ABSTRACT
The synagogues of the Greco-Roman Diaspora are all but lost, as indeed is that Diaspora itself. What we know of the synagogue buildings has come to us, of course, through archeology. And, when it comes to the life of those synagogues, the most important source is inscriptions, themselves brought to light by the archeologist’s spade. And so, to bring us a little closer to that world, this chapter looks closely at two Greek inscriptions from synagogues, then teases out some of their implications. Both are from Asia Minor. The first is a text from the central part of the region.1 Its precise provenance is Acmonia in Phrygia, a fairly remote part of the Roman province of Asia, lying to the east of Lydia; we happen to know that the city fell within the assize district of the larger city of Apamea.2 For all its remoteness, Acmonia, whose ruins have not been excavated, had a position of some natural strength, suggesting a regional center of note, according to William Ramsay.3 The place scarcely figures in contemporary literature, but such a gap in the written record is what the ancient historian has regularly to contend with.
