Panhellenion

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bust of Hadrian

The Panhellenion (Greek for "All Greeks "; Latin: Panhellenium ) was a representative assembly of Greek cities from the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire , founded in 125. Whether from the Roman emperor Hadrian , his courtly environment or the Greeks themselves is controversial. Since Hadrian was very Hellenophile, on the occasion of his visit to the eastern provinces, he tried to unite all the semi-autonomous former city-states in Greece and Asia Minor. Cities in present-day Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Epirus and western Asia Minor sent representatives to the Panhellenion in Athens , which apparently represented a combination of a regional alliance and parliament .

However, despite attempts to get the Greeks to cooperate, this parliament did not function permanently. Roman surveillance and quarrels between delegates ended its functionality with Hadrian's death. In modern research it is controversial to what extent it should fulfill political functions at all. Christopher P. Jones, for example, assumes that it was primarily a religious association associated with the sanctuary of Eleusis , the main task of which was to hold the Panhellenic Agon . The Panhellenion also served religious purposes, but above all the Roman imperial cult , for the implementation of which the office of Hiereus was introduced.

literature

  • Christopher P. Jones: The Panhellenion. In: Chiron . Volume 26, 1996, pp. 29-56, ISSN  0069-3715 .
  • Ilaria Romeo: The Panhellenion and Ethnic Identity in Hadrianic Greece. In: Classical Philology. Volume 97, 2002, pp. 21-40, ISSN  0009-837X .
  • Ilaria Romeo: The Panhellenion. In: Martin Maischberger (Hrsg.): The Greek Classic. Idea or reality. Zabern, Mainz 2002, ISBN 3-8053-2854-0 , pp. 675-683 (catalog of the exhibition of the same name, Martin-Gropius-Bau , Berlin, March 1 to June 2, 2002).
  • Anthony J. Spawforth: The Panhellenion again. In: Chiron. Volume 29, 1999, pp. 339-352, ISSN  0069-3715 .
  • Anthony J. Spawforth, Susan Walker: The World of the Panhellenion, Part I. In: Journal of Roman Studies . Volume 75, 1985, pp. 78-104, ISSN  0075-4358 .
  • Anthony J. Spawforth, Susan Walker: The World of the Panhellenion, Part II. In: Journal of Roman Studies. Volume 76, 1986, pp. 88-105, ISSN  0075-4358 .
  • Dietrich Willers : Hadrian's Panhellenic Program. Archaeological contributions to the redesign of Athens by Hadrian (= Ancient Art . Supplement 16). Raggi, Basel 1990, ISBN 3-909064-16-7 .