ta[ C S€ uSp ]€v0l-'€vac Ta AOVTpa TaLc VVl-'cPaLC [I-'€Ta aVA J?JTplSoC' [i]­
va S€ C[VVT€AfjTaL] ~ KpT]VTJ Ka86TL y€ypa1TTaL a[7ToS€LfaL €7TL]~T&Tae Svo 

The following abbreviations are used in this paper: LSA=F. Sokolowski, Lois Sacrees de 
l' Asie Mineure (Paris 1955); LSG= Idem, Lois Sacrees des cites grecques (Paris 1969); LSS= Idem, 
Lois Sacrees des cites grecques, Supplement (Paris 1962). The writer thanks Professor James H. 
Oliver, who kindly read this article and made suggestions. 

1 P. Herrmann, "Antiochus der Grosse und Teos," Anadolu 9 (1965) 29-159. 
2 J. H. Oliver, GRBS 9 (1968) 321f; Dunst and Merkeibach, ZPE 3 (1968) 170-74; J. and L. 

Robert, BullEpigr 1969 (REG 82) 495. 

171 



172 DIVINE HONORS FOR ANTIOCHOS AND LAODIKE 

85 £g a.~[&VTWV T«()jL] 1TOAtTWV oinv€c [£1TtjL€A*ov]Tat Tijc KaTaCK€VfjC 
A [p , 'A "'\ \ A' ']"'" , T7JC ~ 7JV7JC Kat TWV al\l\wv TWV T7JV XP7JCjLOCV V7JV voaTOC 1Jap€cojL€-

[VWV]. 

83 1Top]£vop.lvac Hermann; ]~TPILD~ Hermann. 

To the expression in lines 77-78 we may compare the phrase {Joan 

xpfjcBat, which occurs in many texts: LSG 75 (= Syll.3 994), 8; 65 
(= Syll.3 736), 105; Syll.3 888, 17; Thuc. 2.15.5. 

The rules prescribe the use of water from the fountain for sacrifices 
and purifications. Sprinkling with water is ordered in many religious 
laws concerning ritual purity. I quote the following: LSG 55 (= Syll.3 
1042), 5; 65 (= Syll.3 736), 103-11; 97 (= Syll.3 1218), A 16 and 30; 139 
(= Syll.3 983), 15. I do not think that the word AOVTp& here means an 
offering for the dead, as the editor supposes. Nor do I believe that the 
participle CVVT€AOUVTaC is related to the word Bvdav in line 77, as 
Dunst and Merkelbach suggest.3 The participle in question should be 
connected with the following noun to mean <ritual washing'. Water 
from the fountain is used also for the bathing of brides, a practice de­
rived from the belief that springs and wells (fancied as nymphs who 
give birth to water) can be helpful in procreation.4 It is reported that 
young brides during the procession in honor of Aphrodite took baths 
in the river Scamandros.5 Pausanias (2.10.14) mentions the girl water­
carrier (AOVTpO~6poc) in the service of Aphrodite in Sicyon, whose duty 
it probably was to deliver water for the use of brides. 

LINE 82. The transport of water for the brides is supposed to have a 
solemn character: the girls who perform this service have to be fes­
tively dressed, to wear a wreath on their heads and to be accom­
panied by an aVA7JTpfc. This cult servant is mentioned, apart from 
literary texts, in the cult regulations of Athena at Pergamon.6 Offi­
cials called vopo~6pot are known in many cults, especially in that of 
Artemis.7 The special mention of brides in the cult regulation of Teos 
indicates, perhaps, that Laodike extended or expected to extend to 
them the same favors that she did to the poor girls at lasos (see below). 

8 Cf supra, n.2. 
4. M. Ninck, Die Bedeutung des Wassers im Kult and Leben des Altertums (Philologus Suppl. 14, 

1921) 88. 
& Aeschin. Bpist. 10. 
s LSA 12, 25. The flutist usually kept time for the marchers. 
7 Cf L. Robert, Opera minora selecta I (Amsterdam 1969) 381 and 391 n.1. 



FRANCISZEK SOKOLOWSKI 173 

LINE 86. The word XP7JCfLoCVvy) can be found in Greek prose and 
poetry.s 

Divine honors of a different kind were bestowed on Laodike by 
the city ofIasos. The decree on this subject was published recently by 
G. Pugliese Carratelli in Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene 45-
46 (1967-68) 445-53, no.2, coUi 14-22; see now the comment of J. and 
L. Robert in Bulletin Epigraphique 1971 (REG 84) 621. I propose to 
restore and to read the inscription as follows: 

€'7'T17 < £ >v1]c()a[ £] OE [Kai T~V &OE'\CP~V alhov ,Ba]-
15 '\ A \:" , .. 'r.. ~. '\ ] c£l\£ccav aOO£KTJV Ka£ tva €VlJ(ap£CTovca TJ 7TOI\£C JLTJ -

() ' '\ \ ' ~'["" '] EV €I\I\EL'7'T17£ T£JLTJC 7TpOC T ovc EaVTTJV EVEpYETTJcav -
" ., () [()' " 'J [ , • \:' ~ ] Tac Ta JLEY£CTa, a£pELC W Kq. EKaCTOV E VLa VTOV OOTJJLOC 

7Tap()l.vov,BaCL'\{ccTJC 'Acppo[otT1}C AaJootKTJC [UpELav' €V OE] 
TaLC €gooo£c €Xhw CTp9[cp£OV EpV()p]O'\EVKO[V Kai T1]£ av]-

20 ~, 'c' \:'" [ , () J' [ 1:" c\ '" \' , ] TTJ£ JLTJ E~ €CTW OLC tEpTJTE VEW' V ET W DE TJ av l\aXYJ TTJV T£ -

JL~V EV TctlL JLTJvi T<V£ ' Acppoo£[ CULlV£ T1]£ - - - - - - - -] 

EV ~, yl.YOVE TJJLl.pa£ TJ ,Bact'\~[cca olv- Ot OE 7To'\LTa£ 7Tapa]-
'() , , ['()~ \ ~., 1:" • ] YWEC wcav 7TaVT€C €V EC TJCL l\aJL7TpatC" OJLOLWC DE OL ya -

JLOVVTEC Kat at yaJLOVJLEva[L up,a p,ETa T~V TWV yap,wv cvv]-
25 EpgW ()vETwcav j3ac£,\tcc[ TJ' AaootKTJ£ lEpELOV KaT<X ou]­

vaJLLv EKaCTOL 8 av 7T[pompwVTaL' T1]L OE TJJLl.paL TfjC ,Ba]-
\ , ['" • A' '] CLI\LCCTJC CVfL7TOJL7T EVETwcav OL TE LEpELC 7TaVTEC KaL . ., ~ ,. [ () , . '\ \ ] 

at LEpE£a£ 7Taca£ Ka£ at 7Tap EVO£ at p,EI\I\OVCa, ya -
fLELc()a£ EV T<V~ ['\O£7TW£ TOV Ev£aVTOV XPOVW£' ()V€TWcav] 

30 oE Kai &~ap[x(Xc TWV 7TPWTWV cpavl.vTwv Kap7Twv €V T1]£ XW]­

paL, CTEcp[ aVOVVTEC T~V ElKova T1]C ,Bac£,\{ccTJC Kai EvXac] 

7To£ou[p,evo£ - - -

15-16 rest. Pugliese Carratelli. 18-19 rest. J. et L. Robert. 18 UpELav Sokolowski. 
19 Sokolowski: ILECOAEVKOV J. et L. Robert. 24 J. et L. Robert: KalLwv Pugliese­
Carratelli. 30-31 ~ILE]PO:L Pugliese Carratelli. 

This decree is preceded by a letter of the queen in which she ex­
tends her sympathy to the unfortunate city because of some disaster, 
and she orders a certain amount of wheat to be sent to the population 
each year for a period of ten years. Money from this grant will be 
distributed as a dowry to the daughters of poor families in the amount 
of 300 drachmas each. The city in acknowledgement of this gesture 
decided to found and organize divine honors for Laodike. 

8 Theog. 389 and 394; Tyrt. 10.9; Hdt. 9.33. 



174 DIVINE HONORS FOR ANTIOCHOS AND LAODIKE 

LINES 17-19. Aphrodite was believed to assist the girls who wanted 
to marry, and on this account Laodike could be called indeed 
'Aphrodite'. But I guess that the queen might be connected with 
Aphrodite in a common cult as a cvvvaoc (J€OC, This supposition is con­
firmed by much evidence. The cult of Apollonis, wife of Attalos I, 
according to the regulation (restored and commented upon by L. 
Robert)9 was managed and supervised by the priest of Aphrodite, 
which means that the queen was cvvvaoc of the goddess of beauty. The 
queens Arsinoe and Berenike were often associated in cult with Aphro­
dite.10 The temple of Aphrodite Stratonikis in Smyrna owed its name 
to the association of Stratonike, the wife of Antiochos I, with 
Aphrodite as a cvvvaoc (J€oc.u Many Roman empresses or their 
daughters were assimilated in cult practice to Aphrodite or Venus.12 

LINE 19. The priestess is allowed to wear a rosy sash or ribbon, a dis­
tinction reserved to high dignitaries and priests: LSG 65 (= Syll.3 736), 
24 and 179; 68 (= Syll.3 999), 5; 163,3-8; LSS 33, A 6; Fouilles de Delphes 
III 2, 69, 3,13 

LINE 20. The service of the priestess, certainly for a term of one year, 
is not to be repeated, so that this honor may be shared by many com­
peting candidates. Compare LSG 48 (= IG II2 1328), A 14-15; 65 
(= Syl1.3 736), 125; Syl1.3 1111,37-38. 

LINE 21. The birthday of the sovereigns was usually called TJp.lpa 7'OU 

{3act'Alwc or rijc f3actA{ccYJc,14 

LINE 23. On the solemn dress of the population see: Sardis VIII, 
Greek Inscriptions 8, llff; LSG 83 (= Syll.3 1157), 39-40; 93 (= IG XII 9, 

9 Etudes anatoliennes (Paris 1937, repro Amsterdam 1970) 15 and 18-19, and Laodicee du 
Lycos (Paris 1969) 332. 

10 See OGI56, 22: Tove {£pEre .•. 7Tpoeovop.a.~Ee8aL lEPEre Kal TWV EVEPY'TWV 8EWV. Ibid. 90,50: 
7TpoeayopE[v£c8aL 8£ Tove lEP£Lc TWV aAAWV 8EWV] KaL TOV 'E7TL"'avove EvxapleTov lfPELc 7Tpoe Toie 

llioL( clv6p.aCLv TWV 8EWV cLv IEpaTEVovCLv. Consult on this subject A. D. Nock, HSCP 41 
(1930) 20ff; L. Robert, in American Studies in Papyrology I (New Haven 1966) 198. 

11 OG1228, 3 and 12; 229, 12,70 and 83; Syll.3 990. Cf L. Robert, REA 38 (1936) 24-25. It 
seems to me that the cult of Zeus Philippios COGI 8, 5), that of Zeus Seleukios (L. Robert, 
Hel/enica VI [paris 1948] 18-26, cf P. Fraser, CR 63 [1949] 92-94, answered by L. Robert, 
BullEpigr 1951,46), also the cult of Zeus Heraios (LSG 1, A 21), that of Zeus Damatrios (Lindos 
II.l,Inscr. 183), and that of Zeus Aphrodisios (IG XII 5,220,2) received their names because 
of partnership in a common cult or temple with other gods or deified sovereigns. Compare 
LSA 46, 4; 52, A 7; LSG 18, A 26; B 8; D 30-31. 

11 Cf J. Aymard, MelRome 51 (1934) 178-90. 
18 Cf A. Wilhelm,jOAl 17 (1914) 40, and AthMitt 51 (1926) 7. 
14 Cf C. Habicht, Gottmenschentum und griechische Stiidte (Zetemata 14, Munich 1956) 152 

and 156. 



FRANCISZEK SOKOLOWSKI 175 

194), 6-7; LSA 33, A 38 and the texts cited by L. Robert, Opera minora 
selecta I [Amsterdam 1969] 486f. 

LINES 24-25. The term CVVEptLC means 'wedlock', cf Plato, Tim. 
18D, Rep. 460A. 

LINES 27-28. For the procession of the priests see the references for 
line 23. 

LINE 30. I restore according to the decree from Teos, D lines 54-56. 

We have another document of Iasos concerning divine honors for 
Antiochos III and Laodike, published by D. Levi and G. Pugliese Car­
ratelli in Annuario 39-40 (1961-62) 578, no.5.15 

eu T~V C7T0VSOcp[ oplav - -] 
E7TEVXEC()at SE TOVC cpvMTac [cvfL7TavTa ylv]­
€c()aL T' aya()a f3aCLAEL TE fLEyaAwL '1[VTLOXWL] 

Kat f3aCLAlccT}L /laoSlK1]L Kat TaLC T[ £KVDtC] 

5 Kat Tfjt 7T0AEL' avaypa!fJat SE Kat. TQ [!fJ~cptCfLa TO]-
~ , ~',J.. , '[., "~"'~] OE EV TctJ E7Tt'j'avEcTaTWt T07TW t' 07TWC av a EtC atw -

va ;; TE TaD f3actMwc EUVDta [Kat ~ cptAOTtfLla] 

Kat ~ TfjC c/>vMic {J7TEP TfjC 7T[ OAEWC E7TtKOVpla] 
, I ~ I [\.. \~] aEtfLV1]CTOC OtafLEV1]L, T 1]V atpECW 7T€pt TOV 

10 f3wfLoD, iva T{;n TE fLEy4[()EL TaD f3aCLMwc KaTa]­

CKEvaCefj, 7Tpocy[pa!fJat {J7TEP TfjC c/>VAfjc <HpaK (e.g.)]­
A1]tSoc ofLolw[c - - - - - - - - - - - - ifJ'YJcp]-

lCfLaToc r[ 
<!;vaAw[fL 
)Nr[ 

2 7TaVTcx y. Levi & Pugliese Carratelli. 4 T€KVOLC CXVTWV Levi & Pugliese Carra­
telli. 5 rest. Levi & Pugliese Carratelli. 6-7 i]vcx Levi & Pugliese Carratelli. 
7 corr. Robert: yE Levi & Pugliese Carratelli. 8 EVXCXpLCT{CX Robert. 10-11 rest. 
Robert: CBH2AC8HnpOCr Levi & Pugliese Carratelli. 11-12 rest. Robert: 
{1cxCt]A7Jt8oc Levi & Pugliese Carratelli. 

The tribe in question decided to offer special prayers on behalf of 
King Antiochos III, his wife Laodike, their children and the city of 
Iasos. The reason for this intercession escapes us; it apparently hap­
pened before the formal inauguration of the royal cult by the city. 

15 See the comment ofL. Robert, Opera minora selecta III (Amsterdam 1970) 1503-04. 



176 DIVINE HONORS FOR ANTIOCHOS AND LAODIKE 

LINES 6-7. For the phrase cf OGI 194, 32; 332, 32; 666, 22; Syll.3 814, 
50. 

LINE 8. The restored word means 'intercession', cf LSA 73 (= Syll.3 
1015),24 and 34. One could think also of the term £:UXap£cTLa, as sug­
gested by Robert. 

LINES 10-12. A similar disposition is prescribed by the cult regula­
tion from Teos, Clines 9-13: KaTacK£vacacO[a£ 8e fiwlLov €KacT7}v TWV] 

[ ~ • ~ ] ,~, , ., \ [ \ Q \ ~ '] ~ cVIL OP£wv £v TW£ £o£w£ Tonw£ £va napa TOV f"WILOV T1JC cVILop£ac TOV T£ 

fi[ ac£Mwc] , Avnoxov M£yaAov Kat [rijc &8£Acpfjc aUT ]ov fiaaA[Lcc1Jc 

A ]a08LK1Jc . 

The inscriptions discussed above are related to the cult of Laodike 
as it was founded spontaneously by the Greek cities of Asia ~1inor. 
Besides this city cult there existed in the provinces of Antiochos' em­
pire an imperial cult of Laodike, founded and supervised by the royal 
administration. We have copies of the king's ordinances on this sub­
j ect.16 Antiochos, desiring to increase the honors for his wife, decided 
to appoint high-priestesses of Laodike in the same way that he 
nominated high-priests for his own cult in the provinces. This high 
female dignitary of the queen's cult had to wear a special kind of 

,1..' J..' ..... " " , ...... crown: 'f'op1Jcova CT£'f'avovc XPVCOVC £XOVTac ££Kovac aVT1JC, z.e., one 
with a portrait of Laodike herself. The name of the high-priestess will 
be put into official documents as a part of the date. This organization 
of the cult of Laodike was quite different from that founded freely 
and willingly by the Greek cities under the protection of Antiochos 
III. 

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN 

January, 1972 

18 OGI 224,1-11 (=c. B. Welles. Royal Correspondence[New Haven 1934] 36-37); L. Robert. 
Hellenica VII (Paris 1949) 7-9; idem, CRAII967. 281-96.