ABSTRACT
Imperial cult and Athenian gene The evidence of imperial cult in Augustan Athens consists of altars, inscriptions and buildings associated either directly or indirectly with the cult. 6 On the Acropolis, no altar was found, but an inscription found in the nineteenth century explicitly refers to an imperial cult:
The people [dedicate] to the goddess Roma and Caesar Augustus, being hoplite general Pammenes [son of] Zenon of Marathon, [also] priest of the
goddess Roma and Augustus Savior on the acropolis, when the priestess of Athena Polias was Megiste daughter of Asklepides of Halai, under the archonship of Areios [son of] Dorion of Paiania. 7
The text was inscribed on an architrave fragment of a circular building, which was associated to several fragments of an ionic monopteros and to a rectangular base located 21 metres east of the Parthenon, on its longitudinal axis: the socalled ‘temple of Roma and Augustus’ ( Figures 8.1 and 8.2 ). 8 With a diameter of 7,35 metres, the monopteros was surrounded by nine columns, whose ornament is quite similar to those of the Erechtheion’s east façade ( Figure 8.3 ). The usual identifi cation of the monopteros as a temple is problematic: there are no signs of cult statue, altar, or even an enclosing wall inside or between the columns, which points to a more plausible identifi cation as an honorifi c monument. 9 The cult mentioned on the architrave in association with its priest, Pammenes of Marathon, should be located in a lost altar on the environs of (or even inside) the Erechtheion. 10
The dedicatory inscription is very important as evidence for the imperial cult on the Acropolis, not only by the explicit mention, but also by the names mentioned in conjunction with the dedication. First, the demos is mentioned as the monument’s dedicator. This undoubtedly implies the public character of the dedication: though prominent members of the Athenian elite were involved, as we will discuss below, the demos assert its right to dedicate honorifi c monuments and inscriptions
Figure 8.1 Plan of Athenian Acropolis in Augustan period. 1. Monument of Agrippa. 2. Sanctuary of Athena Nike. 3. Propylaia. 4. ‘North-west building’. 5. Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia. 6. Chalkotheke. 7. Statue of Athena Promachos. 8. House of the Arrephoroi. 9. Erechtheion. 10. Parthenon. 11. Altar of Athena Polias. 12. Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus. 13. Monopteros of Roma and Augustus. 14. Sanctuary of Pandion. 15. Attalid dedication. 16. Attalid (?) colossi.
