ABSTRACT
Hadrian’s rule was marked by three major lines of action: communication with his subjects, liberality toward them, and the promotieon of Greek culture. The core argument of this chapter is the fertile and reciprocal relationship between Hispania Graeca and the Graeculus emperor. I argue that some of the seeds of Hadrian’s philhellenism are to be found in Hispania. Furthermore, once in power, he accelerated the cultural integration of the Empire’s regions thanks to the strengthening of Hellenic culture. While Greek influence on private lives may be visible in Tarraco, it is especially in Italica that the effects of the emperor’s active Hellenism are particularly noticeable. Using rhetoric tools proper to the Second Sophistic, Hadrian portrayed himself as a somewhat universalizing emperor: Hispanic, Italic, and Greek. The relevance of Italica in the Roman Empire was part of the narrative that Hadrian created for himself and for his homeland under the fertile influence of Hellenism.
