Demosthenes of Oinoanda

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Gaius Iulius Demosthenes from Oinoanda was a Roman knight and Lycian federal priest in imperial Lycia , who is only known through inscriptions. One of the inscriptions mentions his foundation of an artistic agon under Emperor Hadrian , who was named Demostheneia after him . Another inscription, which gives information about his official career, was put on him by his cousin Moles, son of Moles, son of Loubase.

Gaius Iulius Demosthenes was the son of Gaius Iulius Apollonios. The family from which Gaius Iulius Demosthenes came, presumably had acquired Roman citizenship under Caesar or Augustus . His career as a Roman knight probably dates back to the late 1st century AD. His tres militiae , the stations of the knightly cursus honorum , included the legion tribunate in the legio VI Ferrata . In Syria he was the praefectus of ala VII Phrygum . Under Trajan he received the post of procurator centenarius in Sicily . After that, his career as a knight ended for reasons that were not fully understood. From then on he became involved in his hometown and in the Lycian Federation .

The 117-line inscription on the foundation of Demostheneia not only gives a detailed insight into the organization of such an agon, but also names all relevant institutions and social groups of the medium-sized polis in Asia Minor . The founder appears in the inscription as Euergetes , who as a benefactor of the city places himself in the tradition of his family and who not only maintained their generosity, but even exceeded them. Gaius Iulius Demosthenes' benefits for the city included the provision of grain and the construction of three stalls at the food market, the agora biotike , two of which are single-storey and one is two- story . During the 23-day festival on the occasion of the Agon donated by him, all goods traffic should be tax-free.

literature

  • Denise Reitzenstein: The Lycian federal priests. Representation of the imperial elite of Lycia (= Klio. Contributions to ancient history . New series, 17th supplement). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2011, p. 187 No. 36.
  • Michael Wörrle : City and Festival in Imperial Asia Minor. Studies on an agonistic foundation from Oinoanda (= Vestigia . Volume 39). CH Beck, Munich 1988.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Michael Wörrle : City and Festival in Asia Minor during the Imperial Age. Studies on an agonist foundation from Oinoanda. CH Beck, Munich 1988.
  2. ^ Inscriptiones Graecae ad res Romanes pertinentes 3,487 ( digitized version ).