The Votive relief of Jupiter Dolichenus was discovered in the ancient city of Perrhe in the kingdom of
Commagene
Commagene ( grc-gre, Κομμαγηνή) was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Iranian Orontid dynasty that had ruled over Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ancient city of Samosata, which ser ...
in the southeast of modern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. It is now displayed in the
Adıyaman Archaeological Museum
Adıyaman Archaeological Museum ( Turkish: tr, Adıyaman Müzesi) is an archaeology museum in Adıyaman, southeastern Turkey. It is located at the corner of Atatürk Boulevard and Cumhuriyet Avenue in the heart of the city. The museum displays ar ...
.
Discovery
The
votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
relief was discovered in the vast
necropolis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
of the city of Perrhe - today the suburb of Pirin in the provincial capital of Adiyaman. During excavation and cleaning work by the Museum of Adiyaman in 2001 under the leadership of its Director, Fehmi Erarslan, the relief was revealed in secondary use as the covering for a late antique grave. Along with
Samosata
Samsat ( ku, Samîsad), formerly Samosata ( grc, Σαμόσατα) is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Marasch and Doliche, Perrhe was one of the core cities of the Kingdom of Commagene. Thus, the relief of
Jupiter Dolichenus
Jupiter Dolichenus was a Roman god whose mystery cult was widespread in the Roman Empire from the early-2nd to mid-3rd centuries AD. Like several other figures of the mystery cults, Jupiter Dolichenus was one of the so-called 'oriental' gods; tha ...
is the only one thus far known, which has been found in the immediate area of the god's original worship. While images of him spread throughout the whole
Roman empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
and numerous examples have been found in Western Europe, they are rare in Asia Minor and Syria. As part of a project of the Forstellungstelle Asia Minor of the
University of Münster
The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With more than 43,000 students and over ...
, the relief was discussed by Michael Blömer (relief) and Margherita Facella (inscription).
Depiction
The
stele
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
is made of light yellow local
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and measures 0.81 m high and 0.63 m wide. The base is 11 cm deep, the greatest projection of the relief is 12 cm. At left is the god and at right, under his arm is an eight-line inscription. A large part of the relief is lost, including the point of the god's hat and both hands, while of the legs only the upper thighs survive. This bottom break runs through the final line of the inscription. The relief is very deep, such that parts of the figure like the head and the arms are nearly in the round. The god is shown in a typical pose of Jupiter Dolichenus, with his right arm raised and his left arm bent. There was a thunderbolt held in his left hand, but only the lower part still survives. The
labrys
''Labrys'' ( gr, , lábrus) is, according to Plutarch (''Quaestiones Graecae'' 2.302a), the Lydian word for the double-bitted axe. In Greek it was called (''pélekus''). The Ancient Greek plural of ''labrys'' is ''labryes'' ().
Etymology
P ...
usually found in the right hand is completely lost. Jupiter is depicted with a beard and long hair, both of which are depicted in detail with individual spiral locks. Despite the serious damage to the face, the deep-set eyes with drilled pupils can still be made out. On top of his head, he wears a Phrygian cap. Otherwise he is dressed in a military outfit. On his upper body, he wears a Roman
muscle cuirass
In classical antiquity, the muscle cuirass ( la, lorica musculata), anatomical cuirass, or heroic cuirass is a type of cuirass made to fit the wearer's torso and designed to mimic an idealized male human physique. It first appears in late Archaic ...
over his tunic, which is held in place by flat leather straps over his shoulders and a
Cingulum militare
A ''cingulum militare'' was a piece of ancient Roman military equipment in the form of a belt decorated with metal fittings, which was worn as a badge of military status by soldiers and officials. Many examples were made in the Roman province of ...
around his midriff. Over his hips he wears the
Pteruges
Pteruges (also spelled pteryges; ) refers to strip-like defences for the upper parts of limbs attached to armor in the Greco-Roman world.
Appearance and variation
Pteruges formed a defensive skirt of leather or multi-layered fabric (linen) stri ...
, with deep furrows in between them. Over his cuirass the god wears a
paludamentum
In Republican and Imperial Rome, the ''paludamentum'' () was a cloak or cape fastened at one shoulder, worn by military commanders (e.g., the ''legatus'') and rather less often by their troops. As supreme commander of the whole Roman army, Roman e ...
, which is gathered over his right shoulder and hangs down from his left shoulder such that it is visible in the background behind him. A small
bandolier
A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding either individual bullets, or belts of ammunition. It is usually slung sash-style over the shoulder and chest, with the ammunition pockets across the midriff and chest. Though functio ...
holds a sword on his right hand side. The god wears tights on his legs. Above the right shoulder of the figure, behind the raised arm, the remains of an eagle are visible. The end of the left wing and the tail feathers are relatively clear.
The relief may have been complete with the common, right-facing bull, on which the god would have stood, as is common in the iconography of images of Jupiter Dolichenus. The tights the god wears are remarkable, as is the head covering. Both were considered "oriental" attributes by the Romans and thus emphasised his supposed birthplace. In other images from northern Syria and Asia Minor, there are no other cases of the god depicted wearing tights, although they were subsequently an attribute of the god, especially in Roman depictions.
Inscription
The dedicatory inscription is in the right, lower floor of the field, between the left leg and the left arm. It is eight lines long, with letters deeply carved into the stone. The letters get smaller lower down, which indicates that the stonemason had issues fitting the text in the available space. The inscription says:
:Γάϊος ᾿Ιούλιος Παῦλος τὸν θὲον Δολίχεος στρατιώτης ἀνέθηκεν χ ματισθείς
:''Gaius Iulius Paulus, soldier, dedicated
his
His or HIS may refer to:
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Education
* Hangzhou International School, in ...
to the god of Doliche, after receiving an oracular response.''
Thus the inscription supplies the name of the dedicant, his position, and the reason for his dedication. The donor from Doliche was a soldier and his name indicates that he was a
Roman citizen
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
. Blömer and Facella suggest that one of his ancestors received citizenship and adopted the nomen Julius. This ''nomen'' was widespread in North Syria and Commagene and indicates either the emperor who was reigning at the time of the receipt of citizenship or the governor of the province who was responsible for the award.
It is not stated which legion of the army that Gaius Julius Paulus belonged to. It is known that towards the end of the 2nd century AD, soldiers of the
Legio IV Scythica
Legio was a Roman military camp south of Tel Megiddo in the Roman province of Galilee.
History
Following the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136CE), Legio VI Ferrata was stationed at Legio near Caparcotna. The approximate location of the camp of the Le ...
were carrying out construction work in Commagene and that, around the same time, the
Legio XVI Flavia Firma
Legio XVI Flavia firma ("Steadfast Flavian Sixteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was created by Emperor Vespasian in 70 from the remains of the XVI ''Gallica'' (which had surrendered in the Batavian rebellion). Th ...
was tasked with the construction of the Chabinas bridge. But whether Paulus came to Perrhe as a member of one of these legiones or belonged to another ''
vexillatio
A ''vexillatio'' (plural ''vexillationes'') was a detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force created by the Roman army of the Principate. It was named from the standard carried by legionary detachments, the ''vexillum'' (plural ...
'' stationed in the area, cannot be determined. This is particularly the case because the original location of the stele is unclear.
The letterforms indicate that the inscription dates to the period between the late 2nd century AD and the beginning of the 3rd century AD.